NEWSLETTER - July 11, 2025

SUMMER STUDIOS

ARCH 5604 Architecture Design & Research III, led by Lecturer Steven Roop, is a design studio that immerses students in all phases of residential design and development through a simulated real-life scenario based in Lubbock, Texas.

Students are assigned a real site and real clients, working within the framework of the City of Lubbock IRC 2015 Codes and specific design guidelines. The course places strong emphasis on natural light, sustainability, passive systems, and the use of the region’s naturally occurring resources—dirt, sun, and wind—referred to by Roop as the “West Texas Triad.”

The studio visited several key architectural sites, including Studio Rick Joy, known for its innovative use of rammed earth in residential design, the historic Arizona Biltmore, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, where students studied human scale and the concepts of spatial compression and release. The tour also included stops at the McDowell and Lost Dog Wash trailhead centers, which further demonstrated the architectural potential of rammed earth construction.

Graduate students enrolled in Architectural Design + Research II for the summer of 2025 are participating in an intensive collaboration with the Dallas Hospitality Group of HKS. Co-taught by Lauren Phillips, HCOA faculty, and TTU alumnus, Oliver Cox, AIA (MArch, ’07), Regional Technical Director with HKS, the studio invites students to consider initial conceptual design and site strategies for a luxury resort on the Punta Mita peninsula on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Students spent two days at the HKS Dallas offices participating in workshops and a design charrette with members of HKS Hospitality Group, and touring the firm's recent project, the JW Marriott Dallas Arts District Hotel.

Bahar Bagheri, LPMD student and research assistant at Hi-DARS Lab, presented her ongoing doctoral research at the 5th World CAAD PhD Workshop, hosted by ASCAAD in collaboration with ACADIA, CAADRIA, SIGraDi, and eCAADe. Bahar was nominated by the ACADIA Board of Directors for this opportunity as one of the PhD students representing North America.

The 2025 workshop brought together emerging scholars and established academics from around the world to engage in an exchange on topics spanning architecture, computation, and design innovation. Bahar presented her work during a moderated session alongside peers from the global CAAD research community. The session featured a panel led by Dr. Sherif Abdelmohsen and Dr. Mostafa Alani, with feedback from Dr. Gabriela Bustos and Dr. Paula Gómez. Associate Professor Dr. Sina Mostafavi, her advisor, participated in the workshop as an invited panelist and respondent, contributing to discussions on multiple PhD presentations.

For more information and to view the session, click here.

LPMD student Edgar Montejano presented a peer-reviewed paper titled “Developing Resource-Informed Lightweight Lattice Systems: Hybrid of 3D Printable Lattice and 3D Scanned Non-Standard Wood” co-authored with his supervisor Associate Professor Dr. Sina Mostafavi at the 113th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) held March 20–22, 2025, in New Orleans. The paper was presented as part of the "Digital Technology: Additive Manufacturing" session and is published in the ACSA conference proceedings.

As part of Edgar's ongoing PhD research, the presented work introduces a hybrid building system that integrates 3D-printed lattice structures with digitally scanned, non-standard reclaimed wood, including irregular logs and tabletops. High-resolution digital scans (point clouds, mesh models, and texture data) inform the computational design of topology-optimized, support-free lattice geometries that reduce material use while enhancing structural performance.

Read the full paper here. 

For more information and to view the session recap, click here.

LMPD student Seyed Alireza Seyedi has received the SAH 2025 Conference Travel Fellowship awarded by the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH), an international nonprofit devoted to architectural history and conservation.

Seyed, along with Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan and Dr. Morteza Hemmati from the University of Tehran, presented their paper “Modernism and Mysticism: Mozhan Khadem’s Architectural Journey” in the SAH 2025 conference session titled “Historiography of Muslim Modernities in Architecture” in Atlanta. The research discussed non-Western architectural historiography, exploring how Khadem’s work bridges modernist design with mystical narrative.

Professor Joe Aranha and Assistant Professor Dr. Mahyar Hadighi are currently in East Timor, Indonesia, documenting a selection of endangered traditional wood buildings.

Their grant proposal was accepted and funded by the Endangered Wood Architecture Program at Oxford Brooke’s University in the UK.

To learn more about the proposal, click here.

HCOA faculty and students participated in the 2025 Building Technology Educators Society (BTES) 10th Biennial Conference in Chicago, an event that emphasizes pedagogical innovation and the advancement of building technology education.

Associate Professor Peter Raab presented a community design-build project developed with Instructor Lenora Ask and MArch student Jarren Amaro, showcasing an initiative for a playhouse designed for CASA of the South Plains. Professor Raab additionally delivered a paper on adaptive façade design and climate-responsive teaching.

M.S. Arch student Mark Segovia and MArch graduate Desiray Rodriguez presented a co-authored paper on robotic milling and sustainable tile design, developed under the advisement of Assistant Professor Erin Hunt. Professor Hunt also presented research on integrating 3D-printed clay formwork into architectural pedagogy.

Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan delivered a virtual presentation at EDRA56 in Halifax, Canada, where she shared her research on the adaptive reuse of industrial heritage to enhance climate resilience. The online session explored themes such as AI-driven design, indigenous knowledge systems, and speculative, climate-responsive architecture as ways to create more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient urban futures.

Associate Professor Dr. Sina Mostafavi, Bahar Bagheri, Tahmures Ghiyasi, Edgar Montejano, and Cole Howell exhibited and presented their recent innovation, the Timber Dowel Reciprocal Lattice (TDRL) System, at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo held June 9-11, 2025, at the JW Marriott in Austin. Selected by the Texas Tech Office of Research Commercialization as one of three innovations representing the Texas Tech University System, the team shared a full-scale, robot-fabricated prototype alongside a detailed research poster at the Texas Tech booth. Supported by the Office of Research Commercialization, the project was also selected for a Pitch Presentation and recognized with a Finalist Award Certificate. A full U.S. patent application for the TDRL system has been submitted.

The TDRL system builds upon recent design research activities conducted at Hi-DARS Lab and enables joint-free, modular timber construction through an integrated workflow combining voxel-based computational design, robotic milling, and AR-guided assembly. The exhibited 6-foot prototype demonstrated the system’s potential for adaptive and lightweight structural applications. Uijin Lee contributed fabrication and assembly support for the prototype.

Learn more about TechConnect programs here. 

For more information and to view the exhibition recap, click here.

Associate Professor Dr. Sina Mostafavi, Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan, Bahar Bagheri, Edgar Montejano, Cole Howell, and Caleb Scott presented their peer-reviewed paper “Mapping Human Agency in the AR-Enabled Co-Production of an Urban Community Podium” at the 113th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), held March 20–22, 2025, in New Orleans.

The research introduced an augmented reality-enabled phygital framework that combines robotic fabrication and AR-guided assembly to support collaborative construction with both expert and non-expert participants. Developed through a graduate-level design-build studio and publicly demonstrated, the project investigates how augmented fabrication methods can enhance human agency and promote resource-aware design practices.

The research was supported by faculty, researchers, staff, and students at the HCOA and the Hi-DARS Lab team. The design-to-production and analysis methods were further explored and tested by graduate students as part of the Spring 2024 ARCH 5334: Advanced Architectural Technology I and ARCH 5384: Community Design Development courses. External collaborators, including members of the South Plains Food Bank, offered additional input and support.

Read the full paper here. 

For more information and to view the session recap, click here.

Associate Professor Dr. Sina Mostafavi, Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan, Bahar Bagheri, Edgar Montejano, Cole Howell, and Caleb Scott published their peer-reviewed technical paper “Integrated Computational Design to Augmented Production of Timber-Dowel Structures: A Multi-Criteria System for Informed Variation and Community Co-Production" in Volume 2 of the CAADRIA 2025 Proceedings as part of the Architectural Informatics Conference held March 22–29, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan.

This research introduces an integrated computational design-to-production framework for timber-dowel structures, integrating robotic milling, AR-guided assembly, and parametric modeling. The system incorporates fabrication feedback, assembly constraints, and context-driven variation to support geometric flexibility and procedural efficiency. Two full-scale prototypes were developed and the system was tested across a range of geometries to evaluate adaptability and performance.

Read the full paper here. 

For more information and to view the session recap, click here.

Derek Rahn Williams, an HCOA alum and graduate part-time instructor, will showcase his work in an upcoming exhibition at the Charles Adams Studio Project’s 5&J Gallery on August 1, 2025, as part of Lubbock’s First Friday Art Trail.

After earning dual master’s degrees in architecture and business administration at Texas Tech, Derek remained at TTU to engage in research, teach, and to pursue a Master of Arts in interdisciplinary studies. This exhibition, drawn from his terminal portfolio "The History and Standardization of American Carceral Environments" presents a selection of his research as he prepares to begin a PhD in Architecture at the University of Illinois, supported by the Alan K. and Leonarda F. Laing Memorial Fellowship.

"Carceral Complicity" explores architecture’s role in the inception and perpetuation of punitive environments, examining how architects, policymakers, and society at large contribute to maintaining minimal standards through complicity. The exhibition features a range of art, models, drawings, and photographs documenting prisons, penitentiaries, jails, and immigration detention centers across different historical periods and geographic contexts. A key component of the exhibit is an interactive installation: an abstract prison cell built to the specifications and minimum standards of the Texas Penal Code, allowing attendees to experience firsthand how law, policy, and building codes shape carceral environments.

HCOA staff members Vondee Langehennig and Alex Root were elected to serve on the Texas Tech University Staff Senate and were inducted at a ceremony held on July 9th, 2025. Vondee and Alex will serve a three-year term as representatives for the HCOA where they will collaborate with other colleges and departments across campus.

The TTU Staff Senate exists to contribute to the welfare of its staff employees; to serve as a liaison among staff, administration, faculty, and students; and to advise the administration in matters affecting the staff.

To learn more about the organization, click here.

IN THE NEWS...

Chris Huckabee, along with Texas Tech alum Robin Huckabee, were featured in the Texas Techsan for their support of the university's ON & ON Campaign. In addition to their contributions to the Huckabee College of Architecture, Chris and Robin are currently serving as co-chairs of the campaign together with other donors and alumni.

Terrance Brown, FAIA, was featured in the Texas Techsan for his reception of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) by the High Desert Council and Scouting America. This award recognizes Eagle Scouts who attain exceptional levels of success and recognition in their profession or through voluntary service to their community and the nation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS...

CLICK A BUTTON BELOW TO SELECT AN AWARD CATEGORY:

For more information related to this year's award nominations, please select one of the buttons above or visit our website by clicking here.

For additional assistance related to this year's design awards submissions, please contact Scott Hall at scott@hallarchitecturestudio.com for more information. 

CALLING ALL STUDENTS, ALUMNI, FACULTY, AND FORMER DEANS:
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.

We invite YOU to help us fully capture the impact and influence of Texas Tech’s architecture program—stories that reflect the experiences we all remember, share, and celebrate!

All contributors will be recognized in the book.

To share your story, please reach out to 1972 alumni, Noel Barrick at nbarrick@hksinc.com, Gary Lindsey at gary.lindsey@lcu.edu, or email architecture.limitlesshorizons@ttu.edu.

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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