Matt McNicholas
Matt has created designs, and ornamental details, for buildings in 17 countries and on five continents. Over his career he has traveled extensively, lecturing on the subject of architectural ornament and detail, neuroscience and architecture, and empathic architecture while presenting at forums such as Greenbuild, the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, the Classical Traditions Conference, ICAA chapters, various University lectures, and the Congress for New Urbanism.
He enjoys contributing regularly as a guest critic on juries of student work at multiple schools of architecture. He has been published in design magazines and trade publications and has donated his artwork to numerous auctions raising money for academic scholarships. With two close friends, he also co-founded Scenographia, a non-profit organization that stages the exhibition of live hand-drawing events to raise money for scholarships to study traditional art.
Matt earned a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Architectural Design and Urbanism from the University of Notre Dame and holds a Certificate in Neuroscience for Architecture from the NewSchool of Architecture and Design. He is a member of the AIA, Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, the Society of Architectural Historians, the Society for Neuroscience, and the Congress for New Urbanism.
Matt serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for Adler & Sullivan’s 1889 Auditorium Theatre and is the Facilities Committee chair for the same. He sits on the ICAA Board of Fellows and is a highly sought-after expert witness in architectural copyright litigation. In his free time, he builds LEGO with his son and plays on a master’s water polo team.
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Ornament & The Orders :: University of Hartford, Guest Lecture, 2025
Ornament & The Orders :: Yale University, Guest Lecture, 2025
Ornament & The Orders :: Yale University, Guest Lecture, 2024
Ornament & The Orders :: University of Hartford, Guest Lecture, 2024
The Canons of Classical Architecture :: Yale University, Guest Lecture, 2023
The Canons of Classical Architecture :: University of Hartford, Guest Lecture, 2023
Ornament & Emotion in the Built Environment :: Richard H. Driehaus Symposium, Chicago, IL 2022
The Canons of Classical Architecture :: University of Hartford, Guest Lecture, 2022
The Practical Science of Ornament :: Yale Architecture – Ornament Colloquium, 2021
Empathic Architecture and the Nervous System :: USGBC Greenbuild Health & Wellness Series, Online, 2020
Empathic Architecture & the Nervous System :: USGBC Greenbuild Conference, Atlanta, GA 2019
Tabernacle of the Iron Horse: Meaning and Symbolism in Train Stations :: Midwest High Speed Rail Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL 2019
Art & Science of Ornament ::
ICAA Chicago-Midwest Chapter, Chicago, IL 2016
ICAA Utah Chapter, Salt Lake City, UT 2016
ICAA Ohio Lake Erie Chapter, Cleveland, OH 2017
ICAA New York Chapter, New York City, NY 2017
ICAA Utah Chapter, Salt Lake City, UT 2018
Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL 2018
ICAA Ohio Lake Erie Chapter, Cleveland, OH 2019
Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL 2019
Utah Valley University, Orem, UT 2020
Architectural Ornament: The Details of Well-Being by Design :: Traditional Building Conference, Oak Park, IL 2018
Art & Science of Ornament: Why the Details Matter :: ICAA Chicago-Midwest Chapter, Chicago, IL 2018
Orientation, Legibility, and the Mantle of the ‘Other’ :: Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture Conference, La Jolla, CA 2018
Merging the Practical and the Symbolic in Train Stations :: Congress for New Urbanism, Detroit, MI 2016
Art & Science of Ornament :: Classical Traditions Conference, Salt Lake City, UT 2014
