Top architects, academics to present spring 2017 lectures

Leading design practitioners and educators will discuss topics ranging from ancient Roman cities to the latest innovations in digital design at this spring’s Architecture Lecture Series hosted by the Texas A&M [Department of Architecture] (http://dept.arch.tamu.edu/) . The public lectures will take place at 5:45 p.m. Langford C 105.

Feb. 13

Stephen Andrews, Shawn Gottschalk

Architects

Stephen Andrews and Shawn Gottschalk, former Texas A&M [environmental design] (http://dept.arch.tamu.edu/undergraduate/) students, are principals at studioMET, which earned 2016 Firm of the Year honors from the Houston chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

“The firm’s partners are setting a new paradigm for architecture in Houston with the quality and rigor of their residential designs, their collaborative approach to design/build and the diversity of their staff,” said Rusty Bienvenue, AIA Houston executive director.

The firm’s work is about a way of living, not a specific style, said Gottschalk.  “We strive to redefine what it means to be modern and strongly believe in an architecture that honestly expresses structure and materials, is environmentally conscious, and is appropriate to time and place.”

In an additional honor for the firm, its design of [Pavilion Haus] (http://www.studiomet.com/project.php?id=152) , a 2,500 square-foot Houston residence with an open plan uniting exterior and interior spaces for living, entertaining, exercise and playing, earned an AIA Houston [Design Award] (https://aiahouston.org/v/site-home/Design-Awards/3c/) from a jury that considered quality of design, resolution of the program idea, sustainability, innovation, thoughtfulness, and technique.

Feb. 20

Tristan Al-Haddad

Educator, artist, architect

Tristan Al-Haddad is an assistant professor of architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology and founder of [Formations Studio] (http://formations-studio.com/) , where he creates artistic installations, sculptures, furniture and other objects in multidisciplinary collaborations.

Al-Haddad’s teaching and research focuses on digital technology in the design, representation, analysis, and production of geometrically sophisticated architecture.

His work has been exhibited in numerous venues, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Boston Center for the Arts, The International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and The Centre Pompidou in Paris. Media outlets and magazines including the New York Times, Dwell, Metropolis, Art Papers, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution have reported on his work.

He holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in architecture from Georgia Tech and studied at the Daniels Center for Building Technology and Urban Design in Genoa, Italy, and the National School of Architecture in Paris.

March 6

Ferda Kolatan

Educator

Yoshiki Hori is a professor of architecture and urban design at Kyushu University.

He studies ancient cities, specifically city walls, town planning and architecture, using the latest laser scanning techniques.

His projects include investigations of Pompeii, the Italian city buried for almost 2,000 years by ash from an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., and Ostia, a large archaeological site that was a port of ancient Rome.

April 3

Alfredo Caraballo

Architect

Alfredo Caraballo, a director at London-based Allies and Morrison Architects, has worked on a broad range of design and planning projects from their inception to completion in the UK and abroad.

He helped design [One Vine Street] (http://www.alliesandmorrison.com/project/one-vine-street/) , the first completed building in the firm’s masterplan for a portion of Regent Street, a major shopping district in London.

He’s directing development of the firm’s master plan and design of Beirut’s Saifi North project, which includes 22 new buildings that include 109 residential units above street-level retail spaces.

Before joining Allies and Morrison, Caraballo was a founding partner of CPR Arquitectos in Venezuela, where he was project architect for the award-winning Ciudad Mirana Masterplan and Housing Complex, one of the nation’s largest public projects.

April 17

Maria Bonaiti

Educator

Maria Bonaiti is an associate professor of architecture at the University of Venice, where she trains future design historians in the university’s History of Architectural and Urban Planning program.

Bonaiti and her fellow program faculty shape students’ critical reflection on design and decision making by architects, engineers, theorists, and the public, who have, from ancient times to the present, contributed to forming today’s world.

She also edited an anthology of famed architect [Louis I. Khan] (http://architecture.about.com/od/greatarchitects/p/louiskahn.htm) ’s letters and essays published in books and architectural magazines.

April 24

José Sanchez

Educator, game designer

Sanchez is an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Southern California and a video game developer who founded the [Plethora Project] (http://www.plethora-project.com/) , a study of the relationship between architecture, video games and generative design and a means to increase the public’s computational design literacy.

His goal as an educator and game designer is to help people of all ages think of humanity’s interconnectedness to the environment, while considering the kinds of communities people want to create.

In one Plethora Project initiative, Sanchez created “ [Block’hood] (http://www.plethora-project.com/blockhood/) ,” an award-winning video game that challenges players to create unique, sustainable neighborhoods while accounting for the relationships between people, buildings, and urban infrastructure.

“For example, habitats you create in the game require resources and produce waste, which could be productive for something else,” he said. “That is a big kind of 'aha' moment for a player. It’s like, ‘'This doesn’t have to be waste!’"

Sanchez sees Block’hood as an ever-changing project, growing and maturing along with the gaming, architectural, and environmental communities to which he belongs.