Marvin Malecha, FAIA
President of The American Institute of Architects
Culture of Practice
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
2:00 P.M. - TBAG Gallery
Architecture Building
Alden Orput Endowment Practice Series in conjunction with Prof. Gaines Hall ARCH 501
Marvin J.
Malecha, FAIA, arrived at the College of Design in 1994 to
accept the position of Dean of the College of Design. For 12
years prior, he was dean of the College of Environmental Design
at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Malecha earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of
Minnesota and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University.
He was recognized as the 1980 Rotch Traveling Scholar.
Malecha was elected as First President/President Elect
(2008-2009) of The American Institute of Architects. During
2006, Malecha was inducted into Sigma Xi, the scientific
research society. Malecha received the prestigious 2003 Topaz
Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education from the
American Institute of Architects and Association of Collegiate
Schools of Architecture.
Malecha was awarded the James Haecker Distinguished Leadership
Award for Architectural Research (2007) and he was awarded the
William R. and June Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban Planning
(2008). In 2006 Dean Malecha received the Jackson Rigney Award
for International Service from North Carolina State University.
He was one of seven recognized Architectural Educators of the
Year Award (2006) from Design Intelligence Magazine. He was
ranked second nationally in 2005 for his influence on practice
among architectural educators in the U.S. by Design Intelligence
Magazine. He was recognized in 2002 as a Distinguished Professor
by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).
This national distinction recognizes creative achievement in the
advancement of architectural education through teaching, design
scholarship, research or service. He is a Fellow in the American
Institute of Architects. Also in 2002, he was selected as part
of a team among six teams to receive the National Council of
Architectural Registration Boards' Prize for Creative
Integration of Practice and Education in the Academy. Malecha
has been inducted as an honorary member into the Golden Key
International Honor Society, Sigma Iota Rho International
Studies Fraternity, Alpha Rho Chi Professional Fraternity and
the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.
He is a recipient of the American Institute of Architects,
California Council, Excellence in Education Award. He is the
only American Educator to have been recognized as an honorary
member of the European Association for Architectural Education.
In 1999, he was presented the Alumni Distinguished Achievement
Award from the University of Minnesota, College of Architecture
and Landscape Architecture. Malecha has served as President of
the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the
California Council of Architectural Education. Malecha served as
the Vice Chair of the AIA/ACSA Council on Architectural
Research.
He has had frequent exchanges with the European Association for
Architectural Education as a visiting speaker and as an advisor.
He has served as a member of the National Institute for
Architectural Education Teaching Office Task Force. Malecha has
also served as a Master Juror for the National Council of
Architectural Registration Boards, as a member of the National
Architectural Accrediting Board, and on the Steering Committee
of the AIA Architects in Education Professional Interest Area as
the Chair, and as a member of the AIA Research Policy Board.
Presently, he is serving memberships on the national AIA Board,
the AIA North Carolina Board, the Board of the Contemporary Art
Museum of Raleigh and the Building and Real Estate Commission of
the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. Dean Malecha has led the effort
to promote the development of the case studies in architecture
as a fundamental responsibility of the American Institute of
Architects. As co-chair of the AIA Case Study Workgroup, he
fostered increased collaboration between academic institutions
and professional offices.
Malecha has actively promoted international study and exchange.
During his career, he has promoted the development of a branch
campus in Prague, Czech Republic and developed programs in
Italy, Greece, and Japan. He has traveled extensively and
maintains a network of colleagues world-wide.
Dean Malecha’s authorship includes The Learning Organization,
Reconfiguration in the Study and Practice of Architecture,
Foundations, The Fabric of Architecture, The Total Energy House,
Learning About Architecture, Essays on Architecture, The Design
Studio, The Study of Design, Form and Performance, Angels in the
Architecture, Design in Life, The Nests of Pegasus, and an
article, "Architectural Education," published in EKISTICS. In
2006 he was invited to author a major article for the 30th
Anniversary Publication of the European Association for
Architectural Education on the subject of Professional
Education. He co-authored with Robert Greenstreet The Junior
Faculty Handbook on Tenure and Promotion. He is completing a
publication regarding the patterns of design thinking in
professional education and practice.
As an academic, Marvin Malecha regularly accepts teaching
assignments. His areas of teaching responsibility include
critical thinking/design thinking for first-year students,
professional practice for advanced undergraduate and graduate
students, design thesis advising and studio instruction. Malecha
believes that teaching is the essence of a life in the academy
as a complement to leadership and administrative
responsibilities.
In the field of research, Malecha has been the principal
investigator for two major projects. The first, The Total Energy
House, was funded by the General Dynamics Corporation to
investigate single-family home design in the major climate zones
of the United States to facilitate independence from the energy
grid ($250K in 1978-79); the second, funded primarily by the
Kellogg Foundation ($3.1M in 1988-94), investigated the
development and built a Center for Regenerative Studies on the
Cal Poly campus. In both instances, the projects were realized
by a capable team of participants.
Throughout his career, Malecha has maintained an active
involvement with architectural practice in roles from peer
reviews to project architect and designer. As an architect, he
gained experience working with the firm of Hugh Stubbins and
Associates in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and he has continued to
work on his own and in association with offices in Minneapolis,
Los Angeles, and the Raleigh-Durham area. He has worked on
building types as diverse as university classrooms and
galleries, church and parish facilities, correctional
facilities, an entertainment amphitheatre master plan, and
residential projects, including the official residence of a
university chancellor. His work has been recognized with design
awards.
Marvin Malecha's career has been characterized by leadership in
academic management, attention to the scholarly and reflective
aspects of a design education, a consulting practice that
informs a life in the academy and a passionate belief in the
absolute right of access to an education for every individual in
our society. He believes that education and practice lie along
the same continuum in life and he has encouraged others to find
the connections between them
Additional Information
Marvin
MalechaLinks
Contacts
Lecture Committee: Stewart Hicks Erik Hemingway Julie Larsen John Senseney
