Building for Change

Kennesaw State University’s (KSU) Department of Architecture, in partnership with the Ismaili Council for the Southeastern USA, brings you the 2022 Spring Lecture, “Building for Change,” with Shirley Blumberg, Founding Partner, KPMB Architects and a Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions to architecture and community. This lecture will illustrate the power of architecture in bringing change to communities through promoting pluralism, social justice, and equity in architectural practice.

Shirley’s projects in the cultural sector include the Global Centre for Pluralism based in Ottawa, Toronto’s Fort York Public Library, and currently, the competition-winning Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Other academic projects include the Julis Romo Rabinowitz and Louis A. Simpson International Building at Princeton University, the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre and Ponderosa Hub, both at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and CIGI, the Centre for International Governance Innovation Campus in Waterloo Ontario, which received an American Institute of Architects Honor Award, a Royal Institute of British Architects International Award, and Canada’s Governor General’s Medal.

Social justice projects have also been a focus of her practice. She has designed affordable housing projects for Toronto Community Housing, affordable student housing at UBC, and prototypical housing for the northern Indigenous community of Fort Severn.

Inspired by the Order of Canada’s recognition – they desire a better country – Shirley began a conversation with like-minded colleagues that became BEAT – Building Equality in Architecture Toronto – a grassroots initiative to promote equality for women and minorities in the profession; today there are chapters across Canada. She has also led the firm’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiative, now a framework for policy and practice at KPMB.

Join us on Wednesday, April 13 at 4:30 pm in the Architecture Gallery for the opening of the Ismaili Center Houston and Global Centre for Pluralism exhibition featuring guided tours and the historic signing of the MoU between KSU and the Ismaili Council. The exhibition will also include the architectural renderings of the Ismaili Center Houston, the seventh Centre to join the global network of Ismaili Centres, and their contributions to promoting pluralism and a deeper understanding among societies.

*Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances, the “Building for Change” lecture with Shirley Blumberg, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 13 at 4:30 pm, is postponed to Wednesday, April 20 at 4:30 pm.

The event is free, open to the public, and will be held at the Design II Auditorium at the Marietta Campus.