Urban Quality, Human Reality and the Shape of Home

Cities are made of bold ideas — skyscrapers, pocket parks, walkable blocks — but home is made of something more personal: safety, stability, belonging, fun, and the hopes of the people who live there. From the apartment we decorate to the block we walk each day, we don’t just live in cities, we help make them.

This panel with New York as our home base, is an open invitation to think about what it really means – and takes – to make a home in a place where housing is expensive, neighborhoods are changing fast, and public space matters more than ever. We’ll explore the full spectrum of the urban experience, from the private (housing, homes, co-living) to the public (streetscapes, gathering places, shared parks). What does it mean to create spaces that are not only affordable and functional, but also joyful, safe, sustainable, and ours? What can we learn from other places, such as collaborative housing projects in Berlin?

With architects, planners, and urban designers from both sides of the Atlantic in conversation, we’ll ask big questions — and make space for yours. This is not just a panel to listen to, but a space to participate in.

Whether you’re working in design or just trying to find your place in the city, come join the conversation about how we shape the places we live — and how they shape us.

In partnership with von DALWIG

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Philipp von Dalwig received a degree in Architecture from the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Germany and graduated from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and Planning where he earned a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design degree and was the recipient of the Lowenfish Memorial Prize. Philipp is a licensed architect in Germany since 2005 and working across a range within both Europe and the United States. His experience ranges from large-scale competitions to smaller-scale commercial stores and residential housing. Philipp has taught courses in architecture at Columbia University, Parsons the New School for Design and the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. From 2011-2016, Philipp served as co-chair of the AIA New Practices committee, which was honored with an Award of Excellence for outstanding programs and exhibitions.

Kaja Kühl is an urban designer and the principal of youarethecity, a research and design practice based in Brooklyn NY. She has extensive architecture, urban design and planning experience from large-scale urban systems and policies to civic engagement and circular material practices. Her design work and writing have appeared in Dezeen, Oculus, Landscape Architect Magazine, Volume, AD, the Venice Architecture Biennale, Center for Architecture and Urban Omnibus.

Kaja is a passionate educator and teaches seminars and design studios at Columbia University and the City College of New York in addition to frequent workshops in non-institutional settings.

Her work and teaching focuses on civic engagement and design for a regenerative, low-carbon built environment. Kaja received a Diploma in Architecture from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany and a M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University.

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