Rate My Professor Jim Stevens

James Stevens, FAIA, Ph.D., known professionally as Jim Stevens, is a Professor of Architecture at Clemson University’s Richard A. McMahan School of Architecture, where he served as Director from 2020 to 2025. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in Architecture and Urban Planning from the University of Ferrara, Italy (2020), with residency and research at Polis University in Tirana, Albania; a Master of Architecture from North Carolina State University (2007); a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Historic Preservation from Savannah College of Art and Design (1994); and an Associate of Applied Science in Architectural Technology from Coastal Carolina Community College (1992). Stevens’ career history encompasses leadership roles such as Chair of the Department of Architecture at Lawrence Technological University (2015–2020), where he founded and directed makeLab, the university’s digital fabrication laboratory. Previously, he was Principal and Vice President at Peterson, Eure, and Associates in New Bern, North Carolina (2001–2007), and held teaching positions including Associate Professor and Assistant Professor at Lawrence Technological University (2008–2020), International Faculty Member at Universiteti POLIS (2011–present), and Instructor at Coastal Carolina Community College (1995–1999).

Stevens specializes in research on emerging fabrication technologies, digital design and fabrication, historic preservation, and urban planning. He is a licensed architect certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and has authored key publications, including the co-authored book Digital Vernacular: Architectural Principles, Tools and Processes (Routledge, 2015); “Post Human Craft: A Humble Attempt to Reorient Makers to the Inevitable” (Cubic Journal, 2020); “Post-Digital Craft” (MD Journal, 2019); “Operative Fragments: Projecting Shkodra: Slow Valley” (Polis Press, 2018); and “Designbuild Education in North America: Practicing the Digital Vernacular” (Routledge, 2017). His major awards and honors include elevation to the AIA College of Fellows (2025), Fulbright Specialist Award in Peru (2025), Fulbright Scholar in Albania (2016), AIA Henry Adams Medal for Excellence in the Study of Architecture (2008), and Mary E. and Richard E. Marburger Award for University Faculty Member of the Year (2013). Stevens serves on the South Carolina Board of Architectural Examiners and the AIA South Carolina State Board, and has led over 24 international workshops across Albania, India, China, Romania, and France, establishing digital fabrication laboratories and advancing pedagogical integration of digital tools with cultural contexts.