Quite a Lineup

Actor Kevin Spacey will give the opening keynote on Thursday, May 19, under the theme, "Innovate, disrupt, & take risks." The AIA describes Spacey as "a man who is constantly innovating and looking for new challenges, just like architects," and that the keynote "is where you learn to be a game changer from a master innovator, collaborator, and disruptor." A more important – and less trendy-jargon-filled – characteristic of Spacey is how he "works [hard] to defend the value and integrity of the arts ... through his foundation, he’s providing opportunities for a new generation of writers, actors, and filmmakers." That Spacey, who plays President Frank Underwood on House of Cards, is giving a keynote on an election year is a wonderful irony the AIA should be proud of. 

Neri Oxman, who will give Friday's keynote, is an architect, designer, and MIT professor "whose pioneering work explores biologically-inspired fabrication technologies that enhance relationships between designed objects and the environment." She directs the Mediated Matter research group at the MIT Media Lab, which produced the Silk Pavilion, "where 6,500 silkworms wove a cocoon over digitally placed threads." Though the least known of the three speakers, her keynote, "Design at the intersection of science + engineering," will surely get the audience excited about the role of technology in architecture and design.

The closing keynote, on Saturday, May 21, will be given by Rem Koolhaas of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. Appropriately called "Delirious Philadelphia," the closing keynote will be "a kick in the pants from Koolhaas" to get conventioneers "rethinking, reimagining, revising your plans for the world’s future," per the AIA. Hype aside, Koolhaas's presence will certainly draw many more people to the convention, particularly given that it is taking place in Philadelphia, a short ride from New York and other eastern cities. Expect some coverage of this and the other keynotes on World-Architects when the AIA Convention 2016 takes place in May.