Leading "Cabinologist" Visits, Lectures At The University

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Minnesota architect Dale Mulfinger literally wrote the book on the cabin, which he describes as "an intimate place for the soul." He has designed scores of cabins and visited hundreds more in preparation for his book "The Cabin: Inspiration for the Classic American Getaway." Mulfinger will discuss this critically acclaimed book and the basic tenets of cabin design in a lecture on Friday, October 24 titled "Cabins, Getaway Homes, and Places of Escape." The lecture will take place at 5:30 p.m. in Combs Auditorium, located in room 282 of Bell Engineering Center.

This fall Mulfinger is teaching and lecturing at the University of Arkansas School of Architecture as the first E. Fay Jones Chair in Architecture, a position funded by a generous gift from Don and Ellen Edmondson. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Mulfinger is well known for creating intimate, finely detailed residential spaces infused with the architectural character of historic homes. He credits twentieth-century Minnesota architect Edwin Lundie as his design inspiration, and documented his work in The Architecture of Edwin Lundie, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. Mulfinger's most recent book The Cabin, published by Taunton Press, established his credentials as a leading "cabinologist." The book tours 37 cabins throughout North America that range from an eighteenth-century rustic stone and timber retreat to a Breuer-designed cabin-cum-aluminum travel trailer. Mulfinger cofounded SALA Architects Inc. of Minneapolis as Mulfinger & Susanka Architects in 1983. The firm has since won renown for popularizing the concept of the "not so big house."

Mulfinger's lecture will be followed next week by two presentations by Professor Max Underwood, whose visit is sponsored by Witsell Evans Rasco Architects/Planners. Underwood will lecture on Mexican architect Luis Barragán on Monday, October 27. He will lecture and lead a discussion on the work and office practice of Ray and Charles Eames the following afternoon. Professor Underwood will be speaking from first-hand experience as he spent several years working in the Eames' office, where art, architecture and design were inseparable practices. A November 10 lecture by Canadian landscape architect Alan Tate, author of "Great City Parks," will conclude the fall lecture series. For more information about the 2003 — 2004 Distinguished Lecture Series, contact the School of Architecture at 575-4705.

# # #