Webinar: Project Soane with RAMSA's Melissa DelVecchio

The demolition of Sir John Soane’s Bank of England is considered one of architecture’s greatest losses. Soane worked on the labyrinthine complex for 45 years, from 1788 to 1833, designing dramatic spaces with neoclassical forms, natural light, and effects of scale. The bank’s interiors were demolished in the 1920s to make way for Herbert Baker’s larger bank, which occupies the London site today, and generations of architects have had to rely on an incomplete set of floor plans, drawings, models, and historical photographs to study Soane’s most important commission. But what if architects today could virtually experience Soane’s sequences of spaces at the bank and the experiential quality of moving through them? This question was the basis of Project Soane, a worldwide crowdsourced BIM reconstruction and rendering competition organized by RAMSA, HP, Autodesk, NVIDIA, CASE, CGarchitect, and Sir John Soane’s Museum and Foundation in 2015. Using Revit, participants around the world modeled four spaces in the bank. Melissa DelVecchio, partner at Robert A.M. Stern Architects, will discuss the modeling and visualization tools used during the competition, the variety and creativity of the renderings produced, and possibilities for Project Soane’s future.

Melissa DelVecchio is a partner at Robert A.M. Stern Architects. She is the design lead for many of the firm’s most complex academic and institutional projects, and directs the Research Department. Building upon her education that included an intensive study of classical architecture and a subsequent immersion into contemporary design, her work synthesizes tradition and invention, reinforcing the many visual, social, environmental, and cultural influences that give places identity and meaning. Melissa’s projects include two new residential colleges at Yale University and the first LEED Gold-certified academic building in China. She is currently working on the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Schwarzman Center at Yale, a historic Carrère & Hastings’ building that will be transformed into a social hub for the university’s students; and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, the anchor for the University of Notre Dame’s new arts district.

Melissa is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a member of the Richard H. Driehaus Prize jury, the Rafael Manzano Martos Prize jury, and the RAMSA Travel Fellowship jury. She is currently serving as the Robert A.M. Stern Visiting Professor of Classical Architecture at the Yale School of Architecture.

Online Only. Click here to join.
Meeting ID: 974 5374 6966
Passcode: ICAAutah

This event is hosted by an ICAA Chapter. Please check the Chapter website or contact the Chapter directly, for the most up-to-date details including dates, times, and pricing.

What You Will Learn

At the end of the course participants will be able to:

1. Describe how form, light, and scale affects architectural designs, using Sir John Soane’s design of the Bank of England as an example
2. Identify ways that virtual reality can be employed in historic preservation projects and research
3. Analyze how contemporary architectural visualizations can benefit from a deeper understanding of historical precedent
4. Apply digital technology to traditional forms in design

AIA Provider Information

Please click here for additional AIA Continuing Education Provider Information:

Instructional Delivery Method: Live Online Learning Program

Program Level: Introductory

Prerequisites: None required

AIA CES Program Approval Expiration Date: February 9, 2024

Provider Number: G193

Provider Statement: The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number G193. All registered AIA CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider or this learning program may be sent to AIA CES ([email protected] or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3).

This learning program is registered with AIA CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.

AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.