John Stuart: Architect, Author, Educator, Collider Impresario
Introduction to John Stuart. 2:21 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Post-Production: Lee Skye. Interviewed via Zoom, 4/17/2021, Miam Beach.
JOHN STUART, AIA, Distinguished University Professor in Architecture, Associate Dean for Cultural and Community Engagement and Executive Director of Miami Beach Urban Studios at Florida International University’s (FIU) College of Communication, Architecture + the Arts (CARTA) is an architectural historian and a visual artist developing collaborative research projects on complexity, community, identity, technology, the environment and public space, with funding from Van Alen Institute, The National Endowment for the Arts, The National Science Foundation, The National Endowment for the Humanities, and The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.
Stuart attended Brown University, Princeton University, and Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by success factor, and run between 30 seconds and 5 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 1:53 min.
April 21, 2021 is John Stuart Day in Miami Beach. Tell us the backstory.
EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 1:29 min.
Where were you born? Where did you grow up? And what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?
SERENDIPITY: 0:43 sec.
Where were the two 18th century houses you grew up in?
VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION: 2:27 min.
When did you become passionate about pursuing architecture, and how did that evolve?
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 3:27 min.
worked for world-renown architects I.M. Pei and Zaha Hadid. How did you choose between practicing architecture and being in academia?
CRITICAL THINKING: 2:47 min.
FIU CARTA always seems open to new ideas and creatively pushing the envelope. What was your evolution from teaching in the School of Architecture to leading MBUS (Miami Beach Urban Studios)?
CRITICAL THINKING: 1:27 min.
Describe the evolution of the board for FIU’s Miami Beach Urban Studios.
VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION: 1:28 min.
When I first encountered the School of Architecture at FIU I was EXTREMELY impressed with the education pedigrees of the faculty.
EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 1:23 min.
You worked at the now world-renown Arquitectonica during their early years. That must have been one of the most exciting places on earth.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 2:37 min.
Why did you move from New York to Miami?
CRITICAL THINKING: 3:28 min.
You moved to Miami Beach in 1994, so you have been a witness to the explosive growth of South Florida’s cultural communities.
CRITICAL THINKING: 3:34 min.
How well do you understand the politics of South Florida?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 3:39 min.
What was the impetus for you to write a biography of my dear friends’ ancestor, noted architect Ely Jacques Kahn?
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 5:11 min.
What are some of the elements that made FIU’s Miami Beach Urban Studios (MBUS) such a special place?
CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY: 1:43 min.
There are many elements that contributed to the success of MBUS, but you were the impresario who created the joie de vivre that made it all work.
COLLABORATION: 3:09 min.
What’s on your drawing board?
RESILIENCE: 1:06 min.
You have often called MBUS “a collider” [of art disciplines]. ArtSpeak’s “collider” is Miami — a tidal place where global talent from all art disciplines flows in and out.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 0:48 sec.
What is the appropriate role for a university in the development of architects, and what advice do you have for young architects?
UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART: 2:53 min.
What are the travel plans for Nu Deco, and when you travel, do you bring a Miami flavor to other cities?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 2:54 min.
From an architecture point of view, what is unique about Miami?
