Apr 24, 2019

This week’s episode of Tête-à-Tête features a conversation between Aaron Betsky and Lars Lerup following Lars’ farewell lecture Building the Unfinished: An Intellectual Autobiography of a Life in Design. They discuss Lars’ focus on Houston within his research, his transition to studying similar cities in Florida and how Rice Architecture has changed over his years here. Listen to the episode by clicking here

If you missed Lars' lecture and his lunchtime response with Aaron Betsky, please visit our SoundCloud channel

Lars Lerup, designer and writer, is a Professor of Architecture at Rice Architecture. He was Dean at Rice Architecture and William Ward Watkin Professor from 1993 to 2009. Previously, he taught for many years at the University of California at Berkeley. His work focuses on the intersection of nature and culture in the contemporary American metropolis, and on Houston in particular. He is currently finishing up work on a new book, entitled Toxic Ecology: At the Limit of the Entrepreneurial City, which examines the consequences the city's relentless growth and expansion has had on various natural systems, and further, how those consequences will affect the future of the city.

Aaron Betsky was born in Missoula, Montana but moved to The Netherlands where he received his grade and high school education. He was granted both a Bachelor of Arts (1979) and a Masters of Architecture (1983) degree from Yale University. Mr. Betsky's leadership of major institutions in the world of art and architecture includes serving as the Director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam from 2001 to 2006, the Curator of Architecture and Design of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from 1995-2001, and the Artistic Director of the 11th International Architecture Biennale Venice, Italy in September 2008. A prolific writer and editor with a dozen books of hundreds of articles to his credit, Mr. Betsky is also a lecturer and visiting critic who teaches around the world. He is currently the dean at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin and Taliesin West.

Tête-à-Tête is directed by Aylin Nazli and Rose Wilkowski; this episode was produced by Carrie Li, Takudzwa Tapfuma and Rose Wilkowski.

Special thanks to Lars Lerup, Aaron Betsky, Shawna Forney, Sarah Whiting, our fearless dean, and all that were involved.

Apply Featured