Katherine Darnstadt, founder of Latent Design, a progressive architecture and urbanism firm, will present the College of Architecture’s next Hyde Lecture at 4 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Nebraska Union Auditorium.

Latent Design is widely known for its work leveraging civic innovation and social impact to design more equitable spaces and systems. Since its founding in 2010, it has prototyped new urban design systems to support urban agriculture and small businesses, create spaces for youth makers, advance building innovation and create public space frameworks.

In her lecture, Darnstadt will explore the ongoing problem of urban vacancies and how the profession can bring about design solutions. When neighborhoods, public spaces and infrastructure are neglected, vacancies occur at a detriment to neighborhood health and vitality.

Darnstadt argues that while the design of a building is apolitical, the process of building is not. On Feb. 8, she will assert the presence of a subversive cartography of power that overlays cities, which are built on a series of collaborative collusions.

The Hyde Lecture Series is a long-standing, endowed public program that hosts compelling speakers in the fields of architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and planning that enrich the ongoing dialogue around agendas which are paramount to design disciplines and architecture students.

A full lecture schedule can be found on the College of Architecture website. For more information, contact Kerry McCullough-Vondrak at kerry.vondrak@unl.edu or 402-472-9212.