dimensions of architecture in socio-economically vulnerable urban environments. While aligned with the utopian aspirations of a growing cadre of idealist, contemporary practices, the effort self-consciously negotiates the oft contradictory paradigms of architecture's recent social turn. The lecture will introduce the studio's exploratory methods, which with measured optimism aim to transform contextual susceptibilities into collective affordances.

Anya Sirota is co-founder and director of the Detroit-based architecture studio Akoaki. Through a distinct synthesis of aesthetics, social enterprise, and cultural programming, the experimental practice has established a reputation for innovation in the urban realm. The work of the studio has been published in numerous international magazines including Frame, Architect, Future Anterior, ArtNews, and Monu, among others; featured in recent exhibitions at the Vitra Design Museum, the St Etienne International Design Biennale, and the Chicago Cultural Center; and distinguished with the Architecture League Prize, the SXSW Eco Place by Design Award, and the R+D Award from Architect Magazine. In parallel to her research and practice, Sirota is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, where she teaches architecture and urban design, while concurrently directing the Michigan Architecture Preparatory Program.