Mark DeKay, professor of architecture in UT’s College of Architecture and Design, recently delivered a keynote address at the 2016 Architectural Education Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa. The forum took place in conjunction with the South African Institute of Architects annual conference.
In his presentation, “Exploring New Terrains: The Next Architecture School,” DeKay offered solutions to issues facing the higher education system in post-apartheid South Africa. He stressed the value of creating a collaborative work and school culture and proposed a solution to the climate crisis through carbon-neutral design education.
DeKay also outlined the need for education that accelerates skills in the 21st century and emphasized a “shared knowledge ecology”—a collective base of knowledge from faculty, staff, and students that optimizes problem solving.
At UT, DeKay specializes in sustainable design theory, research, and design. His book Sun, Wind, and Light: Architectural Design Strategies, co-authored by G. Z. Brown and now in its third edition, is an updated guide to designing buildings that heat with the sun, cool with the wind, and create light with the sky. It is currently being translated into Chinese and French.
In 2000, DeKay was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to the Center of Environmental Planning and Technology in Ahmedabad, India. In 2005, he was co-recipient of the AIA/Tides Foundation Award for Ecoliteracy in Architecture Schools, which recognized his integrated graduate design studio.
DeKay earned Master of Architecture degrees from both Tulane University and the University of Oregon and is a fellow of the Institute of Green Professionals.
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CONTACT:
Amanda Johnson (865-974-6401, amandajohnson@utk.edu)
Tyra Haag (865-974-5460, tyra.haag@tennessee.edu)