To kick off the inaugural Master Lecture Series put on by the Florida State University College of Fine Arts in collaboration with Florida A&M University School of Architecture and Engineering and the Tallahassee chapter of the AIA, Chris Downey will be speaking.

Downey is a San Francisco-based architect who lost his eyesight after undergoing brain surgery to remove a benign tumor that was pressing against his optic nerve back in 2008. The architect will speak on how the loss of sight gave hum a unique perspective on how people with disabilities experience the built environment, FSU writes.

Since losing his sight, Downey has been working on architectural projects for the visually impaired, combining 20 years of experience and using it as a force to triumph over this unfortunate event in his life. "When faces with a personal tragedy, rather than giving up on himself and his work, he chose to reinvent how architecture is done and experienced," said Rhonda Hammond, president of the AIA Tallahassee chapter in a statement.

Downey serves on the California Commission on Disability Access, is president of Architecture for the Blind, board president for LightHouse for the Blind. He also teaches accessibility and universal design at the University of California, Berkeley and has been a featured TED speaker. His lecture will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at Lee Hall at Florida A&M University