Courtesy of Bruce LindseyWashington University named nationally renowned architect and designer Bruce Lindsey as the new dean of the School of Architecture on Thursday. Formerly an architecture professor at Auburn University, Lindsey is known for his work with digital technology and environmental sustainability.
“[He’s] done incredibly interesting work building homes for African Americans in rural parts of Alabama, so he’s really interested in the social context of architecture,” said Carmon Colangelo, dean of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.
Colangelo noted how Lindsey sees the bigger picture when working on various projects.
“I think he’s really interested in how architecture serves the community,” he said. “I think that he has ideas about working with the local architects and community members in terms of looking at problems in the inner city and urban and rural issues.”
He specifically elaborated on Lindsey’s work in Alabama as proof of his vision.
“If you look at the rural program, it’s not just that they build housing, but build homes that are very contemporary, beautiful spaces that are responsive to the needs of the people there,” said Colangelo. “They’re not just building shelters, but making the point that low-income housing doesn’t have to be poorly designed.”
Lindsey succeeds former deans Cynthia Weese and Jerry Sincoff as a leader of the School of Architecture. The University hoped to have named a new dean by July of last year to replace Weese, but the process took longer than expected. Chancellor Mark Wrighton therefore named Sincoff as interim dean, though that was never his official title.
“Jerry has done an outstanding job,” said Colangelo. “I think he’s happy that we now have a new dean in place.”
Lindsey’s education in design began at the University of Utah where he received a bachelor’s degree in art in 1976 and a master’s degree in sculpture and photography in 1979. In 1986 he received a master’s in architecture from Yale.
A year later he began teaching at Carnegie Mellon and in 1994 became head of its architecture school. While there, he researched ways to use digital tools in the real world of construction. The “Engineering News Record” listed his work as one of 1992’s 10 most important contributions to construction. He also won the New Faculty Teaching Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in the same year for his development of Carnegie Mellon’s first-year program.
Lindsey hopes to bring the same success here.
“Washington University has a great architecture school,” he said. “We hope to build on the momentum of the program by working on issues of environmental sustainability.”
Most recently, Lindsey worked as the head of Auburn’s architecture school and chaired its Masters of Landscape Architecture Program from 2001 – 03. He also helped strengthen the school’s interdisciplinary and joint-degree programs.
Lindsey’s term as dean is effective Nov. 10, 2006.