Convened by William Ward Watkin Dean Igor Marjanović with Associate Professor Troy Schaum, Lecturer Brett Zamore, and Anna Mod in conjunction with Art in Context: Art, Architecture, and the Middle Landscape.
Join us for Rice Design Chats: Judd at Chinati, a gallery talk and conversation convened in conjunction with the exhibition Art in Context: Art, Architecture, and the Middle Landscape, on view at the Rice School of Architecture’s Cannady Hall Gallery through February 6. Grounded in the exhibition’s focus on maintenance, repair, and adaptive reuse, the discussion will consider the ongoing preservation work of Schaum Architects in Marfa—centered on Donald Judd’s former artillery sheds at the Chinati Foundation and the architectural, curatorial, and environmental questions embedded in their care.
Drawing from archival materials presented in the exhibition—documenting the development of Judd’s one hundred untitled works in mill aluminum and the repurposing of the buildings that house them—panelists will reflect on preservation as a design practice shaped by place, climate, and use over time. Together with faculty, students, practitioners, and members of the public, participants will explore how sites like Chinati’s “middle landscape” demand new approaches to stewardship, such as balancing conservation priorities, architectural intent, and the realities of long-term maintenance in ecologically and culturally complex contexts.
This event is free and open to the public. It is made possible through the generous support of the Betty R. and George F. Pierce Jr., FAIA, Fund; the William B. Coleman Jr. Colloquium Fund for Architecture; and the Wm. W. Caudill Lecture Series Fund.
About Rice Design Chats
Rice Design Chats is a public program of the Rice School of Architecture dedicated to fostering dialogue around the ideas, challenges, and opportunities shaping architecture and design today. Targeting the community of architecture and design practitioners while inviting broader participation, Rice Design Chats connects the school’s events, research, and exhibitions to the local Houston community and beyond.
Mobilizing conversation as a form of design research, the series bridges academic inquiry and professional practice—offering a space where architects, designers, scholars, and the public can engage with the issues that define our built environment. Through timely discussions and intimate exchanges, Rice Design Chats advances the school’s mission to cultivate architectural discourse as both a cultural practice and a civic mandate.