Spring 2026 Conversations
The Conversations in Practice series brings nationally and internationally recognized architects, academics, and allied professionals to NJIT to discuss their current work and developments in the professions of architecture and design. The theme for the 2025-2026 season is Engaged Communities.
February 11, 2:30-4pm
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Engaging with Community for Social Impact, Urban Planning, and Redevelopment
Conversations in Practice co-hosted with the Albert Dorman Honors College Honors Colloquium
NJIT Weston Hall Gallery, 2nd floor.
Each of the speakers will address how they engage with communities they work with through the lens of their practice; whether in the arts, urban design and planning, or brownfield clean up and redevelopment. Sherri-Ann Butterfield will speak to creating social impact through the arts and how NJPAC leverages the arts to make positive changes in health, education, community development and civic engagement. Damon Rich will speak to the practice of urban design and planning that centers engaging with, and empowering, the communities HECTOR works with, from perspectives inside and outside of municipal agencies. Dr. Jessica Miller and Dr. Sarah Heck will speak to how the Center for Community Systems (CCS) team, through technical assistance and educational forums, help communities identify pathways for residents and stakeholders to inform decision-making throughout the brownfield redevelopment lifecycle.
Tuesday, February 24, 6-7pm
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Ann Yoachim in Conversation with Mark Bess
Ann Yoachim is the Director of the Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design and a Professor of Practice at Tulane School of Architecture and the Built Environment. She has 20+ years of experience building partnerships across campus-community boundaries to amplify community voice and support meaningful change. As an educator, scholar and administrator, she is focused on facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and shaping built, natural and social environments that impact health and wellness in rural and urban settings. She and discussant Mark Bess will talk about the collaborative design processes between students, faculty and non-profits organizations and their constituents, how projects are acquired, engagement and participatory design methods, and constraints that arise in public interest design projects.
Tuesday, March 3, 6-7pm
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Dietmar Feichtinger
After graduating with honors from the Technical University of Graz in 1988, Dietmar Feichtinger moved to Paris in 1989. In 1994, he established Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes, a studio renowned for its diverse architectural portfolio and a methodology that underscores a deep commitment to both, environmental and societal considerations.
The studio is widely recognized for its groundbreaking architectural designs, particularly in bridge construction. A defining achievement came in 1998 when they won the competition to design the Simone-de-Beauvoir footbridge over the Seine, located directly opposite the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. This stunning 304-meter bridge, featuring a remarkable 190-meter clear span, stands out among Paris’s 37 bridges not only for its technical innovation but also as the only one named in honor of a woman. It was inaugurated by Mayor Bertrand Delanoë on July 13, 2006.
In 2002, the firm was commissioned to design the Jetty, a new architectural pathway connecting visitors to Mont Saint-Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This 1,841-meter-long structure, unveiled in July 2014, blends seamlessly into the landscape, allowing Mont Saint-Michel to regain its island character during high tides.
Although Feichtinger does not consider himself solely a ‘bridge specialist,’ he has designed and overseen the construction of over 20 bridges and footbridges. Notable works include the Three Country Bridge over the Rhine between France and Germany and the Passerelle de la Paix in Lyon. In 2020, his studio completed the Maritime Walkway Aldilonda in Bastia.
In addition to his award-winning architectural practice, Feichtinger has taught at several European universities and, in 2023, was appointed Professor at the Institute of Architecture and Design at the Technical University of Vienna.
Tuesday, March 31, 6-7pm
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Ignacio G. Galán
Ignacio G. Galán is an architect and architectural historian at Barnard College, Columbia University. His work addresses questions of residence, citizenship, and kinship with a focus on nationalism, migration, and disability. He is the author of Furnishing Fascism (2025), editor of Architecture's Kinships (2026), and co-editor of Radical Pedagogies (2021) and After Belonging (2016). He has exhibited his work at various venues, including the Chicago Architecture Biennial (2025), the Venice Architecture Biennale (2014 and 2021), and the Center for Architecture(2022), and has also served as curator of the Oslo Architecture Triennale (2016). His articles have appeared in JSAH,JDH, JAE, modernism+modernity, and Journal of Architecture, amongst others. His work as an architect has been recognized with the Emerging Voices Award (2025) by the AIA NY and is part of the permanent collection of the Pompidou Center.