Esteemed roster of experts to provide travel groups with insights and background information on architectural landmarks

Washington, DC – December 13, 2017 – Architectural Adventures presents unique opportunities for travelers to learn about architectural landmarks from some of the most knowledgeable architecture educators in the profession.  These Architectural Adventures-selected experts provide exclusive insights through formal and informal discussions based on their deep knowledge of a destination’s architecture, history, and culture.  Experts for the 2018 Architectural Adventures tours include: Nancy Dunton, Yuji Kishimoto, Martin Moller, and Stephen Vogel.  Below you can learn more about these tour guides and their connection to the destination they will be leading. 

Nancy Dunton

Leading the five-day tour to Montreal in late May is Nancy Dunton. She is currently a consultant specializing in the presentation of projects on architecture, including conferences, architectural walking tours and exhibitions as well as a professor who teaches Reading the City: Montreal and its neighborhoods at the McGill School of Architecture.

Dunton has been active in the field of management of organizations and architectural projects since 1981. She has worked for architects, in construction, and was executive director of Heritage Montreal, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection of Montreal's built heritage. As Head of University and Professional Programmes for the Canadian Centre for Architecture, she was responsible for presenting public programs intended to nourish the debate on architecture.

When speaking about Montreal, Dunton says, "To understand Montreal, visitors need to be immersed – if only for a few days – in the city’s history and culture. The buildings we will explore will serve as a way to think about how the city evolved and what it’s like to live in now. I can’t wait to share the experience of Montreal and its public places, historic buildings, and contemporary architecture. As a life-long Montrealer, I look forward to showing Architectural Adventures travelers my city and the places I love."

Yuji Kishimoto

Yuji Kishimoto, AIA, is the perfect leader for the Japan’s Allure 13-day tour departing in October. Kishimoto was born and raised in Tokyo. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from Waseda University in Tokyo and his Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University in 1965.  Kishimoto learned that “real problems in real situations” require a true sense of creativity in solving them during the first design studio at Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Kishimoto has taught architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design, Boston Architectural Center, Deerfield Academy, University of Hawaii, and Virginia Tech before joining Clemson University in 1980.   Kishimoto recently received the Japanese National Medal of Distinction – the Order of the Sacred, Gold Rays Medal – by the Emperor of Japan for his efforts to promote academic, cultural, and economic relations between the United States and Japan. 

With Kyoto being no. 4 on Travel & Leisure’s 2017 list The World's Top 15 Cities, Kishimoto is excited to show travelers his point of view on Japan and its architecture. “I am eager to share Japan’s rich culture and innovative architecture with our Architectural Adventures travelers. From Tokyo and Takayama to Kanazawa and Kyoto, we will be immersed in the sights, sounds, and tastes of this wonderful country, while experiencing its variety of historical and modern architecture.”

Martin Moeller

G. Martin Moeller, Jr., Assoc. AIA, is leading the fall 2018 10-day tour, Bauhaus and Beyond just before the centennial of the famed design school’s founding. Moeller is currently an architectural curator, writer, and editor who works both independently and on a part-time basis as senior curator at the National Building Museum. He has lectured extensively about the Bauhaus and other movements in modernist architecture. He served as the lead curator for several of the Museum’s most widely acclaimed exhibitions, including Unbuilt Washington; Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete; and Reinventing the Globe: A Shakespearean Theater for the 21st Century.

Moeller holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Architecture from Tulane University. He also studied architecture at the University of Manchester in England on Tulane’s Junior Year Abroad honors program. He served for more than ten years on the Board of Advisors for the Tulane School of Architecture. In the spring of 2010, he was a visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome, researching modern and contemporary architecture in that city.

Regarding the upcoming trip exploring Bauhaus and other German architecture, Moeller states, "The Bauhaus was the most fabled design school of the modern era, and its innovative curriculum continues to influence architectural education today. Our tour will trace the institution’s brief but dramatic history, with complementary visits to contemporary German landmarks."

Stephen Vogel

Leading the September five-day trip to Detroit is Stephen Vogel, FAIA. Vogel is the Distinguished Professor of Architecture at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture, where he also served as Dean of Architecture for 18 years.

During that time, he focused the school’s mission to engage in service to underserved urban communities and to educate future architects committed to building sustainable cities. To that end, he co-founded the Detroit Collaborative Design Center, a university-based center providing professional design services to non-profit civic and community organizations and created the Master of Community Development degree program. The school and the Design Center have been recognized with the prestigious AIA Whitney M. Young Jr. Award in 2017, as well as the National Council of Architectural Registration Board’s 2002 Grand Prize and 2009 Prize for the Creative Integration of Practice and Education in the Academy.

With more than forty years of experience in architecture, urban design, interiors, and historic preservation, Vogel has directed projects that range from multi-family housing, adaptive reuse, and historic preservation to urban design and master planning of large scale mixed-income communities.

When talking about “America’s Comeback City,” Vogel exclaims, "I am thrilled to be able to show travelers Detroit’s incredible architecture and the changes to the city I have witnessed over the past fifty years.  From the distinctive Art Deco skyline and the works of Mies van der Rohe, Yamasaki, and Saarinen, to fabulous historic neighborhoods and contemporary works, you will be surprised and amazed at the design heritage of Detroit."

Learn more about these and the other Architectural Adventures experts leading tours in 2018 at http://www.architecturaladventures.org/experts

About Architectural Adventures
Architectural Adventures is the official travel program of The American Institute of Architects, specializing in the exploration and appreciation of the world’s architecture. Experts lead immersive small group tours that go well beyond simple sightseeing, giving travelers distinctive and exclusive opportunities to engage with the past, present, and future of building and design in the earth’s great sites and cities. Offering world-class experiences in destinations across the globe, Architectural Adventures is the premier travel provider for architecture enthusiasts and intellectually curious travelers alike.  For more details on booking availabilities and new trip announcements sign up for the Architectural Adventures mailing list at: http://acdpages.aia.org/ArchitecturalAdventures-Press-2018Trips.html. 

About The American Institute of Architects

Founded in 1857, The American Institute of Architects consistently works to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through nearly 300 state and local chapters, AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public wellbeing. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and business as well as engaging civic and government leaders and the public to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world.

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