NEWSLETTER - November 1, 2024

Join us on Monday, November 4th, for the fourth event of our 2024-2025 lecture series titled "M U L T I V A L E N T."

M U L T I V A L E N T  refers to the ability of architecture to address a multitude of values and meanings from climates, cultures, ecologies, and design intents.

Monday's lecture, titled "CONSTRUCTING HEALTH," will be presented by TYE FARROW at 3:30 PM CT and held in the GALLERY on the ground floor of the HCOA.

TYE FARROW is an international award-winning architect of salutogenic design, design that actively incites health, and has completed projects across North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He is the first Canadian architect to have earned a Master of Neuroscience Applied to Architecture (University of Venice Iuav), and has a Master of Architecture in Urban Design (Harvard University), and a Bachelor of Architecture degree (University of Toronto).

Tye has presented to respected organizations and universities in over forty cities on six continents, including the Salk Institute, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Mayo Clinic and The Cleveland Clinic. Read more on Tye Farrow...

This lecture has been approved for AIA/CES credits and AIA Lubbock (not AIAS) will offer 1.5 LU|HSW Elective to AIA members who attend. AIA members participating in Monday's 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.

Farrow'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:

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.

When: November 4, 2024 (3:30 PM CT)
Topic: M U L T I V A L E N T

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://texastech.zoom.us/j/98440030102?pwd=MlZhVHBIKzRMdkpEemdBZmI4RHdjUT09
Passcode: 665526

For any further inquiries, please contact Sr. Event Coordinator Rachel Roe at rachel.roe@ttu.edu.

Hector Lopez is the 2024 recipient of the Brent Ross Fearless Champion Award from the Texas Tech Alumni Association. This award recognizes Texas Tech students who show commitment to their education and a genuine passion for the university in their everyday lives. Hector was honored at the 2024 A Matador Evening Dinner on October 18th. He was nominated by Unit Manager for Undergraduate Advising Amy Peterman and is the fifth student to have received this award since its establishment in 2019.

To learn more about the Brent Ross Fearless Champion Award, click the link here.

Photos courtesy of Amy Peterman

Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan presented at the Alumni College event hosted by the Texas Tech Humanities Center on October 15th, 2024. Her presentation, titled “Transitioning Heritage: Critical Perspectives on Urban Resilience in Post-Oil West Texas,” explored critical perspectives on heritage and urban resilience in the context of West Texas, examining the region’s transition in a post-oil landscape.  

Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan, in collaboration with Associate Professor Dr. Sina Mostafavi, has contributed a chapter titled “Transition” to the book Adaptive Reuse: Theoretical Glossary and Design Labs, edited by Andrea Crudeli and published by STH Press in Florence. This chapter examines the evolving practice of adaptive reuse in urban landscapes, exploring its implications for architectural heritage and contemporary urbanism. The book features contributions from prominent figures in the field, including Eduardo Souto de Moura, Alberto Veiga, and Meritxell Inaraja, and engages with global perspectives on the theoretical and practical aspects of adaptive reuse.   

A hardcopy version of Adaptive Reuse: Theoretical Glossary and Design Labs will be available in the HCOA library. 

Kathy Johnson, former Development Officer for the Huckabee College of Architecture, passed away on Friday, October 18th, 2024.

Kathy began her role as development officer for the HCOA in 2006 and received the Institutional Advancement Excellence Award after her first year at the college. She later became director of development and oversaw funding for the HCOA. Kathy retired in 2018 from her role as associate vice chancellor at Texas Tech University.

Her obituary can be found here.

"In 2007, Kathy Johnson, Andrew Vernooy, and I paid a visit to the Helen Jones Foundation to thank them for their recently awarded grant to support HCOA students in doing research in Marfa and for making it possible to publish my first book. Kathy was not only instrumental in her role as our DO, but she also cultivated relationships with local foundations, which were instrumental for many faculty in supporting their research.

In 2022, I reached out to Kathy, asking for a meeting and fundraising advice in my new role. Over lunch at Café J, Kathy had detailed advice for me that set my fundraising compass. I am grateful for Kathy’s advice and the people she introduced me to. Together with Dean Vernooy, Kathy was the instrumental force in establishing and growing the college’s endowments and in bringing a vibrant fundraising culture to the college and Texas Tech, making it possible for hundreds of our students to receive scholarships and to study architecture. Kathy’s impact will live on in the lives of our current and future students, colleagues, and alumni—an unparalleled legacy in our college."

- Dean Upe Flueckiger

"Kathy Johnson was my friend, colleague and mentor. For seven years we traveled together, generating resources and support for the College of Architecture at Texas Tech. I used to say that when we were in our building, I was Kathy’s boss, but as soon as we stepped outside of the building, she was my boss; and what a great boss she was—inspiring, focused and sensitive.

Any given year we may have traveled on 200 airplanes, mostly in Texas, but we traveled to Florida, the East Coast, anywhere we could find Tech Alumni. We loved representing the College because it was such a great story to tell and Kathy had a broad appreciation of the College and the University. Kathy loved higher education and she had an unusually broad knowledge of its nature and its importance to our State and our Country. Kathy came up through campus life and with an unusual sophistication—the gift to be sensitive and stern at the same time—she rose to administrative positions at Sam Houston State University. She had an intimate understanding of how important resources are to the mission of the College and the University.

Kathy never lost sight of the students; they were the source of her energy and enthusiasm. Early on she asked me if she could sit in on a few reviews to get a sense of the unique character of an architectural education. She admired the students’ dedication and it was moving to hear her represent it to our alumni. She knew how difficult it was to be in architecture and she respected the role of the profession in our culture.

Kathy and Ken were a remarkable couple who shall ever remain in my heart. Respectively they were the best that philanthropy and law enforcement could offer, each intelligent, sensible, caring, positive, and creative. They valued people first and I continue to learn by their examples."

– D. Andrew Vernooy FAIA

The Huckabee College of Architecture extends our deepest condolences to Kathy's loved ones during this time. 

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.

If you're not already, follow us on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the latest updates from the HCOA and be sure to like and share our content within your own networks! Do you have news or updates to share? Email architecture.communications@ttu.edu for a possible feature in the next newsletter!