Embrace the “Impossible”: Housing Solutions Re-imagined
Embrace the “Impossible”: Housing Solutions Re-imagined
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation about creative possibilities for expanding affordable and attainable housing on Martha’s Vineyard. Moderated by architectural historian and preservation advocate Dr. Beth Edwards Harris, the discussion brings together four Island voices with expertise spanning architecture, preservation, planning, housing, and community development. Harris will both moderate the conversation and contribute her own extensive knowledge of architecture, preservation, and the Island’s housing challenges, alongside Philippe Jordi, CEO of Island Housing Trust Corporation; Scott Slarsky, architect, planner, and Oak Bluffs Planning Board member; and Keith Moskow, lead partner of Moskow Linn Architects.
Together, the panel will explore what happens when we challenge the assumption that certain housing solutions are simply “impossible.” From adaptive reuse and innovative design to affordable housing development and creative approaches to planning, the conversation will consider how we might reimagine what is possible… and create housing that not only adds homes, but improves the quality of life for the people who need them.
Join us for an engaging conversation about thinking differently, embracing new ideas, and imagining a more attainable housing future for the Island.
Panelists:
Dr. Beth Edwards Harris is an architectural historian, writer and preservation advocate focused on significant California architecture from the mid 20th century and beyond. Beth served five years as state historian/commissioner on the California State Historic Resource Commission before moving east in 2018. Since then Beth has authored a series of articles on mid-century modern houses on Martha’s Vineyard, more recently publishing work on the affordable housing crisis in the region. Beth and her family have summered in Vineyard Haven since 1996, and post-Covid her adult children have become proud year-round island residents.
Keith Moskow is the founding partner of Moskow Linn Architects, a Cambridge-based architecture firm that designs residential projects throughout New England. MLA’s work includes a 48-unit net-positive agricultural-based housing project located in Newburyport MA, which runs entirely on solar energy. The development is a fully integrated model as Keith Moskow in association with partner David Hall are the project developers, architects, builders, and long-term owners. Keith Moskow is very familiar with Martha’s Vineyard having worked on island as a fish cutter in the 70s, carpenter in the 80s, and many residential architecture projects on island over the last 30 years.
After 25 years as an architect in private practice, Scott Slarsky shifted from the practice of architecture to guiding the creation of public, affordable housing and the defense of the Public Realm in the City of Boston as a Senior Architect and Planner for the Boston Planning and Development Agency, and on the island as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, an elected member of the Planning Board for the town of Oak Bluffs and the Copeland District Plan Review Committee. Scott lives in Oak Bluffs with his partner Alex Adkins with frequent visits from his daughter Olivia and his son Odin.
Philippe Jordi is the founding CEO of the Island Housing Trust, a non-profit Community Development Corporation and Community Land Trust on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Philippe’s work with the Trust has focused on creating a mosaic of scattered site ownership and rental housing that fits within existing neighborhoods and provide long-term affordability through ground lease restrictions and energy efficient design and construction. He has over forty years of experience as a community development specialist, is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners and earned a degree in Environmental Studies from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York.
MVM Members: $15; Non-Members: $25
DETAILS
| Date | September 14, 2026 |
|---|---|
| From | 5:00 pm |
| To | 6:00 pm |
| Type | Talk |
| Venue | Martha’s Vineyard Museum |