Anne Marie Duvall Decker, FAIA, and Roy Decker, FAIA, will present a lecture on their current work, including the Springdale Municipal Complex and the U.S. Courthouse, Greenville, MS, and will introduce Foundations, their debut book, released in 2024. 

The most important project for a design studio is the design of the practice itself. A Studio’s point of view is often first defined by feelings and hopes, but if cultivated, grows into values and tactics. 

How the studio environment is crafted and how it cultivates a kinship around this point of view with collaborators, clients, consultants, community members, and contractors is essential for it to be productive and have a healthy impact. With discipline, a studio evolves a practice that shapes the character, performance, and value of the work. The studio’s early critiques define the approach and territory of work, along with the propositions that are asked of every project. The studio environment and relationships create the space for the work to be possible. 

Nine (9) Propositions and fifty-three (53) Foundations are shared herein. Each Foundation additionally includes a supportive commentary. Foundations and Propositions are presented as a work in progress. These are lists that chronicle our thinking and doing over 25 years. For us, there is no separation between theory and practice. This collection of Foundations and Propositions captures an approach to the work and way of being an architect. This work is a privilege with public responsibilities. This is one studio’s search for public good. 

“This is first a book about values. It has lessons about how to live our lives and along the way, it teaches us how to practice an architecture with integrity, a practice guided by our hearts.” – Billie Tsien, AIA | Partner, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects 

“At first, I thought that it was beautiful because you have so elegantly described the essence of the design process, a sort of celebration of what we do. But as I read deeper, both within each essay and as I progressed through the book, I realized that you had described not only what we architects, hopefully, do know, but what we must know, and believe to reach design solutions that enhance life quality for our communities and our practices. It is an amazing contribution to the theory and practice… much harder to do and much more valuable.” – Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, Hon. ASLA | 2023 Gold Medalist 

About the Authors

Anne Marie Duvall Decker, FAIA, is a founding principal of Duvall Decker, an expanded practice, in Jackson, Mississippi that provides architecture, development consulting, and facilities maintenance services. Anne Marie sees architecture as instrument, engaging the material phenomena of our environment and culture to create the potential for education and growth. She leads the studio in creating elusive forms and engaging spaces, no matter the type, size, or budget of projects. She has served the profession in many capacities, as a long-term board member and past president of AIA Mississippi and as a Trustee and 2021 Chair of the AIA Trust. Anne Marie is often invited to share her experience as a lecturer, critic, visiting professor, and design juror. She was recently appointed to serve the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations as a 2021-2023 Industry Advisory Group peer and was awarded the 2023 Mississippi State University College of Architecture, Art, & Design Alumna of the Year Recipient. In 2023, Anne Marie Duvall Decker was a recipient of Architectural Record’s Women in Architecture Design Leadership Award. 

Roy Decker, FAIA, is a founding principal of Duvall Decker, an expanded practice, in Jackson, Mississippi that provides architecture, development consulting, and facilities maintenance services. Roy expands the role of an architect in search of public good. Roy’s dedication to design excellence, education, and craft infuses the firm’s work with meaning. For the past three decades, Roy has led the firm to complete public projects of varying scales and types and to achieve significant design recognition. Roy is a design and critical thought leader, whether he is participating in an inner-city neighborhood meeting, serving on student reviews across the country, sharing his perspective in lectures and publications, or inspiring an individual in conversation. In all of these encounters, he exhibits an unwavering commitment to considering the consequences of architectural design work in the lives of others. 

Visit the link below to know more about Foundations and order your copy today:
https://www.duvalldecker.com/foundations-book/