Studio Critics:

Martha LaGess
Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design
Department of Urban Planning and Design

Martha LaGess is a British/American architect and architectural theorist. She taught architecture at the Architectural Association in London from 1993 until 2001, but has recently been appointed Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas @ Arlington. Ms. LaGess was raised in Texas and attended Rice University in Houston Texas, graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1984. Between 1987 and 1990 she studied at the Architectural Association graduate school programme in History and Theory, worked for James Stirling, Michael Wilford Associates, and taught at Kingston University. She worked on a variety of commercial and cultural projects in Europe for Kohn Pedersen Fox and was offered the position of associate there in 1993. She left for the Architectural Association and to start her own practice, now called metropraxis.net, in partnership with Michael McNamara. In 1998, she became a naturalized citizen of the UK.

Michael McNamara is a practicing architect and urbanist who has worked on projects and urban plans worldwide. Raised in Louisiana and Texas, he was educated at Rice University where he was William Ward Watkin Watkin Fellow. He studied at Harvard GSD from 1986-1988, followed by work in the offices of James Stirling and Richard Rogers. He founded a practice, now called metropraxis.net, with Martha LaGess in 1995.He has led design studios at the Architectural Association from 1993-2001, as well as Portsmouth University and Cornell University. Based in the Active Brief and Interconnectivity, he has lectured on his projects and urban plans in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Design work, drawings, and texts have been published extensively whilst recent work focuses on London projects and building processes brought about by the electronic revolution. In 1998, he became a naturalized citizen of the UK.

Veronika Schmid
Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design
Department of Urban Planning and Design

Veronika Schmid was raised in USA, Germany, and Austria before she began her studies at the Technical University, Innsbruck, followed by the Architectural Association in London, and a Master's in Architecture from UCLA. She taught design at the Architectural Association at all levels of instruction in networked IT studios from 1998 till 2001. She has also taught a visiting studio at the University of Texas in Arlington in collaboration with her partner Alistair Gill. Recent work focuses on social group formation as an element of urban architecture.