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| Position | Associate Professor |
|---|---|
| Phone | 805.756.1790 805.756.7351 |
| Fax | 805.756.1500 |
| mlucas@calpoly.edu | |
| Office | 14-219 |
| Office Hours | M F 1:30-3pm W 1-3pm |
| Fall Courses 2011 | ARCH 101 Survey of Arch Educ. ARCH 131 Design & Vis Com 1.1 |
| Winter Courses 2012 | ARCH 101 Survey of Arch Educ. ARCH 132 Design & Vis Com 1.2 ARCH 326 Native American |
| Spring Courses 2012 | ARCH 101 Survey of Arch Educ. ARCH 133 Design & Vis Com 1.3 |
Areas of Expertise
Architectural Design
Applied Phenomenology
Vernacular Architecture
Native American Architecture
Place Theory
Profile
Born outside Pittsburgh, he recalls summers with his Grandparents on their tree farm amid Amish and Mennonite neighbors on the western side of the Appalachians. As a steelworker at Pittsburgh’s Homestead Works during several collegiate summers, he added a love for the industrial vernacular. He obtained his Bachelor of Architecture degree at Cincinnati.
Initially his professional career focused on practice with firms in the Ohio Valley and Chesapeake Bay regions, establishing a portfolio of urban interventions in the Riverfront Historic District of Covington, Kentucky, Mt Adams Historic District in Cincinnati, Fell’s Point, Canton, Federal Hill, and Mt. Vernon Historic Districts in Baltimore, and the Patapsco River mill village of Oella, Maryland. From the mid 1980’s he specialized in K-12 and University projects across the mid-Atlantic. Built work where he acted as designer earned awards from Cincinnati, Central Pennsylvania, and Baltimore Chapters of the American Institute of Architects and received publication in Progressive Architecture and Better Homes and Gardens magazines. He retains professional registration in Maryland, and acts as a consult for regional non-profit and community groups. He is currently a Planning Commissioner for the coastal town of Morro Bay.
Following his Master of Architecture degree at Morgan State in Baltimore, his career has focused on teaching. He has taught at Cal Poly since 1997. His classes include Thesis Design Lab and Research Seminar, Universal Design/Architecture and the Body, and Native American Architecture and Place, which is cross listed with the Ethnic Studies Department. He received the Cal Poly Distinguished Teacher Award in 2008, the first professor from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design to be so honored. He is a Student Advisor, former Director of the Summer Career Workshop for high school students, and Faculty Advisor for the Design Village student club.
His research is in the area of human development and spatial concept formation, place, and identity, specifically looking at the junction of individual tacit, phenomenological, and intuitive knowing with cultural conventions. His studies have focused on Pacific Northwest and Puebloan Native American, and 20th century American vernacular situations, eco-phenomenology, and his pedagogy. He has presented his findings at venues of the Associated Collegiate Schools of Architecture, International Association of Environmental Philosophy, American Society for Phenomenology and Media, American Popular Culture Association, Pecos Conference on Southwest Archeology, Northwest Society of Architectural Historians, and Gran Quivira Conference on Spanish Colonial Studies and Borderlands Research.
Education
M.Arch, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, 1995
B.Arch, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1979
Teaching Experience
Professor, Architecture Department, Ca Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA 2008 to Present
Associate Professor, Architecture Department, Ca Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA 2003-2007
Assistant Professor, Architecture Department, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA 1997-2002
Cal Poly London Studies Program, Summer 2009
Director, Architecture Summer Career Workshop, Summer 2001-2008; Design Coordinator 1998-2003
Lecturer in Architecture, Institute of Architecture and Planning, Morgan State University, 1991
Teaching Assistant, Theory of Environmental Design, College of Design, Architecture and Art, University of Cincinnati, 1978-79
Registration
Licensed Architect: Maryland (1982-present)
Licensed Architect: Pennsylvania (1996-97)