Gregory Dreicer, Vice President of Exhibitions and Programs at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and Gregory Wessner, Digital Programs and Exhibitions Director at the Architectural League of New York, are AAO's resident experts on creating engaging architecture exhibitions.

At the AAO conference in November 2009, Greg and Greg hosted a popular break-out session about strategies for engaging broad audiences in learning about the design of the spaces and places that surround them through exhibitions.  The session focused on the different possibilities for encouraging learning about the big issues in architecture, infrastructure, and planning.

Be sure to check out the MP3 recording of this session at the bottom of this post.  Enjoy!

Gregory Dreicer, Vice President of Exhibitions and Programs, Chicago Architecture Foundation

Gregory Dreicer is a curator and historian whose explorations of built environment and building technology have received national recognition. He is the former director of Chicken&Egg Public Projects, which was a leading exhibition planning, development, and design firm specializing in social, political, and technological issues. Dreicer worked with organizations including the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, Museum of the City of New York, Smithsonian Institution, and Federal Highway Administration. In the 1990s, Dreicer was a curator at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. He has curated more than 20 exhibitions and his articles have appeared in journals including Perspecta, Culture Technique, History and Technology, and Design Book Review. Dreicer received his PhD from Cornell University’s Department of Science and Technology Studies. He holds an MS in Historic Preservation and a BA, both from Columbia University. Dreicer joined CAF in January 2007.

Gregory Wessner, Digital Programs and Exhibitions Director, Architectural League of New York

Gregory Wessner is the Digital Programs and Exhibitions Director of the Architectural League of New York.  As a curator and editor, he has organized numerous exhibitions, including New New York: Fast Forward, Studio as Muse: Herzog & de Meuron’s Design for the New Parrish Art Museum, 13:100: Thirteen New York Architects Design for Ordos, and, most recently, Toward the Sentient City (with curator Mark Shepard) and New New York 6:1000 Blocks. Publications include 125 Years: The Architectural League of New York, and Travel Reports from the Deborah J. Norden Fund.

In 2006, Wessner initiated a major digital programs initiative for the Architectural League and since that time has produced more than 150 podcasts and short videos.  Wessner is a Level 2 PhD candidate in architectural history at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, where his focus of research is architectural culture and exhibitions.  

He formerly served as Chief Administrator of White Columns and the National Academy School of Fine Arts.

At the inaugural AAO conference, we were so lucky to have Peter Murray, Chairman of Wordsearch and New London Architecture, and the Director of the London Festival of Architecture as a presenter. 

In his session, presented on November 5, 2009, Peter discussed the gulf that separates architects, who are intent on process and internalized professional concerns, from the communities they serve and how to bridge that divide.  The democratization of the planning process in Britain, the interventions of Prince Charles, and 15 years of booming construction have led to an interested, but not always well informed, public.  Peter's presentation focused on the role played by architecture centers, events and festivals, publications, and the internet in helping communicate change in the built environment and promoting better design.

Check out Peter's presentation, and the New London Architecture and London Festival of Architecture brochures he shared with the group.  Be sure to check out the MP3 of Peter's session at the bottom of this post!

Peter Murray, Hon. FRIBA, Chairman, Wordsearch, New London Architecture; Director, London Festival of Architecture

Peter Murray, Hon. FRIBA, trained as an architect but has spent his career in the communication of architecture. He was formerly technical editor of Architectural Design (AD) and then Editor of the weekly newspaper Building Design. He then moved to be Editor and Publisher of the RIBA Journal.  In 1983 he started Blueprint Magazine, the first of the new wave of design and architecture magazines that charted the rise of the creative industries. He has curated a number of major architectural exhibitions including New Architecture - the work of Foster Rogers Stirling at the Royal Academy in 1986, Living Bridges at the Royal Academy in 1996.

He is Chairman of the design and communications consultancy Wordsearch, founder and Exhibitions Director of New London Architecture (NLA), Founder/Director of the London Festival of Architecture and editor in chief of London Property Review magazine. He is author of various architectural books including Contemporary British Architects, New Urban Environments, Living Bridges, The Saga of Sydney Opera House and Architecture and Commerce. He is deputy chairman and honorary secretary of the Bedford Park Society and was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2000.