Dr. Lisa Landrum
Areas of Specialization
Architectural Design
History & Theory
Poetics & Ethics
Imagination
Representation
Performing Arts
Agency
Pedagogy & Critical Thinking
Education
| Year | University | Degree |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | McGill University | PhD |
| 2003 | McGill University | MArch II (post-professional) |
| 1995 | Carleton University | BArch |
Spotlight
Dr. Lisa Landrum is an academic leader, award-winning teacher, and licensed architect. She holds a professional Bachelor of Architecture from Carleton University and a post-professional Master’s and PhD in Architectural History and Theory from McGill University. In between her undergraduate and graduate studies, Landrum performed seven years of diverse architectural work in New York City. Her doctoral dissertation explored the mythic bases and poetic origins of architectural acts by interpreting two ancient Greek plays in which the protagonist is called “architect” while directing schemes of transformation for the common good. These architect-protagonists and the plots they lead not only provide insight into the emergent role of architects in the fifth century BCE, but also vividly dramatize certain representative deeds and ethical dilemmas that remain to this day integral to an architect's performance.
Research Highlights
Theatres of Architectural Imagination
With expertise in the dramatic origins of architectural acts, Landrum is at the forefront of creative scholarship engaging architecture as a performing art. Her wide-ranging publications, exhibitions, artifacts, and events explore interactions of architecture with theatre, fiction, philosophy, and democracy. Recent book: Theatres of Architectural Imagination (2023 Routledge) (external link) ; 2021 Archimagination (external link) series; and 2021 Symposium (external link) .
Towards Equity in Architecture
Through creative projects and research mobilization, Landrum is advancing understanding and action toward greater diversity and inclusion in architectural education and practice. Work includes CAFÉ Capital (external link) , a national forum series on equity in architecture; and Unstacking the Deck (external link) , celebrating early women architecture graduates and calling for further action beyond binaries, beyond borders, and toward Indigenous sovereignty.
The Future of Architecture and Architectural Pedagogy
How is architecture changing? How are pedagogical modalities adjusting to keep pace? With initiatives like the Canadian Architecture Forums of Education (external link) (launched in 2019 ) and Rise for Architecture (external link) (with a 2023 report), Landrum is working with students and partners across academic, professional, and regulatory sectors to rethink the future (and history) of architecture and the architect’s role in society.
- Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
- 2019-2023: SSHRC Connection Grants for the Canadian Architecture Forums on Education (CAFÉ)
- 2022: Unstacking the Deck – ‘Commendation’ for the Milka Bliznako Research Prize by the International Archive of Women in Architecture.
- 2021: Exhibitor and curator of Archimagination for the ALN SunShip exhibition at CITYX Italian Virtual Pavilion, 17th International Architecture Biennale
- 2022 & 2018: Students’ Teacher Recognition Award for Teaching Excellence
- 2017: Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award, University of Manitoba
- Theatres of Architectural Imagination, ed. Lisa Landrum and Sam Ridgway, London and New York: Routledge, 2023
- Narrating the City: Mediated Representations of Architecture, Urban Forms and Social Life, ed. Ayşegül Akçay Kavakoğlu, Türkan Nihan Hacıömeroğlu & Lisa Landrum. Bristol, UK: Intellect / University of Chicago Press, 2021
- Architecture in Canada: A Vision for the Future – Toward an Architecture Policy for Canada, contributing-author with Rise for Architecture, 2023
- CAFÉ Summary Report – summarizing outcomes of the Canadian Architecture Forums on Education, 2020
- “Winging it with Alberti: Learning from Distance” in Remote Practices: Architecture at a Distance, ed. Matthew Mindrup and Lilian Chee. London: Lund Humphries, 2023
- “Campus Architecture: The Radical Medium of Learning” in Canadian Modern Architecture 1967 to the Present, ed. Elsa Lam and Graham Livesey. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2019
- “Poetic Imagination and the Architecture Poe” in Reading Architecture, Literary Imagination and Architectural Experience, ed. Angeliki Sioli and Yoonchun Jung. New York: Routledge, 2018
- “Miming a Manner of Architectural Theory. Eudaimonia: A Pantomime Dream Play” in Confabulations: Storytelling in Architecture, ed. Carolina Dayer, Paul Emmons and Marcia Feuerstein. New York: Routledge, 2017
- “Varieties of Architectural Imagination” in Warehouse 25, ed. Alena Rieger and Ally Pereira-Edwards. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba, 2016
- “Architects of Playtime: Cities as Social Media in the work of Jacques Tati” in Filming the City: Urban Documents, Design Practices, and Social Criticism Through the Lens, ed. Edward Clift, Ari Mattes & Mirko Guaralda. Bristol, UK: Intellect Books, 2016
- “Chōra before Plato: Architecture, Drama and Receptivity” in Chora 7: Intervals in the Philosophy of Architecture, ed. Alberto Pérez-Gómez and Stephen Parcell. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2016
- “Poetic Persistence and Architectural Renewal: the fruits of investing in an economy of stories” Economy and Architecture, ed. Juliet Odgers, Stephen Kite and Mhairi McVicar. London: Routledge, 2015
- “Before Architecture: Archai, Architects and Architectonics in Plato and Aristotle,” Montreal Architectural Review, Vol. 2 (2015)
- “Modus Operandi of an Architectus Doli: Architectural cunning in the comic plays of Plautus” in Architecture’s Appeal: How Theory informs Architectural Praxis, ed. Marc J. Neveu and Negin Djavaherian. London & New York: Routledge
- “Performing Theōria: Architectural Acts in Aristophanes’ Peace” in Architecture as a Performing Art, ed. Gray Read & Marcia Feuerstein. London: Routledge, 2013
- “Ensemble Performances: Architects and Justice in Athenian Drama” in Architecture and Justice: Judicial Meanings in the Public Realm, ed. Nicholas Temple, Jonathan Simon and Renee Tobe. London: Routledge, 2013
- President, Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB), 2022-2024
- Registered Architect in Ontario, Manitoba and New York State
- Adjunct Professor, Department of Architecture, University of Manitoba (external link)
- Associate Dean, PhD Design & Planning Program Chair, and Co-op Academic Liaison, Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba (2017-2023)
- Executive Member, Building Equality in Architecture (BEA)-Prairies
- Working group member, Rise for Architecture, 2017-2023
1. CAFÉ:
- 1,000 students weigh in on future of Canadian architectural education (external link) (article)
- CCUSA Announces CAFÉ Capital towards Equity in Architecture (external link) (article)
- Canadian Architecture Forums on Education (Café) Series Report (external link)
- Canadian Architecture Forums on Education (external link)
2. Rise for Architecture:
- Call for Action: The Rise for Architecture Report (external link) (article)
- Angus Reid and Rise for Architecture release national study results, launch survey (external link) (article)
- The Future of Architecture in Canada (external link)
- Policy: Rise for Architecture (external link) (article)
3. Unstacking the Deck:
- Unstacking the Deck: A double deck of cards created by Winnipeg-based Lisa Landrum celebrates Manitoba's women architects (external link) (article)
- Full House: U of M professor's playing-card project honours early women in architecture and their often unsung achievements (external link) (article)
- Unstacking the Deck: A Game of Change (external link) (article)
- Unstacking the Deck: A Game of Change Playing Cards (external link)
4. Theatres of Architectural Imagination: