Discover Detroit Art

Designing with Intelligence: an AI Collection of Speculative Objects
2025-09-25 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Detroit) | Detroit Film Theatre, 5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI, 48202
A Detroit Month of Design event with industry experts at the Detroit Institute of Arts

During the 2025 Detroit Month of Design, Lawrence Technological University (LTU) College of Architecture and Design (CoAD) will present an innovative event exploring the intersection of AI technology and design. AI-generated works will be showcased during a panel discussion as part of the Detroit Month of Design, offering a fresh perspective on historical and contemporary design through the lens of emerging technologies.
The panel discussion being held in the Detroit Film Theater at the Detroit Institute of Arts will include experts who will debate how AI can be integrated into design practices, its impact on art and design, and how LTU is preparing the next generation of designers and architects to use these tools effectively. This event highlights how AI is shaping the future of design, fostering innovation, and bridging the city’s industrial past with its digital future.
Panelists:
Jason Vigneri-Beane — Professor, Pratt School of Architecture
Humbi Song — Assistant Professor and Emerging Architect Fellow, University of Toronto
Shelley Selim — Detroit Institute of Arts, Mort Harris Curator of Automotive, Industrial, and Decorative Design
Curry J. Hackett —Teaching Associate in Urban Planning and Design, Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Thank you to our location sponsor:

Design x Technology Series: Tasoulla Hadjiyanni
2025-10-07 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Discussing research from disparities, sex trafficking, mental health, and heritage in war.

Design for Social Impact
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
12:30 – 1:30 PM
On campus and virtual
Come to CoAD for our next Design x Technology Series lecture featuring Tasoulla Hadjiyanni – Northrop Professor, Distinguished Global Professor, Interior Design at the University of Minnesota. Her talk titled, Design for Social Impact will allow her to reflect on how she found her purpose through her research with disparities, sex trafficking, mental health, and heritage in war as well as how she positions design as an agent of change.

🛂 CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
CEU: This lecture equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘ HSW subjects for continuing education’.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Lecture Series, this lecture is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details.

BIO: Tasoulla Hadjiyanni, Ph.D. is Northrop Professor and Distinguished Global Professor of Interior Design at the University of Minnesota. A refugee from Cyprus, she started to unravel how design, culture, and identity intersect under conditions of displacement with her book “The making of a refugee – Children adopting refugee identity in Cyprus” (Praeger, 2002). She later founded Culturally Enriched Communities and Design Against Trafficking to advocate for built environments where everyone can thrive through exhibits, films, blogs, a TEDx presentation, and social media. Dr. Hadjiyanni’s latest book “The right to home – Exploring how space, culture, and identity intersect with disparities” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019) features stories of Hmong, Somalis, Mexicans, Ojibwe, and African Americans in Minnesota to explore how elements of interiors support or suppress meaning-making processes, delineating the production of disparities. Dr. Hadjiyanni’s award-winning teaching pedagogies have been used to decolonize design education and nurture global citizens.

LTU CoAD’s Distinguished Architecture Alumni Award
2025-10-20 18:30 - 20:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Join us in congratulating Tiffany Brown as she becomes part of an elite group of LTU’s Architecture + Design Alumni.

LTU CoAD’s Distinguished Architecture Alumni Award

LTU CoAD is thrilled to announce that the DAAA committee has chosen Tiffany Brown as the recipient of the 28th annual LTU Distinguished Architecture Alumni Award! Join us in congratulating Tiffany as she becomes part of an elite group of LTU’s College of Architecture Alumni.
Tiffany Brown: The Architecture of Change
Tiffany Brown’s accomplishments lie not only in her architectural projects but also in her transformative leadership, advocacy for inclusive practice, and commitment to uplifting the next generation while transforming the built environment.
A presentation on her career journey is more than a personal story—it’s a catalyst for change. It highlights personal experiences and provides practical solutions to remove barriers in design. It inspires both individuals and organizations to build a more inclusive and dynamic future for architecture. Tiffany will share real-world examples of successful programs and initiatives (like 400 Forward) and offer a blueprint for other firms and organizations to do the same. She will discuss how adopting these strategies can help remove barriers to entry and advancement, ensuring more equitable opportunities and a stronger, more diverse profession.
The Lawrence Technological University DAA Award is given annually in recognition of the recipient’s professional, academic, and personal achievements including:

Local, national, and international professional accomplishments
Support of the College of Architecture and Design
Charitable, volunteer, and community service

In addition to our professional DAA Award, the CoAD DAA Scholarship winner is James Hoppe.
This public Lecture and Award Presentation Reception / Exhibit will be held at Lawrence Technological University’s College of Architecture and Design Campus. Tiffany’s talk will also be livestreamed.
CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
CEU: This lecture equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘HSW subjects for continuing education’.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Lecture Series, this lecture is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details.

ABOUT: Tiffany Brown, MBA, NOMA, Assoc. AIA, brings nearly 20 years of experience in architecture and leadership to her role as Executive Director of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), where she drives the organization’s strategic vision and operations. With two degrees in architecture and an MBA from Lawrence Technological University, Tiffany combines design expertise with business acumen—skills that have helped her secure funding, negotiate partnerships, and advocate for equity in the profession. Her extensive experience in the industry bridges design and implementation, managing complex projects with a focus on community impact.
She is the founder of 400 Forward, an initiative empowering the next generation of women architects, and has been recognized by Architizer’s 100 Women to Watch and the American Institute of Architects for her leadership expertise and visionary approach, Tiffany aims to inspire and empower the next generation of leaders, architects, and designers, ensuring the industry reflects the voices and needs of all communities. In recognition of her influence, Tiffany has received numerous awards and honors, including the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. These accolades reflect her standing as a respected leader and a source of inspiration for her peers.
Tiffany has gained valuable professional experience with Hamilton Anderson Associates and SmithGroup, two nationally recognized design firms that shaped her perspective and position in architecture. A passionate leader in the profession, Tiffany has spearheaded raising awareness on how representation makes a significant social impact on firm practice, culture, education, and design thinking. She is a sought-after expert frequently speaking at national events including South by Southwest, and is featured in ESSENCE Magazine, AIA+Architect Magazine and Architectural Record.

Design x Technology Series: Roy Decker and Anne Marie Duvall Decker
2025-11-04 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
They will explore how the constructed environment can be critical, healthy, educational, and therapeutic for its inhabitants.

Join LTU CoAD for our next exciting Design x Technology Series talk featuring Roy Decker and Anne Marie Duvall Decker, Co-Founders of Duvall Decker. Their talk titled, Foundations will explore how the constructed environment can be critical, healthy, educational, and perhaps, therapeutic for a place and its inhabitants.
This conversational discussion with Assistant Professor Masataka Yoshikawa will provide our guests with a thoughtfully guided interview.
TITLE: Foundations
ABSTRACT: Design encompasses life in all its complexities and contingencies. Planning and design are the only activities that can improve the social and environmental health of our communities. Any professional can engage planning and design thinking in their work, but designers are trained for this challenge. Design methodologies include imagining a future and defining the systematic steps to achieve that future. Architectural projects are local and sited in a specific place and community. To have meaningful impact, architecture must be grounded in the place of practice, in its soil, weather, economy, history, and social context. To be productive, a studio must be aware of the cultural history and limitations of architecture and search for critiques and improvements that can help make a socially and environmentally healthy condition.
The work of Duvall Decker Architects is hopeful speculation through an expanded practice that includes architectural design, community planning, real estate development, and building care. In over twenty-seven years of doing this work, they have recorded what are called our foundations. They are our assumptions, principles, propositions, lessons, inspirations, and aspirations for both the how and the why of a practice. This lecture explores the work through the lenses of several of Duvall Decker’s foundations.
BENEFITS: Each new or renovated building and each new landscape changes its community. These interventions have consequences in the lives of all the people who encounter them over the years they exist. Architects face the challenges of program, budget, and schedule in every project, but the most important challenge is to find the public value for each project. Architecture can contribute to cultural growth, public safety, and environmental and social health. Architecture form is not simply a thing, but a transaction between us and our environment over time.
We believe the opportunity to design the built environment is a privilege that comes with public responsibility. For Duvall Decker, architecture is both a radical act of service and a hopeful artistic speculation. Architectural projects are local and come to be within a specific place and a unique community. As architects, we sometimes do not realize the public consequences that every building or landscape intervention carries. To expand our focus from the project-specific requirements, we ask questions that reframe our perspective. This presentation will explore how the constructed environment can be critical, healthy, educational, and perhaps, therapeutic for a place and its inhabitants.

🛂 CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
CEU: This lecture equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘ HSW subjects for continuing education’.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Lecture Series, this lecture is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details.
*Image: Duvall Decker. US Courthouse Greenville MS. Timothy Hursley – Katherine Flannigan.

Design x Technology Series: Eric Zimmerman
2025-11-06 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Playing With Systems

Join CoAD for our next innovative Design x Technology Series featuring game designer & Arts Professor, NYU Game Center Eric Zimmerman. His talk titled, Playing with Systems will explore important fundamental design questions relevant to most design fields. This hands-on interactive activity will be moderated by LTU Director of Game Design and Assistant Professor Ahu Yolaç.
Games have a special relationship to systems thinking. Every game is an opportunity to push and pull at the affordances of a system, exploring how the system works and how it can be played. While every form of culture (every image, every story, every song) is a system, games – as dynamic participatory experiences – are particularly systemic. And they have been engaging our species for thousands of years.
This session builds connections between game design and other forms of systems design through an interactive workshop where we will play with each other. Specifically, we will explore the simple game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to understand how it works as a system of signification and play. Through a series of modifications, we will look at how small design changes in the rules of a game can ramify into large changes on the level of player experience.
Specifically we will look at what it means to be playful – the ways that play are about transgressing, bending, and breaking structures, in creative ways. Please come to the session ready to play and participate. The focus of the session is designing meaningful experiences for audiences. How does a choice become interesting for a participant? What makes something engaging – on emotional, social, or cognitive levels? How do we balance structured and organized systems with wild and chaotic experiences?
Through the modification and play of a simple game, we will be exploring these important fundamental design questions, which are relevant to just about any field of art or design. The format of the session itself – a way of teaching design through games and play – itself serves as a model for how to integrate ideas and pedagogy into interactive experiences. And it will be fun too! See you there.

🛂 CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details. A pizza lunch will be provided to all on-site registered guests.
This event has limited space. Register early!

Eric is a veteran game designer who makes award-winning games on and off the computer. Along with Peter Lee, he was the co-founder of Gamelab, a New York City-based studio that created original games like Diner Dash and worked with companies like Lego to create dozens of online titles. Other digital games include SiSSYFiGHT (with word.com), an online game about little girls in social conflict on a playground, Leela (with Curious Pictures), an X-Box Kinect launch title about play and meditation, and Dear Reader (with Local No.12), an Apple Arcade launch title that uses public domain literature as the basis for word puzzles. He was a co-founder of the nonprofit The Institute of Play, which designed entire schools where the curriculum was based on play and games as the model for learning. Tabletop titles include Quantum (with FunForge) and The Metagame (with Local No.12). With architect Nathalie Pozzi, he has designed installations that have been shown in the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and other festivals and museums around the world. He is the co-founder of the top-ranked NYU Game Center, where he teaches as an Arts Professor. Eric’s books include Rules of Play (co-authored with Katie Salen) a textbook that helped establish game design as a discipline, and The Rules We Break, a compendium of his game design exercises. He teaches and lectures extensively about game design and is always ready to play.

Design x Technology Series: Scott Shall
2026-01-22 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Our first Spring 2026 Design x Technology Series features Scott Shall, LTU professor.

Come to CoAD for our first Spring 2026 Design x Technology Series talk featuring Professor, LTU, Co-Founder and CEO, houm, Founding Director, International Design Clinic, Scott Shall.
Scott’s presentation on Thursday, January 22, titled ‘Pressure Points,’ will explore his houm work as well as his affiliation with a community-led strategy created by the International Design Clinic (IDC), in partnership with Shalom Ministries, Fielding International and a variety of local activists.
This informative presentation and discussion will be led by Architecture Department Chair and Associate Professor Gretchen Wilkins and will provide our guests with a thoughtfully guided interview.
In the spring and summer of 2025, the International Design Clinic (IDC), in partnership with Shalom Ministries, Fielding International and a variety of local activists, created a community-led strategy and phased approach to design and construct a new community space for the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood of Detroit. The final proposal utilized donated, undervalued, or reclaimed resources to transform the previously unfinished, 2000-sf space into a community hub that will offer free therapy services, nutritional justice programming, and other community-centered supports. The work utilized a mix of low- and high-tech approaches, including 3d scanning, digital simulation and AI in order to give community partners greater voice in the project.
The Cochrane Home reimagines how high-quality, cost-conscious housing can take root on vacant urban land. Built on a narrow site in Detroit, it unites generative design, digital fabrication, and a thoughtful blend of on- and off-site construction to reduce waste, accelerate delivery, and enhance performance. A compact massing strategy and digitally-fabricated service core create open, flexible living spaces filled with daylight and natural ventilation. Cedar cladding, reclaimed tile, and bamboo flooring headline a warm, durable, and sustainable material palette. The project offers a replicable model for owner-occupied infill housing that strengthens community, advances environmental stewardship, and balances comfort with cost.
🛂 CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
CEU: This event equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘HSW subjects for continuing education’.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details. A pizza lunch will be provided to all on-site registered guests.

BIO:
Scott Gerald Shall, RA, is a Professor Architecture in the College of Architecture and Design at Lawrence Technological University (LTU) and the founding principal of the award-winning architectural practice houm (ourhoum.com). Prior to joining LTU, Shall was an Assistant Professor of Architecture in the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and the School of Art and Design at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Shall is also the founding director of the International Design Clinic (IDC, www.internationaldesignclinic.org), a registered non-profit that realizes crowd-sourced architecture and virally-propagated creative action with communities in need around the world. Since founding the IDC in 2006, Shall has worked through this organization to complete over two dozen projects on five continents, including an urban tent for the homeless made of reclaimed water bottles, a vision for education based upon borrowed resources for the migrant communities of India, educational devices based upon the vending architectures of Bolivia for kids working the streets of La Paz, and a two-dollar water filtration system.
Shall’s research and creative work in this arena has been disseminated widely, including presentation at the World Congress of Architects (2023), the Third, Fifth, Seventh and Eighth International Symposia On Service Learning In Higher Education (2013, 2017, 2022, 2024), the 2nd Valencia Biennial of Research in Architecture (2020), and Structures for Inclusion (2007) as well as invited lectures hosted by the AIA (2017), Polis University (2016), the University of Maryland (2009), the New School for Design at Parsons (2008), and the Pratt Institute (2008). Shall’s writing on socially-responsive design has been featured in a range of publications, including works by Springer (2023), Palgrave-MacMillan (2018), the University of Indianapolis Press (2015) and the AIA Press (2010). In 2008 Interior Design magazine published the work of the IDC along with projects by Kengo Kuma & Associates, OMA, and Buckminister Fuller in an article highlighting practitioners who are challenging the edge of design practice. Shall has exhibited his creative work in venues around the world, including solo shows at the Zeitz Museum for Contemporary African Art (2022), the San Francisco Museum of Art in La Paz, Bolivia (2015), and the AIA Center for Architecture in Philadelphia (2009) as well as inclusion within group shows at the Sheldon Swope Museum of Art (2010), the Goldstein Museum of Design (2010), the Venice Architecture Biennale (2013) and MoMA (2015).

Design x Technology Series: Jakob Marsico
2026-02-24 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Tangible Experience vs. the Slop Feed: Designing for Shared Presence in a Hyper-Digital World

Come to CoAD for our second Spring 2026 Design x Technology Series talk featuring Jakob Marsico, Chief Creative Officer at Deeplocal. This talk will also be livestreamed.
Jakob’s presentation on Tuesday, February 24 titled ‘Tangible Experience vs. the Slop Feed,’ will get you thinking about physical interactivity while offering a familiarization with the creative tech experience design industry and an understanding of how physical interaction fits in the built environment.
In our world of infinite scrolling, the act of pulling a perfectly-tuned physical lever feels almost dreamlike. Our feeds have become incredibly good at keeping us locked in, and generative AI has made them even harder to break away. Our feeds are personal, predictive, and effortless. And because of that, it’s increasingly forgettable.
As experience designers, we can choose between:

Flicking your thumb and engaging your arms.
Darting your eyes and craning your neck.
Earbuds that isolate and vibrations that shake your bones.

This talk is about designing experiences you can touch, push, lean on, and feel in your body; not just in your thumbs. Levers, buttons, dials, light, sound, vibration. Experiences that take effort, introduce friction, and happen around other people in the same space.
I’ll walk through Deeplocal projects that prioritize touch, force, light, sound, and motion—and how we’re thinking about using AI not to isolate people further, but to reconnect them to each other and to the spaces they’re in.
This informative presentation will be moderated by Associate Professor of Architecture Lee-Su Huang.

As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details. A pizza lunch will be provided to all on-site registered guests.

BIO: Jakob Marsico is Chief Creative Officer at Deeplocal, a creative innovation studio that invents, designs, and builds experiences for the world’s most progressive brands. Jakob leads a multidisciplinary team of creative technologists, designers, and engineers to invent and deliver playful, interactive experiences that foster meaningful connections between people and technology.
Jakob has a Master of Tangible Interaction Design from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science in Religion from The George Washington University. He also founded and ran Ultra Low Res Studio, an arts-engineering studio that collaborated with developers and architects on experiential projects. Jakob’s work has been featured in various publications and exhibitions, and his projects have received multiple awards and honors for their creativity and innovation.

Design x Technology Series: Ulysses Sean Vance
2026-03-03 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Beyond Health Capacity

Come to CoAD for another innovative Spring 2026 Design x Technology Series talk featuring Associate Professor at Temple University, Tyler School of Art and Architecture Ulysses Sean Vance.
His presentation titled, ‘Beyond Health Capacity,’ will shed light on the systemic challenges communities with limited access to medical support and health maintenance have endured.
By integrating architectural analysis with public health, environmental psychology, and medical practices, Vance’s research and creative work aim to highlight architecture’s vital role in discussions about health equity. Investigations into spatial configurations in healthcare settings examine their impact on medical anxiety, patient recovery, and staff efficiency. Employing computational analysis alongside evidence-based design, Vance evaluates how architectural elements, such as circulation patterns and sensory experiences, influence patient comfort, stress reduction, and clinical efficiency.
The lecture extends to the audience a discussion of publics in architecture, the role of health capacity in urban infrastructure, and housing. Vance will be examining the relationship between environmental stressors and health outcomes, particularly health resilience. The ultimate goal is to share a framework that accommodates a wide range of users, ensuring spaces are not only accessible but also responsive to the diverse human experience. Vance will argue that, by collaborating with public health researchers, medical professionals, and engineers, design research in architecture bridges the gap between architectural practice and healthcare policy.
Health capacity is an emerging consideration for optimizing building design to meet health criteria across physical, virtual, historical, and social spaces. Ulysses will emphasize that approaching medical interventions through non-traditional health facilities can positively affect health’s social and environmental impacts.
This informative presentation will be moderated by interim Provost Karl Daubmann.

CEU: This event equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘HSW subjects for continuing education’.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details. A pizza lunch will be provided to all on-site registered guests.

Bio: Ulysses Sean Vance is a scholar specializing in universal design and healthcare architecture, focusing on adaptive environments that accommodate diverse cognitive and physical abilities. His research goes beyond regulatory compliance, exploring how spatial organization, material selection, and environmental factors enhance inclusivity. The objective is not just to ensure accessibility but also to transform the built environment to better anticipate and respond to occupants’ evolving needs.
Vance’s work is centered on designing interventions that foster health and well-being in underserved communities, rooted in inclusive decision-making during the planning and programming of institutional spaces. The research particularly targets the unique health service needs of adolescents and older adults, encompassing medical, hygienic, physical, and nutritional interventions. Current projects tackle health disparities in urban areas by assessing material hardships and protective factors that affect physical, social, neurological, and behavioral challenges. Key partnerships include the NCSU College of Design Center for Universal Design and various University of Michigan centers focused on healthcare innovation and childhood disparities. The latest research with Temple University Urban Workshop emphasizes patient safety in institutional settings. It explores how campus health can better engage physically and neurologically diverse adolescents while supporting Variety the Children’s Charity of Delaware Valley in creating accessible community cabins.

Design x Technology Series: Juan Miró
2026-03-19 11:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
The Landscape City talk & exhibition

This March Design x Technology Series event consists of a talk centered around an exhibition presented by ACSA and University of Texas Distinguished Professor, Dick Clark Chair in Architecture Juan Miró.
Cities are complex human creations that embody the values and aspirations of the societies that build them. As they adapt and evolve over time, cities develop specific models for growth in response to their historical circumstances and the physical characteristics of their locations. Although today many cities across the globe face similar challenges, the solutions to address those problems must respond to the particulars of each city: from their very specific nuances to the general understanding of the urban trajectory that has shaped them—their urban DNA.
This talk and exhibition presents the work of the architectural practice Miró Rivera Architects within the given context in Austin. Their architecture is developed in dialogue with nature. In their designs, buildings and nature complement each other and form a symbiosis that positively enhances both the exterior and interior spaces as well as the human beings within. In three thematic areas—trees, water, people—they present projects that demonstrate how the interactions between city, nature, and architecture influence spaces for living and working. For Miró Rivera, this is the primary goal: to create both private places and public spaces for people to spend time and come together.
Moderating this Design x Technology Series talk is Associate Professor of Architecture Ralph Nelson
CEU: This event equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘HSW subjects for continuing education’.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch the talk online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details.

BIO:
Few architects embody the intersection of design, advocacy, and education as seamlessly as Juan Miró, FAIA LEED AP. His work is a testament to the belief that architecture is not merely about creating beautiful structures, but about shaping environments that enhance the human experience. Across his professional work, academic teachings, and personal activism, Juan has demonstrated how architecture can engage with nature, pushed the boundaries of urbanism, and advocated for a more humane built environment.
Juan was born in Barcelona and obtained his professional degree at the Escuela de Arquitectura of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. He worked in Spain with his father Antonio Miró as well as with Fernando Higueras, Felix Candela, and Santiago Calatrava on a wide range of projects. In 1989, Juan earned a Fulbright Scholarship to complete a post-professional Master’s degree at Yale University, where he was awarded the William Edward Parsons Memorial Medal. After graduating, Juan worked at Gwathmey Siegel and Associates Architects in New York City.
In 2000, Juan co-founded Miró Rivera Architects alongside his wife Rosa Rivera and brother-in-law Miguel Rivera. The prestigious design firm has won over 100 design awards, including the AR Award for Emerging Architecture, Texas Architecture Firm Award, the Architectural Digest AD100, and ArchDaily’s list of the World’s Best Architects.
What sets Juan apart is his ability to see Austin not as a place to be molded in the image of our European counterparts, but as a uniquely American “landscape city,” as he calls it, that thrives in its relationship with nature. This perspective is embedded in the work of Miró Rivera Architects, which has shaped some of the most remarkable architectural designs in Austin and beyond. The firm’s projects create dialogue between land, light, and the people who inhabit them.
Juan has lectured and published extensively on the work of Miró Rivera Architects, the role of the architectural profession in civic life, the relationship between the manmade and Nature, Mexican architecture, and the relevance of history for designers. He is an active member of the American Institute of Architects and has served as a juror for several AIA design award competitions at the national, state, and local levels. In 2011, Juan was elevated to the organization’s College of Fellows in recognition of his contributions to the profession and to society.
Beyond his professional practice, Juan is the Dick Clark Chair in Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, where he founded Studio Mexico and teaches design and Mexican architectural history. His influence on young architects extends far beyond the classroom; he instills in them a sense of responsibility, curiosity, and advocacy. He urges his students to engage with their surroundings, to question norms, and to recognize their power to shape not just buildings, but communities. Juan’s grassroots action against windowless student dormitories in Austin resulted in a citywide ban on the construction of bedrooms without operable windows.
Juan was named a Distinguished Professor by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and is a member of UT’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Juan has received both the Texas Society of Architects’ Award for Outstanding Educational Contributions and the University of Texas Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award.
Juan’s legacy is not just in the structures he has designed, but in the ideas he has championed. He has helped redefine Texas architecture, not through imitation of others, but by embracing its own identity. He has empowered students to use their voices and reminded architects that their responsibility extends far beyond aesthetics. His work serves as a reminder that architecture, at its core, is about humanity.

Design x Technology Series: Juan Miró
2026-03-19 11:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
The Landscape City talk & exhibition

This March Design x Technology Series event consists of a talk centered around an exhibition presented by ACSA and University of Texas Distinguished Professor, Dick Clark Chair in Architecture Juan Miró.
Cities are complex human creations that embody the values and aspirations of the societies that build them. As they adapt and evolve over time, cities develop specific models for growth in response to their historical circumstances and the physical characteristics of their locations. Although today many cities across the globe face similar challenges, the solutions to address those problems must respond to the particulars of each city: from their very specific nuances to the general understanding of the urban trajectory that has shaped them—their urban DNA.
This talk and exhibition presents the work of the architectural practice Miró Rivera Architects within the given context in Austin. Their architecture is developed in dialogue with nature. In their designs, buildings and nature complement each other and form a symbiosis that positively enhances both the exterior and interior spaces as well as the human beings within. In three thematic areas—trees, water, people—they present projects that demonstrate how the interactions between city, nature, and architecture influence spaces for living and working. For Miró Rivera, this is the primary goal: to create both private places and public spaces for people to spend time and come together.
Moderating this Design x Technology Series talk is Associate Professor of architecture Ralph Nelson
CEU: This event equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘HSW subjects for continuing education’.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch the talk online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details.

Juan Miró, Principal of Miro Rivera Architects, Professor of Architecture at UT Austin. Dick Clark, III, Endowed Chair in Architecture and University Distinguished Teaching Professor.
Professor Juan Miró, FAIA LEED AP was born in Barcelona and obtained his professional degree at the Escuela de Arquitectura of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. In 1989, he earned a Fulbright Scholarship to complete a post-professional Master’s degree at Yale University, where he was awarded the William Edward Parsons Memorial Medal. He has been a faculty member at the UT School of Architecture since 1997.
Since 1999, Professor Miró has directed Studio Mexico, a program at the UTSOA that affords students the opportunity to travel to Mexico to study Mexican architecture and design. Professor Miró has lectured and written on Mexican Architecture with a special focus on the ancient city of Teotihuacan. In his teaching, practice, and research Professor Miró explores the connections between architectural design, placemaking, nature, and the relevance of history. Professor Miró was named a Distinguished Professor by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and is a member of UT’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. He has received both the Texas Society of Architects’ Award for Outstanding Educational Contributions and the University of Texas Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award.

Design x Technology Series: Alexandra Dymowska
2026-03-24 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
LTU CoAD presents another innovative Spring 2026 Design x Technology Series talk.

The College of Architecture and Design at Lawrence Technological University presents another innovative Spring 2026 Design x Technology Series talk featuring Senior Brand Strategy & Creative Designer, Global Cadillac Design at General Motors Alexandra Dymowska.
Her presentation titled, ‘The Art of Travel: How Design and Storytelling Drive Brand Desire,’ will explore how visionary storytelling shapes brand expression through design and fuels brand desire.
Drawing on nearly two decades of experience in the automotive design industry, Alexandra Dymowska reveals how design disciplines, marketing, communications, and partners collaborate to articulate brand values, craft cohesive visual narratives, and heighten aspirations – brought to life through case studies from Cadillac.
Audiences will gain insight into how clear storytelling aligns interdisciplinary teams, elevates luxury experiences across touch points, and builds brands that are both culturally aspirational and emotionally resonant.
Participants will benefit by:
• Gaining a behind-the-scenes glimpse to real-world industry projects, seeing how a design concept evolves from a sketch to a global brand reality.
• Informing their career goals by witnessing how mobility, digital, and physical design intersect in a high-performance professional environment.
• Fueling their creative ambition with tangible examples of how their specific discipline—whether product, interior, or game design—shapes the future of a world-class brand.
🛂 CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details. A pizza lunch will be provided for site registered guests – please register so we can order the right amount of food.

BIO: Alexandra Dymowska is a Senior Brand Strategy & Creative Designer for Global Cadillac Design, where she plays a central role in defining and expressing Cadillac’s modern luxury narrative across vehicles, experiences, and visual communications. Over her nearly two-decade tenure with General Motors and Cadillac Design, she has helped envision the brand’s return to its historic position as the Standard of the World, shaping the Art of Travel design philosophy, revitalizing Cadillac’s visual identity, and cultivating a heightened sense of artfulness across the brand’s products and experiences.
A key creative and strategic voice behind halo initiatives such as CELESTIQ and Cadillac House at Vanderbilt, Alexandra also contributes to advanced concept programs including Opulent Velocity, Elevated Velocity, and SOLLEI, translating visionary design, technology, and performance into emotionally resonant luxury narratives. She bridges Design, Marketing, and Communications teams to ensure alignment around a unified brand story and an elevated aesthetic experience.
Classically trained in art and art history in both Europe and the United States, Alexandra began her career as an exhibiting artist before earning a Master of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute in New York City as a Jack Kent Cooke Award recipient. Her narrative-led design practice is grounded in a rigorous synthesis of fine art, industrial design, and strategic brand thinking.

Design x Technology Series: Stories of the Affleck House
2026-04-02 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Hear first hand accounts from people with intimate knowledge of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House.

College of Architecture and Design at Lawrence Technological University will present ‘Stories of the Affleck House’ as part of our Design x Technology Series.
The Affleck House is a living story. This talk brings together the voices and experiences of some of LTU CoAD’s Distinguished Architecture Alumni, faculty, and staff to share their personal and professional connections to one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most celebrated Usonian homes. Spanning its rich architectural history, the realities of daily life within its walls, and the careful ongoing work of restoration, each voice offers a unique window into this remarkable building.
Panelists:Dale Allen Gyure, Associate Department Chair, ArchitectureMark Farlow, Adjunct faculty, LTU CoAD (DAA 2016)Frederick F. Butters, Esq. FAIA – Principal attorney (DAA 2003)Benedetto Tiseo, FAIA – President, Tiseo Architects (DAA 1999)
Moderator:Tamara Stanko

CEU: This event equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘HSW subjects for continuing education’.

🛂 CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details.
Placed on both the Michigan and National Registers of Historic Places, the Affleck House has been recognized by architectural scholars and historians as one of Michigan’s most significant structures. LTU and the College of Architecture and Design use this historic home as an educational resource, to inspire new generations of designers, and offer seasonal monthly tours.
UTLC Gallery T210 and virtual

Design x Technology Series: Lesley-Ann Noel
2026-04-07 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Designing in the Tension- Relationality, Complexity and the Worlds We Design Together

You are invited to LTU CoAD for another important Spring 2026 Design x Technology Series talk featuring Dean of Design, OCAD University Lesley-Ann Noel.
“Designing in the Tension: Relationality, Complexity and the Futures We Design Together” explores how design thrives in spaces of uncertainty and interconnectedness. Drawing on work by Arturo Escobar, Victor Udoewa, Renata Marques Leitão, and my own research, this talk examines relationality as a foundation for design practice and the role of complexity in shaping pluriversal futures. Through real-world examples in healthcare, technology, urban design, and education, we’ll discuss how designers can embrace tension as a creative force—moving beyond control toward care, equity, and collaboration. This conversation invites us to imagine futures where many worlds fit.
Participants will gain practical frameworks and tools for navigating complexity and relationality in design. They’ll leave with strategies to embrace uncertainty as a creative resource, rather than something to avoid, which is critical in today’s interconnected challenges.
By learning relational design approaches, participants can reduce friction in collaborative projects, improve stakeholder engagement, and design solutions that are more adaptive and inclusive. This makes design processes smoother and outcomes more resilient.
Participants will be introduced to ready-to-use tools like the Positionality Wheel and Designer’s Critical Alphabet, which accelerate reflection and decision-making in complex projects.

What current challenges will this presentation alleviate?
– Difficulty managing multi-stakeholder complexity
– Lack of frameworks for inclusive and equitable design
– Struggles with uncertainty and systemic change
Relational and systemic approaches reduce the risk of designing in isolation, which often leads to failure or unintended harm. By foregrounding care, equity, and collaboration, participants can anticipate ripple effects and design for long-term sustainability.
We’ll examine tools and strategies that foster equity, care, and collaboration—helping designers navigate uncertainty, reduce risks, and remove barriers in multi-stakeholder projects. Reflection and ethics are essential; this session offers practical ways to embed them in design for pluriversal futures.
Moderating this Design x Technology Series talk is LTU Department Chair and Professor Philip Plowright.

🛂 CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details. A pizza lunch will be provided.

BIO: Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel is a Trinidadian design educator and the Dean of Design at OCAD University. She is the author of “Design Social Change” and a co-editor of “The Black Experience in Design.” She has developed tools for critical reflection, such as The Designer’s Critical Alphabet and the Positionality Wheel. Before joining OCAD U, she taught at North Carolina State University, Tulane University, Stanford University, and the University of the West Indies.

Design x Technology Series: Karilyn Johanesen
2026-04-16 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Come to CoAD for our another innovative Spring 2026 Design x Technology Series.

Come to CoAD for our another innovative Spring 2026 Design x Technology Series talk featuring Karilyn Johanesen, Senior Associate at Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu. Enjoy this talk in person or virtually.
Karilyn’s presentation on Tuesday, April 16 titled ‘Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu,’ will allow our guests to gain insight into the practice’s design process including early concept design thinking, material research, and construction.
Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu is an architecture studio based in New York and Amsterdam, founded in 2008 by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu. The practice has developed an internationally recognized body of work spanning cultural, civic, residential, commercial, and educational projects, from temporary installations to long-term urban strategies, across both new construction and adaptive reuse. At the core of SO–IL’s work is an ambition to strengthen the civic realm. Each project is approached as an opportunity to rethink convention and to design spaces that foster openness, collective engagement, and environmental responsibility. A commitment to craft, material precision, and intellectual rigor ensures that each building is deeply responsive to its context while contributing to broader architectural discourse.
Central to this lecture is the studio’s investigation of “edges”. SO–IL treats conventional divisions between interior and exterior, public and private, existing and new not as fixed lines, but as zones of tension and ambiguity. Through strategies of thickening, layering, elongating, and articulating, edges become active zones of negotiation and exchange. The result is buildings that rely less on iconic form than on the precise calibration of material assemblies and the climatic and social forces they mediate.
Presented by Karilyn Johanesen, Senior Associate, this lecture focuses on “edges” as a recurring theme in SO-IL’s work. The studio approaches the conventional divisions between interior and exterior, public and private, and existing and new as potential zones of tension, complexity, and ambiguity. Through strategies of thickening, layering, elongating, and articulating, edges become active zones of negotiation and exchange. The result is buildings that rely less on iconic form than on the precise calibration of material assemblies and the climatic and social forces they mediate.
This informative presentation will be moderated by Department Chair of Architecture and Associate Professor Gretchen Wilkins.
🛂 CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
CEU: This event equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘HSW subjects for continuing education’.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details. A pizza lunch will be provided to all on-site registered guests.

Design x Technology Series: Karilyn Johanesen
2026-04-16 12:30 - 13:30 | Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI, 48075, United States
Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu

CoAD presents our final innovative Design x Technology Series talk for Spring 2026 featuring Karilyn Johanesen, Senior Associate at Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu. Enjoy this talk in person or virtually.
Karilyn’s presentation on Thursday, April 16 titled ‘Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu,’ will allow our guests to gain insight into the practice’s design process including early concept design thinking, material research, and construction.
Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu is an architecture studio based in New York and Amsterdam, founded in 2008 by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu. The practice has developed an internationally recognized body of work spanning cultural, civic, residential, commercial, and educational projects, from temporary installations to long-term urban strategies, across both new construction and adaptive reuse. At the core of SO–IL’s work is an ambition to strengthen the civic realm. Each project is approached as an opportunity to rethink convention and to design spaces that foster openness, collective engagement, and environmental responsibility. A commitment to craft, material precision, and intellectual rigor ensures that each building is deeply responsive to its context while contributing to broader architectural discourse.
Central to this lecture is the studio’s investigation of “edges”. SO–IL treats conventional divisions between interior and exterior, public and private, existing and new not as fixed lines, but as zones of tension and ambiguity. Through strategies of thickening, layering, elongating, and articulating, edges become active zones of negotiation and exchange. The result is buildings that rely less on iconic form than on the precise calibration of material assemblies and the climatic and social forces they mediate.
Presented by Karilyn Johanesen, Senior Associate, this lecture focuses on “edges” as a recurring theme in SO-IL’s work. The studio approaches the conventional divisions between interior and exterior, public and private, and existing and new as potential zones of tension, complexity, and ambiguity. Through strategies of thickening, layering, elongating, and articulating, edges become active zones of negotiation and exchange. The result is buildings that rely less on iconic form than on the precise calibration of material assemblies and the climatic and social forces they mediate.
This informative presentation will be moderated by Department Chair of Architecture and Associate Professor Gretchen Wilkins.
🛂 CoAD Freshman, this event counts towards your Experience Passport.
CEU: This event equals 1 professional architecture credit towards licensure requirements. ​​
Please note that LTU is not a registered AIA CE provider. By virtue of having a NAAB-accredited architecture program, the State of Michigan authorizes LTU to offer continuing education credit. A list of state-approved HSW subjects can be found on their licensing website by searching the page for ‘HSW subjects for continuing education’.
As part of CoAD’s Design x Technology Series, this event is free and open to the public. Guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details.

BIO: As a Senior Associate at Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu, Karilyn Johanesen plays a pivotal role in overseeing projects, guiding design development, and managing construction administration. Since joining the firm in 2017, she has been instrumental in advancing SO–IL’s residential portfolio in Brooklyn, working closely with Tankhouse Development. She has led the design of CubeHouse, a 183,000-square-foot timber high-rise office tower in Amsterdam, certified as BREEAM Excellent and WELL Gold. She is also overseeing Stanton Yards in Detroit, the adaptive reuse of a historic marina into a dynamic cultural campus.
