The art department, together with the American Institute of Architectural Students of The University of Memphis, has managed to serve up another taste of the industry.
Italian native and internationally renowned designer Andrea Ponsi will be at The U of M today and Friday.
Ponsi, whose latest success is the Palos Verdes Art Center in Southern California, will visit the design studios of students from all levels and offer a free lecture at the Brooks Museum at 7 p.m. tonight.
Architecture professor Michael Hagge said Ponsi's visit presents a great opportunity.
"This is a wonderful way to see work and design strategies employed by an internationally acclaimed architect and educator," Hagge said. "The love of design held by Professor Ponsi is certain to extend both to students and faculty in the program."
Ponsi is considered a jack-of-all-trades in the world of architecture, whose range spans from interiors and lighting to commercial and residential structures.
Currently a professor abroad in Florence for Syracuse and Kent State, Ponsi is expected to spark a great deal of energy and focus in students, Hagge said.
"Historically, when the architecture program has brought to the studios a person of his significance, the students have gained a bit of rebirth in their work."
Junior architecture major Duke Walker said this kind of opportunity is always desirable.
"There's nothing more inspiring," Walker said. "It's what academia is all about."
Following meetings with the AIAS, Ponsi will move to one-on-one encounters with selected student-designers. Faculty members were asked to select projects from studio classes for to review.
Critique of studio work is beneficial to shed valuable insight into design strategies, Hagge said.
Senior Andrew Parks has work up for review -- prototypical designs for cabins in the Millington-Shelby Forest area. Parks said he looks forward to a fresh perspective on his ideas.
Certified architect and adjunct professor Jim Lutz spent time with Ponsi in his Florence studio.
"He's a wonderful teacher and (he's) down-to-earth. He looks for positive aspects in his reviewing, yet offers positive, constructive criticism. He brings the talents and sensibilities of an artist, as any architect should, to bear on designs of anything from a building to a table lamp."
The architecture program, in its first year working with the art department, is expected to receive regional attention for this visit, Hagge said.
"I personally believe that this visit and others we have planned will continue to show the Memphis design community that The U of M is serious about its architectural education," Hagge said.
Junior Cedric Robinson said he sees Memphis' prestige as an architectural center growing.
"With someone of this stature, we're becoming more of a world-class city."
At the Brooks, Ponsi will take a multi-faceted approach to his theories of design, Lutz said.
Ponsi's lecture is titled, "A Path in the Woods: The Design for the New Palos Verdes Art Center." He won an international competition including over 250 designs with the Palos Verdes work.
Senior Jason Weeks, president of the AIAS, said, "You never pass up a chance like this -- He's one of the great ones."
This visit is sponsored also by Memphis' Brooks Museum and the Memphis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and is funded through the Academic Enrichment grants of the art department.
