James Heard received his BArch at Virginia Tech and SMArchS with a focus in History, Theory, and Criticism at MIT. His research interests include the histories of activism in the United States and their relationship to legislative discourse, alternative narratives of modernity, and alternative modes of contemporary professional practice. The Architects Collaborative 1945–1995: Tracing a Diffuse Architectural Authorship, a recent exhibit in collaboration with Gabriel Cira and Emma Pfeiffer, catalogued the work of The Architects Collaborative in Massachusetts and explored the development of modern architectural practice and notions of authorship through the trajectory of the firm. His master's thesis, "Professionals in a Soviet America": Federal Housing Policy, the Popular Front, and Architects in Los Angeles, 1919–1947, explores the intersection of housing policy discourse and activism in Southern California. He is a member of the Boston chapter of The Architecture Lobby and was the organization's former National Design Coordinator. In addition to being an historian, he is a licensed architect and has practiced in Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Runcible Studios, Medford, MA, US, Architect
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, US, Masters, History, Theory, and Criticism
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), BArch, Architecture