DesignIntelligence’s “most admired educator" gives the next Hyde Lecture

The College of Architecture is excited to announce Rana Abudayyeh, named DesignIntelligence’s “most admired educator,” will be giving the next Hyde lecture titled “Becoming Dynamic: design in the age of multivalence” April 7, at 4 p.m., Richards Hall, room 15.

Abudayyeh is an assistant professor and the Robin Klehr Avia Professor of interior architecture at the College of Architecture and Design, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Situated at the intersection of advanced digital making, representation and social justice, Abudayyeh critically investigates the architectural systems and social forces that define resilient environments, catering to cultural identities through her teaching, research and service. She joined the faculty at UTK, in 2015. Previously, she worked at Antoine Predock Architect on numerous design competitions and federal, public and private projects. She is a licensed architect in her native country, Jordan, where she is currently researching interiority and displacement.

For this lecture, Abudayyeh will explore the various ways designers can play a role in helping society and the built environment adapt to a constantly changing world.

In a post-pandemic era, society’s association with physical locations wanes and conventional notions of tangible bearings no longer apply, displacement is steadily emerging as a new norm, demanding multivalent design approaches and responses.

Situated within this understanding, “Becoming Dynamic” presents spatial frameworks that examine the role of design in today’s shifting realities and its aptitude for generating and supporting new forms of belonging. Leveraging theory, technology and cross-disciplinary exchanges, the collection of work presented in her lecture elucidates architecture’s aptitude to sponsor activity, sustain cultural heritage, advocate for underserved societies and most fundamentally, participate in public discourse.

This presentation is part of the College of Architecture’s 2022-2023 Hyde Lecture Series featuring speakers from across disciplines that are united under the common theme of “Information Stimulus -New Paradigms in Planning and Design.” Now, more so than ever, the evolution in information technology is being driven by novel means of uncovering, transferring, and disseminating information. Advanced paradigms have emerged through the information drawn from other disciplines and the generation of innovative methods and tools and how they impact the professions of planning and design now and in the future.

The college’s Hyde Lecture Series is a long-standing, endowed, public program. Each year the college hosts compelling speakers in the fields of architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and planning that enrich the ongoing dialog around agendas which are paramount to the design disciplines and our graduates.

For questions, email Kerry McCullough-Vondrak at kerry.vondrak@unl.edu.