Lecture: The Case for More - Context, Density, and the Adaptive City 

Monday, November 16, 2026
5:15pm - 6:30pm CT

1 HSW CEU Credit will be offered
Thomson Hall (Room 202), Richardson Memorial Hall
Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118

This lecture is open to the public.

Invited lecture "The Case for More: Context, Density, and the Adaptive City" will be presented by Gregg Pasquarelli, Founding Principal of SHoP Architects. This lecture is part of the Fall 2026 Lecture Series and Public Programs: "Emergency: Planning and Adaptation."

LECTURE SUMMARY

As cities confront the urgent challenge of continued growth amid the climate crisis, architects must reconsider how and where we build. Gregg Pasquarelli, Founding Principal of SHoP Architects, will explore how context and density can serve as powerful tools for sustainable design in response to this problem. This lecture will consider density not simply as a measure of how much we build, but as an opportunity to create more connected, resource-efficient, and resilient cities. By drawing on SHoP projects such as The Brooklyn Tower, 111 West 57th Street, and Uber Headquarters, Pasquarelli will examine how architecture can respond to specific site conditions while utilizing density to support more sustainable patterns of urban life. From transforming underutilized sites and concentrating development around transit to integrating buildings into existing neighborhoods and historic structures, these projects demonstrate how decisions about scale, context, and urban form can have environmental impact beyond the building itself. 

This lecture is supported by An Allen Eskew Endowed Fund.

ABOUT THE LECTURER

Gregg Pasquarelli, FAIA, is a Founding Principal of SHoP Architects. For more than two decades, he has been at the forefront of a collaborative, innovative practice that creates new models for design, master planning, and real estate development—work that has reshaped urban contexts and transformed communities. 

Gregg has led many of SHoP’s most complex and high-profile projects, including Barclays Center, the East River Waterfront Esplanade and Pier 17, the American Copper Buildings, and 111 West 57th Street—the second-tallest tower in Manhattan—all of which have made lasting contributions to the life and character of New York City. His current work spans the globe, from Fulbright University Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City and Volvo’s new headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, to the Metropolitan Park complex in Queens, towers in Rotterdam, Miami, New Delhi, Washington, Batumi, and Mumbai, and the recently completed Brooklyn Tower, the tallest building outside Manhattan. 

A frequent lecturer and widely published voice in the profession, Gregg has held chaired professorships at Yale, Columbia, and the University of Virginia over the past three decades. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a recipient of the Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, and an Academician of the National Academy of Design. 

The diverse, trendsetting work of SHoP has earned international recognition, including the Smithsonian’s National Design Award for Architecture, Firm of the Year from AIA New York, the Chicago Athenaeum’s Firm of the Year Award, and placement of SHoP’s designs in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York. 

Questions? Please reach out to Ben Neal at bneal1@tulane.edu.