Anastasia Calhoun, Assoc. AIA, Named Texas Architect Editor

Texas Society of Architects is pleased to announce Anastasia Calhoun, Assoc. AIA, as the new editor of Texas Architect. She succeeds Aaron Seward, and interim editor Brantley Hightower, AIA. Calhoun will join TxA on March 7, and will be responsible for our award-winning bi-monthly print magazine and website that covers current work and topics around architecture and the architectural profession in the Lone Star State.

Born in Oklahoma City, Calhoun grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, and attended high school in Connecticut. She returned to her hometown for her undergraduate education at the University of Oklahoma, where she completed a B.A. in Letters, studying fine art photography, literature, history, philosophy, Latin, and German. She spent several years working and traveling abroad in Scotland, Australia, and Japan, doing a bit of everything from teaching English, to managing a national environmental education project for the Australian government, to grape picking. Upon returning to the U.S., Calhoun served as the executive director of a historical house museum and as a board member for several nonprofit arts organizations.

Developing a passion for architecture and sustainability during her time abroad, she pursued graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a Master of Architecture degree. At UT-Austin, she worked as an assistant editor at the Center for American Architecture and Design, completing several books on architecture and urbanism including Centerline 6: buildingstudio | building; Centerline 8: Mining Location JO 180; CENTER 16: Latitudes—Architecture in the Americas, Vol. 1; CENTER 17: Space & Psyche; CENTER 18: Music in Architecture—Architecture in Music; CENTER 19: Curtains; and CENTER 22: Latitudes—Architecture in the Americas, Vol. 3. She also served on the editorial committee for ISSUE, a student-run publication of the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture.

Calhoun later worked at the San Antonio-based architecture firm Overland Partners as the manager of research and innovation where she developed strategic research initiatives and university partnerships. Before joining the Texas Society of Architects, she worked as an experience strategist in Gensler’s consulting practice, leveraging research to provide action, human-centered design, and business insights.

She has a long history of involvement with the AIA as well as other nonprofit organizations. Calhoun served as a member and chair of AIA San Antonio’s Design Awards Committee, helping to develop and implement the Community Impact Design Award, among others. She also served as a member and chair of the Texas Society of Architects’ Publication Committee and is a frequent contributor to Texas Architect magazine. In 2020, she worked as part of research team for AIA National, studying the intersection of pandemics, social justice, and climate action.

Calhoun has served on the SXSW Eco Advisory Council, a national committee that advised on programming and selection of SXSW Eco speakers including Place by Design; the TEDx San Antonio Programming Committee, selecting and curating TEDx speakers; and as a board member of Crea Curriculum and Consulting, a creative education nonprofit that brings project-based learning programs to students and schools in underserved communities.

Calhoun believes design and architecture can be a powerful agent for change and is honored to tell these stories, building upon the magazine’s rich legacy and stewarding it through its next chapter in her new role as editor of Texas Architect.