NEWSLETTER - February 13, 2026
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"IM/MATERIAL" 2025-2026 LECTURE SERIES |
Join us on Monday, February 23rd, for the next event of our 2025-2026 lecture series titled "Im/Material."
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Im/Material explores architecture’s capacity to engage both the tangible—matter, construction, tectonics—and the intangible—atmosphere, perception, memory, and cultural resonance.
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Our next lecture, titled "TURN THE MIC UP", will be presented by GERMANE BARNES at 3:30 PM CT in the GALLERY on the ground floor of the HCOA.
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This lecture has been approved for AIA/CES credit and AIA Lubbock (Not AIAS) will offer 1.5 LU to AIA members who attend. AIA members participating in the lecture will need to fill out and submit a form to receive the AIA/CES credit for attending. The form can be found by clicking here. Please email rachel.roe@ttu.edu with any additional questions.
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GERMANE BARNES is a Chicago-born, Miami-based architect, designer, and founder of Studio Barnes, a research and design practice. He is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Master of Architecture Graduate Program at the University of Miami School of Architecture. His work has also been featured in and acquired by several permanent collections of international institutions, most notably the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, The New York Times, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. His project, Griot, was widely published as a participant in Biennale Architettura 2023, Laboratory of the Future. Read more on Germane Barnes...
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Barnes's lecture and Q&A will be held in the Gallery on the ground floor of the Huckabee College of Architecture. The event will also be streamed live via the Zoom information below:
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You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
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When: February 23, 2026 (3:30 PM CT)
Topic: Im/Material
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For any further inquiries, please contact Sr. Event Coordinator Rachel Roe at rachel.roe@ttu.edu.
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El Paso Student Israel Jimenez Earns Prestigious Robert L. Wesley Award
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Fourth-year student Israel Jimenez has received the 2025 Robert L. Wesley Award, created to support BIPOC students in disciplines focused on the built environment. Granted by the SOM Foundation, the award is given to only three students each year in the U.S. Israel is the fourth student from the HCOA El Paso program to win the award in the past three years and will receive $10,000 along with a yearlong mentorship program connecting him with leading BIPOC practitioners and educators.
Israel’s research and studio projects explore how form, infrastructure, and public space shape dignity, safety, and collective identity. His work is “grounded in questions of spatial justice, community identity, and the social responsibility of the built environment,” developed through design studio coursework and his role as a student research assistant with POST (Project for Operative Spatial Technologies), an HCOA research center directed by Professor Ersela Kripa and Associate Professor Stephen Mueller.
To learn more about the Robert L. Wesley Award and Israel’s accomplishments, click here.
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“Braced Communal Platform.” @ Israel Jimenez
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Historic Preservation Research Recognized Through External Awards and Conference Presentations in El Paso
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Two graduate students in the Historic Preservation Program were recently named recipients of the Association for Preservation Technology (APT) Texas Education and Research Grant, given by the APT Texas Chapter. Lya Reyes, an M.S. in Architecture candidate, received the grant for her research examining vulnerabilities in historic districts as cities grow and change, with the goal of identifying smart-city strategies that can be adapted to culturally significant areas to support data-driven preservation. Damoun Pezeshki, also an M.S. in Architecture candidate, received the grant for his research investigating how AI-driven spatial modeling can guide adaptive reuse strategies while maintaining architectural integrity. Both students are working under the supervision of Associate Professor Dr. Mahyar Hadighi.
Faculty and students in the Historic Preservation Program also presented at the 2026 West Texas Preservation Summit, hosted by Preservation Texas, in El Paso, Texas. Dr. Hadighi delivered a talk titled “Historic Preservation: Why, What, and for Whom?” Three students presented their research as poster presentations: Lya Reyes, “Evaluating Smart Heritage Strategies for Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, Texas”; Damoun Pezeshki, “Reviving Lost Heritage Through AI: A Hybrid Design Approach in Downtown El Paso”; and Sanjeda Afrin, “Two Places, One Question: Keeping History Alive Through People, Place, and Policy.”
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2026 West Texas Preservation Summit
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Land Arts 2025 Exhibition
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The Huckabee College of Architecture, in partnership with the Museum at Texas Tech University, is excited to announce the LAND ARTS 2025 EXHIBITION OPENING RECEPTION. The event will be held at the Museum on Friday, February 27th, 2026, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM CT.
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Image Courtesy of Land Arts of the American West
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Exhibitions & Publications
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Heath May Featured in Texas Tech Now for Prestigious Career Journey
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Heath May, FAIA, was featured in Texas Tech Now for his distinctive career in architecture. Heath graduated from the HCOA with an M.Arch degree in 2003, and has since become CEO and chairman of HKS Architects. During his time at Texas Tech, Heath remembers being challenged to look seriously at how objects were constructed, designed and accessed. He also attended experimental E-Studios for third- and fourth-year undergraduates, which educated students in building and computing technology. Today, Heath has developed an expertise in using computational design to strengthen project outcomes and produce increasingly refined iterations.
Heath returned to the Huckabee College of Architecture on Monday, February 9th to present as part of the 2025-2026 Im/Material HCOA lecture series. The lecture, titled "Point Line Plain: Has Architecture Become Fragile?" explored the future of computational design and other emerging technologies.
To read the article and learn more about May's career path, click here.
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Share your Stories: 100 Years of Architecture at Texas Tech
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CALLING ALL STUDENTS, ALUMNI, FACULTY, FORMER DEANS, AND STAFF: As we look forward to celebrating the 100th anniversary of Texas Tech’s architecture program in 2027, we’re calling on the HCOA community to share their memories and experiences with the program.
YOUR STORIES are a vital part of the shared history of our College. Our upcoming book, Limitless Horizons: The First 100 Years of Texas Tech’s Architecture Program, will highlight this rich legacy.
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We invite YOU to help us fully capture the impact and influence of Texas Tech’s architecture program with stories that reflect the experiences we all remember, share, and celebrate! Be sure to submit your story before the deadline on March 31st!
All contributors will be recognized in the book.
To share your stories or make a contribution to the publication, please reach out to Noel Barrick and Gary Lindsey at architecture.limitlesshorizons@ttu.edu.
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Donations are critical to the advancement of our program. With your contributions, we can fund our merit-based scholarships, recruit extraordinary faculty, fund research endeavors and improve our facilities. No gift is too small to make an impact on our students, faculty, and staff. If you're interested in giving, the Texas Tech University Office of Institutional Advancement has a convenient web portal for making secure, online donations to one of the established Huckabee College of Architecture funds. Click here to donate.
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