EIU Media Relations

Doudna Fine Arts Center Architect to Update Campus on Project

Antoine Predock, the internationally renowned architect who designed the renovation of Eastern Illinois University’s Doudna Fine Arts Center, is to speak about the ongoing project during a visit to campus next week.

Predock’s presentation, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 12, in the Tarble Arts Center Atrium.

Predock recently joined the ranks of Thomas Jefferson, Frank Lloyd Wright, I.M. Pei and Cesar Pelli when he received the 2006 AIA Gold Medal. The award – given by the American Institute of Architects only 62 times in its 150-year history – honors people whose bodies of work have had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.

“We are very excited to have Antoine Predock on campus again to share his thoughts about how the Doudna project is proceeding,” said Jeffrey Lynch, associate dean of the EIU College of Arts and Humanities. “Antoine is not only a world-class architect, but also a truly extraordinary person, brimming with ideas and unbounded, infectious creative energy.

“His presentation is a rare opportunity for the campus and the community to see and hear an internationally famous architect at the very top of his game talk about his work and the iconic new Doudna Fine Arts Center currently massing in the Library quad.”

The Doudna Fine Arts Center’s design makes generous use of angles, which are already apparent in the ongoing construction. When finished, the building will contain an abundance of glass and copper for a look unlike anything else in the area. The center is expected to be completed in the summer of 2007.

Predock, based in Albuquerque, N.M., recently won design competitions for the new National Palace Museum in Taiwan and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. His many other works include the School of Architecture at the University of New Mexico, the federal courthouse in El Paso, the Nelson Fine Arts Center at Arizona State University, the San Diego Padres’ new ballpark, the Turtle Creek House in Dallas and the Venice Beach House in California.

For more information, including details of the Doudna project, see Predock’s website at http://www.predock.com.