NEWSLETTER - August 29, 2025

Welcome Back Students, Colleagues, Alumni, and Friends

Over the summer, my colleagues worked on a variety of projects to welcome you to this academic year, including—but not limited to—exciting new courses, as well as innovative research and creative endeavors.

We are prepared to educate and support our students in Lubbock and El Paso, marking another strong year of enrollment at the Huckabee College of Architecture. You are joining (or continuing with) a robust and expanding program on a path toward shaping the future of our built environment, and I want to express my gratitude to the colleagues who have worked hard to make this happen.

We are also pleased to be in the early programming stages for a new Design Village on TTU campus in Lubbock. The new building is intended to optimize collaborations for architecture and other design disciplines. I’m pleased to extend gratitude and share that ennead has been selected out of an invitational RFQ from a pool of eight nationally and internationally recognized architectural firms as the design architect for this project. Huckabee is the architect of record and Buro Happold is the project consultant.

Currently, we are working to create new pathways and to inspire collaboration between Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Graphic Design, Engineering, and Media and Communication. The idea is to build partnerships and to encourage integration rather than isolation, with a shared vision: “Become the go-to institution for design innovation, creation, and problem solving through collaboration, education, empowerment, and novel academic models.”

As we launch the first newsletter of the fall semester, I am excited to amplify the voices of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. This newsletter contains many exciting accomplishments, including Master of Architecture student Tia Turvey, who has been awarded the James E. White, AIA and John P. White, AIA Graduate Fellowship for her exceptional performance as an undergraduate student, and introduces the new and familiar faces of the faculty and staff members joining us this fall.

To my colleagues and to our students, have a great semester!

To our alumni and friends, I look forward to welcoming you back to the Lubbock campus and hope to see many of you at one of our numerous events this fall.

Go Tech!

Urs Peter 'Upe' Flueckiger

Professor & Dean

"IM/MATERIAL" 2025-2026 LECTURE SERIES

Join us on Monday, September 8^th, for the first event of our 2025-2026 lecture series titled "Im/Material."

Im/Material explores architecture’s capacity to engage both the tangible—matter, construction, tectonics—and the intangible—atmosphere, perception, memory, and cultural resonance.

Next Monday's lecture, titled "ADAPTIVE REUSE AND REVITALIZATION," will be presented by JENNIFER PICQUET-REYES at 3:30 PM CT in the GALLERY on the ground floor of the HCOA.

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.

JENNIFER PICQUET-REYES, Principal at Merriman Anderson Architects, has over 24 years of experience in new construction, restoration, renovation, and LEED-certified projects. Since entering the industry in 2000, she has led award-winning work across the hospitality, adaptive reuse, and historic preservation sectors, transforming historic buildings into vibrant, functional spaces while maintaining their unique character. Her portfolio spans boutique hotels, repurposed schools, churches, and high-rise offices across the country, combining sustainable design with thoughtful aesthetics. A Texas Tech graduate and active member of AIA, ULI, and Preservation Texas, Jennifer frequently speaks at industry events and draws creative inspiration from her travels and cultural exploration. Read more on Jennifer Picquet-Reyes...

Picquet-Reyes'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: September 8, 2025 (3:30 PM CT)

Topic: Im/Material

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.

Texas Tech Summer 2025 Commencement ceremonies took place on August 8th and 9th, where HCOA undergraduate, master's and Ph.D. students received their degrees.

We congratulate all of our graduates on this remarkable milestone and sincerely thank HCOA faculty and staff for their unwavering commitment to academic excellence and student success!

Altering Earth / Growing Ground is a collaborative installation by interdisciplinary designer and researcher and LPMD student Skylar Perez and artist and photographer Joshua Mokry. The exhibition showcased melding photography, microbial soil cultures, site-specific data, and 3D-printed local soils.

The project was based on Skylar and Joshua's respective research into underground and cave systems. The works explore how restoration and disruption, vision and concealment, and biology and material practice all interact within and on the earth’s crust. Skylar brings a transdisciplinary approach, reimagining soil as a collaborator in architectural, ecological, and microbial futures. His work on the Llano Estacado engages questions of land-use, multispecies entanglement, and biotic potentials by fusing 3D printing, agricultural waste, and soil biota into living architectures.

Tia Turvey was the 2025 recipient of the James E. White, AIA and John P. White, AIA Graduate Fellowship. Tia is currently pursuing her Master's of Architecture at the HCOA and is involved in Tau Sigma Delta.

ADMINISTRATIVE & FACULTY PROMOTIONS

Mahyar Hadighi

Associate Professor

Director of Historic Preservation - El Paso

Jimmy Johnson

Lecturer - Lubbock

Victoria McReynolds

Associate Professor - Lubbock

Lauren Phillips

Assistant Professor - Lubbock

Pedro Mena Vega

Lecturer - Lubbock

NEW FACULTY

Tony Ainsworth

Instructor - El Paso

Chris Powitzky

Instructor - Lubbock

Michael Simonds

Lecturer - Lubbock

Eduardo Cilleruelo Terán

Assistant Professor - Lubbock

Sim Hinman Wan

Assistant Professor - Lubbock

RETURNING FACULTY

Chandler Cooke

Instructor - Lubbock

Paulina Lagos

Instructor - El Paso

Olivia Ramos

Instructor - El Paso

Ben Shacklette

Emeritus Professor, Instructor - Lubbock

NEW STAFF

Miranda Perlmutter

Content Specialist - Lubbock

Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan served as editor for After Oil: A Comparative Analysis of Oil Heritage, Urban Transformations, and Resilience Paradigms, published by Springer. The text brings together 29 chapters of global perspectives contributed by an international roster of scholars to deliver a comprehensive examination of how urban environments intertwine with the legacy of oil exploration. The volume explores transnational case studies across five continents and over 17 countries, examining oil heritage, urban transformation, and resilience while tracing energy transitions from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

After Oil offers an academic analysis of the concept of heritage within the realm of oil-related urban development, focusing on the term "heritage," with a specific emphasis on "oil heritage." The text presents transnational and comparative studies of various global cities shaped by the petroleum industry, utilizing a multidisciplinary approach that merges urban studies with the complex dynamics of energy geopolitics. Varied implications for urban futures are explored to provide an understanding of heritage and discuss its different interpretations and values across cultural and environmental contexts. 

After Oil can be accessed by clicking here.

Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan is among seven co-authors of the article “Permeability of Borders, Ideas and Spaces: Reimagining Europe’s Spatial Futures from the Perspective of New Generation of Planners,” published in disP – The Planning Review as part of Taylor & Francis (Vol. 61, Issue 1).

The article introduces a multi-dimensional framework of “permeability” across borders, ideas, and institutions as a transformative lens for spatial planning, advocating for adaptable, context-sensitive strategies that address mobilities, cross-border interaction, environmental adaptation, and democratic values — inclusivity, citizen engagement, and rule of law — and call for innovating planning education for a resilient future.

To access the full article, click here.

Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan, together with PhD student Sadaf Alikhani, recently published an article titled “Demographic Dynamics and Art Engagement: Urban Development in Lubbock and El Paso, Texas” in ESTOA: Journal of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of Cuenca (Vol. 14, No. 28).

To access the article, click here.

HCOA alumnus Derek Rahn Williams was featured in Texas Tech Now for his personal and academic journey in architecture. The article details how his experiences shaped a career dedicated to teaching, mentorship, and research that aims to make a positive social impact.

To read the article, click the link here.

October 11^th, 2025

Raider Alley

Engineering Key - Texas Tech Campus

If you're interested in discounted football tickets or reserving a hotel under one of the HCOA's room blocks, click either of the buttons below:

Please note: there is a limit of four tickets per purchase

For additional assistance related to this event, please contact Sr. Event Coordinator Rachel Roe at rachel.roe@ttu.edu for more information.

In Memoriam...

Architecture alumnus Bobbie (Bob) Lee Ford passed away on July 12, 2025. He was born in Amarillo, Texas, on November 24, 1935. Bob earned degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering from Texas Tech University, where he was an active member of both Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and Saddle Tramps.

Bob’s first job out of college was with Texas Tech, where he helped design several key campus buildings, including the Communications Building, the Agricultural Building, and the iconic “bubble” over the Tech Recreation Center pool.

The HCOA is saddened to learn the news of Bob's passing and extend our sincere condolences to his loved ones during this difficult time.

Mr. Ford's full obituary can be found by clicking here.

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.

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!