Architect Julie Eizenberg, AIA, and visual artist Ann Hamilton launched the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts' fall Public Lecture Series with a pair of talks Sept. 13 and 15.

Eizenberg, who spoke Sept. 13, is a founding principal of Koning Eizenberg Architecture in Santa Monica, CA, where she directs architectural design and master planning. Eizenberg is recognized for her expertise in working with cities, non-profit agencies, educational institutions, and private developers to generate inventive master plans, public places, and architecture rooted in social and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1981, Koning Eizenberg comprises more than 20 architects, designers, and administrative staff. The firm has completed a variety of building types, with an emphasis on housing and cultural buildings, and received more than 65 design, historic preservation, and sustainability awards. In 2009 it was named firm of the year by the AIA California Council. Architecture isn't just for Special Occasions, a monograph collecting 14 of the firm's projects, was published in 2006.

Hamilton, who spoke Sept. 15, is the Sam Fox School's inaugural Arthur L. and Sheila Prensky Visiting Artist as well as an internationally acclaimed installation artist.

Hamilton's most recent project, stylus—a collaboration with sound composer Shahrokh Yadegari—is on view at St. Louis' Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts through Jan. 11, 2011. Structured around a series of "live" acoustic elements, the piece invites visitors to interact with record turntables, player pianos, books from the St. Louis Public Library, and other materials. These interactions are then amplified, broadcast, and projected throughout the building, transforming the Pulitzer's elegantly meditative architecture into a unique audio and visual laboratory.

Sam Fox School students and faculty assisted Hamilton with several aspects of the exhibition, including the creation of more than 1,200 pairs of paper hands. Initially formed out of clay, the hands were then covered with simple brown as well as translucent handmade papers, then installed in a series of cubbies in the Pulitzer's main gallery, where visitors are encouraged to try them on.

Hamilton's many honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Visual Arts Fellowship and the Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship. Her work has been installed in major museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Tate Gallery, Liverpool. Monographs about her work include Ann Hamilton (2002) and Ann Hamilton: An Inventory of Objects (2006). She is a professor of art at The Ohio State University.

Sam Fox School Public Lecture Series—Fall 2010 Schedule

Sept. 13
Julie Eizenberg, AIA
Principal and co-founder, Koning Eizenberg Architecture, Santa Monica, CA

Sept. 15
Ann Hamilton
Professor of art, The Ohio State University
Arthur L. and Sheila Prensky Visiting Artist Lecture

Sept. 20
Brian Healy, AIA
Principal and founder, Brian Healy Architects, Boston
Ruth and Norman Moore Visiting Professor Lecture

Sept. 23
Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA
Principal and co-founder, Pugh + Scarpa Architects, Santa Monica
* In conjunction with the AIA Central States Region Design Awards

Sept. 27
Rocio Romero
Founder, Rocio Romero, LLC, St. Louis
Visiting Professor Lecture

Oct. 4
Yvonne Farrell
Co-director, Grafton Architects, Dublin

Oct. 11
Tom Leader
Principal and founder, Tom Leader Studio, Berkeley, CA

Oct. 13
Joshua Mosley
Associate professor of fine arts, University of Pennsylvania School of Design

Oct. 18
Thomas Phifer
Principal and founder, Thomas Phifer and Partners, New York

Oct. 20
Stephen Wilson
Professor of Art, Conceptual/Information Arts program, San Francisco State University
* Co-sponsored by Saint Louis Art Museum

Oct. 25
Jeanne Gang, FAIA, LEED AP
Principal and founder, Studio Gang Architects, Chicago
Coral Courts Lecture

Oct. 27
Edward A. Shanken
Universitair Docent in New Media, University of Amsterdam; Faculty of Media Art History, Donau-Universität Krems
Louis D. Beaumont Scholar Lecture

Nov. 1
Jessica Stockholder
Director of graduate studies in sculpture, Yale University
* Co-sponsored by Laumeier Sculpture Park

Nov. 3
Milton Braga
Co-founder, MMBB Architects, São Paulo, Brazil

Nov. 8
Monica Amor
Professor, Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism, Maryland Institute College of Art
* Co–sponsored by the Department of Art History & Archaeology in Arts & Sciences

Nov. 10
Herman Hertzberger
Principal and founder, Architectuurstudio HH, Amsterdam
Fumihiko Maki Lecture

Nov. 17
Heather Roberge
Principal and founder, murmur, Los Angeles
Visiting Professor Lecture

Nov. 22
Philip Pearlstein
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York

* All talks are free and open to the public and begin at 6:30 p.m. in Steinberg Hall Auditorium, located near the intersection of Skinker and Forsyth boulevards. In addition, each talk will be preceded by receptions at 6 p.m. For more information call (314) 935-9300.