As part of the 2018 AIAD:COMMONS monthly programming, AIA Detroit will host a four-part screening and interdisciplinary panel discussion series, focused on four installments of the Netflix-produced documentary, "Abstract: The Art of Design". Screenings will be free and open to the public, and will be followed by a panel discussion and reception in Emagine's private event space. A suggested donation of $5 at the door will support future interdisciplinary and public-facing design programming. Food will be provided, and there will be a cash bar available.

The first in our four-part series will focus on Architecture, explored through a case study on Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. According the series description, "...Bjarke Ingels unites function, fantasy and sustainability in “pragmatic utopian” designs like a clean power plant topped with a ski slope". While the work of many 'starchitects' prompt mixed opinions in the eyes of both the public and the profession, this documentary uses the history of the Bjarke Ingels Group, or "BIG", to explore many contemporary issues facing the built environment today, including sustainability, urban development, housing equality, design thinking, and the future of the design profession.

This event is generously sponsored by Design Core Detroit (formerly DC3), and is in partnership with IIDA Michigan and AIGA Detroit. Emagine Theatre in Royal Oak has generously agreed to host our free and public screening in one of their newly renovated screening rooms, and our reception afterward will take place in their "SkyBox Lounge" with a cash bar, games, and networking.