Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- A Columbia University professor and New York-based architect will present the Ekdahl Distinguished Lecture for the architecture department at Kansas State University's College of Architecture, Planning & Design.

Laurie Hawkinson's lecture, "Moving Space," will be at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, in the K-State Student Union's Little Theatre. The event is free and the public is welcome.

Hawkinson received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, then attended the Whitney Independent Study Program in New York and received her professional degree in architecture from The Cooper Union in 1983. She is currently an associate professor of architecture at Columbia University.

Hawkinson had been a visiting adjunct professor at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, Harvard University, Yale University, Parsons School of Design and the University of Miami. She is a board member of the Architectural League of New York, a past member of the board of governors of the New York Foundation for the Arts and served as a panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts in Architecture, Planning and Design from 1986-1989.

Some of her notable collaborative projects include the North Carolina Museum of Art's master site plan and project, now built, for an outdoor cinema and amphitheater with artist Barbara Kruger and landscape architect Nicholas Quennell; the Los Angeles Arts Park competition; and the Seattle Waterfront Project, also with Kruger and Quennell. A registered architect in New York, Hawkinson is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.

Hawkinson works for Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects LLP, a New York City-based design studio in architecture, urban design, installations and exhibitions, as well as objects and products. Across the U.S. and abroad, the firm has designed public and private projects, including museums, parks, transportation terminals, performing arts spaces, privates residences, government facilities, a series of museum exhibitions and installations, and furniture and objects.

Founded more than 35 years ago as a memorial honoring Topeka architect and university alumnus Oscar Ekdahl, the Ekdahl Lectures bring practitioners, teachers, critics, theorists and artists to campus for interaction with students, faculty and alumni. The lecture series focuses on issues affecting the quality of the physical environment and the leadership roles played by the speakers. The purpose of the series is to inform and challenge as well as to reinforce and complement the educational programs of the College of Architecture, Planning & Design.