James W. Givens
Since 1989, Professor Givens has maintained an active residential design practice in Eugene, with over 50 completed commissions. Eleven of his houses have been published in a variety of magazines, and recently three books: Patterns of Home (Taunton, 2002), Celebrating the American Home (Taunton, 2005), and The New Arts and Crafts House (Harper Collins, 2005).
He teaches two large lecture classes--Introduction to Architecture and Great Architecture--as well as design studios at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels.
He is currently completing a book entitled The Luminous Room: Six House of Great Feeling which analyzes room-making from an experiential point of view. Specifically, the book describes how evocative rooms are designed and why they continue to create experiences that ring true even many years later. The houses themselves are geographically and chronologically diverse. They demonstrate an equally diverse approach to design, and yet they all possess qualities that make them alive and memorable.
