NEWSLETTER - January 30, 2026

Join us on Monday, February 9^th, for the next 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.

Our next lecture, titled "POINT LINE PLAIN: HAS ARCHITECTURE BECOME FRAGILE?" will be presented by HEATH MAY at 3:30 PM CT in the GALLERY on the ground floor of the HCOA.

HEATH MAY is Global Practice Director of HKS LINE (Laboratory for INtensive Exploration). Throughout his career, Heath has focused on computational design, research and development, and innovation. His expertise lies in data-driven optimization, simulation, and digital fabrication, and he has led projects across a wide range of sectors—including hospitality, healthcare, urban infrastructure, and sports. Heath is a former Adjunct Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington and a frequent contributor to leading publications on digital practice. He also holds a patent for the digital stamping and sealing of architectural documents. Read more on Heath May...

May'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: February 9, 2026 (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.

HCOA Events

Next Step Prep 2026

The HCOA wrapped up Next Step Prep (NSP) 2026 on Friday, January 23^rd, after a successful week of workshops, lectures, mock interviews, and portfolio reviews. As part of the our annual Career Season, NSP gives students the opportunity to strengthen their professional skills before the HCOA’s Career Fair in February.

Throughout the week, students honed their interview techniques, polished resumes, and refined design portfolios, gaining the confidence and preparation needed to take the next step in their careers.

We sincerely thank our Career Season sponsors, guest speakers, and the dedicated faculty and staff whose support made NSP 2026 possible!

Portfolio Design - Peter Raab

Resume Basics & Translating Skills - TTU Career Center

Interviewing & Professional Dress - TTU Career Center

The Business of Architecture - Andrew Reynolds of Steinberg Hart

THANK YOU TO OUR CAREER SEASON SPONSORS!

GOLD SPONSORS
O'BRIEN ARCHITECTS
SHM ARCHITECTS
STEINBERG HART

SILVER SPONSORS
CORGAN
HKS ARCHITECTS
HOK
MOREGROUP
PARKHILL

BRONZE SPONSORS
CHAPMAN HARVEY ARCHITECTS
HDR

Site Visit

Second-Year Studio Explores Vernacular Constructions at Lubbock’s Ranching Heritage Center

Students in the second-year undergraduate studio “A West Story: Atlas of Common Architectures and Civic Infrastructure” visited the Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock to engage directly with original vernacular constructions. During the visit, the site was used as a live archive to study material and tectonic connections through close observation and documentation.

The studio focuses on the boundaries between atmosphere, site, and mechanics, exploring how they give form to site-specific architecture—explorations grounded in their own space and time. Students begin by experimenting with drawings, constructions, and site assemblies to develop a contextual foundation for their designs. Throughout the semester, students will question how their designs shape the future of land viewed as a new beginning, asking “what is public?” and “what is common?” The studio invites students to frame their projects as answers, predictions, or speculations, collectively offering a broader understanding of an environment and its potential futures, at the intersection of art, architecture, and infrastructure.

Exhibitions & Publications

Professor Aranha Honored in Evermore for Commitment to Architectural Heritage and Teaching

Professor Joseph Aranha was featured in the Fall/Winter 2025 edition of Evermore magazine, where he was recognized for his work in preserving architectural heritage through vernacular architecture. The article is part of Evermore’s “Strive for Honor” series, recognizing individuals at Texas Tech who exemplify commitment to excellence, integrity, and service.

Professor Aranha is a three-time Fulbright scholar and has received numerous awards for his role as an educator, including the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2004, the Global Vision Lifetime Achievement Award for International Education (Study Abroad) in 2023, and the Chancellor’s Council Distinguished Teaching Award in 2024.

As part of a Fulbright US Scholar Award, Professor Aranha is currently directing an upper-level design studio at Warmadewa University in Bali, Indonesia. The studio proposes to focus on continuity and change in traditional Balinese architecture, drawing on his research and experience guiding studios that integrate contemporary design with tradition. Professor Aranha will also conduct a workshop documenting rural Balinese settlements, building on a project he began as a Fulbright Specialist in 2022. As part of his Fulbright proposal, Professor Aranha will contribute to curriculum development, mentor junior faculty, and deliver guest lectures at universities across Indonesia and the Southeast Asia/Pacific region.

To learn more about Evermore magazine or to subscribe to the publication, click here.

Credit: Photo by Ashley Rodgers/Evermore magazine

Exhibitions & Publications

Dr. Mehan Co-Edits Urban Planning Special Issue Featuring Research by Ph.D. Student Seyed Alireza Seyedi

Assistant Professor Dr. Asma Mehan, Director of the Architectural Humanities and Urbanism Lab (AHU_Lab),  is a co-editor of the newly published special issue, Bridging Gaps – Urban Planning for Coexistence, in PlaNext – Next Generation Planning, Vol. 16 (2026). The editorial introduces a special issue developed from the 18th Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Young Academics Conference, held at the Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy in March 2024.

The issue brings together diverse methodologies and case studies to advance inclusive, sustainable, and socially just planning futures. It features six peer-reviewed articles that expand on the conference themes, spanning topics from renewable energy and climate resilience to urban–rural infrastructure, land-use conflict, and architectural history, while framing urban planning as a critical tool for coexistence. Dr. Mehan collaborated with an international team of scholars including Dr. Sophie Leemans from KU Leuven, Dr. Abdallah Jreij, Dr. Luca Lazzarini, and Dr. Israa Mahmoud, from the Politecnico di Milano, and Dr. Sıla Ceren Varış Husar from Slovak University of Technology.

As part of this special issue, a new research article by LPMD Ph.D. student Seyed Alireza Seyedi, Dr. Saeid Khaghani from the University of Tehran, Dr. Rouhollah Mojtahedzadeh from Shahid Chamran University, and Dr. Mehan examines the architectural evolution of British-owned oil company towns in Iran between 1901 and 1951. This peer-reviewed open-access paper, “From bungalows to garden cities: The architectural evolution of British-owned oil company towns in Iran (1901–1951),” traces how the settlements of Masjed Soleyman and Abadan developed from early rudimentary housing to planned urban forms influenced by colonial planning, highlighting how these environments reflected broader socio-political dynamics and operated as tools of class and racial segregation.

To read the editorial, click here. 

To access the special issue Bridging Gaps, click here. 

To view the paper “From bungalows to garden cities,” click here.

Exhibitions & Publications

Eduardo Terán Publishes Chapter on the Museo De América

Assistant Professor Eduardo Cilleruelo Terán has published the chapter “A Phantom Museum? A Case Study of the Museo de América as a Historical, Political, and Architectural In-Between Typology” in the book Museums as Places of People, Time, and Memory: The Intersection of Place and History.

The chapter analyzes cultural-infrastructure development in Madrid through the case of the Museo de América, an institution shaped to serve political interests during the Francoist regime, asking, “where is Madrid’s museum of colonial legacy?”

The text highlights Spain’s lack of a lasting institution like the British Museum or the Louvre to narrate its colonial presence in the Americas. The Museo de América is discussed as both a museum and an ideological instrument, shaped more by short-term political agendas than by a coherent curatorial vision. Through an examination of the museum’s history and physical construction, this chapter frames the museum as a phantom institution—present but unstable—reflecting a fragmented archive and its ongoing renegotiation of a post-colonial identity.

To access the chapter, click here.

Exhibitions & Publications

Pavilion Co-designed by Eduardo Terán Featured in Architectural Record

Assistant Professor Eduardo Cilleruelo Terán, as part of the collaborative practice Estudio Latente, has co-designed a civic infrastructure activating public space installed at Plaza de Stagno in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria during Fall 2025. The De Roca Madre was published in Architectural Record as a pavilion that “represents the Anthropocene,” framing the island through its geological and environmental section.

The project stages a direct material encounter between native coastal stone and plastic waste collected from the island’s beaches by the collective Precious Plastic. It invites reflection on the tension between geological time, embedded in the island’s strata, and the accelerated human impact imposed on its ecology over recent decades. Looking backwards, the pavilion evokes Canarian traditions of stone-and-wood construction grounded in local materials, while simultaneously opening a critical conversation about the contemporary accumulation of waste and microplastics along Gran Canaria’s coasts, much of it carried by transoceanic currents from far beyond the archipelago.

The design team included Alejandro Carrasco Hidalgo from Universidad de Alcalá, Assistant Professor Eduardo Cilleruelo Terán, Alberto Martínez García from Yale University and Andrea Molina Cuadro from the University of California, Los Angeles.

To access the article and learn more about the De Roca Madre, click here.

Credit: Photo by Maria R. Cadenas

Exhibitions & Publications

Alumni-Founded Firm DUST Architects Honored in Wallpaper* 2026 Design Awards

DUST Architects, an architecture firm founded by HCOA alumni Cade Hayes and Jesús Edmundo Robles Jr., was honored in the Wallpaper* 2026 Design Awards for their project “Sombra de Santa Fe.” The project was one of three houses recognized for a distinctive use of earth as a sustainable building material.

Located in the Galisteo Basin Preserve, “Sombra de Santa Fe” responds to rural New Mexico’s climate through scoria walls that absorb thermal heat. The structure engages the landscape on all four sides with façades aligned to the compass and outdoor spaces attuned to light, wind, and the season, allowing porches, patios, and terraces to be used throughout the day and year. Cade Hayes and Jesús Edmundo Robles Jr. served as project architects for the design.

Wallpaper* is a global media brand that covers architecture, interiors, fashion, contemporary lifestyle, and other arts. Its annual Design Awards recognize outstanding and distinctive achievements across the industry.

To learn more about the design of “Sombra de Santa Fe,” click here.

Credit: Photo by Joe Fletcher

Publications

Share your Stories: 100 Years of Architecture at Texas Tech

CALLING ALL STUDENTS, ALUMNI, FACULTY, FORMER DEANS, AND STAFF: As we look forward to celebrating the 100^th 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 with stories that reflect the experiences we all remember, share, and celebrate!

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.

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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