AIA Japan - Collective Identity | Singular Curiosity: Three Years, Six Projects
When: Friday 18 June 2021 @ 21:00 (Eastern US time)/ Saturday 19 June @ 10:00 (Japan time)
Speaker: Colin Koop, AIA, Design Partner, SOM
CES Credits - 2.0 LU for AIA Members
Description:
How does a designer retain one’s unique sensibilities while operating within a larger collective? This question has animated the careers of over eight decades of thinkers at Skidmore Owings & Merrill, of which Colin Koop represents the next generation. Currently the youngest partner at
SOM, Colin will reflect on the state of one of the most influential multi-generational design practices during a time of transformational change, how to wrestle with a rich but complex
design history, and how one’s curiosity and particular interests can manifest themselves within a portfolio of work. He will discuss recent projects like the new East Coast headquarters of the Walt Disney Company, the newly completed Moynihan Train Hall, and the ongoing Moon Village Research Initiative.
Speaker Bio:
Colin Koop is a design partner in SOM’s New York office. Throughout his 18 years at the firm, Koop has developed a broad body of work defined by a strong social conscience, a research- driven and collaborative approach, and purpose-built results. Koop begins the design process by seeking to understand the unique qualities of a place; his goal is to find modes of expression that embody context, while charting new, ambitious paths forward. His emphasis on systematic thinking is tempered with a concern for an individual’s experience of the completed work—an approach that reconciles scientific thinking with a humanist point of view.
Focused on the challenges facing our planet, Koop seeks to address the disruptive impact of technology, the effects of climate change, shifts in regional and global culture, the importance of preserving the past, and the need to create a more equitable world. He has extensive experience in a diverse array of project types, including education, transportation, high-rise, and urban planning. His projects span the globe, with work completed or underway in China, India, the Middle East, North America, and South America. He recently designed the New Futura residential towers in Singapore. In the U.S., he is currently working on the new Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 4 Hudson Square, a new headquarters for The Walt Disney Company’s New York operations.
Koop’s work has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects, the Urban Land Institute, and the Municipal Art Society of New York. His projects have been published in A+U, Architect Magazine, Metropolis, Bauwelt, Fast Company, Wired, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
