James Didier Symposium returns to Judson
The Judson University Department of Architecture and the Association for Christians in Architecture will host the fifth annual James Didier Symposium On Christ & Architecture from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, and 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, in the Herrick Chapel, 1151 N. State St., Elgin.
Judson's Architecture Department will partner with the ACA, www.acaconnect.org, a national nonprofit that establishes student-led chapters at universities across America for the purpose of connecting architecture students with Christian architecture practitioners for discipleship and service.
This annual symposium brings together architects, educators, theologians and students for special essays and discussions around subjects of architecture, the built environment and a Christian worldview. James Didier, the symposium's namesake, was Judson's fourth president under whom the architecture program was founded.
This year's symposium will include an impressive roster of featured guest speakers who will take on challenging and relevant topics:
• "Places of the Heart: How We Learn to Love" at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15. Calvin College professor of philosophy and author James K.A. Smith will address the Judson community, including architecture students and faculty, visiting architects, arts professionals, as well as place-based and home schooling educators.
He will explain what you may know intuitively, that character is formed from what you learn to love. In choosing habits, more powerful than facts, you direct yourself to practices. These practices can be rooted in places and form community character.
• "Century of the City: Theological Reflections on the Possibilities and Limitations of 21st Century Urbanism" at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15. Noah Toly is the associate professor of Urban Studies and Politics & International Relations and director of the Urban Studies Program at Wheaton College. He is also the senior fellow for Global Cities at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and director of the Center for Urban Engagement.
In 2011, he was named an "Emerging Leader" by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and for 2012-2013, he was appointed as a senior fellow at the University of Chicago's Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion.
He is also a member of the steering committee for the Thriving Cities Project at the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. His research and teaching interests include urban and environmental politics and ethics.
• "Practicing Presence: Shaping the Places that Shape Us" at 8:45 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16. Calvin College's Smith will draw from his seminar "Seeking the Welfare of the City: Urban Altruism and Loving our Neighbor(hood)s" to challenge the audience to love their neighborhoods and seek the commonwealth of communities.
• "New Town of Cayalà, Guatemala," at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16. Maria Fernanda Sánchez and Pedro Pablo Godoy, both of Estudio Urbano, in Guatemala City, are master planners with Léon Krier and supervising and town architects of the new town of Cayalá. The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art honored Cayalá with its 2016 Arthur Ross Award for Civic Design.
The Friday afternoon-themed sessions will be hosted by Taylor Smith of the Association of Christians in Architecture.
At 1 p.m., James Gray of Cornice & Rose, Barrington, will speak of how a community is made in "Building a Legacy."
At 2 p.m., Judson alumna Hilary Mork, an intern at Chicago's J. Lawton Thies Architects, will speak on "Building Community in Beauty."
At 2:45 p.m., Rachel Peterson, a senior architecture student, will discuss how her experience of places have formed her dreams of building communities.
At 4 p.m. James K.A. Smith concludes the symposium with a call for action.
General admission is $20 and includes two-day attendance and a catered box lunch on Friday. The alumni rate is $10 for two-day attendance and a catered box lunch on Friday. To register, log on to judson.edu.