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Latin American architecture, heritage and urban planning scholar, Professor Roberto Segre, will deliver a series of public lectures in Auckland and Wellington in July.

Professor Segre, who visits New Zealand as a University of Auckland Seelye Charitable Trust Fellow, will be hosted by the University’s National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries (NICAI) and the New Zealand Centre for Latin American Studies (NZCLAS).

Over the month of July Professor Segre, currently Professor of Architecture at the Federal University of Rio De Janeiro, UFRJ, will deliver a series of public lectures and key note addresses in Auckland and Wellington.

His first public lecture, “Colonial tradition, historicism, and modernism: a particular view of Brazilian architectural heritage” will open the SAHANZ conference (Society of Architectural Historians of Australia and New Zealand). The conference is hosted by NICAI’s School of Architecture and Planning.

In his second public lecture, “New trends in contemporary Latin American Architecture”, Professor Segre will examine the rise, over the past two decades, of a new generation of Latin American architects and planners who offer original solutions for contemporary social needs. The lecture will be repeated in Wellington the following evening.

Professor Segre will also deliver two keynote addresses at “Cities, memories and the challenges of the future: an interdisciplinary symposium on Latin America”. Drawing on his vast experience and scholarship of Cuba, the lectures will explore the significance of sculptures and monuments in Havana, where public art has developed over time as an expression of religion, warfare, class and, most recently, of urban daily life.

“The role of Brazilian architecture and urbanism in the 20th century is well recognised internationally today. However there is little discussion of the roots and developments of contemporary Latin American architectural practice in New Zealand, which tends to look to northern architectural references. But with pressures mounting to produce more sustainable design solutions, we can revisit and learn many lessons from the modernist Brazilian architecture of the 1930’s onwards,” says Senior Lecturer Rosangela Tenorio of NICAI’s School of Architecture and Planning.

The final hour of the symposium will offer a special public recital by Latin American vocalist Alda Rezende and pianist Jonathan Crayford. They will perform a mix of Brazilian popular music (MPB) and Latin American classics.

Professor Segre will also give the opening address at “Latin American Architecture & Urbanism”, a day-long workshop in Auckland. Aimed at students of architecture and Latin American studies, the workshop will comprise a series of talks spanning Brazilian modernist architecture, contemporary cities and the socio-economic and environmental aspects of urban spaces. A Brazilian architecture exhibition, Brazil Studio (UNITEC), will open in the morning, followed by discussions around the documentary about Oscar Niemeyer, Breath of Air (courtesy of the Brazilian Embassy). Invited experts in Latin American Studies from The University of Auckland, Victoria University and UNITEC will join the discussions.

To view the full programmes of these events and to register visit www.creative.auckland.ac.nz