Sept. 16, 2026 | 1:30 p.m.   
Kevin Sullivan, FAIA
Architect, educator and president of PAYETTE
Kevin Sullivan, FAIA, is an architect, educator, and President of PAYETTE, recipient of the 2019 AIA Architecture Firm Award. His work explores Performalism—an approach that organizes complex social, environmental, technological, and spatial relationships into coherent formal systems through the interrelationship of social geometry and Embedded Nature, creating architecture that is simultaneously rigorous, high-performing, and deeply human. Sullivan has led the design of nationally recognized academic, research, healthcare, and civic projects, including the Northeastern University Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex, the Ragon Institute at MIT, and Land’s Sake Farm, each of which has recently received a national AIA Honor Award for design excellence. His work has received more than 125 design awards and has been widely published and exhibited. He is the author of FUSION: The Performance of Architecture and the forthcoming Education in Practice, which examines the reciprocal relationship between architectural education and professional practice. Sullivan is the founding Director of OpenLAB Boston, a collaboration between PAYETTE and the Center for Design Research at the Virginia Tech School of Architecture that embeds architectural education within the active conditions of practice. He is an Affiliated Professor in Practice at Virginia Tech and previously taught as a Design Critic in Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Sullivan received a Master in Architecture from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech and was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows in 2012.
October 7, 2026 | 1 p.m. | The Mill at ¹ú²úBT, Ballroom
This lecture is being held conjunction with
Bryan McKay-Lyons, CM, FRAIC, RCA, (Hon.Int) FAIA, (Hon.Int) FRIBA, NSAA, AAPEI, AANB, OAA, OAQ, AIBC, NH, VA, UT, ME
Architect and founding principal at MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
Brian MacKay-Lyons was born and raised in the village of Arcadia in Nova Scotia, on the East coast of Canada. Brian received his Bachelor of Architecture from the Technical University of Nova Scotia in 1978 and his Master of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of California Los Angeles, in the United States. He has developed a leading global practice from Nova Scotia that has been honoured with over 170 design awards, including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Gold Medal to Brian in 2015, the top award in Canada for lifetime contribution in architecture, and the RAIC Firm Award in 2014; eight Governor General Medals, the most prestigious Canadian award that celebrates outstanding design in recently built projects; seven American Institute of Architects (AIA) National and International Honor Awards of Architecture; eighteen Lieutenant Governor’s Medals of Excellence; nine Canadian Architect Awards; four Architectural Record Houses Awards; and fourteen North American Wood Design & Building Awards. A fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC), and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA), Brian MacKay-Lyons was named Honorary International Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon. Int. FAIA) in 2001 and in 2016 was made an Honorary International Fellow by the Royal Institute of British Architects (Hon. Int. FRIBA) in London. In 2022, Brian was appointed to the Order of Canada for his contribution to Canadian culture. Brian was a full professor and faculty member at Dalhousie University for 37 years and has held 18 endowed academic chairs or visiting professorships at leading universities worldwide, such as: The Peter Behrens School of Architecture, Washington University in St. Louis, Harvard University, and University of Houston Gerald D. Hines ¹ú²úBT and Design. In 2024, Brian was awarded an Honorary Doctorate - Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from Dalhousie University. Twenty years after founding the firm Brian MacKay-Lyons Architecture Urban Design, Talbot Sweetapple became a partner in 2005 to form MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects. In 2017, Brian and Talbot were honoured as laureates of the prestigious Global Award for Sustainable Architecture by the Cite de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris, under the patronage of UNESCO. The work of the firm has been recognized in 900+ publications including eight monographs and has been featured in 100+ exhibitions internationally.
Nov. 4, 2026 | 1:30 p.m.   
Charlie Hailey
Architect, writer and professor at the University of Florida
A Fellow and Fulbright Scholar, he is the author of six books, including , , and . Hailey teaches design/build, studio, and theory at the University of Florida, where he was recently named . In Spring 2026, he will return to the .
All lectures will be held in the Harrison Auditorium in Giles Hall at the School of Architecture on Mississippi State University's main campus in Starkville unless otherwise noted. Public seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Overflow seating is available in the Jury Room, Giles 122. For more information, contact the School of Architecture at 662.325.2202.
*central time zone
The Harrison Lecture Series is made possible through the generous gift by Freda Wallace Harrison and Dr. Robert V.M. Harrison, FAIA, FCSI.