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Architect and engineer Werner Sobek has a knack for making the world’s most complex designs possible. His imaginative structural solutions have aided the work of Helmut Jahn, Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel, Rem Koolhaas and others over a fruitful career.

Price
$15 public
$7 CAC Members
$7 students
$7 seniors
Meet
Zoom Virtual Event (details to come)

In this talk, Sobek discusses how building technologies have evolved over the course of his 40+ years in the field, facilitating new and exciting designs for buildings, bridges and urban development. Sobek will also focus on his nearly 30-year-long collaboration with the late architect Helmut Jahn, which produced numerous landmark designs from the Sony Center and Post Tower in Germany, to State Street Village and 600 North Fairbanks here in Chicago. The two men coined the term “Archi-Neering” to describe a philosophy of practice where architect and engineer form a marriage of equals throughout the design process. This fosters a creative push and pull, often yielding surprising outcomes in terms of building performance and aesthetics. Archi-Neering continues to be a revolutionary approach to this day.

This program is being held in conjunction with the CAC exhibit, "Helmut Jahn: Life + Architecture," on display in the Skyscraper Gallery through February 2022.


AIA/CES Credits: 1 LUs

Presenter: Werner Sobek

Werner Sobek. Photo by René Müller, Stuttgart/Germany.Werner Sobek is an architect and consulting engineer. He is a professor at the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) at the University of Stuttgart.

Sobek is the founder of a globally active planning office with more than 350 employees. The company processes all types of buildings and materials. Special emphasis is placed on the design and planning of structures, facades and technical building equipment, as well as consulting on building physics. The aim is a built environment that is breathtakingly beautiful, while also meeting the interests of future generations. Sobek's goal is to eliminate emissions and build with less material for more people.

Moderator: Donna Robertson

Donna RobertsonDonna V. Robertson, FAIA, received her M.Arch. from the University of Virginia in 1978 and since then has maintained both her private practice and a continuing commitment to academia. Before coming to the Illinois Institute of Technology as Dean of the College of Architecture and Professor of Architecture in 1996 she had served as Dean of the Tulane University School of Architecture for four years. During her tenure, the IIT campus added the McCormick Tribune Campus Center, designed by Rem Koolhaas and OMA; the State Street Village residence hall, designed by Helmut Jahn; and the restoration of Mies’s Crown Hall. Robertson retired as Dean in 2012 but continues on as professor of architecture at IIT. She is also partner and co-founder of macro Design, formerly Robertson McAnulty Architects.