René Peralta, a faculty member in the Division of Architecture, recently presented at the 2022 Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (SESAH) Conference. This was SESAH’s 40th annual conference in Memphis, Tennesse, and it took place from November 2-5.
SESAH is a professional organization that currently serves in 12 states across the U.S. and has almost 300 active members. The organization strives to promote architectural education by providing a forum for historians, architects, preservationists, and students to come together and exchange ideas.
The weekend consisted of several educational sessions led by outstanding architecture professionals. Peralta presented in a session titled “Emerging Architectures and Urbanisms in Latin America.” The goal of this session was to teach attendees about the dynamic changes occurring in Latin America and how they have drastically shifted approaches to the design of the cities.
Peralta’s presentation, “Emerging Architecture Praxis from the Borderlands,” explored how changes in national identity, transnational dependencies, and globalization are provoking new forms of architectural thought through the work of architects, think-tanks, and independent design venues. Specifically, he examined the widespread accelerated growth of informal settlements along the US-Mexican border, in between San Diego and Tijuana.
In recent decades, the US-Mexico Borderlands has undergone a second transformation, moving from a region dedicated to low-wage manufacturing to one focused on innovation and reconceptualization. Peralta’s presentation also explained how this development of infrastructure produced a unique economic situation, which encouraged laborers to establish these informal communities.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
