July 7, 2010: The Institute for Public Architecture

There are a few architects whose focus is not on profit, but rather on service to the public. To further this Social Contract architects Jonathan Kirschenfeld and Robert Marino have founded the Institute for Public Architecture (IPA)

http://instituteforpublicarchitecture.org/ - a think tank and residential compound to foster independent work by architects and designers.

Think of the American Academy in Rome for architects and artists,

or the MacDowell Colony
http://www.macdowellcolony.org/
 
- and you'll have a good idea of the precursor models for the IPA.

One of the IPA's first civic interventions will be the Portable Street Theater, shown installed at the site of the proposed Jean Nouvell tower next to MoMA on West 53rd Street in New York City:

In our July 7th conversation we will explore the future of civic works, the funding dynamics of public architecture, and the prospects for the location of the IPA campus.

Thanks for listening - speak with you again soon.