Fall 2014 architecture lectures draw design luminaries to campus

A diverse group of leading architectural designers, educators and artists will bring their knowledge and experiences to campus during the Texas A&M Department of Architecture’s Fall 2014 lecture series. The lectures, scheduled at 5:45 p.m., will take place at Preston Geren Auditorium in building B of the Langford Architecture Center.

Sept. 22 — Dan Searight

Architect

Searight, a senior designer at the Houston office of [Perkins + Will] (http://perkinswill.com/) , is working on the firm’s science and technology design projects at and Texas A&M University, Louisiana State University, Abilene Christian University and the University of Texas Medical Branch. He joined the firm after founding a successful architectural practice focused on corporate and commercial projects.

After earning a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Rhodes College, Searight joined the Los Angeles office of Skidmore Owings & Merrill.  He later relocated to Texas to work as a senior designer for Morris Architects, where he designed Tan Tau University, a new campus outside of Ho Chi Min City, and earned numerous accolades for his work.

He has been published in a variety of media, including Texas Architect, L.A. Architect, the Houston Chronicle, Environmental Design & Construction, and Rice Design Alliance’s Cite magazine.  He has recently served as a guest lecturer at the University of Houston Graduate School of Architecture, and presented to the Society of College & University Planners on the subject of global educational campuses.

Sept. 29 — Michael Young

Architect, educator

Young, co-founder of New York-based design firm [Young & Ayata] (http://www.young-ayata.com/) , views contemporary architecture as an opportunity to experiment in form, material and technology. He also believes it is necessary to understand architecture’s history, its engagements with cultural issues and its relationship with people and their environments.

An assistant professor at The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at the Cooper Union, Young’s research topics include geometry, tectonics and urbanism.

He has been a visiting professor at Shih Chien University in Taiwan, the P Studio X summer workshop in Thessaloniki, Greece and the Possible Mediums Conference and Workshop at Ohio State University in 2013.

Prior to forming Young & Ayata, Michael worked for a number of award-winning architectural firms in New York and San Francisco, including Reiser+Umemoto, Stan Allen Architects, and Pfau Architecture. His professional experience includes cultural institutions, office towers, residential projects and experimental competition entries.

Oct. 6 — Jason Logan and Matt Johnson

Architects, educators

Logan, a cofounding principal at [LOJO Architecture] (http://loganandjohnson.com/) and an adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Houston, seeks to use digital technology as a means of addressing the rapidly evolving social and environmental conditions of contemporary society.

Johnson, a principal at LOJO Architecture and an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Houston, has penned articles about architecture and urbanism published in design and planning journals. His research focuses on the intersection of urbanism, ecology and technology, with architecture as the humanizing focus of that interaction.

LOJO earned a 2014 AIA Houston award for [Barndominium] (http://loganandjohnson.com/index.php/project/barndominium) , a combined living space/workshop with a raised foundation that resists problems associated with the high clay content in Texas soil and creates a space that provides access to the building’s mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems.

Because the living area and workshop are separated, energy is required to cool and heat only the living area, while the workshop features a passively conditioned environment.

"Barndominium is by our lights the most striking structure honored by the Houston AIA this year,” [wrote] (http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2011/03/aia_awards.php) Jenny Johnson in the Houston Press.

Oct. 13 — Lais Myrrha

Artist

One of Brazilian artist Lais Myrrha’s pursuits includes photographing or recreating urban ruins to investigate Brazilian history.

In her [Gameleria] (http://www.pivo.org.br/en/exhibitions/lais-myrrha-pivo-produz-2/) project, Myrrha rebuilt a scene from a disaster in 1971 in which a building under construction, designed by legendary Brazilian architect [Oscar Niemeyer] (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/world/americas/oscar-niemeyer-modernist-architect-of-brasilia-dies-at-104.html?pagewanted=all) , collapsed and killed more than 100 workers.

The nation’s dictatorial regime limited media exposure of the accident in an effort to protect an image of Brazil as a Modernist utopia, creating what she calls a social amnesia.

“There is no longer any official documentation of the project. It isn’t even possible to find the original blueprints of the building,” said Myrrha. “The accident and memories regarding the tragedy, the biggest civil construction accident in Brazil’s history, have been all but erased from the public’s consciousness.”

One critic called the piece, which she built in Niemeyer’s [Copan building] (http://www.archined.nl/en/reviews/engels/a-closer-look-the-copan-in-sao-paulo/) in São Paulo, “a kind memorial and gravestone of the accident in the heart of one the landmarks of Niemeyer’s career.”

Oct. 20 - Arnau Tiñena

Architect, Ph.D student

Tiñena is the co-founder of Barcelona’s [NUA Arquitectures] (http://www.nuaarquitectures.com/eng/) , an award-winning firm which aims to integrate its designs into a site’s past and current environments.

His firm earned awards for the [Pau & Rocio house] (http://afasiaarq.blogspot.com/2013/05/arnau-tinena.html) , a residence in Botarell, Spain; a renovation of a chemical industry association headquarters in Tarragona, Spain and a design for a visitors center at a Spanish cathedral.

The firm is also designing an agricultural warehouse and heading the renovation of the Church of Santissima Trinitat in Tarragona.

Tiñena is also a Ph.D student in urban planning and landscape urbanism at the [Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/166622?trk=prof-exp-company-name) .

Nov. 10 - Antonio Sanmartin

Architect and educator

San Martin, principal at [aSZ arquitectes] (http://www.aszarquitectes.com/) in Barcelona and visiting professor of architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, sees architecture as “an open site and an empty book to exhibit issues, matters, thoughts and proceedings."

Sanmartin earned Master of Architecture degrees from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and the State University of New York at Buffalo and an undergraduate architecture degree from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

Nov. 17 - David Allin

Architect, educator

Allin, a senior associate at New York’s Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has headed several of the firm’s architecture and art exhibition projects.

He was project designer for [Culture Shed] (http://www.dsrny.com/#/projects/culture-shed) , a visual and performing arts facility in New York, directed the installation of [Chain City] (http://www.dsrny.com/#/projects/chain-city) , a media exhibit at Venice Biennale in 2008, [Arbores Laetae] (http://www.dsrny.com/#/projects/arbores-laetae) , a kinetic landscape commissioned by the Liverpool
 Biennale in 2008 and [Traveling Music] (http://www.dsrny.com/#/projects/traveling-music) , a roving performance through the city of Bordeaux for Evento 2009 in collaboration with the composer Julia Wolfe.

Allin, who leads architecture studios at Cooper Union, has also been a visiting professor at the University of Buffalo and taught a Master of Architecture thesis studio at Princeton University from 2008-2011.