February 2, 2010 — Tom Wiscombe will give the Michael Owen Jones Memorial Lecture at the University of Virginia's School of Architecture on Feb. 5 from 5-7 p.m. in Campbell Hall, room 153.

His lecture, "Into the Jungle," will explore the geometries that allow designers to move beyond both discrete systems, those characterized by a study of only the frame and "skin" of a building, and the 1990s emphasis on homogeneous smoothness in building design.

Wiscombe founded EMERGENT, a Los Angeles-based architectural design firm, in 1999 after completing his master's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles. EMERGENT is dedicated to researching issues of globalism, technology and materiality through built form.

Among other notable projects, Wiscombe was senior designer for BMW World in Munich.

Wiscombe is currently teaching in the Master of Architecture II X-Program at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where he is applied studies coordinator; he also has been appointed Innovation Fellow at the Technical University of Sydney.

In 2008, Wiscombe founded Crystalline Rapid Prototyping, which is currently working with the entertainment industry in the production of props and specialty costumes for major motion pictures.

The Michael Owen Jones Lectureship is an opportunity for young design professionals to bring their enthusiasm and talent to the School of Architecture with a lecture in the fall or spring semester. The family of Michael Owen Jones, who graduated from the School of Architecture in 1985, funds the lectureship.

This event has been coordinated by SAGA, the Student Association of Graduate Architects.