Architecture in the Fourth Dimension: Methods and Practices for a Sustainable Building Stock was an international conference held at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, Massachusetts from Nov. 15 through Nov. 17, 2011.

Please visit www.open-building.org for further information about the Open Building Commission and for information regarding the 18th annual meeting, to be held in Beijing in the fall of 2012.

The conference was the 17th annual meeting of the CIB Commission on Open Building Implementation and also served as the annual meeting for the CIB Commission on Informal Settlements and Affordable Housing. The annual conferences bring leading academics, practioners, and industry leaders from all over the world into a single forum and is considered to be one of the forefront events in the world addressing the subject of Open Building.

The conference - embedded in the 2011 Build Boston building and design industry trade show- engaged participants in considering architecture as a long-term investment imbued with the capacity for incremental change. The conference focused both on residential and healthcare architecture, and their potential intersection. Building for the long haul is an urgent societal agenda and a vital part of the goal of a sustainable built environment. But preparing buildings to last while adapting to inevitable change is not easy. New methods, business practices, policies and attitudes are called for.

The conference immersed participants in:
- Keynote lectures by Dietmar Eberle of Baumschlager and Eberle, Stephen Kieran of Kieran Timberlake, Phil Nedin of ARUP, Giorgio Macchi of Canton Bern, Tedd Benson of Bensonwood Homes, and Liu Yanhui of China Architecture Design and Research Group.
- Panel discussions led by Dr. Sarah Slaughter, President, Built Environment Coalition and William Porter, FAIA and former Dean, MIT School of Architecture and Planning.
- Seminars addressing open building issues in healthcare and housing
- Paper Sessions, with expert presenters representing every continent in the world.
- Exhibits of exemplary built projects
- Exbibit and presentation of student competition winners
- Exhibit and presentation of work from charettes conducted within local architecture firms Cannon Design, Payette, and Shepley-Bulfinch

For More Information:
Final Program - PDF
Paper Session Schedule - PDF

For a more comprehensive primer on open building and its current themes, please visit our 'What is Architecture in the Fourth Dimension' page and the document New Challenges for the Open Building Movement".

For more information contact openarch@bsu.edu