Lecture: Brad Collett

The College of Architecture and Design continues its 2016-2017 Robert B. Church Memorial Lecture Series on Monday, Feb. 20, with Brad Collett, assistant professor in the School of Landscape Architecture and Department of Plant Sciences.

Collett will present “Decision Points: Pathways in Academia + Landscape Performance” beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Rm. 109, McCarty Auditorium, in the Art + Architecture Building, 1715 Volunteer Blvd.

Collett’s lecture will explore the shift in the landscape architecture practice from its horticultural and aesthetic traditions to emerging performative and ecological paradigms, citing examples from his own professional experience and his teaching, outreach and creative achievements since joining the School of Landscape Architecture in 2011.  With this shift in mind, Collett discusses the trajectory of his ongoing involvement with the Tennessee River Project, a region-wide initiative stemming from the Governor’s Chair for Energy + Urbanism Tennessee River Studio, led by Collett.  The studio is comprised of landscape architecture and architecture students who are investigating 21^st Century challenges facing the Tennessee River and its 40,000-square-mile watershed.

In 2016, he was named a Fulbright Scholar to Slovenia, where he taught at the University of Ljubljana on contemporary landscape planning and practices as a means to protect watersheds, mitigate stormwater management challenges and cultivate healthy communities.

Collett’s research focuses on landscape performance and sustainable planning and design in the context of professional practice. In 2013, he co-authored Low Impact Development: Opportunities for the PlanET Region, which celebrates East Tennessee’s iconic landscapes and water resources and proposes low-impact development as an approach to watershed planning and community design.

Under Collett’s leadership, community-engaged service learning opportunities have been offered through the UT Smart Communities Initiative and the Environmental Design Lab.

This lecture is free and open to the public. It offers continuing education units and will be streamed live.

For 43 years, the UT College of Architecture and Design has hosted leading architects and design professionals through its Robert B. Church Memorial Lecture Series to enrich the education of its students and elevate the profession in the community. In 2016-2017, more than a dozen professionals from around the world will lecture at the college. For the full list, visit archdesign.utk.edu/church-lecture-series.