Jim Cutler

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - On Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m., celebrated architect and founder of Cutler Anderson Architects Jim Cutler will deliver a lecture titled “Searching for True: Letting Circumstance Form Architecture.” The event will take place in Middlebury College’s Dana Auditorium, located in Sunderland Language Center on College Street (Route 125), and is free and open to the public.

Cutler is the 2009 Cameron Visiting Architect in the Architectural Studies Program at Middlebury College, sponsored by the Cameron Family to support visiting artists in the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the Program in Studio Art. Internationally recognized for his thoughtful and sensitive integration of architecture into the landscape, he incorporates environmentally responsible technology and materials into his projects.

Private residence, Cutler Anderson Architects

In conjunction with his lecture, an exhibit of Cutler’s work will be on display from Oct. 1-17 in the main lobby of Johnson Memorial Building, located on Château Road off College Street (Route 125). Established in 1977 and based on Bainbridge Island in Washington, Cutler Anderson Architects has designed hundreds of residential, commercial and cultural projects that have won numerous awards, including six National Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects. Cutler and his firm have been the subject of several books on architecture, including “Searching for True: Cutler Anderson Architects,” which was published earlier this month.

According to Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture John McLeod, who is teaching Intermediate Architectural Design this fall and integrating Cutler’s visit into his studio, “Jim brings important philosophical and ideological positions to the liberal arts study of design. His approach of building with the land, respecting the nature of materials and designing for a particular region and climate resonate with our Vermont-based inquiry into architecture.”

Cutler is a registered architect in Washington, Alaska, New York, Hawaii, Tennessee, Montana, Rhode Island and North Carolina, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He has a Master of Architecture degree from the Louis I. Kahn Studio Program, as well as Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Cutler has served as a juror for several regional and national competitions and has held teaching positions at University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania, University of Oregon in Eugene, University of California at Berkeley, University of Oklahoma and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.

In the 2004, Cutler was an artist in residence at Dartmouth College, and in August 2005, he served as chair and hosted the AIA Central States Region Design Awards jury. In 2006, he returned to Dartmouth to teach studio art.

The lecture is part of the “Architecture &.” series, jointly organized and sponsored by the Middlebury College History of Art and Architecture Department and the Cameron Family Arts Enrichment Fund, established in 2007 by the Cameron Family to support visiting artists in the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the Program in Studio Art.

For more information, contact Academic Department Coordinator Monica McCabe at 802-443-5234 or mmccabe@middlebury.edu.