Evolving an Ethical Aesthetic

James Timberlake will take a provocative look at the future of the architectural profession by discussing current productivity and environmental problems that undermine the building industry, focusing on potential reorganization strategies to address these issues. An investigation of building information modeling (BIM), the supply chain and the creation of integrated component assemblies are posed as part of the solution, as well as collaboration with other disciplines, cultivation of a deep environmental ethic, and assuming full responsibility for what we build with both pre- and post-occupancy monitoring to verify performance. Citing examples from KieranTimberlake’s projects, Timberlake will describe the role design research plays in the evolution of the firm’s ethical aesthetic.

For over two decades, KieranTimberlake has designed beautifully crafted, thoughtfully made buildings which are holistically integrated to site, program and people. Established in Philadelphia (USA) in 1984, the firm has produced a diverse body of work enabled by an environmentally ethical, inventive and innovative approach. Recent projects include the West Campus Residential Initiative at Cornell University, the Center City Building for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Cellophane House, an off-site fabricated dwelling commissioned by The Museum of Modern Art, and a housing prototype for the Make It Right Foundation.

James Timberlake
is a partner at KieranTimberlake, an internationally recognized architecture firm noted for its commitment to research, innovation and invention. Mr. Timberlake received his B.E.S. degree from the University of Detroit, and his M.Arch. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a recipient of the Rome Prize.

In 2002, KieranTimberlake co-authored Manual, The Architecture of KieranTimberlake and in 2003, refabricating Architecture, which examines how manufacturing methodologies are poised to transform building construction. Their latest book, Loblolly House: Elements of a New Architecture, is a case study of a single building which chronicles a new, more efficient way of constructing offsite through the use of building information modeling and integrated component assemblies.

James Timberlake is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design, and Mithun Foundation Endowed Professor in Sustainability at the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning. He has served as Eero Saarinen Distinguished Professor of Design at Yale University, Max Fisher Chair at the University of Michigan, and has taught at Princeton University and the University of Texas at Austin among other institutions.

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• Kieran Timberlake