January 1, 0001

Hundreds of architecture students around the country gather every spring to explore design around a central theme at the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) regional conferences. Led by Westphal Architecture students David Golden and Evan Kotzen, Drexel’s Architecture Student Chapter will host this year’s AIAS Northeast Quad Conference from Thursday, April 9th through Sunday, April 12th. Nourish: Designing to Feed a City takes a critical look at the role that food plays within the design world, from restaurants to urban farming and food production facilities, and their impact on our cities. The conference will feature restaurant and city tours that examine Philadelphia through the lens of food, as well as visits to firms, collaborative charrettes, workshops, and lectures with leading local thinkers.

City tours during the conference include trips to Philadelphia’s Italian Market; Reading Terminal Market, the nation’s oldest continuously operating farmers’ market; and Greensgrow Farms, a three-quarter acre hydroponic farm that has transformed one of Philadelphia’s oldest industrial neighborhoods, supplying many local restaurants with fresh produce. Conference participants will experience the City through a tour of restaurants that boast unique and historic architecture and design as well as a wealth of distinctive, sustainable menus, including Jose Garces’ Volver, Top Chef winner Kevin Sbraga’s Juniper Commons, the all-vegan Charlie was a Sinner, the lavish XIX, Hip City Veg and Cuba Libre.

On Saturday, April 11, conference participants will choose from a variety of workshops and lectures held at the URBN Center (3501 Market Street), including a Making Lab session, a Millennials in Architecture workshop, a mapping session analyzing cities diagrammatically based around food, and many others. Guest speakers include Yael Lehmann, Executive Director of Philadelphia’s Food Trust; Skip Wiener, founder of the Urban Tree Connection, which has developed community-based environmental programs since 1989; and Keynote speaker Jules Dingle, founding partner of DIGSAU, a Philadelphia design studio with a broad view of architecture, how it is made and who makes it.

As the organizers of the Spring Quad Conference, Drexel’s AIAS Chapter is part of a cooperative, professional network of thousands of architecture students around the country. The association helps to build interest in architecture and design and enrich the experience of students in those disciplines. Click here for more information about the conference, or email drexelaiasquad15@gmail.com.