Interior Provocations: WEATHER

On November 7, The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture presents Interior Provocations: WEATHER. This symposium encourages provocative, boundary-expanding thinking from design practitioners, historians, educators, and theorists that challenge traditional definitions of atmosphere within the interior realm of living environments. With WEATHER as a prompt, the aim is to reflect upon the interconnected nature of atmosphere as both a social and environmental condition, and in this way open up questions about the potential of interiors as spaces of design speculation and experimentation in the age of planetary change. 

Hosted by the Interior Design Program at The University of Texas at Austin, Interior Provocations was founded by Pratt Institute faculty as an annual symposium dedicated to furthering the scholarship of the expanding fields of interior design practice, history, and theory. 

The symposium’s keynote speaker is Philippe Rahm, a Paris-based Swiss architect, whose internationally acclaimed work in the context of sustainability spans from physiological to meteorological realms. His practice, Philippe Rahm Architectes, has completed numerous projects, including the Taichung Central Park in Taiwan, inaugurated in 2020, and has taken part in numerous biennials, including those in Venice (2025), Tbilisi (2024), Madrid (2024), Chicago (2023) and Tallinn (2022). His keynote presentation, “THE ANTHROPOCENE STYLE / TOWARD A CLIMATIC DESIGN," takes place from 5:00-6:00 PM at the Harry Ransom Center Prothro Theater.  

An exhibition of works by leading architects, designers, and artists in the field, titled Meteorologic Imaginaries, is on view from Friday, November 7 to Friday, November 21, 2025 in Mebane Gallery of Goldsmith Hall (310 Inner Campus Drive, Room 2.105).  

This event is free and open to the public, and does not require pre-registration. 

Program
Location: Mebane Gallery of Goldsmith Hall (310 Inner Campus Drive, Austin, Texas 78712) 

Opening remarks: 9am
Igor Siddiqui, Program Director for Interior Design, Symposium Committee Chair, School of Architecture, UT Austin / Allan Shearer, Associate Dean for Research and Technology, School of Architecture, UT Austin / Deborah Schneiderman, Co-Founder, Interior Provocations, School of Design, Pratt Institute / Clay Odom and Ria Bravo, Exhibition Co-Curators and Designers, School of Architecture, UT Austin / Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre & Performing Arts, Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.

Presentation session I: 9:45am
Paula Lupkin, University of North Texas , “Manufactured Weather: Beer, the Cold Chain, and the Modern Interior” / Rebekah Radtke, University of Kentucky, “Interiors as Sites of Atmospheric Inscription” / William Mangold, Drexel University,  “Weathering, Care, and the Aesthetics of Use” / Alice Friedman, Wellesley College,  “I Can See Queerly Now”.

Lunchtime roundtable teaching discussion: 12:30pm
Kevin Moore  &  Jennifer Pindyck, Auburn University / Steven Chodoriwsky, University of Utah / Hannah Dewhirst, University of Kentucky / Rana Abudayyeh, University of Tennessee–Knoxville / Stefan Di Leo, Pratt Institute.

Presentation session II: 1:30pm
Aniel Guxholli, American University in Paris, “The Hôtel Tassel: Urban Life in the Glasshouse Atmosphere” / Mili Kyropoulou, University of Houston , “The Interiority of the Semi-Outdoor: Atmosphere, Threshold, and Resilience” / Alberto Martinez Garcia, Yale University , “Modeling a Domestic Empire: Reconstructing Building Performances and Social Hierarchies in Cartagena Colonial Architecture” / Viola Ago, Toronto Metropolitan University , “’Your Eyes Resemble Mine’ and the Concept of Hauntology”.

“Weather: Selections from the Collection”: 4pm
Location: Harry Ransom Center (300 W 21st St, Austin, Texas 78712). Presented by Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre & Performing Arts.

Keynote lecture “The Anthropocene Style/Toward a Climatic Design”: 5pm
Location: Harry Ransom Center, Prothro Theater. Presented by Philippe Rahm, Philippe Rahm Architectes, Paris, France.

The symposium is organized by UT Austin School of Architecture faculty Ria Bravo, Tara Dudley, Nera Feliz, Allison Gaskins, Clay Odom, and Igor Siddiqui (symposium chair), in collaboration with Pratt Institute faculty Anca Lasc, Deborah Schneiderman, Keena Suh, and Karyn Zieve.  

The event will be livestreamed on YouTube. Find all information here.