PHILADELPHIA – A new dialogue about design in historic cities, beginning with Philadelphia, gets underway this fall with Gray Area: Provocations on the Future of Preservation, Wednesday, October 19 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Center for Architecture (1218 Arch St). Gray Area brings together a panel of nationally recognized, forward thinking architects, preservationists and urban planners for a conversation about preservation, produced as part of DesignPhiladelphia’s citywide celebration championing innovative design practices, with support from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Heritage Philadelphia program.

Admission to Gray Area is free. Advance registration is encouraged. To RSVP, visit www.grayarea.eventbrite.com. All attendees will receive a free limited-edition catalog of case studies and commissioned works that reflect the concepts explored in Gray Area. The production of the catalogue is supported in part by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Pew Fellowship in the Arts.  

Gray Area will offer a look at preservation practices amid new economic realities, demographic shifts, technological changes, environmental pressures and myriad fast-changing factors. Panelists include:

• Tod Williams of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in New York
• Enrique Norten of TENARQUITECTOS in Mexico City
• Lloyd Alter, the Toronto-based editor of Architecture and Design, TREEHUGGER.com
• Mark Alan Hughes, distinguished senior fellow, School of Design, University of Pennsylvania and founding director, Greenworks
• Susan Szenasy, editor in chief, Metropolis, the award-winning New York City-based magazine of architecture and design
• Randall Mason, chair, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

Brian Phillips, principal at Philadelphia’s Interface Studio Architects and a recipient of a 2011 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, is the principal Gray Area curator, along with Project Manager Elise Vider of Elise Vider Editorial Services and Hilary Jay, founding director of DesignPhiladelphia.

“The title Gray Area is a reflection of the nuances and inherent tension between preserving the past and embracing the future,” says Brian Phillips. “The project doesn’t aspire to provide definitive answers, but rather to provoke and address fundamental questions that are relevant to cities around the world, using Philadelphia as a point of departure.”

“We will consider how, for example, can Philadelphia best use its historic built environment as a catalyst for design invention, innovation and experimentation,” continued Phillips. “What is worth preserving – neighborhoods, landscapes, buildings, interiors, stories? How can we create new ways of looking at old buildings? How do we protect Philadelphia’s greatest asset, its unique urban character? And what are the connections among preservation, environmental sustainability, emerging technologies and economic development?”

DesignPhiladelphia, in partnership with the University of the Arts, showcases Philadelphia’s strong creative communities through more than 150 exhibitions, workshops, studio tours, lectures and parties that celebrate design’s many dimensions, dynamics and applications. DesignPhiladelphia will take place in unique venues and spaces throughout the city from October 13-23, 2011. Visit www.designphiladelphia.org to learn more.

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