In-Class Workshop | Behnaz Assadi: Attitude Towards Land

Thursday, February 16, 2023, 2 - 6pm

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Image courtesy of Behnaz Assadi.

Image courtesy of Behnaz Assadi. 

This workshop will be conducted in-person in room 712F. 

The lecture is part of Nima Javidi Design IV Studio Course. This event organizes two mini-lectures by architect Behnaz Assadi. A brief recount of landscape history through the lens of the human-nature divide followed by a talk on representing the unpredictable and open-ended.

Behnaz Assadi is a Landscape designer and a founding partner at JA Architecture Studio. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto.

Behnaz’s interested is in the unpredictability and open-ended-ness of landscape processes, large scale interconnected ecological systems, and multi-scalar resilient design approaches that aim to mitigate the effect of climate change. Her work explores the agency of landscape architecture beyond disciplinary confines. Her current multi-disciplinary practice, professional experience at offices such as OMA, and her educational background provides her with a level of versatility and comfort in crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries to teach and practice in both landscape architecture and architecture.

At JA, Behnaz situates the studio’s architectural interest in iconography, geometry, form, and tectonic pursuits within the broader context of landscape, ecology, and climate change. The studio has achieved a repertoire of built works, research projects, and award-winning competition entries. The latter includes Bauhaus Museum in Dessau (2015); Guggenheim in Helsinki (2015), Kaunas Concert Center (2017); four Canadian Architects Awards (2015, 2018, 2020 & 2021) and two Progressive Architecture Awards (2021 & 2022). Most recently JA was named an Emerging Voice, by The Architectural League of New York and a 2022 Design Vanguard by Architectural Record. JA’s work has been published widely and exhibited both nationally and internationally.

Behnaz holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from University of Toronto and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from University of Tehran.

This event is open to current Cooper Union students, faculty, and staff. 

Located at 7 East 7th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues

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