The Anderson University School of Interior Design added Tom Lockhart, AIA, to its experienced faculty this fall.
Lockhart has 28 years of experience in the field of architecture, most recently as an architect with one of the Southeast’s premier architecture firms, McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture in Greenville, South Carolina.
As an architect, Lockhart has worked on projects across the Southeast. He has enjoyed a strong relationship with Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport for more than a decade, most recently working on their major terminal renovation and also a new general aviation terminal. He has also worked with WYFF-TV on a newsroom renovation, on the Greer City Hall, and the Greer Police and Municipal Courts, as well as several other publicly recognized projects. He spent the early part of his career in Alabama, working primarily in church architecture.
“The School of Interior Design is excited to welcome Tom Lockhart as Assistant Professor of Interior Design,” said Anderson University School of Interior Design Dean Anne Martin. “He brings decades of professional experience as a registered architect to share with our students as they design complex interior design/architecture projects. Tom tells me the highlight of his year has been coming to the School of Interior Design at Anderson to serve as an external reviewer for student projects in the upper-level interior design courses. He has interviewed, hired and mentored multiple graduates from Anderson’s Interior Design program who have been impactful designers in professional practice. We are grateful to Tom for making the bold decision to transition from professional practice into higher education at Anderson.”
Lockhart believes that architecture and interior design go hand-in-hand.
“When you and I go to work every day, we see what the outside of a building looks like… and certainly architecture is concerned with far more than just the envelope of a building,” Lockhart said. “There’s a great deal of overlap between the two disciplines. The impact that interior designers have in space planning, in experience crafting, in material selection, in dealing with those things like space and light that directly impact us for the greatest part of our day. Most of the time we spend is inside a building.”
Lockhart wants his students to see their design careers as more than a creative profession—it’s also a serving profession.
“There are so many things that are just directly applicable to the teachings of Christ that we carry out on a day in day out basis in the profession. And while we might not be preaching a sermon to every client that we interact with, when they see the qualities of Christ lived out in how we conduct ourselves—our integrity, how we build trust, how we have an others-focus,” Lockhart said. “I think it’s very a natural discipline to carry your faith forward in.”
Lockhart looks forward to seeing the Anderson University School of Interior Design move forward in graduating interior designers who will make a positive impact wherever they go.
“One of the greatest advertisements for the Anderson University School of Interior Design is its graduates,” Lockhart said. “Having experience with many of the graduates and even interviewing graduates, I continue to be excited about the type of work that’s been done here and how well it prepares its students for the transition into the professional world.”
Details about the Anderson University School of Interior Design can be found online here.
