Wes McRae | Atlanta, GA – February 18, 2026

The School of Architecture launched a new lecture tradition, Excellence in Architectural Design and Practice, in their speaker series this year with a joint lecture by Mack Scogin (Architecture 1966) and Merrill Elam (Architecture 1971).

"I hope that the next generation of architects continues to challenge itself to think big: to dream, to imagine, and to test ideas that may not yet have clear outcomes," said Julie Kim, William H. Harrison Professor and School Chair. "There is real value in remaining hungry — curious, restless, and open — and perhaps even a little foolish in the best sense of the word. That willingness to risk failure is often where meaningful innovation begins."

"This is where the relationship between practice, profession, and discipline becomes particularly important. Architectural education sits at the intersection of all three, where experimentation can be both rigorous and consequential."

For the inaugural lecture, Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam presented work from throughout their career, highlighting categories of influence on their practice. These influences included education at Georgia Tech, early work with John Portman (Architecture 1950) and George Heery (Architecture 1951), exhibitions for children's education at the High Museum of Art, and involvement in the AIA National Committee on Design, among others.

"I believe that one of the roles of architectural education is to help students understand not only how to design, but why and for whom," Kim said. "Design thinking, in this sense, is not a method to be mastered once, but a lifelong practice of inquiry, iteration, and accountability."

"And the body of work from Mack and Merrill embodies this very idea of architecture not as a fixed but always flexible in its engagement with the world."