Mar 27th 2017

Dean's Lecture Series: Wiel Arets

Wiel Arets, Dean of IIT College of Architecture, will deliver a lecture on Mon., April 3 at 6 p.m. in S.R. Crown Hall.

Arets, who recently announced his deanship at IIT will conclude at the end of the current academic year, will explore the notion of ‘Making’ in his lecture. In addition to leading the College of Architecture at IIT, Arets is the principal of the globally active architecture firm, Wiel Arets Architects, with offices located in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. 

Previously the Dean of the Berlage Institute in the Netherlands, Arets began at IIT College of Architecture in autumn 2012. His first initiatives as Dean included the restructuring and streamlining of the school’s numerous degree programs; the publication of NOWNESS – a roadmap for the school’s future; the introduction of the Cloud Studio; the establishment of the MCHAP, Mies Crown Hall Americas Price, the award for the best architecture in the Americas; and implementation of PROTOCOL–a digital interactive platform, a digital archive, communication tool for students and faculty, and facilitator and enabler of a new model for architectural education of the twenty-first century. 

NOWNESS charted the school’s refocused path forward. It announced the College of Architecture’s numerous new plans, including the MCHAP, the Louis Vuitton Student Spark Award, and instituted lectures and debates at IIT Architecture Chicago, connecting architects, educators, and thinkers–all globally engaged with architecture’s future, rooted in technology, the metropolis, and the urban landscape. Arets’ "Re-thinking Metropolis" theme reached a diverse audience and relayed architecture’s multidisciplinary nature.

Under Arets, the College developed a new publication office as a critical communication and marketing spine, vital to documenting and sharing the ideas emanating from significant events to the school’s global network. Dean Arets’ leadership has pointed the way forward for schools of architecture and built a strong framework for the College of Architecture’s future academic years.