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The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture UTSOA is a community of architects, landscape architects, planners, preservationists, and designers

In the inaugural volume of The Plot, we looked at how Josh Conrad, Ph.D., mapped the digital and physical stacks of the ...
10/23/2026

In the inaugural volume of The Plot, we looked at how Josh Conrad, Ph.D., mapped the digital and physical stacks of the John S. Chase Architecture and Planning Library. The large-scale rearrangement presented a rare opportunity to future-proof the library’s organizational systems — physically and digitally — while preparing for future growth.

This week marked the dedication and naming of the John S. Chase Architecture & Planning Library, a milestone made possible by a transformative $5 million gift to UT Libraries from Tony Chase, son of pioneering architect John S. Chase.

Read more about Conrad's process and the work at the link in our comments. For physical readers, find this story on pages 3-7 of The Plot! And stay tuned in the coming days for more on John S. Chase's legacy and the grand reopening of the library.

Images of Battle Hall Construction and Basement Plan (1911), Cass Gilbert Collection of The New York Historical.

On October 26, acclaimed architect Michael Maltzan presents his lecture, “Scales of the City.” Scales of the City exami...
10/22/2026

On October 26, acclaimed architect Michael Maltzan presents his lecture, “Scales of the City.”

Scales of the City examines the layered complexities of urban life. Drawing from his work across infrastructure, housing, and cultural institutions, Michael Maltzan positions the city as both a physical and conceptual framework shaped by connection and fragmentation. Using Los Angeles as a testing ground, he explores how architecture can operate across multiple scales to address social polarization and reestablish civic cohesion.

📅 October 26
🕒 5 pm
📍WCP Auditorium

Michael Maltzan founded Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc. in 1995. His projects cross a wide range of typologies, from cultural institutions to city infrastructure. Michael’s notable projects include the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University, MoMA QNS, Star Apartments, the Pittman Dowell Residence, the new Sixth Street Viaduct, MIT Vassar Street Residential Hall, the UCLA Hammer Museum, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery Inuit Art Centre. Michael’s work has gained international recognition for innovation in both design and construction. It has been recognized with five Progressive Architecture awards, 52 citations from local, state and national chapters of the American Institute of Architects, the Rudy Bruner Foundation’s Gold Medal for Urban Excellence, the Zumtobel Group Award for Innovations for Sustainability & Humanity in the Built Environment, a 2020 Best of the Millennium AIA LA Honor Award, the 2025 AIA California Maybeck Award, and the 2025 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture.

Do not miss this fascinating lecture. Head to our comments more details!

Image credit: Iwan Baan and Ron Eschel. Full image credits are available on our website.

Beautiful scenes from Genoa, Italy 💜 Architecture student Gabriela Fuentes sent these photos in, documenting her time wo...
10/19/2026

Beautiful scenes from Genoa, Italy 💜

Architecture student Gabriela Fuentes sent these photos in, documenting her time working with Renzo Piano Building Workshop as part UTSOA PRP!

The Professional Residency Program (PRP) is an honors program that offers upper-level architecture students a unique opportunity to expand their education through work experience in the architectural profession. PRP has provided internship opportunities to those in the Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture programs since 1974 and, over the past 25 years, our students have been linked with 300 firms in 30 countries.

Read more about Gabriela's experience at the link in our comments!

Introducing a new annual print publication from the School of Architecture: The Plot. The Plot shares the spirit and ch...
10/16/2026

Introducing a new annual print publication from the School of Architecture: The Plot.

The Plot shares the spirit and character of the school through essays, interviews, profiles, and visual storytelling, serving to document the academic year at SOA with 2025-2026 as the inaugural volume no.01. Rooted in the same values of applied practice that guide our teaching, research, and engagement, this project highlights the service, interdisciplinary collaboration, creative work, and scholarship that define SOA. The multidisciplinary work of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni deserves to be celebrated, and we are very excited to share this reflective project with our community!

This first volume features a broad range of stories and interviews with special feature pieces on the librarians and archivists of the John S. Chase Architecture and Planning Library in celebration of Battle Hall's reopening.

Other story highlights include:
▫️ Material Methodologies: Jen Wong on the Foundation and Growth of the Materials Lab
▫️ Austin’s Zócalo: Juan Miró’s Collaborative Effort To Expand the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center
▫️ The Social Consequence of Geometry: Igor Siddiqui’s New Book on Claude Parent and his Theories of Obliqueness
▫️On Not Losing the Plot By Carol Marra and Ken Yeh, B. Arch ’98
..and more! We'll be highlighting some of the stories featured in this inaugural volume throughout the year on our social media.

Access is free for all: physical copies are available for reading at the John S. Chase Architecture and Planning Library in Battle Hall and you may browse a digital copy at our link in bio. This publication was designed and printed in-house with binding by Universal Bookbindery in San Antonio.

➡️ Swipe through for the first look!

Scenes from our BLOCKWORK symposium 🧱 Organized by Professor Francisco Gomes. Thank you to The Concrete Masonry Checkoff...
10/09/2026

Scenes from our BLOCKWORK symposium 🧱
Organized by Professor Francisco Gomes. Thank you to The Concrete Masonry Checkoff (The Beauty of Block) and the Texas Masonry Council for supporting the symposium.

On October 12, Johnston Marklee founding partner Mark Lee will be on campus to celebrate the opening of the firm’s exhi...
10/05/2026

On October 12, Johnston Marklee founding partner Mark Lee will be on campus to celebrate the opening of the firm’s exhibition “Looks and Books.” with a lecture titled “Now and Then.”

The exhibition, on display in the Mebane Gallery through Nov. 13, showcases a selection of the firm’s collage work. In the early phases of each project, collage offers a way of drawing freely and quickly on diverse historical precedents, selecting key elements from existing architecture to establish a lineage with which the project will engage.

In addition to their collage work, Johnston Marklee will present a selection of books and publications from the firm’s library and archive. Much like the collages, these discursive materials serve not only as resources throughout the research and planning phases of their design projects but as haptic objects; representations of the firm’s analog practice.

For his lecture, Mark Lee will present selections of current and past work from Johnston Marklee’s diverse portfolio over 28 years of practice.

📅 October 12
🕒 5 pm lecture, 6 pm exhibition opening
📍WCP Auditorium (lecture), Mebane Gallery (exhibition)

Sharon Johnston, FAIA and Mark Lee are the founding partners of Johnston Marklee, based in Los Angeles. Since its establishment in 1998, the architecture firm has been recognized for its engagement with arts and culture within the contemporary city, while rooted in the history and foundations of the discipline.

Notable projects include the first permanent home for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program at Roy Lichenstein Studio in New York’s Greenwich Village; the UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios campus in Culver City, California; a renovation of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; and the Menil Drawing Institute on the campus of the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas.

Full photo credit available on our website.

On September 30, architect, urbanist and author Felipe Correa presents his lecture, "The Domestic Surround.” Beyond the ...
09/28/2026

On September 30, architect, urbanist and author Felipe Correa presents his lecture, "The Domestic Surround.”

Beyond the singular dwelling, domestic space is a much more complex environment that actively shapes how we live collectively. Through design commissions and applied research projects, Correa argues for an expanded notion of domesticity and urban life. This notion extends beyond the private interior, treating domesticity as a structuring agent across housing typologies, urban blocks, and the infrastructural and territorial systems within which they sit. From a vision plan for the recently implemented metro in Quito, to a riverfront strategy in Manaus, to a recent survey on housing design, these projects converge on a "domestic surround" that positions an expanded understanding of housing design as the central urban and cultural project of the 21st century city.

📅 September 30
🕒 5 pm
📍Goldsmith Hall Auditorium

Felipe Correa is Managing Partner at Somatic Collaborative and Senior Advisor for Urban Strategy at Aspen Institute. Through Somatic Collaborative, Correa has directed a wide range of applied research and design projects in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Correa’s work focuses on the design and transformation of cities and urban areas. From the conceptualization of urban regeneration projects to the planning of new city extensions, Correa’s work sits at the intersection of design, policy, and economic development. He is currently collaborating with the Aspen Institute Science & Society Program to develop new research and public engagement initiatives exploring how urban design, scientific evidence, and civic decision-making intersect. His most recent book, “Sao Paulo: A Graphic Biography” a bilingual edition that traces the history of the city’s urban form was released in 2018 by the University of Texas Press. His forthcoming book focuses on the Amazon River Basin and the evolution of urban form.

Do not miss this fascinating lecture. Check our comments for all of the details!

Full image credits listed on our website.

On October 1-2, The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture presents BLOCKWORK: Concrete Masonry Architectu...
09/24/2026

On October 1-2, The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture presents BLOCKWORK: Concrete Masonry Architecture of the Americas.

Through project presentations and discussion, the BLOCKWORK symposium will advance our understanding of both why and how concrete masonry has been used by architects in significant projects of the Americas.

Swipe through to see the itinerary for the symposium. ➡️ This event is free and open to the SOA community. See you there!

On September 21, architect and managing director of UNS North America Frans van Vuure presents his lecture, “Sustainabil...
09/17/2026

On September 21, architect and managing director of UNS North America Frans van Vuure presents his lecture, “Sustainability with a Twist.”

The Mandarin Oriental Downtown Dubai (Wasl Tower) creates a new anchor to the skyline, as well as to the urban infrastructure of Dubai. In this lecture, van Vuure will explore with students this highly performative super high-rise, which sets a new standard of design to delivery excellence in this region and globally.

📅 September 21
🕒 5 pm
📍Goldsmith Hall Auditorium

As Senior Architect and Managing Director of UNS North America, Frans focuses on creating high performative environments that enhance individual health and wellbeing. His projects carry across Europe, the Middle East and North America and are blurring boundaries between public and private, like Kutaisi International Airport, the Bruzzano Health Services masterplan in Italy, Mandarin Oriental Downtown Dubai (Wasl Tower), DC’s Georgetown University Capitol Campus masterplan and the Austin Light Rail design implementation framework. By combining data-driven insight with innovative design and a targeted stakeholder design to delivery process, Frans ensures that every project supports thriving communities and prioritises health at every scale.

Frans has the expertise of translating design concepts into technical and feasible construction delivery processes, with a strong emphasis on health-focused and sustainable solutions.

Do not miss this riveting lecture. Check our comments for all of the details!

From the iconic ONDA wall in the West Mall Building to supporting the School of Architecture's academic operations as As...
09/16/2026

From the iconic ONDA wall in the West Mall Building to supporting the School of Architecture's academic operations as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Kory Bieg’s presence is felt on campus.

Kory is a licensed architect, founder of architecture, design, and research office OTA+, and now he's a Full Professor of Architecture at UTSOA.

To celebrate his recent promotion, we spoke with Kory to learn more about his creative interests, the impact of AI in design education, and his approach to combining digital tools with physical making.

Head to the comments to read the Q&A, and join us in congratulating Kory on this achievement!

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310 Inner Campus Drive B7500
Austin, TX
78712

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Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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