Michigan architecture chair talks about architecture's past, future

John McMorrough, chairman of the University of Michigan’s Architecture program, whose writings on the problematics of contemporary design include treatments of supergraphics, pedestrian malls and the apocalypse, appeared at Texas A&M’s Department of Architecture Lecture Series Feb. 27.

Referencing climate change and events such as Hurricane Katrina, McMorrough said “we’re entering … a moment, of the imagination of the apocalypse, the imagination of the end of time, or the ends of things — which offers a unique challenge to architecture,” he said.

McMorrough’s doctoral research focused on the interplay between commodity and media in post-war architectural discourse. In addition to a doctorate, he holds a post-professional M.Arch. from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a B.Arch. from the University of Kansas. He is a registered architect in the state of New York and a member of the Society of Architectural Historians.

McMorrough has headed the University of Michigan’s Architecture program since 2010. He’s previously held academic posts at Ohio State University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University.

In served as principal for Columbus, Ohio’s studio APT and has held professional positions in a number of architectural firms, including the Office of Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, Rothman Partners in Boston, Oaklander, Coogan & Vitto in New York and Ellerbe Becket in Kansas City.

McMorrough’s doctoral research focused on the interplay between commodity and media in post-war architectural discourse. In addition to a doctorate, he holds a post-professional M.Arch. from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a B.Arch. from the University of Kansas. He is a registered architect in the state of New York and a member of the Society of Architectural Historians.

McMorrough has headed the University of Michigan’s Architecture program since 2010. He’s previously held academic posts at Ohio State University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University.

In served as principal for Columbus, Ohio’s studio APT and has held professional positions in a number of architectural firms, including the Office of Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, Rothman Partners in Boston, Oaklander, Coogan & Vitto in New York and Ellerbe Becket in Kansas City.