Texas Tech University

Publicness

2023–2024 Lecture Series

Publicness refers to the power of architecture and design to shape our built environment for the benefit of society at large. It celebrates conditions of interaction, adaptability, collaboration, spontaneity, and openness.

The Texas Tech Huckabee College of Architecture Lecture Series aims to create and explore a discourse on topics ranging from the built environment, creative and innovative scholarship, to current issues taking place in our society. The series features lectures from architects, theorists, scholars, and educators exploring, expanding, and uncovering new ground for the discipline of Architecture.

TTU HCOA Lectures Series is supported by the Dean's Funds for Excellence.

Guest Speakers

Chris Huckabee
September 11, 2023

Kevin Kimwelle
September 25, 2023

David Hart
October 16, 2023

Lance Evans
January 29, 2024

op.AL
February 12, 2024

Iman Ansari
February 26, 2024

Emily Hunt Turner
March 18, 2024

The Power you can bring to the world as an architect, designer and leader!

Chris Huckabee

Monday, September 11, 2023

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Chris Huckabee

Christopher M. Huckabee is the Chief Executive Officer of MOREgroup, a family of architecture, design, and engineering brands that each focus on a single area of expertise. Comprised of a network of 700 employees in 22 offices across the United States. MOREgroup focuses on education, healthcare and public architecture and is ranked by ENR as one of the top design firms in the nation in these areas.

Chris was twice appointed to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and recently served as the Chairman of the Board of Regents at Texas Tech University. In addition, he is the past Chairman of the North Texas Community Foundation and a Board Member of the Cook Children's Health System. In addition, he is the Chairman of the Red Raider Facilities Foundation, a unique private development group responsible for the new Texas Tech stadium south endzone and Womble Football Training Center.

Chris received a bachelor's degree in architecture from Texas Tech University and is a registered architect in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada.

Alternative Architecture (Materials & Technology) and Its Urgency Towards the Global Humanitarian Crisis

Kevin Kimwelle

Monday, September 25, 2023

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Kevin Kimwelle

Kevin's architectural studies and professional experience span from Kenya to South Africa with global collaborations in USA, Germany, and India. His focus has led him into community development work in South Africa, where he is currently based. His doctoral research in the use of alternative design and technology as an agent of social change merges the environmental aspects with the socioeconomic impact and applies a transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach. His ambitious RDI engages several academic institutions locally, in Europe and in the US. Well-travelled in the Eastern, Southern Africa and Central Europe, his work explores alternatives in both design and development, grounding the green agenda in affordable and low-tech sustainable solutions. He was finalist for the 2017 Design Indaba's MBOISA (Most Beautiful Object in South Africa), he won the 2018 SAPOA Winner for the Overall Most Transformational Project, and won the 2019 SAIA (South African Institute of Architects) Regional Award. He also has been numerously featured on news articles such as with CNN, The Guardian, SABC television, Deutsche Welle Television-Germany, MNet's Carte Blanche, and has been featured in architectural magazines such as Architectural Record and Metropolis Magazine (NY) to mention a few. He has been selected for the Creative Climate Coalition 2022 COP27 in Egypt.

intimacy, thresholds, purpose, and scale

David Hart, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP

Monday, October 16, 2023

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I have spent the past 32 years designing buildings for the public realm. Publicness in architecture is a diverse topic with unique challenges, especially today. I will explore four different ways of thinking about public architecture that will not only address the issues of today but can also serve the public for years into the future. My goal is to leave the audience with a few fundamental ways of looking at architecture to help them approach the design of any project in the public realm.

David Hart, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP

David Hart, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, is the president and CEO of Steinberg Hart, an international architecture, interiors, and planning firm. Hart also serves as president of the Design Leadership Alliance, a body of professionals that engage and partner with the HCOA to provide significant contributions to the college, as well as our students, and faculty. David promotes a design culture that pushes boundaries, explores all possibilities, and challenges the status quo. He is known for bringing award-winning sustainable designs from idea to reality, resulting in buildings that are memorable and impactful for their communities.

With offices in Los Angeles, New York, Austin, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego and Shanghai, Steinberg Hart engages local organizations and supports causes that improve lives. Grounded in the belief that diversity is the key to true collaboration, David cultivates an inclusive and entrepreneurial culture at Steinberg Hart, creating space for team members to align their work with their passions.

Under David's leadership, the firm remains ever changing, evolving, and transforming through an innovative and idea-driven approach to the practice of architecture.

Inside/Out: How Nature of Place & Experience are Re-shaping Stadiums

Lance Evans

Monday, January 29, 2024

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"Inside/Out: How Nature of Place & Experience are Re-shaping Stadiums" explores the transformative journey of two NFL stadiums from mere spectator spaces to immersive, community-centric environments. The talk will examine the innovative ways in which the nature of place and experiential design have become pivotal factors in shaping the design and functionality of stadiums. From the monumental structures that have become architectural landmarks to the grassroots initiatives transforming local sports stadia, we will unravel the intricate relationship between the physical environment and the emotion of sports.

Lance Evans

Lance Evans is Venues Design Director and a Principal at HKS. As a designer, he finds inspiration in the unique story of every project and conducts research on the surrounding context of site locations to consider the impact of his projects. His work includes pro baseball and football, collegiate and international venues. He was the lead architect on U.S. Bank Stadium and SoFi Stadium.

Interdisciplinary Infrastructures

op.AL

Monday, February 12, 2024

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This talk will explore transdisciplinary design partnership between an architect and a landscape architecture – through a series of recent projects and ongoing research that occupy common ground as rendered from two disciplinary perspectives. The projects will be situated amidst their typological, cultural, and formal research within each of the two discplines. Each project will demonstrate transmission of disciplinary practices between the two disciplines as evidenced across project scales ranging from the small garden, to the building, and to the masterplan.

Jennifer Birkeland, RLA FAAR

Jennifer Birkeland is currently an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Cornell University in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a licensed landscape architect in the state of New York and a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. Jennifer received her Master of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University and has a Bachelor's of Science in Landscape Architecture from California Polytechnic State University Pomona.

Jennifer has worked with internationally renowned offices such as West 8, OLIN, and Ken Smith Workshop. Working on a wide range of projects including several national design competitions for the National Parks Service, including the winning design entry for the Washington Monument Grounds at Sylvan Theater in Washington DC, as well as the Presidio Parklands Competition in San Francisco.

Jonathan A. Scelsa, AIA NCARB FAAR

Jonathan is an Architect, Urbanist, and an educator. Prior to the founding of op.AL Jonathan had worked in several international offices including Foreign Office Architects, Hashim Sarkis Studios, Smith-Miller + Hawkinson and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.

As an educator, Jonathan is an Associate Professor of Architectural Design + Technology at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Prior to joining the faculty at Pratt, Jonathan held teaching appointments at The University of Pennsylvania School of Design, Harvard University Northeastern University, Rhode Island School of Design, The Boston Architectural College, Spitzer School of Architecture and Parsons the New School.

Jonathan is a Licensed Architect in the state of New York. He received his Master of Architecture in Urban Design with Distinction from Harvard University. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University.

Codes and Conducts: Rethinking the Architecture of Interaction

Iman Ansari

Monday, February 26, 2024

Architecture is the domain of interactions: the disciplinary exchange of knowledge and expertise, the technical intervention of tools and techniques of practice, and the physical interplay of objects, bodies, and particles in space. More than a physical form or even a spatial container, Iman Ansari's work considers architecture a dynamic framework for epistemological, socio-technical, and material interactions. In ‘Codes and Conducts,' Ansari examines how architectural 'codes'—from building regulations to design standards—intersect with 'conducts,' or the ways individuals interact with and within these spaces. By rethinking the conventions of these interactions, imbedded in the minute and mundane architectural objects and devices, he unveils the latent potential of architecture to transform everyday experiences. The lecture offers new insights to how architecture can not only embody but also influence social and societal dynamics.

Iman Ansari

Iman Ansari is an architectural and urban designer, historian, and educator, whose work explores the interplay between architecture, technology, and culture. He is Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Knowlton School at the Ohio State University, and Principal of AN.ONYMOUS. Along with his partner Marta Nowak, their practice has worked on groundbreaking projects with NASA JPL, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, and Google R+D for the Built Environment. Their award-winning work has been showcased in numerous international venues, including MoMA PS1, the Venice Biennale, Hammer Museum, A+D Architecture & Design Museum, the European Centre for Architecture, and in the permanent collection of the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture & Design. AN.ONYMOUS was nominated for the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture in 2023, and has been named the Most Visionary Urbanism Design Firm by BUILD Magazine's 2024 Design & Build Awards. Ansari's research focuses on architecture's interactions with science, technology, and medicine in the modern era. He has contributed to multiple books and edited volumes on architectural history and theory, landscape architecture and urbanism. His writings have appeared in various journals and periodicals, including Architectural Review, Architectural Theory Review, Architect's Newspaper, Cabinet, Journal for the Society of Architectural Historians, Log, Metropolis, Places, Room One Thousand, and Thresholds among others. Ansari holds a B.Arch from the City College of New York, a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a PhD in Architecture from UCLA.

Designing Public Dissent

Emily Hunt Turner

Monday, March 18, 2024

In this lecture, Emily Hunt Turner will explore the notion of publicness as it relates to the public sector and using architecture to “design public dissent.” The lecture will first examine the structural underpinnings of the public sector, specifically in the context of housing. Next, the lecture will showcase a unique architectural intervention that was deployed as a solution to the aforementioned underpinnings. Finally, the lecture will close with a call to action encouraging students and practitioners to leverage architecture & design to shape the upswell of the social sector.

Emily Hunt Turner

Emily Hunt Turner is a civil rights attorney with a background in architecture, law, and public policy. She is the Founder & CEO of a nonprofit social enterprise that invests in individuals impacted by mass incarceration called All Square, which was recently named by TIME Magazine as one of the Top 100 Places in the World.

Prior to All Square, Emily spent five years as a federal attorney for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) working on housing segregation and barriers to housing for those returning home from prison. In 2021, she was named "40 Under 40" by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.