This free, public symposium addresses the destabilization of small villages and towns around the world due to mass migration to urban centers. At a time when information has the potential to distribute knowledge and resources in egalitarian ways, today’s unsustainable urban congestion instead often recalls problems of the 19th Century’s Industrial Revolution such as pollution, lack of medical care, squatter housing, overburdened infrastructure, and tensions between demographic groups.
Thurs., March 29
- Noon-1 p.m. in SPARK G-45: John Tomkowiak, dean of the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, will participate in an interview on rural health with Sue Lani Madsen, visiting professor of architecture
- 4:00-5:00 p.m., Art and Architecture South 2nd floor Gallery, University of Idaho: Wendy McClure, professor emeritus of architecture, speaks on “Townmaking and Transformations in the Intermountain West”
- 5:00-6:30 p.m., Art and Architecture South 2nd floor Gallery, University of Idaho: Keynote address by Jeffrey Johnson, chair of architecture at the University of Kentucky, on “Superblocks and the Return to Rural Places”
Fri., March 30
- 1:30-3:00 p.m., WSU SPARK 227: Mini presentations by Xinmin Liu, associate professor of Chinese, on “Rural Dwellings and Planetary Retreats;” Mike Jobes, principal at Miller Hull Architects, on “Land-based Tourism;” Jolie Kaytes, associate professor of landscape architecture, on “Rural Matters;” Robert Krikac, associate professor of interior design, on “Revival”
- 3:10-5:00 p.m., WSU SPARK 212, 227, 327, 339: Breakout sessions
- 5:00-6:30 p.m., WSU SPARK G45: Keynote presentation by Liu Jiaping, director of Green Architecture Research Center at the Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, on “New Vernacular Architecture and Ecosophy Inheritance”
Sat., March 31
9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Carpenter Hall Gallery: Student Charrette
This symposium is sponsored by WSU’s School of Design and Construction, Asia Program, Honors College. Humanities Institute, and Elson S. Floyd Medical School; the Confucius Institute of Washington; Integrus Architecture; the University of Idaho; and the Rural Communities Design Initiative. For more information, visit https://sdc.wsu.edu/blog/revitalizing-rural-environments/
