An evening with Cornell University’s most compelling architectural voices –
Simitch + Warke
Andrea Simitch & Val Warke
Architects · Authors · Cornell University Professors
Alaska Design Forum welcomes one of architecture's most dynamic duos for a triple-city tour across Alaska. Andrea Simitch and Val Warke — practicing architects, celebrated authors, and influential professors at Cornell University — bring two distinct and thought-provoking talks to Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.
Please join us for two lectures in one evening: fast-paced, intellectually charged, and delivered by two of the most engaging voices in architectural education today.
Dates & Locations
Anchorage
Wednesday, July 22 · 7:00 PM
Anchorage Museum, Muse Restaurant
625 C Street, Anchorage, AK
Fairbanks
Thursday, July 23 · 6:30 PM
Gather
714 3rd Avenue, Fairbanks, AK
Juneau
Friday, July 24 · 6:00 PM
Amalga Distillery
134 N. Franklin Street, Juneau, AK
The Talks
Andrea Simitch — Sighting Sites
Named one of the 25 Most Admired Educators by Design Intelligence, Andrea has a rare gift: the ability to distill complex architectural ideas into vivid, accessible insight. Her talk explores how we locate, frame, and understand the built environment — and what it means to truly see a site.
Val Warke — The Treachery of Explanations
Where does architecture end and philosophy begin? Val's work sits at that charged intersection. A theorist, critic, and architect, he challenges assumptions about how we articulate — and perhaps misrepresent — what buildings mean. Expect ideas that linger.
About the Speakers
Andrea Simitch and Val Warke are architectural professors at Cornell University and practicing architects based in Ithaca, New York, with frequent residencies at the Cornell in Rome Program. Andrea teaches architectural design, representation, and furniture design. Val teaches architectural design, theory and criticism, and fiber science and apparel design.
Together, they co-authored The Language of Architecture: 26 Principles Every Architect Should Know — a seminal text in architectural education.
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NOTEABLE PAST SPEAKERS
Thom Mayne
Wolfgang Buttress
James Turell
Andy Goldsworthy
Peter Eisenman
Juhani Pallasmaa
Karen Finley
James Carpenter
Rick Joy
Peter Zumthor
Shigeru Ban
David Chipperfield
Karim Rashid
Yves Behar
Stefan Sagmeister
David Adjaye
Einar Jarmund
Claesson Koivisto Rune
Cameron Sinclair
Jakob Trollback
Jessica Hische
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