BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:761@ssa.ccny.cuny.edu DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260319T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260319T190000 DTSTAMP:20260126T233310Z URL:https://ssa.ccny.cuny.edu/events/spring-2026-sciame-lecture-series-meg an-nielsen-hegstad/ SUMMARY:Spring 2026 Sciame Lecture Series: Megan Nielsen Hegstad DESCRIPTION:Please RSVP\nThis in-person lecture is part of the Spring 2026 Sciame Lecture Series\, "The Elephant in the Room: Locating Animal Lives i n Buildings\, Cities\, and Landscapes."\n\nMegan Nielsen Hegstad (she/her) : With a passion for people\, animals\, and art\, Megan is a registered ar chitect and exhibit designer with 23 years of experience in creating compl ex zoo and aquarium and guest experience projects that are unforgettable a nd transformative. She has worked with over 4 dozen conservation organizat ions around the world\, on 140+ projects. Megan is a strategic leader guid ing multi-disciplinary teams with creativity\, empathy\, and organizationa l strength. She walks the walk by visiting 85 AZA-accredited institutions and 25 other zoos and aquariums\, volunteering with AIA\, AZA\, TEA\, ZANE \, and IAAPA\, and mentoring as an AZA Creating Successful Exhibits course instructor.\n\n"Natural by Design: Creating Spaces for Conservation\, Cho ice\, and Connection": How can design connect the built and natural enviro nment to create places that are meaningful not just for an individual\, bu t for community\, animals\, and plants? In this talk\, we’ll explore the evolution of design for animals and what lessons about conservation\, cho ice\, and connection can be learned from modern zoo and aquarium design to inform a holistic approach to any project. Forward-thinking zoos and aqua riums not only conserve animals within their care but also contribute to f ield conservation and are vital community hubs. Fulfilling this mission be gins with place. Design has the power to foster conservation of resources and provide a framework for the conservation of both flora and fauna. Unde rstanding human and animal psychology and behavior allows for the integrat ion of autonomy through choice and control\, which improves animal and hum an well-being. Starting the design process by developing message and exper ience goals provides guideposts that inspire moments of connection between humans and animals and indelible memories for the families and friends wh o visit. Together\, designing with conservation\, choice\, and connection in mind can elevate form to purpose to create not just a building but a pl ace within the context of a broader natural system and organizational miss ion.\n\nSuggested Listening and Reading: BRPH Podcast: Optimizing Zoo Prog ramming and Design and BRPH Designing for Neurodiversity: How Can Zoos\, A quariums and Attractions Incorporate Sensory Inclusion to Welcome All?\n\n "The Elephant in the Room: Locating Animal Lives in Buildings\, Cities\, a nd Landscapes" takes its title from the expression “the elephant in the room\,” which originates in the Russian author Ivan Krylov’s 1814 fabl e “The Inquisitive Man.” In the story\, a visitor to a natural history museum becomes so enthralled with countless “birds and beasts” that h e overlooks the largest of them all: a colossal elephant. As the expressio n gained currency\, any reference to real animals gave way to metaphorical ones. The spring 2026 Sciame lecture series takes the idiom literally by addressing the common failure to notice all animals in the built environme nt. In the lecture series\, scholars\, designers\, thinkers\, and activist s cast light on imagining\, designing\, and sharing buildings\, cities\, a nd landscapes with other species.\n\nMaking space for animals in the built environment often requires diverting attention away from our human perspe ctive and desires\, thus troubling our own anthropocentrism and claims abo ut human exceptionalism. More often than not\, the built environment creat es antagonistic\, if not deadly\, conditions for animals. Ballooning const ruction campaigns\, invasive resource extraction for building materials\, and hermetically sealed structures have all decimated animal habitats and killed countless animals. Given the planetary threats of diminishing biodi versity\, the climate crisis\, and health emergencies\, recentering animal lives and human-animal relationships in the built environment is critical to the survival of all animal life.\n\nAll lectures are free\, open to th e public\, and held in the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture Sciame Auditorium. For live captioning\, ASL interpretation\, or access r equests\, please contact ssadean@ccny.cuny.edu.\n\nThis lecture series is made possible by the Spitzer Architecture Fund and the generous support of Frank Sciame ’74\, CEO of Sciame Construction. CATEGORIES:Events,Lectures,Sciame Lectures LOCATION:Sciame Auditorium (Room 107)\, 141 Convent Avenue\, New York\, NY\ , 10031\, United States GEO:40.8177595;-73.95047339999996 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=141 Convent Avenue\, New Yo rk\, NY\, 10031\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Sciame Auditori um (Room 107):geo:40.8177595,-73.95047339999996 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR