When: Wednesday, May 11, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Reception to follow

Where: The City University of New York Graduate Center, Proshanksy Auditorium, 365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th and 35th streets)

Cost: $20, $15 Municipal Art Society and NY Landmarks Conservancy members and students.

RSVP required.

APA and AIA credits are pending.

New York City’s skyline is beautiful, distinctive and recognized around the world. Recently, plans for two buildings (15 Penn Plaza and Tower Verre) have raised questions on how new tall buildings affect the skyline and whether the skyline should be preserved. MAS and The New York Landmarks Conservancy are co-hosting a very special evening to address the issue.

Given New York’s skyline, can and should certain views be preserved? Join moderator Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker, for a conversation with Kenneth T. Jackson, the Jacques Barzun Professor in History and the Social Sciences, Columbia University; Phyllis Lambert, founding director and chair of the Board of Trustees, Canadian Centre for Architecture; and Dinu Bumbaru, policy director of Héritage Montréal, and former secretary general of ICOMOS, as we explore the challenges of encouraging new development while protecting what’s iconic. We will also consider also how new buildings could be designed to enhance the world’s most famous skyline.