Department of Architecture Events

Amanda Loper, AIA, LEED AP, is a Principal at David Baker Architects, a collaborative architecture and urban design firm based in California and Alabama. With nearly two decades of engaged architectural experience, Amanda focuses on the big-picture potential of sites as well as overseeing the details that create unique built environments. Amanda established DBA_BHM—the firm’s Southeastern studio in Birmingham, Ala.—in 2016, drawing on more than 10 years experience designing urban infill housing, large-scale framework plans, and housing policy in the San Francisco Bay Area. Amanda holds degrees in both Architecture and Interior Architecture from Auburn University and is an alum of Rural Studio. She recently co-authored 9 Ways to Make Housing for People, DBA’s framework for community-forward design, and she writes and lectures frequently to bring social awareness to issues of housing and density within the urban setting.

This event is in-person on the UO Portland campus and is free and open to the public. A Zoom option is also available. Please register at this link. Meeting ID: 993 1419 2956

Join UO’s Portland Architecture Program for a screening of the new documentary feature film, Lewerentz Divine Darkness, followed by a Q&A with Director Sven Blume.

UO Portland Room 121 Innovation Building 2811 NE Holman St. Portland, Oregon 97211 Time: 70 minutes + Q&A See the trailer here. About the Film: Sigurd Lewerentz is one of the most famous Swedish architects, considered a master of the profession internationally. His unique solutions were decades ahead of their time. Lewerentz did not want to be filmed or interviewed. His person, like his buildings, is surrounded by a mysterious aura. But in a root cellar in Lund, there is an unknown treasure. Film reels and audio tapes recorded by the architect Bernt Nyberg with Lewerentz during his last years are stored here. From the cellar, a cultural-historical journey begins, where the stylistic traces of Lewerentz within Nordic architecture become palpable. Classicism and modernism converge in a poetic brutality that awakens our deepest and most archaic cultural memories.

Filmmaker: Sven Blume is a Stockholm-based film director specializing in documentary filmmaking. He graduated from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2013 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Documentary Film. Since then, he has worked extensively as a director on documentary projects and has collaborated across disciplines within fine art, architecture, music videos, and dance.His latest feature-length documentary, Lewerentz Divine Darkness (2024), explores the work of architect Sigurd Lewerentz and marks his second film on architecture. Since its world premiere in spring 2024, the film has had a national cinema and broadcast release in Sweden and approximately 100 special screenings/festivals in 25 countries worldwide.

His previous films include Crooked Lines of Beauty – My Grandfather, the Architect Carl Nyrén (2021) and For Somebody Else (2020), a documentary about surrogate mothers in the United States, along with several short films. Blume's films have received critical acclaim, winning awards and being screened at festivals worldwide, as well as in museums, galleries, cinemas, and on public broadcasters in multiple countries. In recognition of his contributions to film, he became a member of the Swedish Film Academy in 2023.

Join UO’s Portland Architecture Program for a reception and public lecture event celebrating the design of the Innovation Building at our new campus in NE Portland with Mandy Butler and Pam Saftler of TVA Architects. 5:00pm PST (talk at 5:30pm) Wednesday, May 21

UO Portland Innovation Commons (3rd Floor) Innovation Building 2811 NE Holman St. Portland, Oregon 97211

Zoom link Meeting ID: 971 9590 1469

About: Renovation holds a unique power to honor the past and embrace the future. More than a fix or an upgrade, it’s an opportunity to elevate the very essence of a building—revealing its hidden potential, respecting its original character, and reimagining it for contemporary needs. By thoughtfully reconsidering how an existing structure can support modern uses, renovation transforms constraints into catalysts for creativity—allowing designers to rethink space, introduce modern technologies, improve performance, and strengthen a building’s connection to its history, place, and purpose.

Join TVA Principals Pam Saftler and Mandy Butler as they share stories and strategies from three recent renovation projects at the University of Oregon: Huestis Hall and Friendly Hall in Eugene, and the Innovation Building in Portland. While each project presented distinct architectural and programmatic challenges, they all shared a common thread: the transformative power of renovation. This talk will highlight TVA’s pursuit of the “twofer”—a single design move that solves a problem and delivers added value. Whether through aesthetics, user experience, or sustainability, the twofer is smart, efficient, and impactful.

MANDY BUTLER, AIA Mandy Butler is a Principal at TVA Architects, where she leads the design and planning of complex, high-performance learning environments—including science and technology research facilities, laboratories, and hands-on teaching spaces. With deep expertise in programming and planning, she creates spaces that meet the technical and functional needs of students and faculty while supporting evolving teaching methodologies. Mandy brings a strong command of technical requirements, regulatory standards, and stakeholder priorities to every project, resulting in adaptable, forward-thinking designs that are both effective and inspiring.

Her recent work for the University of Oregon includes the Huestis Hall Deferred Maintenance Project, multiple research and teaching lab renovations in Klamath Hall, and the Innovation Building Renovation on the Portland campus. She also recently led UO stakeholders through programming for the renovation of Friendly Hall.

Mandy holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oregon and has served on the College of Design’s Dean’s Council, offering strategic insight on development, diversity initiatives, and community engagement.

PAM SAFTLER, AIA, IIDA Pam Saftler is a Principal at TVA Architects with nearly three decades of experience shaping projects that elevate the human experience through thoughtful design. With a foundation in architecture, environmental design, and urban planning, Pam is adept at transforming complex programmatic requirements into spaces that are both highly functional and inspiring.

She has led numerous higher education initiatives, bringing together diverse stakeholder groups to create adaptable, high-performance environments that support hands-on learning, collaboration, and innovation. Her portfolio includes major renovations, laboratory upgrades, and makerspaces that enhance the daily experience of students and faculty alike.

Pam’s recent work for the University of Oregon includes the Huestis Hall Deferred Maintenance Project, renovations to Klamath Hall, and the Innovation Building Renovation on the Portland campus. She is currently leading the renovation of Friendly Hall, the third-oldest building on the Eugene campus.

To think through soil is to engage with some of the most critical issues of our time. In addition to its agricultural role in feeding eight billion people, soil has become the primary agent of carbon storage in global climate models, and it is crucial for biodiversity, flood control, and freshwater resources. Perhaps no other material is asked to do so much for the human environment, and yet our basic conceptual model of what soil is and how it works remains surprisingly vague.

In cities, soil occupies a blurry category whose boundaries are both empirically uncertain and politically contested. Soil functions as a nexus for environmental processes through which the planet’s most fundamental material transformations occur, but conjuring what it actually is serves as a useful exercise in reframing environmental thought, design thinking, and city and regional planning toward a healthier, more ethical, and more sustainable future.

Through a sustained analysis of the world’s largest wastewater agricultural system, located in the Mexico City–Mezquital hydrological region, Thinking Through Soil imagines what a better environmental future might look like in central Mexico. More broadly, this case study offers a new image of soil that captures its shifting identity, explains its profound importance to rural and urban life, and argues for its capacity to save our planet.

Please join us at UO Portland on Monday, October 6 at 5:30pm for the first public event in the Fall 2025 School of Architecture & Environment Lecture Series.

Description: In the early 1970s, a group of young architects moved to Eugene, Oregon to explore life out west and to teach architecture at the University of Oregon after working with the great Estonian-born American architect Louis Kahn in Philadelphia on what are now considered masterpieces of postwar modern architecture. Thomas Hacker was among these teachers, and would have a great impact on the next generation of architects practicing in the region today through his teaching, before moving to Portland and beginning an equally influential practice.  

Throughout his education at the University of Oregon and professional development in Portland, Daniel Toole has explored this rich legacy while working under a number of architects taught by Thom Hacker. For many years he dreamed of making a pilgrimage to Philadelphia to see the Louis Kahn archives and buildings nearby. He was able to finally make this journey in early 2025 and will share reflections from this trip through personal photographs and pastels.

Daniel Toole is an architect and educator based in Portland working throughout the northwest and beyond. He holds degrees in architecture from the University of Oregon and Harvard GSD. Before founding his own practice in 2020, he worked for a number of architects trained by Thom Hacker, such as John Cava and Brad Cloepfil (Allied Works), where his interests in this legacy were cultivated.

Learn about different career paths in the real estate industry and the foundations of financial analysis from guest speakers, hands-on workshops, and site tours. Join the UO Real Estate Investment Group for our weekly meetings every Wednesday in Lillis 132 from 6:00–7:30 p.m.! Our club is open to all and no application is required.

Please join the University of Oregon’s Portland Architecture Program on Wednesday, January 14 at 6:00pm for a book talk and conversation with Sam Bloch, author of Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource. This is a public event in the Winter 2026 UO School of Architecture & Environment Lecture Series, co-sponsored by Design Portland and SOJ. The event is free for students and UO affiliates. RSVP here. Note that this event will be held at the City of Possibility space in downtown Portland (JK Gill Building, 426 SW Harvey Milk St.). Talk Description: Shade plays a vital role in enhancing livability, human health, and sustainability in Portland—a historically temperate city now known for killer summer heat. As global climate change and runaway urban development raises local temperatures, access to shade is already becoming essential for survivability and environmental justice. Learn how awnings, trees, and more thoughtful urban design can cool the city, reduce energy costs and carbon emissions, and make Portland safer and more accessible to all. Shade's distribution reflects profound inequalities—and expanding it can be a critical step in shaping Portland's cooler and fairer future.

Sam Bloch is an environmental journalist and the author of Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource, a "compelling ... conversation-starter" (NPR) named one of The New Yorker's best books of the year. Previously a staff writer at The Counter, Bloch has written about the intersection of climate change and urban design for Places Journal, Slate, CityLab, Landscape Architecture Magazine, and The New York Times, and has been published by L.A. Weekly, Art in America, Artnet and others. Bloch is a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School and a former MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellow and Emerson Collective Fellow. He is based in New York City, where he lives with his partner and their son.

Join Global Education Oregon for an information session on our summer 2026 Building Integrated Architecture program! This info session will provide you with additional program and application information.

To learn more about the Building Integrated Architecture program, visit our website: https://geo.uoregon.edu/programs/asia-singapore/building-integrated-agriculture-singapore

The Building Integrated Architecture program's final application deadline is March 15, and the deadline to be considered for scholarships is February 28.

You can join the virtual information session here: https://uoregon.zoom.us/j/98222620274

Please join the University of Oregon’s Portland Architecture Program for a lecture on the work of Kwong von Glinow. This is a public event in the winter 2026 UO School of Architecture & Environment Lecture Series. The event is in-person in the Highland Hall at UO Portland, but can also be streamed via Zoom [registration link].

Description:

The City has room for design innovation.

The Building has room to reevaluate how it accommodates contemporary lifestyles and values.

The Room has the possibility to enhance everyday life. Kwong Von Glinow is an architecture practice based in Chicago founded on the belief that architecture is meant to be enjoyed. Their work translates forward-looking architectural concepts into designs with broad appeal, taking an optimistic and explorative approach. The practice’s projects are about clear ideas and compelling ideals with architectural intentions that are simple, yet powerful and transformative. The practice takes on projects of varying programs to design innovative living environments, places for cultural engagement, innovative academic and institutional settings, contemporary workspaces, and not least urban public spaces. Kwong Von Glinow was founded in 2017 by Lap Chi Kwong and Alison Von Glinow. The firm’s current projects include the renovation and addition to a landmarked Howard Van Doren Shaw house in Highland Park, IL; a mixed-use multi-family with commercial building along Chicago Avenue; a rooftop addition to a historic Greystone; and an accessory building for a countryside estate. Kwong Von Glinow recently completed: Ardmore House, the Swiss Consulate Chicago at the John Hancock Center, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Library and two residence hall lobbies, and Rice Architecture’s MD Anderson Hall renovation in Houston, TX.

As a practice, Kwong Von Glinow has received numerous awards, including the 2022 Spotlight Award by Rice Design Alliance, an awarded grantee from the Graham Foundation, and a recipient of the 2017 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects and Designers.  The office has been recognized by design publications that including being named as 1 of 400 creatives shaping America by Wallpaper* Magazine in 2024, named by AN Interior Magazine as a top 50 architect and design in 2024, 2022, and 2021, named a “Next Progressive” by Architect Magazine, and named in 2017 as one of the top 20 emerging practices by Wallpaper* Magazine.  

Lap Chi Kwong holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington. Before founding the firm, he worked with Pritzker Prize-winning studios such as Herzog & de Meuron and Amateur Architecture Studio, contributing to projects like the M+ Museum in Hong Kong, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Kramlich Residence & Gallery in California. Lap Chi has taught design studios at Harvard University GSD, Rice University, and Princeton University, and IIT. Alison Von Glinow, AIA, earned her Master of Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design and her bachelor’s degree from Barnard College. Prior to co-found Kwong Von Glinow, Alison worked with globally recognized firms, including Herzog & de Meuron in Basel, Switzerland; SOM in Chicago and New York; Toshiko Mori Architect in New York; and Svendborg Architects in Copenhagen, Denmark. Alison is a licensed architect in Illinois. Alison has taught options design studios at Harvard University GSD, Rice University, and Princeton University. *Photo Credit: Mikael Olsson

Andee Hess is the Principal of Osmose Design, based in Portland.

Osmose focuses primarily on hospitality, retail, and high-end residential clients, with designs anchored in strong conceptual stock. Their work asserts that bold choices can illuminate the soul of a project, and might even embed moments of lightly trippy joy within the daily routine. Custom furniture and lighting are regular extensions of Osmose’s design approach,  continuously collaborating with new artisans and industries to conjure singular solutions that fulfill the unique needs of each client. 

Osmose has worked with prominent national and international brands like Salt & Straw, Wieden + Kennedy, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Steven Smith Teamaker, and Baskin Robbins South Korea.

Hosted by the School of Architecture and Environment in the College of Design.