A new exhibition opening at the University of Memphis Department of Architecture Gallery in Jones Hall will present 35 years of architectural delineation and speculation, with the earliest project beginning in 1984 and the newest work leading all the way up to present day.

The exhibit, titled NOT AN EXIT 1, COCKROACH 125, is based on the book Vervm Fictvm, which represents the product of a lifetime spent in the field for Brian Andrews, assistant professor with the University of Memphis Department of Architecture. The breadth of Andrews’ body of work is so large that it can’t be contained in a single room in the Jones Hall Gallery, so he instead opted for two exhibits, which will run three weeks at a time.

“I have been working on my monograph, which just came out a couple of weeks ago,” he says. “I really wanted to have an exhibit to coincide with my book coming out. The exhibit really follows along with it and offers more information on many of the projects.”

The exhibit will be showcased in two parts, with the first half featuring 125 framed architectural drawings from August 30 through September 17 and the second half including an additional 88 framed pieces from September 20 through October 8.

“Viewers will be able to look at projects like Headshot Studio, a project I completed in Los Angeles, as well as The House of War, a project I did in Lincoln, Nebraska, and more in a collection of competition entries that span my career,” Andrews says.

The House of War, a disused missile silo converted into a house, is considered a particularly eye-catching favorite among Andrews’ works. There’s also The Ballad of Lincoln, a series of drawings based on the infamous string of mass murders by Lincoln, Nebraska, resident Charles Starkweather.

““I began this project while teaching at the University of Nebraska as the Hyde Chair. The project needed to be related to the city of Lincoln. Ultimately, it was a project that considered architecture and murder,” Andrews says. “That proved to be a very interesting project, as well. It was a long dark winter tracking down the locations where each murder took place. The city had successfully changed the names of streets and razed buildings associated with the crime, so there was a lot of research and record keeping involved.”

Brian Andrews received his BArch from Tulane University and his March from Princeton University. As an undergraduate student, he studied in London at the Architectural Association for a year. He is a registered architect and has continually practiced while teaching. He received the Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Traveling Fellowship, and has taught at the University of Virginia, Syracuse University, and the University of Southern California. He served as both the Robert Mills Distinguished Professor at Clemson University and as the Hyde Chair of Excellence at the University of Nebraska. Vervm Fictvm is now available through purchase through Culicidae Architectural Press.