Contemporary Vernacular (October 2025)
This lecture explores the idea of the vernacular not as a nostalgic formal exercise—as it is often misunderstood—but as a dynamic relational network, a “shared language” that connects people, place and practice.
About the speaker
Keith Zawistowski (RA, NCARB, GC) and Marie Zawistowski (Architecte DPLG) are partners of onSITE Architecture and co-founders of the design/buildLAB. Having met at Auburn University’s Rural Studio in 2001, they have since established a critically acclaimed practice and teaching career rooted in hands-on design and construction that prioritizes cultural, economic and environmental sensitivity. Their work with onSITE has received international recognition, including the AJAP “French Young Architects Prize” and the “Prix Françoise Abella” from the French Beaux Arts Academy, while their teaching initiatives at Virginia Tech and the National School of Architecture in Grenoble have been awarded the NCARB Grand Prize and the ACSA Design/Build Education Award. Recently named laureates of the 2025 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture under UNESCO at the Venice Biennale, Keith and Marie continue to shape the fields of architecture, education and research through practice, teaching and international collaborations.
For more information, please contact Salma Ibrahim | [email protected].
