An Athenaeum symposium explores Philly architecture, now and in the future

With BSR discussion buzzing this season on topics like the new Dilworth Park, or whether we love the Parkway or hate trying to cross it on foot, you might be interested in the Athenaeum of Philadelphia’s annual Roger W. Moss Symposium, coming up on December 6. (AIA members who attend can receive continuing education credits.)

The Athenaeum collection was founded in 1814, and its current home was designed in 1845 as one of Philly’s first brownstones. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1977. Now, its American fine and decorative arts collection spans from 1800-1850, and it specializes in helping everyone from graduate students to museum curators find resources on local architecture and interior design history from the early 1800s through the mid-20th century.

This year’s daylong Roger W. Moss Symposium is titled “Philadelphia Architecture: PRESENT and FUTURE” and features a range of sessions from local luminaries in the field. Pulitzer prize-winning Inquirer Architectural Critic Inga Saffron will kick the day off with “Philadelphia: the Intersection of Architecture and Urbanism.” Daniela Holt Voith and Cameron J. Mactavish of Voith & Mactavish Architects will offer “Innovation within the Context of Tradition.” Other sessions will explore green architecture of the near future and an update on the much-thwarted development of a new residential and commercial space at 205 Race Street.

The annual Roger W. Moss Symposium, “Philadelphia Architecture: PRESENT and FUTURE” ($60, $50 for Athenaeum members, and free for students), is coming up on Saturday, December 6 from 9am-4pm at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 219 S. 6th Street. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, visit the Athenaeum online or call 215-925-2688.