Building for the 21st Century
The Building for the 21st Century lecture series offers free noontime lectures, eight or nine times a year, addressing sustainable design and energy-efficient building technologies and construction techniques.
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Building in the Aftermath
Originally created in November 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, this lecture series explores the challenges of rebuilding and the implications for architecture, engineering, preservation, and urbanism in the wake of 9/11 and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
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Charles H. Atherton Memorial Lecture
Dedicated to providing a forum for discourse on the planning and design of Washington, D.C., the Charles H. Atherton Memorial Lecture series commemorates the life and legacy of Charles Atherton, who served for almost four decades as Secretary of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. The program examines the architectural, historical, and natural context of the city and its development to promote visionary planning and design excellence in the nation’s capital.
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Community in the Aftermath
The Alternative Housing Pilot Program (AHPP), funded by FEMA, is a grant competition to develop more useful, readily available, and culturally appropriate post-disaster housing for Hurricane Katrina-ravaged areas. Community in the Aftermath is a three-year series that will explore the AHPP's objectives and follow the progress of the grant recipients.
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D.C. Builds
The National Building Museum celebrates its connection to Washington through the D.C. Builds lecture series, which tackles explores current architectural, planning, and public policy issues affecting the District of Columbia and its surrounding metropolitan region.
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For the Greener Good
A public series that affirms the National Building Museum’s commitment to environmental sustainability. It calls on experts from diverse backgrounds to investigate links between environmental sustainability and design, public health, energy policy, bioscience, infrastructure, education, and even popular culture.
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L'Enfant Lecture on City Planning and Design
The National Building Museum and the American Planning Association (APA) established the annual L'Enfant Lecture on City Planning and Design to draw attention to critical issues in city and regional planning in the United States. The lecture features leading figures in planning, architecture, urban design, governance, and other fields. The lecture series is named for Pierre Charles L’Enfant, who created the acclaimed plan for Washington, D.C.
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Smart Growth
The Smart Growth speaker series, a free, noontime program, is presented in association with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Smart Growth Network. The goal of the series is to promote dialogue and research on sustainable development strategies that preserve community character and protect the environment.
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Spotlight on Design
Spotlight on Design lecture series -- an ongoing program featuring architects and designers of distrinction from around the world. Since its inception in 1997, the series has presented many of the world’s premier design voices in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and design
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Sustainable Communities
Sponsored by United Technologies, "Sustainable Communities," a year-long lecture series, expands on the themes presented in "Green Community" and examines the past, present, and future of sustainable communities.
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Women of Architecture
In partnership with the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, the Museum holds an annual lecture program on the topic of Women of Architecture in conjunction with Women’s History Month. The goal of the Women of Architecture Series is to recognize and celebrate the professional and personal accomplishments of women in the field of architecture.
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