Dawn Finley is a founding principal of Interloop—Architecture and has over twenty years of experience practicing architecture. She received a Master of Architecture from Rice University School of Architecture in Houston, Texas, and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning in Ann Arbor, MI, where she received the prestigious Burton L. Kampner Design Award. She is the Dean and McWhorter Endowed Chair of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction at Auburn University, an appointment she began in 2024.
Prior to establishing Interloop—Architecture, Finley was a Project Designer with Ogawa/Depardon Architects in New York, NY, where she designed and managed the construction of residential and commercial projects, including Bar 89, an award-winning new building in SOHO. Her practice experience also includes consulting on the design of research lab buildings for Schlumberger Laboratories in Rosharon, Texas and office buildings in Santiago, Chile. Finley was the first U.S. designer commissioned by the internationally recognized design brand, Droog Design to design and produce a speculative product prototype. The product “Do Post” (an instant message mailbox) was first introduced at the Kunsthal, Rotterdam, for the 2000 Milan International Furniture Fair.
Finley combines professional practice with academics. She was a faculty member at Rice University School of Architecture in Houston, Texas, for 25 years, serving as a tenured Professor of Architecture and the Director of Graduate Studies. Finley has been a visiting critic at numerous institutions, including MIT, the University of Michigan, UIC, Princeton University, U.C. Berkeley, and the Architectural Association. Her academic research includes twentieth-century techniques of architectural representation in relation to graphic design, as well as future forms of civic space in the United States. Finley was honored by DesignIntelligence as one of the 25 Most Admired Educators for 2016. She recently completed System of Novelties (Park Books, Zurich), a book featuring the research, writing, and design work of Interloop—Architecture.
