October Global Design Series

We are excited to announce the Global Design Series, presented monthly by AIA Santa Barbara.

October 9th, 6:00pm - 7:30pm

Drinks and Snacks provided

1 LU pending

We are delighted to invite you to the third session of our “Global Design Series”, a continuous series of inspiring discussions.

Living Between Inside and Out: Exploring how climate and culture shape lived experience in architecture from Bangladesh to Santa Barbara

This talk explores the art and craft of climate-responsive architecture in Bangladesh and beyond through the lens of place-making, where buildings breathe with their surroundings and dissolve the boundary between inside and outside. We will examine elements of traditional vernacular architecture such as courtyards, verandahs, and shaded passages and their adaptation into critical/regional modernism, looking at them not only as technical strategies for passive design but also at their place-making aspect and how beautifully these spaces are inhabited.

We will study works where architects wove landscape and building into a seamless whole, allowing nature to become an active participant in daily life-works where modernism got adapted to regional and contextual characteristics. In these projects, architecture is not imposed upon the environment but responds sensitively to climate, creating settings aligned to the rhythms of living in their context.

Through photographs, drawings, stories, and the presenter’s own observations, we will see how architecture is often shaped by what is not built but complemented by what is built: a shaded veranda where light and rain play , a courtyard where neighbors gather, a corridor where a breeze carries the scent of plumeria and offers a pause between classes. These spaces are more than sustainable - they are alive, adaptive, and deeply tied to culture.

By connecting these lessons to Santa Barbara’s Mediterranean climate and lifestyle, the session invites us to imagine architecture as place-making: responsive to nature and generous to its people.

Thank you to Friends of State Street & RRM Design Group for sponsoring this event!

Sponsorship & Presenting Inquiries

Interested in sponsoring a Global Design Series event? Please send sponsorship inquiries to ivonneschley@aiasb.com. Donations of any size are welcome and will go toward refreshments and other event expenses.

Interested in presenting? Please contact Raphael at rwendt@abdesignstudioinc.com or Sreypich at sly@appleton-architects.com.