The Physical City

Keynote: Nikil Saval

From skyscrapers to standing desks, acclaimed writer, editor, and journalist Nikil Saval explores the changing nature of work. Why we are stuck in cubes, staring at computer screens, and getting only moderate outside light? What are the emerging spaces and styles of work spaces in the modern city? And how can we better choose office layouts and furnishings to meet our needs?

An editor of n+1, Nikil approaches the workplace with meticulous insight and from an array of angles—architecture, furniture, psychology, management fads and foolishness, office politics, office sexuality, the mistreatment of women, and the ever-changing fluid boundaries between work and home life, among other topics. At core, Nikil is an invigorating storyteller and takes us on a cutting-edge tour of what it means to enrich our physical and internal environments with creativity and greatness.

Moderator: Mark Lamster

Mark Lamster is the award-winning architectural critic of The Dallas Morning News and a professor in the architecture school at the University of Texas at Arlington. He is the author of several books and is currently at work on a biography of the late architect Philip Johnson, to be published by Little, Brown.

Panelist: Kate Canales

Kate Canales is a research professor and the director of design and innovation programs at the Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University. She oversees the popular Innovation Gymnasium program and runs the new master’s degree in design and innovation. She has a background in mechanical engineering, product design, and design research, and much of her recent work has focused on building creative capacity inside organizations.

Panelist: Peer Chacko

Peer F. Chacko, AICP, has worked for the City of Dallas for 16 years and was appointed chief planning officer and director of the Department of Planning and Urban Design of the City of Dallas in October 2015. He is responsible for knitting together planning disciplines from departments related to land use, urban design, transportation, housing, and community development. He is charged with re-orienting these functions to focus on strategic neighborhood revitalization and enhancing quality of life throughout the city through a strong emphasis on collective impact, community engagement, and design.

Panelist: Inga Saffron

Inga Saffron is the architecture critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She received the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism in 2014 and had the pleasure of being a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in 2011-12. Her work has appeared in The New Republic, Landscape Architecture Magazine, and Metropolis.

Panelist: Ron Stelmarski

Ron Stelmarski, AIA, LEED AP, is the design director for the Texas practice of Perkins+Will. He is an award-winning, multi-faceted designer recognized for his collaborative, hands-on style that combines research with a highly creative interdisciplinary team. His deep engagement with Dallas is demonstrated in the design of The Richards Group headquarters, Bishop Lynch High School, Deep Ellum Mixed-Use Master Plan, Methodist Dallas Trauma Tower, and University of Dallas College of Business. Mr. Stelmarski’s civic projects include Fire Station 27, Singing Hills Recreation Center, and Preston Royal Library.