Dr. Eric Nay (B.Arch, Kentucky; M.Arch, Cornell; PhD, Toronto) has practiced architecture in New York City, Chicago and California and held multiple faculty and research appointments in Canada, the US and internationally. Eric teaches architectural history and theory as well as environmental and industrial design studios at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is a tenured Associate Professor at OCAD University in Toronto. His interdisciplinary research deals with a wide range of issues ranging from modern architecture as cultural heritage to decolonization and the geopolitical repercussions lurking beneath the intersection of sustainability, social justice and globalization on both practical and pedagogical levels.
Current work includes a number of international research projects well underway or continuing. Eric has been invited to participate with the Deutsches Nationalkomitee von ICOMOS in Berlin in March in a symposium meant to strategize how to enshrine the ouvre of Architect, Erich Mendelsohn, on the UNSECO World Heritage List with funding provided by the German government and research assistance funded by an OCADU Faculty of Arts & Science Grant. This follows up on his previous research on Le Corbusier's serial UNESCO WH listing (Nay 2018). Eric recently completed a second year as "Architect" working with the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF) participating in the Architecture Connects Program in Dublin, Ireland. This program provides an ongoing collaborative series of in-class workshops and online courses within the Irish secondary school system meant to bring Architects and architecture into classrooms with teachers as collaborators. These programs are led by the IAF and Arts in Junior Cycle| Nah Ealaíonasat Sraith Shóisearach with funding provided by the Government of Ireland, Rialtas na hÉireann; Creative Ireland, Bunaíodh Éire; Arts in Junior Cycle| Nah Ealaíonasat Sraith Shóisearach; and ESCI, Ionaaid Taacaíocht Oideachais na hÉireann. Eric also presented a conference paper in October centred on notions of spatial justice, ironically titled, “In Defense of Defensible Space” at the Policing and Society Conference held at the University of Akureyri in Akureyri, Iceland. Háskólinn á Akureyri. Lastly, along with co-authors: Dr. Karina Landman and Dr. Kundani Makakavhule from the Dept. of Town and Regional Planning, Faculty of Engineering at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, Eric has a book proposal moving very slowly through the review process with Routledge (UK) titled, "The Meaning Of Decolonization in the Built Environment" that is finally moving forward after a year of Covidian delays and distractions.
Sessions in which Eric Nay participates
martes 30 agosto, 2022
Sessions in which Eric Nay attends
domingo 28 agosto, 2022
Explore the banks of the Lachine Canal, the cradle of industry in Canada. Benefiting from access to hydraulic power, maritime and rail transport, large numbers of industrial facilities were built along its length. Thousands of Montrealers have lived and worked there. The banks of the canal are now a linear park, and the site of many residential developments.A walking tour designed and guided by Heritage Montréal. The visit will be in French and will...
Join the conference organisers and TICCIH board members for a welcome cocktail and some festive words of introduction, in the former forge of the École technique de Montréal, founded in 1909, now part of the Université du Québec à Montréal campus.
lunes 29 agosto, 2022
During the Industrial Revolution coal was the most important energy source for both homes and industries. At the time, coal mining created strong regional industrial identities and mentalities, as well as industrial images and imaginaries in the eyes and minds of external observers. Such identities and ideas of coal would go on to shape industrial landscapes and communities.The papers presented in this session investigate the social and economic changes that were triggered by ...
Industrialization processes have been global from their very beginning. However, their interpretation still tends to be limited to specific locations or regions, and to specific time periods. Regularly, for example, it is stated that the industrial revolution started in Europe, from where it spread to the world, supposedly bringing technological and social progress to „less developed“ countries. Earlier periods of technology and knowledge transfer processes, that were already in place in t...
This session is about the “hard facts” of conservation. It aims to draw together technical knowledge from related fields. Industrial conservation specialists rely on specialised knowledge and may sometimes not be aware that there is expertise and proven good or best practice in related fields. The transferring of knowledge from related engineering, construction preservation and architectural conservation specialists can serve the purpose of promoting and securing future preservation of ...
During the Industrial Revolution coal was the most important energy source for both homes and industries. At the time, coal mining created strong regional industrial identities and mentalities, as well as industrial images and imaginaries in the eyes and minds of external observers. Such identities and ideas of coal would go on to shape industrial landscapes and communities.The papers presented in this session investigate the social and economic changes that were triggered by ...
This roundtable will examine innovative and creative pedagogical approaches and partnerships that have created opportunities for experiential learning and community engagement, while enabling successful delivery of programs and courses in industrial heritage. In recent years and with the ongoing situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, undoubtedly online and distance teaching and learning are a top priority. The discussions will offer an analytical dialogue on digital learning strategies and ...
Industrialization processes have been global from their very beginning. However, their interpretation still tends to be limited to specific locations or regions, and to specific time periods. Regularly, for example, it is stated that the industrial revolution started in Europe, from where it spread to the world, supposedly bringing technological and social progress to „less developed“ countries. Earlier periods of technology and knowledge transfer processes, that were already in place in t...
This session presents case studies and policy reviews that contribute to ongoing debate and international dialogue on the role of planning systems and conservation practices in addressing the challenges of citizen engagement—conserving local interests, place attachments alongside physical remnants of industrial heritage. Over the past half century, we have witnessed the development and changing focuses of urban planning and conservation discourses addressing industrial heritage. Relevant p...
During the Industrial Revolution coal was the most important energy source for both homes and industries. At the time, coal mining created strong regional industrial identities and mentalities, as well as industrial images and imaginaries in the eyes and minds of external observers. Such identities and ideas of coal would go on to shape industrial landscapes and communities.The papers presented in this session investigate the social and economic changes that were triggered by ...
In a traditional Quebec sugar shack atmosphere, enjoy a maple taffy rolled on snow in the purest tradition, accompanied by music of the occasion!
Si la vallée du canal de Lachine a été le berceau de l’industrialisation canadienne, la géographie industrielle métropolitaine ne s’y est pas confinée, peu s’en faut, Outre les grandes concentrations d’entreprises des quartiers centraux, elle est constituée des réseaux infrastructuraux, d’une douzaine de centrales hydroélectriques et des ensembles manufacturiers disséminés dans une quinzaine de petites villes aujourd’hui intégrées dans l’aire métropolitaine. La conférence proposera un surv...
martes 30 agosto, 2022
According to Rodney Harrison, “in the spirit of greater cross-disciplinary engagement, there is […] a pressing need to pay more attention to non-anglophone (and, indeed, non-Western) heritage literatures, histories and traditions” (2013: xiii), when we deal with critical approaches to heritage. This need is even greater when the scientific research focuses on countries such as Romania, Czechia, Bulgaria or Poland where Industrial Heritage, for example, is ignored and where the mechanism an...
After 25 years of the launching of the first Latin American Industrial Heritage's organizations (México, Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Perú, Colombia, Brasil, Uruguay, Guatemala, Ecuador) we propose a general balance of the state of the art in the region and the future of the conservation and retooling of the industrial heritage in the covid19 aftermath. This regular session highlights four axes of discussion and comparative studies: 1) The legal framework of the policies of conservat...
According to Rodney Harrison, “in the spirit of greater cross-disciplinary engagement, there is […] a pressing need to pay more attention to non-anglophone (and, indeed, non-Western) heritage literatures, histories and traditions” (2013: xiii), when we deal with critical approaches to heritage. This need is even greater when the scientific research focuses on countries such as Romania, Czechia, Bulgaria or Poland where Industrial Heritage, for example, is ignored and where the mechanism an...
This session focuses on company towns from the perspective of urban planning. “Company towns” are here defined as single-enterprise planned communities, usually centered around a single industry, where a company commissions an urban plan, builds housing for its workers, and sets up recreational, commercial, institutional or community facilities. While these are now endangered by a second wave of deindustrialization, we observe that, aside studies or monographs of individual towns that popu...
It is widely accepted that understanding a historic place is a critical first step to guide subsequent management and conservation. Industrial sites present a number of challenges as understanding their form, function, design, boundaries, and conservation often requires a high degree of technical expertise and experience. In Canada, gaining this expertise and information sharing is hampered by a limited number of institutions offering training in industrial archaeology and the lack of a na...
As a "continent” country, in which industrialization began as early as the 19th century, Canada has seen through deindustrialization and urban redevelopment, parts of this heritage have been either altered or destroyed. Yet, Canada still possesses a very significant industrial heritage. With Canada being a confederation, approaches to the protection and the safeguard of its industrial heritage differs throughout the provinces and territories of the country. The same is true of i...
Past efforts to conserve and interpret industrial heritage have rarely acknowledged the role of industry causing damaging environmental change. But todays obvious worldwide climate change inevitably impacts our thinking about conservation. This is why we propose a Roundtable session to encourage people to take a fresh look at environmental impacts of industrial heritage.Already in the 1970s narratives of industrial history as a succession of triumphs began to be qu...
miércoles 31 agosto, 2022
Visit of the permanent exhibition : À cœur de jour, grandeurs et misères d'un quartier populaire, which traces the history of one of the oldest industrial and working-class neighborhoods in Montreal. Discovery of the old Généreux bathhouse, a building that recalls a time when most working-class dwellings had neither bath nor shower. Presentation of some elements of the neighborhood's heritage on the way between UQAM and the Écomusée.The visit will be guided in French by René Binette...
The role of industrial heritage in urban development has been extensively acknowledged in guiding and legitimizing the policies and discourses implemented by governments mostly to ensure the continuity between the past, present and future. Mega-events such as sports (e.g. Olympics, World Cup, etc.), cultural (Universal Expositions and national Exhibitions), economic (trade and technology fairs) events are often opportunities used in a top-down process to reinforce the mobilization of the i...
The legacy of open pit mining in general, and in the landscape of the Lusatian lignite district in Germany in particular, is a recultivated, restored, man-made, technogenic landscape. However, the future post-mining land uses in Lusatia must be understood as an opportunity that enables future-oriented land use not only from a technological-scientific and economic basis, but also from a social and especially cultural perspective. Therefore, the currently often negatively described Lusatian ...
North America has a large number of historic canals, which have been closed to commercial shipping due in part to the evolution of transportation (higher tonnage ships, trains, trucks, etc.). While some historic canals have been filled in, forgotten or disused, many have survived, in whole or in part, becoming attractive heritage sites. For some of these, the challenge is to reconcile the preservation of historic components with the need to keep their waterway accessible to navigation. Thi...
L’activité industrielle est un puissant facteur de concentration de population. En témoignent les sites antiques ou médiévaux étudiés par les historiens, souvent proches des mines, des carrières ou des chantiers de construction. À partir du XVIIIe siècle, cependant, avec les premiers développements industriels, des liens forts se tissent entre les usines et diverses formes d’urbanisation. De la variété de rapports que construit l’industrie avec la ville ou, plus largement, avec les lieux d...
L’activité industrielle est un puissant facteur de concentration de population. En témoignent les sites antiques ou médiévaux étudiés par les historiens, souvent proches des mines, des carrières ou des chantiers de construction. À partir du XVIIIe siècle, cependant, avec les premiers développements industriels, des liens forts se tissent entre les usines et diverses formes d’urbanisation. De la variété de rapports que construit l’industrie avec la ville ou, plus largement, avec les lieux d...
This session addresses a perpetuating disjunction between conceptualisation of heritage and heritage making in heritage studies vis-a-vis heritage management and conservation of industrial heritage sites. There is an inevitable impact of this disjunction on advancing policy in people- and place-centred approaches to heritage futures. This session aims to explore ways in which tangible and intangible traces of the past can be utilised creatively in shaping desirable places to dwell and work...
jueves 1 septiembre, 2022
The proposed session will examine the unfolding relationship between industrial heritage and those left behind in adjoining deindustrialized working-class areas. The four papers seek to understand the socio-economic and political impact of recognizing the industrial past in the present. Two guiding questions will be asked. Can industrial heritage support those ‘left behind’ in deindustrialized areas where nothing, or very little, has filled the economic or cultural vacuum? Has industrial h...