Centerbrook Architect Lecture Series, February 26 at 7 p.m.

ESSEX, CT — Centerbrook Architects Lecture Series: Theodore Sawruk with “Mayhem and Merriment: Contemporary Architecture in Afghanistan” will take place on February 26 at 7 p.m. via Zoom at https://www.youressexlibrary.org/adult-services/adults-featured-events/.

The illustrated, FREE lecture will be a compelling look at Afghanistan's ancient cities, specifically Herat which has been a settlement for over 2,500 years.

Sawruk, Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Hartford, first entered Herat, he was confronted by a stylistic collage of architectural fabrications which rivaled the fantastic world of Tim Burton or the retro-fitted future of Ridley Scott. The texture of Herat has changed dramatically from the Beaux Arts Classicism associated with the British period and the International Style modernism imposed during the Russian occupation. To locals, the opulent “Persian palaces” stand as visual oases against the harsh, unforgiving landscape.

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Join Sawruk for an in-depth look at Herat’s architecture. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie-Mellon University and his Graduate Diploma in Architectural History and Theory from the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London England. Associate Professor Sawruk is a full-time academic with the University of Hartford, Department of Architecture, teaching in the graduate program. He has previously served as an Assistant Professor of Architecture at various institutions, including Hampton University, Southern Polytechnic University, University of Arkansas, and Drury College. Recently, Sawruk has been working jointly with American and Afghan faculty and administrators to establish a new architecture degree program at Herat University, Afghanistan.

This lecture is free and open to the public. For more information or to register, please call the Essex Library at (860) 767-1560 or https://www.youressexlibrary.org/adult-services/adults-featured-events/.