Architectures and Ecologies of Amazonia

Threatened by deforestation, fire, and drought, the Amazon rainforest, which spans nine countries, is home to more than thirty million people. It is the ancestral homeland of more than one million Indigenous peoples and supports the greatest concentration of biodiversity on Earth. In the face of the widespread socio-environmental challenges we currently face, along with the existential threat of crossing the environmental tipping point of the Amazon rainforest, the symposium aims to share lessons that the study of the Amazon can teach us about climate action, coexistence, and the built environment.

The symposium is organized by Vanessa Grossman, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, and Catherine Seavitt, Meyerson Professor of Urbanism and Chair, Department of Landscape Architecture, in collaboration with Fernando Lara, Professor, Department of Architecture and Kristina Lyons, Associate Professor of Anthropology. A parallel exhibition of student work will be held in the Mezzanine Gallery of Meyerson Hall from February 7 through May 1, 2025. The exhibition is designed by Jonathan Bonezzi and Ryan Lane Thomas.

Architectures and Ecologies of Amazônia is co-hosted by the Department of Architecture, the Department of Landscape Architecture, and the McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology. The symposium has also received generous support from several programs and initiatives across the University, including the Perry World House International Visitors Grant Program, the Department of Anthropology, the Center for Experimental Ethnography, the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies, and Native American and Indigenous Studies at Penn.

If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as live captioning, audio description, or a sign language interpreter, please email [email protected]. Please note, we require at least five (5) business days’ notice.

The event will be hosted in the Kleinman Energy Forum on the 4th floor of the Fisher Fine Arts Library.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Fisher Fine Arts Library, 220 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, United States