I been to two Hani Rashid lectures and enjoyed them both. Thom Mayne is always fun to listen to. Mike Webb from Archigram made me think of architecture in terms of Monty Python, very entertaining.

I would definitely second Hani Rashid. His non-archi-babel lectures have are worthy of a lot of respect. Another favorite, and definitely in the entertaining category...Francois Roche. You'll have to drag him off the stage though...

is a great speaker...

Kipnis is one of my favorite speakers. He will always amaze you.

Cameron --

(as if anyone needs to tell you this) dont waste your time on Hani Rashid - His work is bland and predictable and his presentation is rife with unjustified megalomania. ... And Kipnis as part of an AFH-themed event. HA!

These would be my tips, speakers that are interested in social issues and are terrific, inspiring, informative, honest speakers (not spinsters):

Mack Scogin
Teddy Cruz
Keller Easterling
Jorge Silvetti
Yolande Daniels
Charles Correa
Wouter Vanstiphout
Shigeru Ban
Ariann Geuze

cheers Lifeform.

alas this isn't for an AFH type event (thus why I'm at a loss). I saw Chuck Correa speak in Istanbul earlier this year and he was facinating -- very anti-Zaha.

Teddy is also good. I've heard Shigeru one too many times but I'll check out the others.

C.

Robert Somol is great.
Shigeru Ban...

mark dytham of klein dytham is def an up and comer who can speak brilliantly on the drop of a hat. his office is starting to grow lately and his work getting more interesting too, and he knos how to work a crowd like a performer.

nice.

alberto perez-gomez came to u.k. (kentucky) last year and gave a great talk on architecture and ethics. depends on your audience: i think the third years up through graduate students, as well as the local professionals, were intrigued but the first and second years less so.

william mcdonough is a brilliant speaker - gets the adrenaline flowing. really good at working the crowd and provoking a spirited question-and-answer at the end. interesting: he's kind of an evangelist in the same way duany is, so, since i am a sympathetic audience already, i may be biased in thinking he's much better.

Brian Macay Lyons has good content, and OK delivery

Stefan Behnisch was pretty humble for an architect, in my opinion. I enjoyed his little jokes and rants when he explained his projects.

not so new but...

Jim Glymph
Michael Speaks

has anybody seen Lebbeus Woods speak? i'm going to see him next month at the AIA Tampa Bay annual gala

i saw him at the bartlett. He was a good speaker but i was deeply unimpressed by the content; maybe was a bad patch for him... haven't kept track of him since then but his work at the time was based on algorithmic processes to create form...

another really fun speaker is michael sorkin. i saw him in genoa last year and loved his talk. ben van berkel, shuhei endo, and stefano boeri were all speaking that day too, but michael was the most interesting and the most entertaining. really brilliant.

maybe i'm typical with my list of fave speakers:

jeffrey inaba
roger sherman
toshiko mori
any or all of LTL (lewis tsurumaki lewis)
raymond abraham
preston scott cohen
hernan diaz alonzo is a fun speaker
and i liked michael sorkin too.

lebbeus woods is not as great as you would expect or wish; he's okay, but he doesn't have that flair as a speaker-- out of my list only michael sorkin does (but he's a professional talker). IME, most architects are okay speakers, some are dreadful, then there are others who end up amazing you anyway even if the delivery of the lecture was mediocre (that was my experience with FOG, Rem and PE).

Peter Cook is a fun speaker... sorry must be bored at work, again.

robert somol

Im only putting people I have heard that i actually liked:

michael sorkin
peter waldman

i would agree on r.e. somol -- but he has got to add another trick to his bag. that cool / hot mcluhan architecture (eisenman [hard] vs. koolhaas [easy]) thing needs to evolve beyond binary big boy architects. what about asia; what about digital work that is also "easy" (sadar vuga, abalos herreros, etc.)?

c'mon bobby.

benny,

you didn't like Rem's speech?

I saw him a month ago or so and though I still hate his latest writing and his awful "magazines", his lecture was pretty interesting and his speaking skills quite amazing. Easy to see how he wins so mnay competitions.

Gijs Bakker from Droog Design, and Shigeru Ban are great.

i went to a recent RIBA discussion on young british architects, the chair, lucy bullivant, was appalling, but some of the panellists were quite compelling when they got the chance to speak.

david adjaye, whom i've heard before, always seems to have interesting things to say about the profession and his own work.

i can't remember whether it was klein or dytham of klein dytham, but he definitely seemed nimble on the panel, or perhaps more affable, relating annecdotal moments in japan and making architecture in a foreign land.

i also thought deborah saunt, of DSDHA, marked out an interesting corner for socially sensitive architecture, i thjink they're big on community consultation.

more impressively they were all very gracious towards miss bullivant.

David Adjaye, very collected and a little shy, which is cute.
Kevin Rhowbotham (formerly of the AA), never built a shed, but a really excitable firebrand type.
Thom Mayne, excellent, particularly when he gets onto therapy.
Jencks, full of the same old shit (which is too interesting by far)

Never seen him talk, only introduce other talkers, but Cecil Balmond, of Arup has credits on more great buildings than anyone else and is in professional contact with most who matter.

Also anyone from FAT, they are all media whores.

Jump,
I did like Rem, but it was a weird lecture,-- it was supposed to be a "dialogue" between him and Cornel West-- this was several years ago at the MOMA-- a symposium on pragmatism, and CW is a professional talker and upstaged Rem. Rem is better talking by himself, but CW (and i've seen him give a solo lecture before when he's really amazing) was a bit obnoxious and overall, they were on such different levels, it was like they were speaking in different languages.

what was the talk about?
Rem and Cornel, thats just a little weird.

i second william mcdounough.
hes hysterical in a great dead-pan way. or at least when i saw him speak.

also, maybe not the most glamorous, but alex krieger? (chan and krieger, they do a lot of planning, hes a professor here) hes full of interesting stuff, very down to earth, with a good sense of humor.

i would say beware of lebbeus, its either a good day or a bad day. as far as other former undergrad faculty, james wines would be hysterical. although i cant really think of what hes doing right now.

tokisho mori is great too.

i dont get out to lectures too much anymore but i'd like to add some that are not always on the lecture circuit-- it would be good to get some new faces out there. everytime i get a poster i feel like... dang i've seen these guys too much. anyway--

mack scoggin, the coolest and nicest dude in architecture

there are 3 young firms-- i cant necessarily vouch for their lecturing capability but the work is really good:

anmahian winton in cambridge, ma
ply architecture in ann arbor, michigan
daly genik in santa monica, ca

they all have websites...check them out

I saw Jorge Silvetti at Auburn last year and it was okay, not exactly up and coming...but there was this humble woman architect who was amazing presenter and really gave a great multi-disciplinary talk---Liz Martin/Alloy Projects from Los Angeles..also Studio da (Monica and Nader),
Hitoshi Abe (Japan), Greg Lynn is a great speaker (not sure about his work these days), Patrick Tighe (x-morphosis), Nathelie DeVries (MDRVD)

yves behar for designer, Julie Bargman for Landscape, maybe shop, lotek
for the headliners Mayne , Calatrava, Holl

Righteous fist is a minority of one in the recent Anglo Files book debate in considering the author, critic and curator Lucy Bullivant 'an appalling speaker '. She wasn't at all, according to RIBA audience feedback; on the contrary. Someone in this much demand internationally is doing everything right. Maybe just not your personal taste. The architects were gracious because they relate to this approach and respect her work. He doesn't. That's his prerogative.

Rem, Tschumi, Cecile Brisac, Ben van Berkel, Adriaan Geuze, Souto de Moura, Ricky Burdett, Aaron Betsky......

any word on FOA?

met the guy who canned Shigerus' UN housing.. great stories about 'robbing peter to pay paul'...

there are these cool talks by Bahram Shirdel
that make everyone hate him more.
aah you wouldn't be able to catch any of those.

for a cocaine-then-ecstacy-followed-by-crystal-meth fuelled hysteria, go to a NOX lecture, and watch spuybroek's eyes. the man doesn't blink. similar delivery to karl chu. someone here described him as a orator of having finished a case of root beer and come out screaming. that's a great desciption

A few years ago i went to a lecture by FOA's Alejandro Zaera Polo in Delft. There were only about 30 people in a 300 seat auditorium, but it didn't stop him from giving an amazing lecture.
What i liked most was the variation in the lecture, he showed different projects and approaches. And, in contrast with the 'I-am-god-attitude' of many architects, he also made fun of himself, especcialy when speaking about the yokohama terminal and all the problems they encountered when this experimental project won the competition and had to become a real building.
So, if you want someone speaking about the process instead of showing playboy images of finished buildings, Alejandro is the man.

best lecturer i've seen recently is FRANCOIS ROCHE or R&Sie in Paris. Fucking hillareous. bad ass projects. do not miss this guy.

Shialah Kennedy is one of my favorite speakers. Sorkin is always excellent. Rem, naturally.

well, cameron...i will second francois roche as being completely hilarious. and i felt that alejandro of FOA was pretty good (although it got a bit boring after a little while). i personally am really into the very hands-on types around now...like Lewis Tsuranamaki Lewis types. i have heard that sheila kennedy is a really good speaker.
i also love a lecture by atelier bow-wow i saw a while back. very fun and interesting study of hybrid typologies.
i'm a bit played out on quite a few of the big name types. i feel like i've heard them all too many times and/or they just don't bring the same enthusiasm to the lecture as the really bright eyed/bushy-tailed types.

Oh - i forgot. Liz Diller. I'm surprised she hasn't gotten mentioned yet.

I hated lotek. Worthless presentation when I saw them.

Surprisingly, the speaker I've liked best so far was James Cutler--he's genial, admits mistakes, great for early arch. introduction... (first, second year...) plus he's just an engaging speaker. May not be the best or most thrilling work, but his deft touch with materials is interesting to see, and I came away having learned a few things and feeling refreshed.

Haven't seen too many "brand-name" speakers though. McDonough is an excellent and galvanizing speaker but you have to minus out the pompousness. Kitchen and... partner (out of UVA) did an interesting presentation on their wanderings through Turkey that I saw, but it was a bit thin. They had interesting ideas, though.

Not new but I saw Jack Diamond speak in school many years ago and then a few years after. He just came across as a consumate professional, not trying to be anything but convincing, passionate and business like ( not smarmy ) but really a great role model for the profession. He made you feel as though you had an important role in the community as an architect. Physically he is a large fit looking guy so he comes across with a very significant presence.

His work is clearly a bit commercial / corporate but good for young architects to see as a role model. I also understand why he was so successful he was known as " the closer " when he got in the room for the final interview he rarely left with out the contract.

saw a vid tape of tha new urb guy (Andres Duany).

very competent speaker.

other than architecture or planning topics, i dont think anyone can beat george b for laughs.

i think ego tends to associate with 'engrossing'.

~~~~~
are any of these fantastic speakers located in SF bay area area?

cameron, if you're interested in FOA, get Farshid. She's a lot more entertaining than alejandro. Especially during Q+A.

I really liked Shigeru Ban's presentation style. He is one of the few architects I've seen who, onstage, come across as really humble & sincere, yet still manage to command everyone's respect. He is not a flashy speaker but a compelling one nonetheless.

Although he is not an architect, his work relates to architecture, and hands down by far the best speaker/presenter I have ever seen is Brian Eno.

Mack Scoagam is good, so is Badaines. I'ld also add Aaron Betsky if curators count. He was an awsome speaker. Louis Naidorf was great to see.

j-turn. that's who I'm going for...

no Q+A though...