Energy may be power, and land surely is fundamental, but water is vital. Humans simply cannot live without it. And while this ultimate resource may have seemed infinite at one time, dwindling waterways and receding aquifers, as well as the massive energy costs of harvesting their waters, tell a story with a potentially perilous ending. On Saturday, February 7th, a distinguished group of designers, engineers, policymakers, and scholars will gather for 5KL: Water, a symposium to consider how planning and design can contribute to the goal of minimizing the energy intensity of providing a clean and adequate water supply in the context of climate change.
5KL: Water is the third in a series of symposia held as part of The Five Thousand Pound Life, The Architectural League’s multi-year initiative of public events, digital releases, and a major design study that grapples with the intertwined challenges of reimagining the American way of life to address climate change and rebuilding a robust, equitable economic structure. Participants will explore issues of water supply in the context of climate change through three case studies: Los Angeles, the Great Lakes, and New York.
Among the participants will be international environmental and infrastructure consultant and former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Al Appleton; landscape architect, geographer, and MIT’s Aga Khan Professor of Architecture James Wescoat; Stephanie Pincetl, director of the California Center for Sustainable Communities and author of Transforming California: The Political History of Land Use and Development (2003); and Peter Mulvaney, head of sustainable water resource strategies in the Chicago offices of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). For a full list of speakers, visit the League’s website.
The Five Thousand Pound Life: Water
4.0 AIA and New York State CEUs
Organized and presented by The Architectural League of New York and The Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design
Time & Place
Saturday, February 7th, 2015
1:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Rose Auditorium, The Cooper Union
41 Cooper Square
Tickets
Tickets are free for League members and students; $20 for non-members. Members may reserve a ticket by e-mailing rsvp@archleague.org. Member tickets will be held at the check-in desk. Non-members may purchase tickets here.
Visit the League website for more information about the symposium and The Five Thousand Pound Life.
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