The September special 125th anniversary edition of Architectural Record recently featured an article that highlighted forecasts in architecture for the decades ahead. Interviewed were a group of eighteen prominent architects, including two Miami grads that spoke about their visions of the future in the field of architecture.

Alumnus Greg Lynn, who now works in Venice, California, spoke about the paperless future he envisions for architecture. He sees construction workers wearing 3-D goggles that allow you to view what you are supposed to be building. “It’s not a virtual reality, but something much more useful” says Lynn. Lynn graduated from Miami University with a bachelor in environmental design and bachelor in philosophy and also received his master’s in architecture from Princeton. His studio, Greg Lynn FORM defines the cutting edge of design in a variety of fields. His work is in the permanent collections of the most important design and architecture museums in the world including the CCA, SFMoMA, ICA Chicago and MoMA. In 2001, Time Magazine named Lynn as one of the 100 most innovative people in the world for the 21^st century, and Forbes also named him one of the 10 most influential living architects in 2005. He is a studio professor at UCLA’s school of Architecture and Urban Design where he is currently spearheading the development of an experimental research robotics lab.

Meng Yan, who received his masters degree in Architecture from Miami, now works in Shenzhen, China and believes the future of architecture doesn’t lie in the cities, but within the surrounding countryside. “The countryside has always nurtured our culture; it’s where our poets, painters, and philosophers went to find inspiration” he said. “We need to do that again—to bring people back to the villages, not just as tourists, but to live there and contribute.” Meng Yan (95) received his undergrad from Tsinghua University and is the principal architect and co-founder of URBANUS Architecture and Design Inc. along with two other Miami alumni, Xiaodu Liu (92) and Hui Wang (97). The trio is regarded as one of the most prolific and high quality designers in contemporary architecture.

Architectural Record is a monthly magazine that has been in publication for 125 years and is especially known for its high definition glossy photographs that highlight the stories within the publication.

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