Fall 2025 Final Review Guest Critics

Each semester, The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture invites critics from around the country to join us for final reviews, as our students and faculty present the culmination of their hard work over the past several months. We are excited to welcome these accomplished professionals and fellow academics this fall.

Thank you for joining us: Charlotte Algie, John Comazzi, Bob Estrin, Brad Groff, David Harrison, Seng Kuan, Suzanne Mathew, Joeb Moore, Kathryn O'Rourke, Eva Perez de Vega, Deepa Ramazwamy, Jessie Reiser, Ryan Roark, and Rob Rogers. 

CHARLOTTE ALGIE

Charlotte Algie is a designer from Melbourne, Australia and an Instructional Assistant Professor of
Architecture at Texas A&M University, College Station. She directs the practice NN specializing in material
systems and environmental adaptation. She has taught design previously between Australia and the USA
including at Monash University, University of Arizona, Tucson, Syracuse University School of Architecture
and Yale School of Architecture, and RMIT School of Architecture. She is a PhD Candidate in Architecture
at Melbourne School of Design.

JOHN COMAZZI 

John Comazzi is an Associate Professor of Architecture and Associate Dean of Academics at the University
of Virginia. Professor Comazzi’s teaching, research, and scholarship focus on the following areas: mid-
century Modern architecture and design; design theory and criticism; design-build practices; architecture
photography; and place-based learning for PK-12 education. He is the author a monograph on Balthazar
Korab, one of the most prolific and celebrated architecture photographers of the Modern era (Balthazar
Korab: Architect of Photography, Princeton Architectural Press, 2012), and is currently writing a
monograph on the Miller House and Gardens in Columbus, IN.

BOB ESTRIN

Bob is an architect, builder, teacher, and founder the School of Constructive Arts. The son of a builder,
Bob’s experience in construction started at a young age. He received his degree in architecture at the
Cooper Union in New York City, where he later taught the urban design studio with Diane Lewis. His
research on ancient uses of natural energy and natural materials led him to travel to North Africa, an
experience that dramatically shaped his approach to design and building. After working on a range of
residential and institutional projects in the studio of architect Matthew Baird, Bob received his license and
began practicing architecture independently. He founded the School of Constructive Arts in 2020 to carry
on research integrating ancient methods with modern building science and technology. With mentorship
from Jim Hallock, Todd Swanson, and others Bob developed a detailed earth building curriculum and
established compressed earth block manufacturing at SCA. In addition, Bob has developed a
comprehensive regenerative design curriculum, bringing his experience and research of advanced natural
energy, waste and water systems, community planning, and agro-ecology to the classroom. Bob applies
this diverse knowledge to design projects beyond the school, helping others build holistically with the
land

BRAD GROFF

Brad Groff is the founding Principal of Building Ground Architecture based in Brooklyn, NY and
Pittsburgh, PA Previously, he was a Senior Associate at SHoP Architects in New York but has also worked
with Ennead Architects/ Polshek Partnership, Michael Maltzan, and Kieran Timberlake Architects in
Philadelphia. He received his Bachelor of Architecture (2002) from Penn State University and a Master of
Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (2007). He is a registered architect in
Pennsylvania and a member of the AIA. Professionally, Brad's project experience ranges from renovation
and adaptive reuse of historic structures to exterior envelope and sustainable design. He has always
maintained a core interest in vernacular architecture, renovation, and materiality specific to the region.
Most projects have been large, public scale commercial and mixed use residential or cultural/
institutional spaces. Brad currently holds an adjunct faculty position at Carnegie Mellonn University and
has taught or been a teaching assistant at Penn State University, Harvard Graduate School of Design and
Parsons.

DAVID HARRISON

Mr. Harrison holds a B.Arch in Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin and he continued with
graduate studies at the Architectural Association in London. He is a licensed architect in both Texas and
New York and is a member of the AIA. He is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the School
of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Union Advisory Board. Mr. Harrison has
worked for both prominent architectural design firms and major real estate development companies. He
was with Philip Johnson’s firm for 15 years. Licensed as an architect for 43 years, he has many signature
projects in the North East, including the InterContinental Hotel and Residence. In 2007, Forbes listed the
hotel as one of the 10 best in the world and was the American Hotel and Lodging Association
“Development of the Year”. He continued in hospitality development when he joined Related Companies
where he oversaw the design of numerous luxury condo hotels and destination restaurants. His most
recent work includes 360 Rosemary, a 20-story office building, the design of The Laurel,a mixed-use
residential tower, and the design of One Flagler, a 25 story Class-A office designed by architect David
Childs of SOM. Construction recently began on two office towers, with a combined total of 1 million square
feet, at 10 and 15 CityPlace. Currently, he is in the process of designing a new development firm in West
Palm.

SENG KUAN

Seng Kuan teaches architecture and architectural history at Harvard Graduate School of Design and the
University of Tokyo. He has written extensively on Japan’s postwar architectural culture, with major
publications on Tange Kenzō and Shinohara Kazuo, two of postwar Japan's most influential architects.
Seng is also a member of the Planning and Management Committee of TOTO Gallery MA in Tokyo, where
he also co-curated the exhibitions “How is Life?” (2022) and “Kazuo Shinohara: A centennial exhibition
with 100 questions” (2025). He previously served as chief editorial advisor to a+u. He holds a PhD in
architecture from Harvard University.

SUZANNE MATHEW

Suzanne Mathew is a licensed landscape architect with a diverse background in landscape architecture,
architecture, and science. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at
the Rhode Island School of Design, where she has taught for 12 years. Mathew’s work centers on creating
methods to measure and visualize the climate and environment. She uses a variety of approaches—
artistic, theoretical, and scientific—to connect objective data with our sensory experiences of the
environment. Her research includes developing interactive digital tools, field methods for capturing
fleeting environmental conditions, and both hand-drawn and digital techniques for depicting spaces that
evolve with the climate. She has published and presented her research on temporally dynamic
environments both in the U.S. and internationally and has also participated in artist and research
residencies at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the MacDowell Artist Colony, the Siena Art Institute,
the Swedish Landscape University, and Dumbarton Oaks.

JOEB MOORE

Joeb Moore is principal of Joeb Moore + Partners, Architects, an architecture and design firm in
Greenwich, Connecticut. He is the recipient of more than fifty AIA New England, AIA CT, and AIA NY Design
Awards since founding his practice in 1993. The firm’s work and process focus on the relationship between
landscape, architecture, and art. Recent awards include two AIA National Honor Awards in Housing, a
2023 Record House Award from Architectural Record and 2024 American Architecture Design Awards
from the Chicago Athenaeum. The firm has been recognized as one of the top Residential Architects in
America by Forbes magazine. Mr. Moore joined the Barnard Department of Architecture in 1992. Mr.
Moore also holds the position of Senior Critic at Yale School of Architecture, where he has taught since
2006. More recently Mr. Moore has been a Visiting Professor of Architecture at Roger Williams University
in 2016 and Clemson University in 2018 where he focused studios on Food Networks and Community-
Centered Design. His background is in the history and theory of aesthetics and systems of representation
in architecture. In 2015 Moore received the Centennial Alumni Achievement Award from Clemson
University. He has lectured and exhibited widely on his work and research, which currently is focused on
the history of the house and the legacy of the ‘Harvard Five’ and American mid-century modernism,
including recent lectures on Isamu Noguchi and Richard Neutra.

KATHRYN O’ROURKE

Kathryn O’Rourke is an architectural historian and the Grace Slack McNeil Professor of American Art at
Wellesley College, where she directs the Architecture Program. She is the author of Modern Architecture
in Mexico City: History, Representation, and the Shaping of a Capital (2016), Home, Heat, Money, God:
Texas and Modern Architecture (2024), and the editor of O’Neil Ford on Architecture (University of Texas
Press, 2019). She is currently work on two book projects: Archaism: Architecture and Global Power in the
Twentieth Century and Dwellings: On Architecture and Itineracy. Prior to coming to Wellesley, O’Rourke
taught in the programs in Art History and Urban Studies at Trinity University in San Antonio. She served
for four years on the executive committee of the Society of Architectural Historians and six on the State
Board of Review of the Texas Historical Commission, four as vice-chair.

EVA PEREZ dE VEGA

Eva Perez de Vega is an architect, educator, and cofounder of e+i studio; an architecture and design
practice based in Chinatown NYC. Eva teaches architecture at Pratt and Parsons, having previously taught
at UPenn Landscape Architecture and Princeton School of Architecture. She holds an M.Arch and B.Arch
degree from the University of Madrid, School of Architecture (ETSAM) specializing in Building Structures,
and has Ph.D. in Philosophy from the New School For Social Research where she previously earned the
M.Phil. and certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies. She also has professional choreography and dance
training from the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in NY. With e+i studio and through
academia, Eva advocates for rethinking the human-centric quality of architecture by moving towards a
multi-species approach.

DEEPA RAMAZWAMY

Deepa Ramaswamy is an architect and historian, and Assistant Professor of architecture and urbanism at
the University of Houston. Deepa’s research examines land and environmental histories with a focus on
the regulatory systems, organizational practices, and financial instruments that shape the built
environment. She has a PhD in the History and Theory of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology and an MA from the Architectural Association in London. Her current book project,
Reclaimed Lands traces the long history of reclamation and making land along Mumbai’s coasts. Deepa’s
research has been supported by the Graham Foundation, Getty Research Institute, and the Canadian
Center of Architecture. Her works have been published in Neoliberalism on the Ground, Instituting Islands,
Places Journal, and the Journal of Planning History, among others. Before her doctoral studies, Deepa was
a practicing architect in Chicago and Mumbai.

JESSIE REISER

He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Cooper Union in New York and completed his
Masters of Architecture at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He was a fellow of the American Academy in
Rome in 1985 and he worked for the offices of John Hejduk and Aldo Rossi prior to forming Reiser +
Umemoto with partner, Nanako Umemoto. Jesse is a Professor of Architecture at Princeton University
and has previously taught at various schools in the US and Asia, including Columbia University, Yale
University, Ohio State University, Hong Kong University, and the Cooper Union, and has lectured widely
at various educational and cultural institutions throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

RYAN ROARKE

Ryan Roark, PhD, AIA, is an architect, writer, biochemist, and assistant professor at the UTK School of
Architecture, where her work explores the intersections of adaptive reuse, urban history, and public
perception. Her research investigates how architectures of different eras coexist and how material and
digital practices can reveal the city’s temporal depth. She directs the Novel Biomaterials Lab, developing
materials for use in retrofits and responsive interiors. For this research, she was a finalist for the 2024
Wheelwright Prize and the 2025 AIA College of Fellows Latrobe Prize. Before joining UTK, Roark taught at
the Illinois Institute of Technology, where her second-year B.Arch housing studio received the ACSA/AIA
Housing Design Education Award, and at Georgia Tech, where she was the Ventulett NEXT Generation
Fellow and recipient of the College’s inaugural Teacher of the Year Award in 2022. Her writing on changing
attitudes toward time, history, and life cycles has appeared in JSAH, Pidgin, Studies in the History of
Gardens and Designed Landscapes, and the books Ruskin’s Ecologies and Life Forms.

ROB ROGERS

Rob Rogers, FAIA, founded ROGERS PARTNERS Architects+Urban Designers in 2013. Rob has been creating
consequential institutional, cultural and public realm projects for over 30 years. Believing that even a
single building is a piece of urban design, his work assertively and elegantly combines urbanism, landscape
and architecture. Rob has lectured nationally and internationally and is delighted to have served as visiting
professor and architecture critic at Rice, UT Austin, Texas A&M, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Syracuse,
Washington University, Columbia, Parsons, Pratt and many other schools across the nation.