Reynolds Symposium Series

2022 Reynolds Symposium: Aalto : Light

The Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto, has been named “a master of light.” His architecture is among the most well-regarded of the mid-twentieth century for his innovative use of daylight, which was an integral part of his architectural language.  This symposium brought together Finnish and American experts to elucidate the conceptual, aesthetic, and technical aspects of natural light in Aalto’s buildings. It marked over 50 years since the completion of Alvar Aalto’s Library at Mount Angel Abbey, May 20-21, 2022.

2022 Symposium Summary

2019 Reynolds Symposium: Education by Design

The Symposium gathered significant and innovative pedagogical work on sustainable design from national and international scholars and practitioners. October 18-20, 2019. At this critical transition in architectural education – a transition that must propel schools to address the urgency of the multiple challenges facing our current environment, we invited faculty, practitioners, content experts, and students to shape the future of design teaching through an abstract and reviewed-paper process (including traditional, poster, and lightning presentations) The Reynolds Symposium: Education by Design, took place in Portland, Oregon, October 18-19, 2019. The Proceedings are available for download:  2019 Reynolds Symposium: Education by Design Proceedings. The papers are also archived on The University of Oregon Scholar’s Bank

2019 Symposium Summary

The 2019 Reynolds Symposium attendees in a wrap-up plenary session at the end of the symposium discussed efforts to effect change by looking forward; a key point of focus was the proposed change in NAAB accreditation criteria and formed the PORTLAND DECLARATION stating that sustainability should be a major component of the NAAB program accreditation criteria and strongly recommends that those graduating from architecture schools be exposed to and demonstrate the ability to engage in design integration, design synthesis, building integration, sustainability (as embodied by the AIA COTE Top Ten/Framework for Design Excellence), and environmental stewardship values.  Download full document. The document was sent to:

• NAAB to address the accreditation review process currently underway
• AIA leadership
• AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE)
• AIA Sustainability Leadership Group

Press articles picking up the Portland Declaration:

• 11/4/2019 Ned Cramer, editorial ARCHITECT, “The Future of Architecture Education, is the Future of Civilization”
• 11/15/2019 UO news story, “Shaping the Future of Architecture Education“

2017 Festschrift Event:

The Reynolds fund partially supported a Festschrift Event “Transforming Architecture,”  in May 2017,  honoring Professor G.Z. “Charlie Brown” organized by the Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory (ESBL).

https://blogs.uoregon.edu/esbl/festschrift/

2015 Reynolds Symposium:

May 16–17, 2015 celebrating the work, influence, and contributions of Professor John Reynolds.