UIUC graduates Patricia Saldana Natke and Kari Berg were both participants at the 2019 UIUC School of Architecture Women’s Reunion + Symposium.
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UrbanWorks’ EJ Fernandez and Patricia Saldaña Natke were delighted to participate as Keynote Speakers on “Architecture for Social Change” at UIC Arquitectos & UIUC H.O.U.S.E. Resume & Portfolio Day, held at the UIC Architecture Building on February 16th. The event included students, faculty, alums, and Chicago professionals for mock interviews and networking.
On November 12th, UrbanWorks’ President, Patricia Saldaña Natke, gave a guest lecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her lecture, titled “Architecture: Provoking Social Change,” shed light on Pat’s early years in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, which informed her career as a designer, and led Pat to focus both on design, and how design solutions can become societal solutions. Read more
UrbanWorks’ Robert Natke, following his presentation at NeoCon East in November 2016, has been invited to present “It’s Not Business As Usual: Academic Places Go Through Compression and Change Providing Design Challenges and Successes” at NeoCon in Chicago on June 12, 2017 at 4 p.m. This design show, now in its 49th year at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, will feature exhibitions from over 500 companies, as well as almost 100 CEU seminars for an anticipated audience of over 50,000 design professionals. Read more
UrbanWorks has been named Member of the Month for April 2017 by the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA). HACIA «works to ensure the equitable participation of its constituents in the construction industry,” with a focus on Minority and Female-owned firms, “while also promoting the growth, quality of work, professionalism and integrity of these individuals and businesses.” As part of this honor, Patricia Saldaña Natke, UrbanWorks’ Design Principal, will be recognized at HACIA’s monthly meeting in April. Juan Calahorrano, HACIA’s Director of Operations, released in a statement that HACIA «is proud to recognize UrbanWorks Ltd; an HACIA member since 1998, in its April 2017 Membership Meeting. HACIA recognizes the hard work, determination and contribution that UrbanWorks and its Principal Patricia Saldaña Natke AIA have made to HACIA and the construction community through the years.» Read more
UrbanWorks was a Featured Partner Firm as part of the University of Chicago’s 8th Annual Professional Services Symposium. The event, held by the University’s Office of Business Diversity, is an opportunity for senior leaders at the University to network and build sustainable relationships with minority and women owned firms. In a “Fireside Chat” between NBC5 Chicago’s Marion Brooks and UofC President Robert J. Zimmer, the President affirmed the University’s commitment to a diverse professional services vendor pool by saying, «Diversity and Inclusion-we need to do more, not less.»
Robert Natke, UrbanWorks’ Principal, will present “It’s Not Business As Usual: Academic Places Go Through Compression and Change Providing Design Challenges and Successes” at NeoCon East on November 9, 2016. NeoCon East is the “premier design expo and conference for interiors on the East Coast” and will include 25+ CEU seminars and 200+ exhibitors over two days, November 9th and 10th, in Philadelphia, PA. Rob will be joined by Dr. Lennie Scott-Webber, owner & principal at INSYNC Education Research + Design, in a discussion moderated by Dr. Holly Cline, professor and department of design chair at Radford University. Read more
Robert Natke, UrbanWorks’ Principal presents «A2: Automobiles + Architecture» at PuchaKucha Vol. 39: 20×20 on September 6, 2016 at Martyrs 3855 N. Lincoln in Chicago. 8pm – 10:30 pm. PechaKucha is a presentation style which began in Tokyo. 20 images are shown, each for 20 seconds. They are informal gatherings where creative people get together and share ideas, works, and thoughts. PechaKucha Nights happen in over 900 cities. Rob will highlight the intrinsic links of automobiles and architecture in his life. Read more
Patricia Saldaña Natke was a speaker at TEDx UChicago, on April 30, 2016 at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Hall. The theme of this year’s conference was On the Margins, which focused on “the grey area between established knowledge and new theory”. Pat’s lecture, “Architecture & Design: Renewing the Social Agenda”, spoke to her view that architectural solutions can be, and ought to be, societal solutions. Her talk included highlights of UrbanWorks’ Pilsen Master Plan, La Casa Student Housing, and Re-Imagining the South Branch of the Chicago River. Video from that presentation can now be accessed online HERE.
Patricia Saldaña Natke, Maria Pellot and Ameera Ashraf-O’Neil joined Chicago-area residents in On the Table discussions in May 2016. Patricia participated in the conversation, “The State of Civic Engagement in Chicago” led by New Civics Chicago; Maria Pellot participated in “Envisioning Equitable Communities” led by Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.; and Ameera participated in “Creative Solutions to House and Feed all Chicagoans” led by the Society of Architectural Historians. On the Table is sponsored by Chicago Community Trust and is an annual forum designed to elevate civic conversation, foster new relationships and create a unifying experience across the Chicago-area. Thousands of residents participated in small-group conversations intended to inspire new ways to work together to make communities stronger, safer and more dynamic.