August 4, 2016 Inaugural Architecture Fellow Named
Darius Ammon has been named the inaugural 2016-2017 Tennessee Architecture Fellow. The new fellowship program broadens design education at the university while recognizing emerging design educators whose work shows extraordinary promise.
“Fellows will infuse the school with youthful energy and fresh perspectives through original research and by teaching courses throughout the year,” said Jason Young, director of the UT School of Architecture. “We could not be more pleased to have Darius inaugurate this new initiative in our school. With his background, breadth of experience and unique perspectives, he will enrich the education we provide our students.”
Most recently teaching in Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Europe’s cosmopolitan technical university, Ammon conducted a multidisciplinary design studio in collaboration with EPFL’s Brain Mind Institute. He also has been involved in teaching an urban design program at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, a university for science and technology.
Ammon has a master of science in architecture and urban design from the ETH and has studied at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. He also gained professional experience in the practices of Diller+Scofidio and OMA New York.
“From the first moment, I experienced a fantastic spirit at the College of Architecture and Design,” said Ammon. “There is a very open intellectual atmosphere to explore new developments in architecture while retaining a close connection to the origins of architecture as a craft. The students are well informed and curious.”
Ammon will teach two studios and an elective seminar in which he will continue investigations into new urban design strategies that he initiated in Switzerland, and his research into 20th Century musical composition techniques will be synthesized with research on traditional architecture he conducted in Japan, Italy and Greece.
“I look forward to making use of the unique opportunity to combine analogue and digital fabrication methods in the Fab Lab. I have never seen a space so well equipped with tools that allow such a variety of tasks.”
This work will culminate in a lecture and architectural project exhibited in Spring 2017.
During his visit to Knoxville in April, Ammon was immediately taken with the area. “I was amazed by Tennessee’s landscapes and biosphere. I also heard of a great passion for music that people from Tennessee have, and I am looking forward to translating some of these intangible elements into my architectural installation.”
The application for the 2017-2018 Tennessee Architecture Fellowship will be posted in September 2016. For more information about the School of Architecture, visit archdesign.utk.edu/academics/architecture/.