Mediterranean Villages: An Architectural Journey

Monday, March 14, 2005
7:00 P.M. - Temple Buell Architecture Gallery
Architecture Building, 608 E. Lorado Taft Dr.

About the Lecturers

Steven and Cathi House and their associates endeavor to create beauty, serenity and awe in their work. Their greatest inspiration comes from the subtleties of each site and the deepest recesses of their client’s souls. Through intimate analysis, they mold each project into a unique, magical and harmonious environment. They strive to lift themselves and their clients to a higher level of perception through skillful manipulation of form, light and texture. The poetic quality of their work derives from the simpler side of life: the magic sparkle of sunlight raking across a textured wall.

Since 1982, House + House have produced a diverse body of work reflecting their passion for site specific, well choreographed buildings throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, the Sierra Nevada mountains, Florida, Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean. In 1989, Architecture magazine selected House + House from over 600 entries to feature in their “Discovery Issue” on emerging talent. Since then, House + House has received more than 40 design awards. Their work has been exhibited widely and has been featured in national and international publications including their monograph, House + House Architects: Choreographing Space (1999).

For over thirty years Steven and Cathi House have traveled throughout the Mediterranean documenting vernacular architecture. Their new book, Mediterranean Villages - an architectural journey, celebrates village architecture in four Mediterranean regions: the hilltowns of central Italy, the Aegean Islands of Greece, the Dalmatian coast, and the Andalusian region of southern Spain. Steven and Cathi acknowledge the profound influence their study of vernacular architecture has had on their professional work. They have lectured extensively around the United States and Mexico and both serve on the Advisory Council for the College of Architecture at Virginia Tech.

Opening Reception: Stone Poems

Immediately following the lecture, an opening reception will be held for the latest exhibit of the photography of Professor Emeritus James Warfield, Stone Poems: Architecture and the Land. The photographs explore and celebrate worldwide architectural works, which, according to Warfield, “exemplify the very best in culture, nature, architecture and land relationships.”