Teaching as Mediation: Noémie Despland-Lichtert, Emerging Faculty Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture
Nine Questions with Noémie Despland-Lichtert, CAPLA Emerging Faculty Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture
"As an educator, I see myself as a mediator: I provide methodology and a critical framework and then I let the students do the rest!"
What brought you to CAPLA as our second Emerging Faculty Fellow?
I am a big fan of Tucson! I visited Tucson in 2021 when I presented a paper at ARCC Performative Environments, a conference hosted by CAPLA and the University of Arizona. After that, I came back several times during my fellowship at The School of Architecture (formerly known as Taliesin West) and as part of the School of New Art Geography organized by Erik Schmahl and Susanna Battin. In these two experiences, I had the opportunity to meet some of CAPLA’s faculty members, visit the Underwood Sonoran Garden and the Materials Labs. I knew I would love to be here.
Before joining CAPLA, I was based in Brussels. During my one year in Europe, I attended residencies, lectured and curated exhibitions in Spain, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.
Tell us about your current research and scholarship.
My research and scholarship encompass architecture, landscape, ethnic studies and public history, with a specific interest in fieldwork, landscapes of resistance and site-specific histories. Just this minute I am drafting a paper on self-seeded plants as evidence of spatial politics, and co-writing two more on desert pedagogy and the use of adobe in vernacular architecture of the Mexican-American border.
Short Stories: Roundhouse Platform design-build project with low-carbon, site-derived cladding in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo courtesy Noémie Despland-Lichtert.
Are you currently practicing in the field of architecture?
Yes! I have a shared design practice with Brendan Shea, also a visiting assistant professor at CAPLA. It’s called Roundhouse Platform and we do design-build and curation, as well as game design and publications.
What are you teaching this semester, and what do you most enjoy about teaching?
I am teaching the Bachelor of Architecture Foundation Studio this semester. Next semester, I will co-teach the student journal class and an elective in the Bachelor of Arts in Design Arts and Practices on site-specific design interventions. Teaching is my Ikigai!
How do you bring your research and practice into your teaching?
I believe in the integration of teaching and research (including design research, i.e., practice) as a two-way stream. I bring my research and practice to my teaching, but I also encourage students to position themselves as scholars and practitioners. My classes are inspired by ethnic studies principles of students as intellectuals, community engagement and culturally mediated pedagogy. As an educator, I see myself as a mediator: I provide methodology and a critical framework, and then let the students do the rest!
Agg Hab, design-build earth shelter prototype in Clarendon, Texas, created by Roundhouse Platform and I/Thee. Photo courtesy Noémie Despland-Lichtert.
What are your communities, and how do they play into your service work?
I have so many communities!
I have family (chosen and given) and community in California, Arizona, Montréal and in Europe. I am a new resident of Tucson’s Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood and I have enjoyed meeting my neighbors and look forward to our next neighborhood council. From a more academic perspective, I attend reviews in California, New Mexico, Arizona, Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands. I also serve as a peer reviewer for conferences and journal articles and dedicate time to student mentorship.
Beyond teaching, research, practice and service, what are your passions?
I am happy on a bike or in front of a plate! I love cycling around and eating delicious food. Between the bike infrastructure and Tucson being a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, I am obviously having a great time!
Lado a Lado, a traveling research, exhibition design and card game exhibited at Relaciones Inesperadas in Tijuana, Baja California Norte, created by Roundhouse Platform, Jessica Charbonneau of Studio Tag Team and Erika Brandl of Mouton. Photo courtesy Noémie Despland-Lichtert.
What advice do you have for students?
Find balance, work hard but also keep hobbies, join a club, spend some time with friends and family. Be curious, ask questions, explore!
What does the CAPLA experience mean for you?
The Emerging Faculty Fellowship represents the opportunity for me to focus on my research and bring it to the Sonoran region. My work is site-specific, and the desert is an important topic of my scholarship, so CAPLA is a wonderful place to be. I am also excited about all the opportunities CAPLA and the University of Arizona have to offer. I am taking a Spanish class and making connections with fantastic colleagues within the college and beyond!
Learn more about Noémie Despland-Lichtert, or explore ways you can support faculty at CAPLA.
