Tamie Glass

Tamie Glass, ASID, NCIDQ, is an interior designer and educator with a deep interest in how spaces shape the human experience. She is an associate professor at The University of Texas at Austin and the inaugural Faculty Director of the MA in Design focused on Health, an interdisciplinary program developed in collaboration with Dell Medical School at UT-Austin.  

Glass will present a lecture at 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 31, in Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, Room 250 of Vol Walker Hall, on the University of Arkansas campus, as part of the spring lecture series in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. 

This lecture is the Martha Dellinger Memorial Lecture, given by Sharon & Jim Parker. 

In her lecture, “Prompting Health and Well-being Through Design: From Objects to Systems,” Glass will discuss how good health depends on a constellation of relationships — with care providers, caregivers, family and friends — and, just as significantly, with the environments people inhabit. When people recognize the power of designed objects and spaces to shape how they feel, move and connect, they begin to unlock their full potential to support their well-being. 

Despite the vital connection between the built world and human health, one’s surroundings are often treated as passive backdrops rather than active participants. But what if the objects and spaces around us could become relational collaborators — prompting healthier, more connected experiences? 

This talk invites a shift in perspective toward seeing the built environment and design as a tool for fostering engagement, empowerment, relationships and care. Drawing from a taxonomy of social engagement and a curated set of case studies that move across scales — from object to atmosphere, surface to space, and fully integrated system — Glass will explore how intentional design can shape human experience in ways that support comfort, safety, belonging and well-being.  

Before joining UT-Austin’s College of Fine Arts, Glass held tenure in the School of Architecture, where she directed the Interior Design Program. Glass began her career in Germany with Daimler, working on corporate identity projects for Mercedes-Benz, then moved to London for roles with design firms Virgile and Stone, and Conran and Partners.  

After several years abroad, she returned to the United States and launched her own design practice in Austin, which she continues to keep active on a project-by-project basis. Her portfolio spans hospitality, retail, wellness, healthcare, corporate and residential design across Europe, Asia and the United States. 

Her teaching and research explore the connection between design and behavior. She is the author of Prompt: Socially Engaging Objects and Environments (Birkhäuser, 2018), which received IDEC’s 2020 Book of the Year award, and co-editor with Lindsay T. Graham of the newly published volume People and Spaces: Experience, Ethics, and Intent (Routledge, 2024). 

The school is pursuing continuing education credits for this lecture through the American Institute of Architects. 

This lecture is free and open to the public. Seating is limited.