Cocktails & Conversation: Kai-Uwe Bergmann and Diana Darling

Cocktails & Conversation is a series of dialogues about design that brings an architect together with a critic, journalist, curator, or architectural historian to discuss current architecture and urban design issues. For this program, Kai-Uwe Bergmann, Partner at BIG, will join in conversation with Diana Darling over a custom-crafted cocktail.

Speakers:
Kai-Uwe Bergmann, FAIA, Partner, BIG–Bjarke Ingels Group

Moderator:
Diana Darling, CEO/Creative Director, AN Media Group

About the Speakers:
Kai-Uwe Bergmann joined BIG–Bjarke Ingels Group in 2006, and as Partner heads up BIG’s business development of the global firm now working in 40 countries around the world. Based in New York, he oversees BIG’s urban scaled projects, and recently contributed to the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (the BIG U), a plan to protect 10 miles of Manhattan’s coastline as a pro-active response to Superstorm Sandy. Additional projects include Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Queens Park, Smithsonian Master Plan, Pittsburgh Master Plan, Miami Beach Square, and the Penang South Island Master Plan. His work embodies the firm’s BIG LEAP approach, which broadens the definition of what architects can do – to design public spaces as well as buildings, and design systems such as energy, transportation, water management, and the cities they serve. Educated at the University of Virginia and UCLA, Kai-Uwe has taught at Georgia Tech, Pratt, UPenn, UVa, and the IE University in Madrid. He was formerly on the Board of the Van Alen Institute and participates on numerous international design juries.

Diana Darling co-founded The Architect’s Newspaper with William Menking in 2003, and now serves as the AN Media Group’s CEO, Creative Director, and Publisher. The AN Media Group also includes AN Interiors, and the series of Façade+ and Tech+ conferences on high-performance building design and design technologies. She also founded AIA New Practices, a platform for emerging architecture firms. Prior to founding The Architect’s Newspaper, Diana worked in the fashion industry—Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus—focusing on marketing and branding. She was educated at the University of Texas, Austin, and was formerly on the Board of Open House New York (OHNY).

Organized by AIANY Architecture Dialogue Committee