In architecture as in life, the devil is in the details. Few know this better than Edward Ford, an educator, architect and author whose two-volume The Details of Modern Architecture (1990 and 1996) provided the first comprehensive analysis of how detailing and construction techniques can distort, camouflage or enhance a building.

Later this month, Ford — a Washington University alumnus who now serves as the Vincent and Eleanor Shea Professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia — will launch the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts' spring Public Lecture Series.

Ford's talk — the Sam Fox School's annual Architecture Alumni Lecture — is supported by the George Anselevicius Memorial Fund and by the Harris Armstrong Fund. It will begin at 6:30p Monday, Jan. 24, in Steinberg Hall Auditorium, located near the intersection of Skinker and Forsyth boulevards. A reception for Ford will precede the lecture, at 6p.

Ford earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1971 and a master of architecture degree the following year. In addition to The Details of Modern Architecture — both volumes of which were supported by grants from the Graham Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts — he is author of Five Houses, Ten Details (Writing Matters) (2009). The book is a personal reflection on the process of building Ford's own house, describing five different designs he created for the site, only one of which was built.

Ford also is author of the forthcoming The Architectural Detail, and has published articles in L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, Inform, B, eAV, Detail, Harvard Design Magazine, The Oxford American, and Perspecta, among others. His design work has been published in The New American House, Japan Architect, Competitions, 18 Houses, ARQ, Inform, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Oculus and has been exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Chicago Foundation for Architecture.

Ford won second prize in the 1990 Matteson Library Competition and third prize in the 1990 Japan Architect Competition. In 2002, the Ford house won an Honor Award for Design from the Virginia AIA (American Institute of Architects). In 1997, he was the recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University. His publications have been recognized by the Association of Academic Publishers, the AIA, Lingua Franca, and The Architects Journal.

George Anselevicius Memorial Fund

The George Anselevicius Memorial Fund was made possible by a bequest from the estate of George Anselevicius, dean of architecture at Washington University from 1968-1973. In addition to this lecture, the Anselevicius Fund also supports an endowed scholarship for a Sam Fox School architecture student.

Harris Armstrong Fund

The Harris Armstrong Fund was established in 1976 by Louise Armstrong, in honor of her late husband, architect Harris Armstrong.

Sam Fox School Public Lecture Series-Spring 2011 Schedule

All talks are free and open to the public and begin at 6:30p in Steinberg Hall Auditorium, located near the intersection of Skinker and Forsyth boulevards. In addition, each talk will be preceded by receptions at 6p. For more information, call 314.935.9300.

January 24
Edward Ford
Vincent and Eleanor Shea Professor, School of Architecture, University of Virginia
Architecture Alumni Lecture, supported by the George Anselevicius Memorial Fund and the Harris Armstrong Fund

Jan. 26
Alfredo Payá Benedito
Principal and founder, noname 29, Alicante, Spain
Ruth and Norman Moore Visiting Professor Lecture

Feb. 7
Pascal Quintard Hofstein
Principal and founder, Atelier Pascal Quintard Hofstein, Paris

Feb. 14
Wendell Burnette, AIA
Principal and founder, Wendell Burnette Architects, Phoenix

Feb. 16
Christophe Cherix
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Chief Curator of Prints and Illustrated Books, Museum of Modern Art

Feb. 21
Rick Joy, AIA
Principal and founder, Rick Joy Architects, Tucson, Arizona
AIA St. Louis Scholarship Trust Lecture

Feb. 23
Victoria Vesna
Professor, UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
Louis D. Beaumont Artist in Residence Lecture

Feb. 28
Rafael Moneo
Architect, Madrid
Josep Lluis Sert Professor of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Cannon Design Lecture for Excellence in Architecture and Engineering

March 2
William Kentridge
Artist, South Africa
Dean's Medal Award Ceremony & Lecture

March 7
Jens Hoffmann
Director, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, California College of the Arts

March 21
Andrea Cochran, FASLA
Principal and founder, Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture, San Francisco

March 23
Dan Nadel
Author and owner, PictureBox Inc., Brooklyn, New York

March 28
Michael Maltzan, FAIA
Principal and founder, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Los Angeles
Abend Family Lecture

March 29
Fuensanta Nieto & Enrique Sobejano
Founding partners, Nieto Sobejano Architects, Madrid and Berlin

March 30
Cornelia Butler
The Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings, Museum of Modern Art
Multiple Feminisms Lecture

April 1
Juhani Pallasmaa, Hon. FAIA
Architect, author, and educator, Finland
In conjunction with the Graduate Architecture School of Architecture & Urban Design's Spring Open House

April 4
Alan Webber
Author and co-founder, Fast Company
Eugene J. Mackey Jr. Lecture, in conjunction with Olin Business School

April 6
Francis Kéré
Architect and educator, Burkina Faso
Coral Courts Lecture

Apr. 11
Kathryn Dean
Professor and director, Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, Sam Fox School
Faculty Book Lecture

April 12
Ian Monroe
Artist, London
Henry L. and Natalie E. Freund Teaching Fellow Lecture

April 13
Andrew Metter, FAIA
Senior vice president and design studio director, Epstein, Chicago
Visiting Faculty Lecture

April 20
Ferda Kolatan
Co-founder, su11 architecture+design, New York
Visiting Faculty Lecture

April 25
UrbanLab
Chicago
Visiting Faculty Lecture