Annette LeCuyer, faculty lead for senior studios, honored for teaching and mentoring
Annette LeCuyer, professor of architecture at UB since 2003, receives the 2016 Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring from Provost Charles F. Zukoski and President Satish K. Tripathi at the annual Celebration of Faculty and Staff Excellence in October.
Published November 27, 2016 This content is archived.
UB professor of architecture Annette LeCuyer, who has guided students through the undergraduate program’s most challenging courses, has been recognized by the university with the 2016 Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring.
Presented in October at UB’s 13th annual Celebration of Faculty and Staff Excellence, the Meyerson award is the highest university honor for undergraduate mentoring. It was established in 2004 through a generous gift by the late UB President Emeritus Martin Meyerson and his wife, Margy Ellen.
A licensed architect in the United Kingdom, LeCuyer practiced with Foster + Partners and Allies and Morrison Architects in London before joining the UB architecture faculty in 2003. At UB she has designed and taught the program’s core construction technology course and the senior-level studio, which focuses on the culminating or development phases of a project. The courses are both synthesis courses, requiring students to integrate knowledge of historic precedents and sociocultural issues together with skills such as technical documentation, environmental stewardship, accessibility, environmental and structural systems and building envelope systems into a complex, buildable architecture project. The responsibility as studio director brings with it hundreds of hours of intensive work with students.
LeCuyer assumes the responsibility “with conscientiousness and generosity,” according to Despina Stratigakos, associate professor and interim chair of architecture in 2015-16, who nominated LeCuyer for the award.
“She is the ultimate facilitator, and, simultaneously, a strong leader,” Stratigakos continues. “In the senior studio here at UB, she encourages students to find their ‘own design voice’ rather than imposing that of the authority…She has a way of removing the fear and instilling confidence in her students.”
Chris Gomez, a 2016 graduate of the program, characterizes this influence: “Annette has an inherent ability to understand a student’s vision, and without giving them the answers, guide them towards better solutions and a more coherent outcome. Studio is the most important class for an architecture student and Annette makes what can often times be a very stressful class a real pleasure.”
Beth Tauke, associate professor of architecture and a fellow Meyerson honoree (2014), says LeCuyer is a major factor behind UB’s strong reputation for competency in comprehensive studio, which was recently highlighted in UB’s successful accreditation by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. “As author and implementer of our comprehensive studio curriculum, Annette deserves much of the credit for the high level of work and productive energy in our studios.”
LeCuyer is an accomplished scholar in contemporary architecture and building technology. Her publications include ETFE – Technology and Design (Birkhauser, 2008), Steel and Beyond – New Strategies for Metals in Architecture (Birkhauser, 2003) and Radical Tectonics (Thames and Hudson, 2001). She is co-author of All-American: Innovation in American Architecture (Thames and Hudson, 2002) and a contributor to the noted journal The Architectural Review.
Erkin Özay, assistant professor of architecture, says LeCuyer achieves an important balance of rigor and support, ultimately cultivating in students a passion for learning. “[She] is one of those rare educators who can effortlessly fuse sure-handed scholastic discipline with remarkable empathy for the learning novice: she compels her students to delve into the problems of design in their full complexity, while endowing them with the intellectual and emotional confidence and guidance they need to appreciate the rewards of the learning process.”
Perhaps the strongest testament to her teaching influence are reflections from students who have moved on to the profession. Even years after graduation, students find a mentor waiting.
Says 2012 graduate Kristin Deiure, who now practices in New York City: “I emailed Annette many years after graduating to ask a question. I was unsure if she would even remember me. However I was pleasantly surprised when she responded to me within an hour with a long, in-depth answer along with a summary of updates. To be around Annette is to be around one of the great educators of our time. Her enthusiasm and wisdom are inspiring. Being her student changed my track in architecture for the better. Her love of and knowledge for architecture will always remain with me.”