Q&A with Eric Mumford and Michael E. Willis
As part of the opening celebrations for Design Agendas: Modern Architecture in St. Louis, 1930s – 1970s, co-curators Eric P. Mumford and Michael E. Willis, will be in conversation with Sabine Eckmann, William T. Kemper Director and Chief Curator. Mumford and Willis will discuss topics related to the history of modern architecture in the context of St. Louis, highlighting the impact of this period of shifting urban history and the entanglements of renewal projects and racial segregation and displacement. Learn about some of the key architects, planners, artists, and activists in the civic work that shaped the design and building history of St. Louis.
American Sign Language interpretation can be arranged for public events upon request. This service is free, but we ask for two weeks’ notice. Requests can be made by contacting kempereducation@wustl.edu
About the Speakers
Eric P. Mumford is the Rebecca and John Voyles Professor of Architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a historian focusing on modern architecture and urbanism, and his publications include Designing the Modern City: Urbanism since 1850 (2018), Defining Urban Design: CIAM Architects and the Formation of a Discipline, 1937–69 (2009), and The CIAM Discourse on Urbanism, 1928–1960 (2000). He is also an advisor to the Humanity’s Urban Future Committee of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and holds courtesy appointments in the Departments of History and Art History & Archaeology in Arts & Sciences.
Michael E. Willis, FAIA, NOMA, founded MWA Architects Inc. in 1988, where he served until retirement at the end of 2016. Since 2017 he has been a design consultant, and has taught at his alma mater Washington University (BA1973/M Arch 1976/MSW 1976), most recently during the Spring 2020 semester. MWA Architects has created master plans for mixed-income affordable housing projects in San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, and post-Katrina New Orleans. Willis has facilitated planning studies in St. Louis’s Downtown, North Central, and JeffVanDerLou neighborhoods.
He was a principal on the International Terminal at San Francisco Airport, Terminal 2 at Oakland International, and the new Central Subway Yerba Buena/Moscone Station in San Francisco. Willis was principal architect of the El Sobrante and Upper San Leandro Ozonation Facilities, the North Richmond Water Reclamation Plant, the Joseph Jensen Water Treatment Plant, and currently the rebuild of San Francisco’s major Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant adjacent to a historic Black neighborhood. He is a Distinguished Alumni at the University, Architecture, and the Brown School of Social Work.
Related Events
Museum Member and WashU Preview: Design Agendas
Kemper Art Museum members and WashU faculty, staff, and students are invited to be among the first to view the fall exhibition Design Agendas: Modern Architecture in St. Louis, 1930s – 1970s.
Members also can enjoy complimentary drinks (two drink tickets per household).
Public Opening
Join us to celebrate the opening of Design Agendas: Modern Architecture in St. Louis, 1930s – 1970s, a major exhibition examining the complex connections in St. Louis among modern architecture, urban renewal, and racial and spatial change.
Free and open to the public.