Events

This session begins with a strategic update from the UNC Charlotte School of Architecture Director, outlining the School's current initiatives and alignment with AIA priorities in education, professional development, and global engagement.

The majority of the presentation features the 2025 Traveling Fellowship recipient's research, Dense Dreams, a comparative field study of Tokyo, Shenzhen, and Chongqing. Through photography and film-based documentation, the presentation examines how each city responds to extreme urban density through transit infrastructure, vertical development, and public space design.

By contrasting structured density, hyper-planned expansion, and vertically layered urbanism, the session explores how infrastructure shapes movement, human interaction, and architectural adaptation. Speakers will discuss how these global models can inform resilient, safe, and human-centered planning and design strategies in American practice contexts.