1987
Master of Architecture
Mark O'Bryan
Mark O'Bryan traveled to France, Mexico, and Spain.
Mark O'Bryan
Cornell University
© Mark O'Bryan.
Jury
Raul de Armas
Elmer Johnson
Charles Moore
Adrian Smith
Stanley Tigerman
Robert Turner
I propose to explore the art and architecture of two great religious periods: the Christian Middle Ages in France and Spain, and the pre-Columbian epoch in Mexico. Many questions arise in the study of these different, yet synchronous, traditions: How are the buildings designed to accommodate religious ritual and procession? What role does sculpture and painting play in ritual and procession? How are they related to the physical structure of the building? What is the relationship between the iconography of the building and that of the sculpture and painting? How do color and ornamental pattern heighten the sense of architectural space, scale, light, and form?
© Mark O'Bryan.
© Mark O'Bryan.
© Mark O'Bryan.
Mark O'Bryan
Cornell University
Mark O'Bryan
has both taught and practiced architecture since 1982. The Design Studio was started in 1997 by O’Bryan and his interior designer wife, Mary Lee. Both traveled and lived abroad with a Traveling Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome (1985), as well as with a SOM Foundation Traveling Fellowship (1987). While traveling, they discovered many unique styles of art, architecture, and interior design. Bringing their knowledge and experience back to their studio, the O’Bryans work together on projects with an emphasis on sustainability and contextualism. Mark O’Bryan graduated from the College of Architecture at the University of Kentucky in 1982 and received his Master of Architecture from Cornell University. He has taught at Cornell University, Ohio State University, and is presently a tenured professor in the College of Architecture at the University of Kentucky. O’Bryan is a licensed architect and has worked on projects ranging from the religious to the commercial office as well as the residential arena. He provides consulting services for the Urban Design Studio in Louisville, a collaborative venture between the University of Kentucky’s College of Design, the University of Louisville’s School of Urban and Public Affairs, and Louisville Metro Planning & Design Services. The Urban Design Studio serves as a classroom, meeting point, resource base, and exhibition space for the universities, city, and community. His architecture studios have collaborated with the Louisville Free Public Library and the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy. O’Bryan is also a talented painter and photographer. His work has been exhibited at the Architectural League of New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, The A+D Museum in Los Angeles, and Tchoban Foundation Museum in Berlin. His academic research focus is pedagogy and digital/analogue representation with several papers presented and published in recent Design Communication Association (DCA) and European Architectural Envisioning (EAEA) conferences.