In architecture as in life, the devil is in the details. Few know this better than Edward Ford, an educator, architect and author whose two-volume The Details of Modern Architecture (1990 and 1996) provided the first comprehensive analysis of how detailing and construction techniques can distort, camouflage or enhance a building.
Later this month, Ford — a Washington University alumnus who now serves as the Vincent and Eleanor Shea Professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia — will launch the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ spring Public Lecture Series.
Ford’s talk — the Sam Fox School’s annual Architecture Alumni Lecture — is supported by the George Anselevicius Memorial Fund and by the Harris Armstrong Fund. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24, in Steinberg Hall Auditorium, located near the intersection of Skinker and Forsyth boulevards. A reception for Ford will precede the lecture, at 6 p.m.
For more information, call (314) 935-9300 or visit samfoxschool.wustl.edu.
Ford earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1971 and a master of architecture degree the following year. In addition to The Details of Modern Architecture — both volumes of which were supported by grants from the Graham Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts — he is author of Five Houses, Ten Details (Writing Matters) (2009). The book is a personal reflection on the process of building Ford’s own house, describing five different designs he created for the site, only one of which was built.
Ford also is author of the forthcoming The Architectural Detail, and has published articles in L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, Inform, B, eAV, Detail, Harvard Design Magazine, The Oxford American and Perspecta, among others. His design work has been published in The New American House, Japan Architect, Competitions, 18 Houses, ARQ, Inform, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Oculus and has been exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Foundation for Architecture.
Ford won second prize in the 1990 Matteson Library Competition and third prize in the 1990 Japan Architect Competition. In 2002, the Ford house won an Honor Award for Design from the Virginia AIA (American Institute of Architects). In 1997, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University. His publications have been recognized by the Association of Academic Publishers, the AIA, Lingua Franca and The Architects Journal.
George Anselevicius Memorial Fund
The George Anselevicius Memorial Fund was made possible by a bequest from the estate of George Anselevicius, dean of architecture at Washington University from 1968-1973. In addition to this lecture, the Anselevicius Fund also supports an endowed scholarship for a Sam Fox School architecture student.
Harris Armstrong Fund
The Harris Armstrong Fund was established in 1976 by Louise Armstrong, in honor of her late husband, architect Harris Armstrong.
Sam Fox School Public Lecture Series
All talks are free and open to the public and begin at 6:30 p.m. in Steinberg Hall Auditorium, located near the intersection of Skinker and Forsyth boulevards. In addition, each talk will be preceded by receptions at 6 p.m. For more information, call (314) 935-9300 or visit samfoxschool.wustl.edu.
Spring 2011 Schedule
Jan. 24
Edward Ford
Vincent and Eleanor Shea Professor, School of Architecture, University of Virginia
* Architecture Alumni Lecture, supported by the George Anselevicius Memorial Fund and the Harris Armstrong Fund
Jan. 26
Alfredo Payá Benedito
Principal and founder, noname 29, Alicante, Spain
* Ruth and Norman Moore Visiting Professor Lecture
Jan. 31
Kathryn Dean
Professor and director, Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
* Faculty Book Lecture
Feb. 2
Richard Meyer
Associate professor of art history and fine arts, University of Southern California
* Multiple Feminisms Lecture
Feb. 7
Pascal Quintard Hofstein
Principal and founder, Atelier Pascal Quintard Hofstein, Paris, France
Feb. 14
Wendell Burnette, AIA
Principal and founder, Wendell Burnette Architects, Phoenix
Feb. 16
Christophe Cherix
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Chief Curator of Prints and Illustrated Books, Museum of Modern Art
Feb. 21
Rick Joy, AIA
Principal and founder, Rick Joy Architects, Tucson, Arizona
Feb. 23
Victoria Vesna
Professor, UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
* Louis D. Beaumont Artist in Residence Lecture
Feb. 28
Rafael Moneo
Architect, Madrid, Spain
Josep Lluis Sert Professor of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
* Cannon Design Lecture for Excellence in Architecture and Engineering
March 2
William Kentridge
Artist, South Africa
* Dean’s Medal Award Ceremony & Lecture, supported by the Burson Fund
March 7
Jens Hoffmann
Director, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, California College of the Arts
March 21
Andrea Cochran, FASLA
Principal and founder, Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture, San Francisco
March 23
Dan Nadel
Author and owner, PictureBox Inc., Brooklyn, New York
March 28
Michael Maltzan, FAIA
Principal and founder, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Los Angeles
* Abend Family Lecture
March 29
Fuensanta Nieto & Enrique Sobejano
Founding partners, Nieto Sobejano Architects, Madrid and Berlin
March 30
Cornelia Butler
The Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings, Museum of Modern Art
* Multiple Feminisms Lecture
April 1
Juhani Pallasmaa, Hon. FAIA
Architect, author, and educator, Finland
* In conjunction with the Graduate Architecture School of Architecture & Urban Design’s Spring Open House
April 6
Francis Kéré
Architect and educator, Burkina Faso
* Coral Courts Lecture
April 12
Ian Monroe
Artist, London
* Henry L. and Natalie E. Freund Teaching Fellow Lecture
April 13
Andrew Metter, FAIA
Senior vice president and design studio director, Epstein, Chicago
* Visiting Faculty Lecture
April 20
Ferda Kolatan
Co-founder, su11 architecture+design, New York
* Visiting Faculty Lecture
April. 25
UrbanLab
Chicago
*Visiting Faculty Lecture
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