On October 5th, Steven Ehrlich was invited to hold the Closing Keynote at the 2023 AIA Kansas Annual Conference at the Bluemont Hotel in Manhattan, KS. Ehrlich presented on the topic of Adaptation and Appropriation – an anecdotal experience of growing a successful practice, transitioning it into a vibrant collaborative partnership committed to creating architecture that is both current and globally relevant. He touched on the importance of “be[ing] humanitarians - to listen to all voices”, to be “advocates for community”, and to “stay aware of climate insecurity.” To illustrate his points, he showed some of the firm’s work such as the Leimert Park Community Fridge, the Cocopah Museum Expansion and the ongoing Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood and Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood projects, both at UC San Diego.
A current Ekdahl Family Visiting Professor at Kansas State University, Steven Ehrlich also spoke in front of 220 students at the KSU School of Architecture. The lecture was held on October 6th and Ehrlich continued the topics from the previous day, while urging the students to “be global citizens” and to deliberate on what “The Path Forward?” might look like.
MORE ABOUT THE AIA KANSAS CONFERENCE: "Design and Architecture are situated at the nexus of what has been accomplished and what is to come. Analyzing society’s key factors of the present to predict how to serve society for the future is vital in shaping healthy communities, from accessibility, equity, technology, and sustainability to the integration of these key indices across the many sectors of the built environment. What we design today creates our platform for tomorrow. It is critical to drive the conversation and implementation of how society is served and always consider how to Design Forward."