Sam Fox School launches spring Public Lecture Series

Architect, writer and WUSTL alumnus Edward Ford to speak Jan. 24

Ford House by Edward Ford. Photograph by Scott Smith.

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