mi · lieu : the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops : environment, sphere, background, backdrop, setting, context, atmosphere; location, conditions, surroundings, environs;

origin and etymology : from mi, middle (from Latin medius) + lieu, place (from Latin locus)

MILIEU is a design and research collaborative that tasks itself with multi-scalar investigations, from the tactical to the territorial, into the conditions of the built environment in the American Midwest, a place that lacks significant research into the complexities of its urban, suburban, and rural environments and their relationships to territorial systems. This collaborative explores modes of human occupation in a territory undergirded by specific economic and cultural forces and their resultant systems as a basis for speculative futures.

The American Midwest is a territory of 750,000 sq.mi. that is home to an estimated 68,179,351 inhabitants. It is one of four census-designated regions in the United States. Conventional understanding of the territory contains twelve geographically landlocked states bordered by Canada to the north, the American West, American Northeast, and American South. Characterized by vast interior plains between the Appalachians to the east and Rocky Mountains to the west; the territory is known today for its relatively low population density, intensive resource production, post-industrial river cities, and cultures of independence. Still, buffeted by globalisation, this territory is a frontline of transformation for future economies, novel politics, and an untapped commons.

MILIEU is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia and Indianapolis, Indiana and is facilitated by designers Anthony Averbeck, Eric Barr, and Joseph Brookover, who studied together at the University of Virginia School of Architecture.

Anthony Averbeck

Anthony was born in Fargo, North Dakota, raised in the rural northwest of Minnesota, and calls Minneapolis his home city. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the College of Design at the University of Minnesota (2011; graduation with high distinction) and a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia (2016; Lori Ann Pristo Award; Center for Global Inquiry Graduate Research Grant Recipient).

He teaches design studio and visualization seminars in both the undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Virginia, where he was appointed Lecturer in Architecture by Dean Ila Berman in 2016. Anthony has experience in professional practice in Minnesota, Virginia, and New York, in single family residential and commercial architecture, and in the design and fabrication of landscape furniture and architectural elements.

Eric Barr

Raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Cincinnati (2012) and a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia (2015; SOM Prize Finalist; AIA Henry Adams Certificate; Faculty Design Excellence Award).

Eric currently practices architecture in Indianapolis, where he’s actively working to reconceptualize multi-family housing within the city’s developer-driven (sub)urban renewal. He previously taught graduate and undergraduate design studios and seminars at the University of Virginia, first as a Design Education Fellow, then as Research Director for the India Program under Iñaki Alday. Eric also has professional experience working in Barcelona (2015-16), Los Angeles (2012-13), New York (2011), and Maui (2010).

Joseph Brookover

Raised in rural Northeast Ohio, Joseph holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from The Ohio State University (2012; Faculty Design Award) and a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia (2017; AIA Honor Award; The AIA Henry Adams Certificate). 

Joe currently practices architecture in Virginia and holds professional experience in architecture firms in India (2017), Columbus, Ohio (2012-15), and China (2012). He previously assisted in teaching undergraduate and graduate design studios at the University of Virginia. He is the author and editor of Catalyst III: Urban Uncertainties (co-author Montserrat Bonvehi Rosich, UVA, 2016) and editor of The Yamuna River Project: New Delhi Urban Ecologies (authors Iñaki Alday and Pankaj Vir Gupta, ACTAR, 2018), two books that investigate, through academic pedagogies, urban environments and the role of the architect as an actor across territorial scales.