Michael Hughes
Educated at the University of Virginia and Princeton University Michael Hughes is a Professor and former Head of the Architecture Department at the American University of Sharjah. His teaching combines full-scale, hands-on pedagogy and community outreach through projects focused on small, unremarkable, and often forgotten places adjacent to the lives of underserved people. Located in the boundary between architecture and landscape these micro-urban projects seek to create experiential delight out of small-scale design opportunities that enhance public space, promote play, and exhibit a social and environmental conscience. As founder of the Design Build Initiative (DBI) at AUS Hughes has focused on reconstructing the curriculum to provide an iterative introduction to analog and digital fabrication delivered by a diverse group of faculty. Projects completed through DBI have been led by eight different faculty members and recognized with three ACSA Design-Build Awards and nine AIA Middle East Design Awards.
Marie and Keith Zawitowski
Marie and Keith Zawistowski met in the Rural Studio at Auburn University when, as students, they worked with architect Sambo Mockbee to design and build a charity house for Lucy Harris and her family. They have since founded the onSITE office, creating buildings that are deeply rooted in the identity of people and place. They worked for a number of years at Virginia Tech in the United States. Now, in addition to their practice, they teach at ENSA Grenoble in France, where they lead the designbuildLAB in the Architecture of Environment and Constructive Culture program.
