The lecture series brings together architects and scholars who redefine the capacity of architectural aesthetics in engaging with the world. Recent examples of architectural engagement frequently reduce the architect’s role to that of a problem solver. Offering an alternative role, this series investigates new practices within architecture that showcase the architect as not merely a respondent, but as an active agent capable of building new ideas and languages as they relate to the city, the environment, and geography. The focus of these lectures establishes a new commons—that is, a ground for forging new and more productive relationships between aesthetics and engagement.A 6 p.m. wine reception precedes each lecture.Speaker: Xaveer De Geyter Principal, XDGA Architects, Brussels, BelgiumReception Sponsor: Leslie Elkins Architecture and D.E. Harvey Builders