UT’s College of Architecture and Design has named Darius Ammon as the inaugural Architecture Fellow in the School of Architecture.
The new fellowship program is designed to broaden design education at the university and recognizes emerging design educators whose work shows extraordinary promise. Ammon’s fellowship will last throughout the 2016-2017 academic year.
“Fellows will infuse the school with youthful energy and fresh perspectives through original research and by teaching courses throughout the year,” said Jason Young, director of the School of Architecture. “We could not be more pleased to have Darius inaugurate this new initiative in our school. With his background, breadth of experience and unique perspectives, he will enrich the education we provide our students.”
Ammon most recently taught at Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzweland. He has also taught at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, a university for science and technology.
Ammon has a Master of Science in architecture and urban design from ETH and has studied at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. His professional experience includes working at practices in New York, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands.
“From the first moment, I experienced a fantastic spirit at the College of Architecture and Design,” said Ammon. “There is a very open intellectual atmosphere to explore new developments in architecture while retaining a close connection to the origins of architecture as a craft. The students are well informed and curious.”
Ammon will teach two studio classes and a seminar in which he will continue investigations into new urban design strategies that he initiated in Switzerland. His research into Twentieth-century musical composition techniques will be synthesized with research on traditional architecture he conducted in Japan, Italy, and Greece.
Ammon said he’s already inspired by Knoxville and East Tennessee, and looks forward to furthering his work in the class as well as the college’s fabrication laboratory, known as the Fab Lab.
“I look forward to making use of the unique opportunity to combine analogue and digital fabrication methods in the Fab Lab. I have never seen a space so well equipped with tools that allow such a variety of tasks,” he said. “I am amazed by Tennessee’s landscapes and biosphere, and the great passion for music that people from Tennessee have. I am looking forward to translating some of these elements into my architectural installation.”
Ammon’s work will culminate in a lecture and project to be exhibited in Spring 2017.
Applications for the 2017-2018 fellowship will open in September 2016.
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CONTACT:
Amanda F. Johnson (865-974-6401, amandajohnson@utk.edu)
Tyra Haag (865-974-5460, tyra.haag@tennessee.edu)