USC School of Architecture has announced that Hadrian Predock will serve as its next director of undergraduate programs. Starting this fall he will take over the position from Alice Kimm, who served for four years. “I’m thrilled,” said Predock. “This is an exciting time as architecture continues to pull out of the recession, and I’m looking forward to helping position the school in larger conversations about where the profession is going.”

Predock, son of famed architect Antoine Predock, co-founded Venice-based Predock Frane Architects with John Frane in 2000. Their work, which includes innovative designs for cultural institutions, housing, retail, and art installations and furniture, has been honored with numerous distinctions, including AIA Honor Awards and inclusion in the Venice Biennale and other international exhibitions. Notable projects includes the Getty Center’s New Family Room, Acqua Alta, a contemplation space that used thousands of nearly invisible filaments to evoke water patterns, 4th House in Venice (California, not Italy), and Habitat 15, a new twist on urban infill housing. In 2004 Predock was part of the Architectural League’s Emerging Voices series. He received his B. Arch. from the University of New Mexico and his M.Arch. from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

Prior to joining USC, Predock was on the faculty at UCLA’s Department of Architecture and Urban Design where he taught design studios for several years. He has also taught at Tulane University and the University of California, Berkeley. Qingyun Ma, dean of the USC School of Architecture, noted, “Hadrian… will not only enhance the school’s mission but also experiment with new paradigms in the undergraduate degree program and renewed integration with practice.”

“I have a strong personal interest in crafting curricula and pedagogy,” added Predock. “Undergraduate education in architecture should be teaching students to be strong thinkers as well as strong makers.”