The end of March at UCU Business School was a remarkable event. For the second year in a row, Barry Katz, who has taught at Stanford for over 40 years and at the California College of the Arts for over 30 years, delivered a lecture entitled «The Architecture of Information: Structure and Symbol in the Age of Data». Professor Katz spoke about the architectural experience of Silicon Valley and how it can be helpful for the postwar restoration of Ukraine.
In the beginning, the lecturer emphasized that since ancient times, empires have used architecture to show the world their power and wealth. Today, this is more true in the context of corporations and global businesses. Buildings and offices reflect the values and soul of companies. They are a cozy place for their employees and a business card for partners from all over the planet. Their appearance symbolizes what is happening inside and also reflects the culture outside.
Then, the professor focused on the experience of Silicon Valley as a place that is the headquarters of the industrial revolution of the 21st century. The most important companies in the world (Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon and others) are located here.
«Silicon Valley is a place where the future is created. It is this region that determines how software, social networks and artificial intelligence will develop. It is famous for inventing things that other countries and companies make money on. There are opportunities for Ukraine to capitalize upon the experiments that are being conducted here».
What do Ukraine and Silicon Valley have in common? Ukraine is a world software leader in many technological ratings. But how to be a more attractive place for employees when the remote work format is gaining momentum? Barry Katz suggests creating comfortable spaces that will express the newborn Ukrainian identity while being a real magnet for people. A campus should look like something that draws employees, not like a mandate to force them to show up physically.
Before building offices in Silicon Valley, their CEOs first tried to think about who they are and then, moved on to create physical structures to express their soul. Ukraine can certainly engage in this kind of thinking.
«It’s a scary but monumental challenge that Ukraine is facing right now. An opportunity that shouldn’t be lost. What is the social environment that you are imagining for the next phase of national existence?»
This approach will help rebuild the state, which is truly a center of innovation and relentless progress. And the right architectural solutions can unite the nation and show the world the values of the whole country.
Professor also emphasized the fact that the Ukrainian diaspora is 6 million refugees in Europe only. At first sight, it’s a catastrophic loss, but it can also be an asset. Ukrainians have a chance to pioneer themselves as the world’s first hybrid nation. And this can be a lesson to the whole planet.
Olena Sozanska, event participant and Key Executive MBA graduate, shared her feedback from the lecture:
«Barry told us about the connection between architecture and its meaning using the examples of Silicon Valley giants, be it Apple Campus, the most expensive office building in the world, Nvidia office, Microsoft office, and Facebook.
Why did Barry highlight how world giants identified themselves through the architecture of their main offices?
We are facing the need to reconstruct Ukraine after the war. And we certainly shouldn’t create new «Disneylands» (for instance, in Warsaw, the same buildings were constructed on the site of completely destroyed ones, but they looked more like faceless decorations). What’s more important is to find our identification in everything, including architecture.
The secret is to perceive tasks the way famous founders and CEOs of trillion-dollar companies did:
- «I want you to find the soul of the Nvidia».
- «I don’t want a monument; I want to foster neighborhoods».
- «I want to create a Google experience».
- «We have a shot at creating the best office building in the world».
Of course, the history of such wealthy companies and the challenges we face right now are different. However, the questions are obvious: Who are we? What is our soul?
This was Berry’s provocation, and in my opinion, it was truly successful as it makes us analyze things on a much deeper level».
Also, apart from this, the professor together with Oleksandr Akymenko taught the Design Thinking course, where participants of master’s programs learned more about design-oriented culture, what is the phenomenon of design thinking and why it is important.
Barry Katz is a visiting lecturer on the MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship program. MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship is the only unique Master’s level program in Ukraine for individuals who are starting their own businesses and making strategic decisions. This program provides systematic knowledge and skills for managing and improving their own business in any field. We remind you that the introduction is ongoing.
We thank the professor for his visit to us and the valuable thoughts and knowledge he shared with the participants.
