Peter C. Papademetriou

​​ BIOGRAPHY +

  or at least a Point of Reference

 

 

 

A (quite) Personal Note

 

I discovered, early in my second year of college, that I saw myself as being a teacher, writer and practicing architect, that my interests had to combine all aspects of a 'career', each informing the others.. A native of Newark, New Jersey, I was fortunate in attending Newark Academy, the only continuous (then) boys school in the State, dating before the Revolutionary War. I had a keen interest in writing, history, and drawing: I was POLYMNIAN Yearbook Editor. After prep school, I completed undergraduate studies at Princeton University in the context of the Humanities (and became Photo Board Chairman of The Daily Princetonian "CLICK"), and my professional M.Arch. at Yale University (where I co-edited  PERSPECTA 12 The Yale Architectural Journal) see Published Writings 3 "CLICK" as noted above; also see WORK/Portfolio 13: "Origins") .

 

I served on the Faculty at Rice University in Houston, Texas, for 20 years 1968-1988, at both Undergraduate and Graduate programs. I began teaching initially in charge of the Sophomore year, at the end of which matriculated students had their Major approved, and later at the Senior year, during which undergraduates had to be reviewed and approved to continue for the professional B.Arch., but were assigned a Preceptorship with Firms who mentored a year of Practicum experience. As a result of applicants with BS or BA degrees, who could not immediately go into professional studies,  I helped create the option "Qualifying Graduate Program" for students with degrees in other fields to segue into the M.Arch. degree. Ultimately, the Program allowed for enriching the mix with returning B.Arch. students, QGs who "qualified", and new students from other universities with B.Arch. degrees who wanted to continue studies for an M.Arch. I also directed a number of post-professional PhD student thesis candidates. I began as the youngest Assistant Professor on the Faculty, and advanced to tenure as full Professor.

 

During these years, I was the first Executive Editor for the Journal of Architectural Education/JAE, quarterly published for member schools in North America (Canada, United States, Mexico) see Published Writings 1 "CLICK" , as well as Correspondent for Progressive Architecture, see Published Writings 9 "CLICK" and Texas Architect, see Published Writings 6 "CLICK".

 

Personal circumstances, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, brought me to New York and an invitation to teach at my tenured position. As Professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology since 1988, I became the first Graduate Program Director 1991-2004, a parallel equivalent for students with degrees in other fields, created Dual Degree Tracks with Civil Engineering, Management, and Urban Systems. I served on the Joint Ph.D Urban Systems option Faculty of NJIT, Rutgers University, University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ. I was also the Undergraduate Third Year Program Coordinator 2006-2011, in charge of curriculum for more than 100 students grouped in Sections headed by half a dozen Faculty, with all didactic course materials available through a secure website, tagged "Kepler". Additionally, I lectured and taught in other architecture programs in the United States and Canada. I officially "retired" in 2013, and am Emeritus Professor. I prefer to think of this not as an end, but another begining, "reinventing". "Click" the images below for some reference to these activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My professional practice has received AIA component and state design awards, in addition to publication. are Architectural History and Theory (focus 1850-present), Architectural Design, Urban Design, Urban History & Cultural Geography, applied in Practice, as well as writing, and driving my pedagogy. 

Impacting the Profession with my Students: recommending them to graduate programs, scholarships, employment, design awards was a satisfying application of all of the above.

 

My Interests/My Experiences

Critical interests

 

Writing: is for me a Mode of Thinking. To analyze, critically assess, describe: this provides feedback to my own Methodology. In addition to being the JAE Editor, I wrote as a Contributor to regional, national and international professional, as well as 'popular' journals, designed and produced several books, and lectured as well as served on professional Juries.

 

Publication - beyond "writing", extending the 'Medium as the Message' under my direct graphic control through the didactic selection in the tactile appearance of Format, Typography, Materials in any books/journals.

 

Public Lectures - again, organizing Lecture Series both academic and public, as well as making Lectures, are a means to extend the borders of Pedagogy and test my position based upon responces by the varied audiences.

 

Didactic Exhibitions - organizing, installing and selecting materials for both my Work, and particularly, other thematic presentation of the Architecture of or about others.

 

Writing - a Method; in order to locate myself in Theory, articulating through Description, Criticism and/or Analysis, compels a somewhat eclectic, inclusive, non-rhetorical attitude, free from any bias based on "style" per se.

 

Service - both Academic and Professional contexts. Committees, Juries for Architecture Awards as well as Educational Studio Reviews, and even Community Service.

 

Design - itself is the physical evidence, to "make" decisions about the form of 'things'. The rhetorical dimension is a fundamental feature at all levels.

 

Architecture - an Avocation, the 'Anchor'/Reference for what I've done. Not just a Business, but a Passion that is manifested in, I believe, many related forms.

 

and "What Runs Through It" 

Teaching - when Frank Lloyd Wright was totally without any work in The Great Depression and his recently completed Midway Gardens in Chicago (1914) was demolished due to Prohibition (1920), he founded an apprenticeship for tuition-paying students (Taliesen Fellowship), stating, "If I can't bulld Architecture, I will build Architects!".