Blair Satterfield (Vancouver via Houston via Minneapolis) began his collaboration with Marc Swackhamer (Minneapolis via Houston) in Houston, in 1998. HouMinn (pronounced “human”) Practice, their present-day moniker, is both an acronym of two geographical locations that influence their work and a homophone to describe their research-based practice, which seeks collaboration with experts outside architecture in order to create work that is more rigorous and resonates with a wide audience. HouMinn work has been featured in numerous publications, including Dwell and Fast Company, and has garnered prestigious honors such as the 2008 R&D Award from Architect magazine and the Best in Environments award from ID Magazine. Satterfield’s ongoing research focuses on the impact of digital production and fabrication techniques on housing and the urban landscape. In addition to HouMinn, Satterfield has worked for Atilier Fei Chang, Michael Bell Architecture (now Visible Weather), Oliver + Ray Architects, and Bricker +Cannady Architects, where he served as Director of Design. His work with BCA won multiple AIA awards and national SARA design awards for architecture and urbanism. He is also a co-founding member of the web based modern home-plan company Hometta.
Blair has taught at Rice University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Houston, where he helped direct the development of products for the U of H Green Building Components initiative. Satterfield and Swackhamer were the Michael Owen Jones Memorial Lecturers at the University of Virginia in 2009.