Marlon Blackwell

The Department of Architecture welcomes Marlon Blackwell, Architect and Principal of Marlon Blackwell Architects and E. Fay Jones Distinguished Professor at the University of Arkansas, for his lecture, Radical Practice.

Marlon will discuss his architecture and design process and will introduce 'Radical Practice: The Work of Marlon Blackwell Architects' a new 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, 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, its methods, and its consequences and suggest an open-mindedness, 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.

Work produced in his professional office, Marlon Blackwell Architects (MBA), has received national and international recognition with significant publication in books, architectural journals and magazines and more than 160 design awards. Blackwell is the recipient of the 2020 AIA Gold Medal, the Institute's highest honor, which recognizes those whose work has had an enduring impact on the theory and practice of architecture. He is a lifetime member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. MBA received the 2016 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture and ranked #1 in Design as part of the 2016 Architect 50. Marlon was a 2019 William A. Bernoudy Architect in Residence at the American Academy in Rome, inducted into the National Academy of Design in 2018, and selected as a United States Artist Ford Fellow in 2014. He received the E. Fay Jones Gold Medal from Arkansas AIA in 2017 and the 2012 Architecture Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Marlon was named the 2020 SEC Professor of the Year and as one of DesignIntelligence magazine's "30 Most Admired Educators" for 2015. Earlier this year Marlon was elected as a member to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences - joining a list that includes such luminaries as Alexander Hamilton, Duke Ellington, Eudora Welty and Albert Einstein.

If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as live captioning, audio description, or a sign language interpreter, please email news@design.upenn.edu. Please note, we require at least five (5) business days’ notice.