Architecture lecture series draws design luminaries to campus

Lectures slated on Mondays at 5:45 p.m. in the Geren Auditorum.

Acclaimed architects and architectural scholars will share their knowledge and experience with Texas A&M students as part of the Department of Architecture’s Fall 2015 Lecture Series. The public lectures are scheduled as noted below at 5:45 p.m. on Mondays in the Preston Geren Auditorium, located in Building B of the Langford Architecture Center on the Texas A&M College Station campus.

Oct. 5

Matias del Campo
Architect, educator

del Campo is the co-founder of [del Campo Manninger Architects] (http://www.detaoma.com/span-arch/) , a global firm known for using contemporary technology in its award-winning, Baroque-influenced designs.

The firm’s award-winning designs include the Austrian Pavilion, a first-place entry at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 and its’ award-winning design of the new Brancusi Museum in Paris in 2008.

The firm also exhibited its work at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2012, the 9th Archilab Exhibition in Orleans, France in 2013 and the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria in 2011.

del Campo earned the Young Talent Award for Experimental Tendencies in Architecture from Austria’s federal chancellery in 2004, a grant from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna to explore advanced, computational fabrication methods in 2005, and the Rudolph Schindler Scholarship from the Austrian Museum of Fine Arts/Contemporary Art in 2006.

He is also an associate professor of architecture at the University of Michigan, where he explores robotic fabrication processes.

Oct. 12

Keith and Marie Zawistowski
Architects, builders, educators

The Zawistowskis are associate professors of practice at Virginia Tech University where they co-teach a third-year architecture studio and courses in professional practice, building analysis and building assemblies.

The pair are also the cofounders and codirectors of the university’s designbuildLAB, a project-based program in which students collaborate with local communities and industry experts to conceive and realize educational and charitable built projects.

They also founded [OnSite] (http://www.onsitearchitecture.com) , a design/build firm where they aim to create buildings which are economically, culturally and environmentally sensitive.

Their OnSite projects include Emmaus Boutique, a modular building design they created for a nonprofit group that collects and distributes used clothing.

In another OnSite project, the Zawistowskis earned the 2009 Design Excellence Award from the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects for the Arritt Farm House. The project was a complete renovation of a two hundred year-old farmhouse and the design and construction of a three-story tower addition.

Oct. 26

Kevin Alter
Architect, educator

Alter is partner of [alterstudio] (http://www.alterstudio.net) , an award-winning Austin firm that creates residential, public and commercial projects widely recognized for compelling design and meticulous attention to detail.

In “ [’Six Houses] (http://www.amazon.com/alterstudio-Architecture-Houses-kevin-Alter/dp/0990574903) ,” published by Miami University press, readers learn Alter’s approaches to opportunities and problems presented by single-family residence projects.

Designs featured in the book will be the subject of an exhibit at the Wright Gallery Oct. 19 – Dec. 16 featuring photographs, drawings, models and construction documents.

In addition to his background in professional practice, Alter is the Sid W. Richardson Centennial Professor of Architecture at the University of Texas, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in design, design theory, and construction.

He is also academic director for architecture programs, director of the university’s Summer Academy in Architecture, and associate director of the Center for American Architecture and Design.

He has edited 12 books and written articles published in Architecture, Progressive Architecture, and Architectural Design magazines. He has also curated exhibitions in numerous international venues and has been a visiting critic, reviewer, lecturer and visiting professor at dozens of institutions around the world.

Nov. 2

Todd Gannon
Architect, educator, curators

Gannon is a faculty member at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where he teaches history, theory, and design studio.

A researcher who focuses on the history and theory of late 20th century and contemporary architecture, Gannon is also an author, whose published books include “The Light Construction Reader,” “Pendulum Plane/Oyler Wu Collaborative” and “Et in Suburbia Ergo: Jose Oubrerie’s Miller House.”

He is editing a compilation of the architectural writings of Craig Hodgetts, co-founder of the award-winning firm Hodgetts + Fung Design and Architecture, and researching a monograph on the work of Franklin D. Israel, who specialized in residential and office designs.

Gannon has lectured at institutions across the United States and in Europe, and is a frequent conference participant and jurist. He served on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, where he directed publication efforts from 2008-2010.

Nov. 9

Bob Borson
Architect, blogger

Borson, a partner in [Malone Maxell Borson Architects] (http://mmbarchitects.com) , earned a 2015 [honor award] (https://texasarchitects.org/v/article-detail/2015-Honor-Awards/nv/) from the Texas Society of Architects for his blog, “Life of an Architect,” in which he shares professional practice tips and anecdotes.

The TSA lauded Borson’s blog as “the world’s most trafficked, individually maintained architectural blog. His witty, perceptive, and often touchingly poignant observations, coupled with his astounding commitment to content creation and reader engagement, have made Borson a true 21st century spokesman for our field.”

Although he focuses on single-family residential and interior architecture projects, Borson also designs many other building types and styles.

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Borson is a past recipient of the ‘Young Architect of the Year’ award from the American Institute of Architects’ Dallas chapter. He is director of communications for AIA Dallas and is chairman of the Texas Society of Architects’ [Digital Communications Committee] (https://texasarchitects.org/v/committee-detail/Digital-Communications/4g/) .

At TSA, Borson seeks to establish TSA as the voice of Texas architecture by leading architects and staff who generate content for the TSA website and other digital media.

Nov. 16

Andrew Colopy
Architect, educator, editor

Colopy directs [Cobalt Office] (http://cobaltoffice.com) , a firm that focuses on designing urban public spaces, housing, and spaces for art, media and performance.

As a senior designer with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, he played a leading role in the redevelopment of Lincoln Center in New York and the Museum of Image and Sound in Rio de Janeiro.

Colopy is interested in the role of information technology plays in architectural practice and its affect on aesthetic judgment. His research examines the effect of the appropriation of space on design and aspects of patterns, housing and aesthetic conditions in explorations of novel forms of subjectivity.

He is a contributing editor of [Praxis] (http://www.praxisjournal.net) , a journal that addresses contemporary design issues with an emphasis on technology, theory and history.

posted September 29, 2015