Preston H. Thomas Memorial Lecture Series: Marlon Blackwell: Out of Place — Architecture Betwixt and Between

Abstract

Marlon Blackwell will discuss the architecture and design process and will introduce the foundational tenets of Radical Practice: The Work of Marlon Blackwell Architects, a monograph released in June 2022 by Princeton Architectural Press. Both the book and the lecture emphasize projects in the public and civic realm, emerging from outside the established centers of architectural culture and illustrating the distinct and original voice of Marlon Blackwell Architects. Their iconic and award-winning designs span across typologies, scales, and budgets by merging the universal language of architecture and the particulars of place. The lecture will discuss the richness of the work; the practice’s dynamic analytical, planning, and design methods, and its consequences; and suggest an open-endedness, at once generous and provocative, to the practice’s trajectory and interest in what a “radical practice” can be in the contemporary moment. A core principle at the heart of the practice, radical in its fundamental simplicity, is the assertion of the making of buildings and places as a constant, authentic focus — an architecture in the place, of the place, and for the place. Marlon Blackwell Architects’ focus on place is founded in a deep understanding that the health and welfare of both individuals and communities are profoundly impacted by designs that enhance collective identity and encourage both thoughtful and active engagement. The lecture will discuss the research and engagement methods that form the basis of the practice’s analytical process to broaden the discussion of a project’s requirements beyond the instrumental and into the aspirational, even, and especially, in places and communities overlooked by conventional practice.

This lecture is part of the Preston H. Thomas Memorial Lecture Series.

Biography

Marlon Blackwell, Founder and Principal, Marlon Blackwell Architects

Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, together with his partner in life and work, Ati Blackwell, AIA, ASID, lead the internationally recognized practice Marlon Blackwell Architects. Their work has received recognition with significant publication and more than 200 design awards, including the 2016 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture and the 2025 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize. Working between the universal language of architecture and the particulars of place, they have cultivated a studio recognized for its formal clarity, contextual depth, and architectural integrity. In 2020, Marlon was honored with the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects for his enduring impact on the theory and practice of architecture. He is a lifetime member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and an inductee of the American Academy of Arts and Science. Equally respected as an educator, he served as the E. Fay Jones Distinguished Professor at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas, where he taught for more than 30 years. Most recently, he was the Louis I. Kahn Visiting Professor at Yale University for the fall of 2025. A monograph of their recent work, Radical Practice, was published in 2022 by Princeton Architectural Press.