Benjamin Hays
Education
B.S., M.S. - Civil Engineering - Virginia Tech; M.A. - Architectural History - University of Virginia; M.A. - Theology - Fuller Seminary
Biography
Benjamin Hays is the University Building Official and a Lecturer in the School of Architecture. As Building Official, he directs a team of architects and engineers comprising the Office of the University Building Official (OUBO) which is responsible for providing technical review and administering code compliance for all new construction and renovation work at UVa’s Central Grounds, the Hospital, Wise, and Blandy Experimental Farm. Ben’s research interests focus on building technology and its intersection with architectural design. His written and built works – particularly on thin-tile Spanish vaulting and the history of building technology – have garnered several awards.
As a Lecturer in the Architecture school, Ben has taught design studios, graduate and undergraduate structures, and building technology. Ben’s courses combine current technical and historic research with practitioner-oriented application. Students in his American Building Technology course have constructed models of the Guastavino tile and Delorme wood domes that have topped the UVA Rotunda. His Design Thinking studio built free-form structures using contemporary thin tile vaulting methods. Owing to a strong belief in active learning, Ben’s courses regularly include visits to historic structures and construction projects as integral teaching methods alongside drawing analysis and documentary research.
