Haptics of Place: Oscar Lopez, Senior Lecturer in Architecture

Nine Questions with Oscar Lopez, Senior Lecturer in Architecture

 
“Haptics of place brings together two of my areas of focus: the ephemeral qualities of placed-based design and the very real haptics of making architecture through technology, assemblies, tectonics, tactility, etc. Essentially, combining both the real and the unreal qualities of architecture.”
 

What brought you to CAPLA to teach architecture?

I joined CAPLA in the fall of 2016... Wow, time goes by so fast. My first few years saw me focused on second-year studios, teaching as a part of ARC 201 and ARC 202. This was a great experience for me as I honed my teaching voice, doing so with second-year students who are also discovering themselves as architecture students formally part of the professional program.

My first experience with CAPLA was sitting in on reviews for Foundation studios, second-year studios, and option studios. At the time I was still a part of Studio Rick Joy in the Barrio here in Tucson, and would welcome the opportunity to sit in on reviews. Additionally, it was during this time that I was also starting my own practice, s p a c e BUREAU, moonlighting side projects during my down time and on weekends. I eventually got to the point where I needed to make a decision and, in the spring of 2017 I left Studio Rick Joy to focus on s p a c e BUREAU full-time. This was also when I was invited by Rob Miller, former School of Architecture director, to join the second-year faculty.

I was born in Mexico, in the state of Guanajuato, and raised in Phoenix. I graduated with both my undergrad and masters from the School of Architecture at ASU. After graduation I joined StarkJames Design + Build, working both in the field and in the office on various types of design-build projects. I was there for almost two years when I got a call from Rick Joy, asking if I wanted to come down to Tucson to join him in the Barrio.

What is your current research, and what most excites you about that area of focus?

My current research has me focusing on a term/subject that I am developing, Haptics of Place... To me this is very exciting because it brings together two of my areas of focus: the ephemeral qualities of placed-based design and the very real haptics of making architecture through technology, assemblies, tectonics, tactility, etc. Essentially, combining both the real and the unreal qualities of architecture. An architectural atmosphere that you can touch through the built work and the place where that work lives. Also, I am the current chair of the Academic Events Committee, and we are using that as the lens for our School of Architecture Lecture Series (Haptics of Place: Technologies, Assemblies, and Spirt of Place). Current speakers lined up for the 2022-23 lecture series include Juhani Pallasmaa, Eric Höweler, Manuel Cervantes Céspedes, Peter Stutchbury, Andrew Kudless, Susan Jones and others—each providing their perspective of Haptics of Place.
 

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Tell us a bit more about your role as chair of the School of Architecture Academic Events Committee.

I am excited to bring great architectural discourse to our students and community at large. Tucson is a great place that calls to people; we deserve to have a great lecture series. Top architectural practitioners and thinkers want a reason to come to the desert. This is also a great way to put CAPLA on the map in regards to top universities with strong lecture series. Additionally, I recently served on the search committee for School of Architecture director and I am very happy and excited about Ryan Smith. We are in a great position to leverage ourselves as a top school of architecture.

Tell us your current architectural practice

I currently find myself in a pivot point in terms of my architectural practice, having recently disbanded my former endeavor, s p a c e BUREAU, which was formed as a partnership with a former colleague, and as of April of this year started a new practice, desertWORKS studio. As part of SB I found great success in terms of AIA Awards on the local, regional and national level and I look forward to developing a newer and stronger identity as desertWORKS studio while continuing to produce meaningful and impactful work—work that engages the senses and haptics of place, and that is also at a much more community-based scale in terms of public works. In a sorts, this is my coming out party, as desertWORKS studio had yet to be formally announced!
 

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What are you currently teaching, and what do you most enjoy about teaching?

I am currently teaching a Foundation studio for the first time and I am loving it. I love the energy the students bring, an energy that comes with learning something completely new to them. Additionally, I am teaching my graduate studio, ARC 510D, where we are focusing on developing a Social Space: architecture rooted in social good with a site along the Santa Cruz River. In the spring I will continue with my second-year studio, where we focus on developing architecture through subtraction to reveal intimate spatial qualities and conditions. Additionally, I lead the graduate site and program design course in the spring where we focus on fundamental questions of architecture and how we experience the world. In this course I ask my students to develop a personal manifesto and design principles so that they start to develop their agency as future architects and inhabitants of the world. These types of questions should be at the root of any program, not only architecture. Questions that make us more aware of ourselves and our place in the world.

How do you bring your research and practice into your teaching?

Through my teaching, like in my practice, I encourage my students to think through experience and narrative. To develop scenarios and situations that they can use as they are developing their architecture. I propose a series of simple questions that may seem as afterthoughts, like, Where is grandma going to sit...?, or Where can I eat a sandwich outdoors while it's raining...?. These basic examples then lead to deeper questions that have them consider qualities of light and shadow, spatial relationships, proportion and scale, materiality, site views, etc. I try my best to inspire them to experience any form of an "aha moment"; these are rare and far in between, and if they do then maybe they will then be inspired to inspire others.

What advice do you have for students interested in studying architecture?

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The advice that I give my students is that the sooner they go down the rabbit hole that is architecture the better. I explain to them that a life lived through architecture can be very rewarding if they give as much as they want to receive from it, that a life lived through architecture allows for a series of never-ending pursuits, pursuits that allow for us to constantly evolve and question the world. Architecture isn't for the faint of heart—I share that with them as well.

Beyond research, practice and teaching, what are your passions?

My current passion is my little boy who just turned one, Teddy. Teddy is teaching me a lot about myself and my own personal value. My priorities have definitely shifted, and I am currently searching for that elusive "balance" that they talk about.

What does the CAPLA experience mean for you?

I love the future impact our students will make in this world and that I get to be a part of that. I am very grateful for the opportunity that CAPLA provides, and I think we are making a difference. I can easily say that I am inspired most days that I am here in some form or another. That is pretty special.

Learn more about Oscar Lopez or learn how you can support Oscar and other world-class CAPLA faculty.