Design in the Humanities: New Fusions between Philosophy and Technology

Architect, aesthetic theorist and Assistant Dean of the Yale School of Architecture Mark Foster Gage will present his thoughts on the state of contemporary design through select projects from his innovative New York City firm, Mark Foster Gage Architects. Projects presented will range from a new Live Arts building at Bard College; to a private library on the site of a Templar Chapel in Shropshire, England to a dress for Lady Gaga. In this presentation Gage will present a behind-the-scenes look into the philosophical, social and advanced technological underpinnings of these projects, many of which have been exhibited internationally at locations including in the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Venice, Rotterdam, and Beijing Biennials.

Mark Foster Gage has been practicing architecture professionally since 2001. After practicing as a founding partner of Gage / Clemenceau Architects from 2001-2013, he founded Mark Foster Gage Architects in 2014. His innovative design work has been published in venues such as Vogue, Fast Company, The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and on PBS, Fox and MTV. Mr. Gage has received recognition in the form of nominations or awards from various institutions including the Architectural League of New York, the American Institute of Architects, The Chernikhov Foundation, The Ordoz Prize Foundation, and the USA Artists Fellows Program, and was named an “Avant Guardian of Architecture” by Surface Magazine. Mr. Gage combines his unique background as a classically trained architect, protégé of Robert A.M. Stern, and studio assistant to Frank Gehry into a practice that combines the best design techniques of the past with the emerging technologies of tomorrow. 

Mr. Gage is a tenured professor, and Assistant Dean at the Yale School of Architecture where he has taught since 2001. Prior to teaching at Yale, he taught at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, The Institute for the Study of Classical Architecture and he recently lead a think-tank on Computational Aesthetics at the Royal Danish Academy. He has lectured in the United States and abroad on his design work, emerging trends in design, and his technological contributions to the field of architecture. Gage has written extensively on architecture and design in academic and popular publications including The Journal of Architectural Education, Volume, Fulcrum, Mole, Perspecta, and Log, among others. He has published several books including Composites, Surfaces and Software: High Performance Architecture (Yale, 2012); Aesthetic Theory: Essential Texts for Architecture and Design (WW Norton & Company, 2011). 

Mark Foster Gage Architects combines the assets of a fully licensed architecture firm with unique and pioneering expertise in emerging technologies and interdisciplinary collaborations. These expertise arm the practice with the ability to produce a wider spectrum of possible solutions for clients than is afforded to typical architectural practices.