Investigating the theme of reference while delving into Fresh Meat Journal's own historical lineage on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, FM X seeks to elucidate how contemporary architectural interest in analog and digital history manifests itself in references. The ease and speed of the digital age allow references across time, across disciplines, and across cultures. The language used to discuss these references often employs the prefix re- meaning to return to a previous condition or to repeat an action; recopy, redraw, refurbish, regenerate, reimagine, reinterpret, repeat, replay, represent, restore, revert, rewind, rewrite, etc. Since the sources of an architectural project are numerous, its layers and complexities are rarely fully revealed and legible by the audience. At the same time, the origin of these inspirations demand acknowledgement but are rarely cited. FM X presents an array of positions on the role that references play in architecture, past, present, and future.

Isabelle Reford is a master’s of architecture student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. With a background in international studies, Reford views architecture as a global discipline and is interested in the contemporary relationship between theory and practice. As a collaborator with Norman Kelley, Reford has participated in projects exhibited at the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial, the Graham Foundation, and Volume Gallery in Chicago.

Henry Prendergast is a master’s of architecture student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He received his undergraduate degree in sculpture from the College of the Holy Cross and spent his intervening years as a touring musician, writer, and restaurateur. His current interests lie in the intersection of architecture, mass media, and pop culture while exploring the space between traditional practice and mainstream perception.

Members of FM Journal’s editorial team are students at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture, in the bachelor’s of science in architecture, master’s of architecture, and master’s of arts in design criticism programs. The editorial team includes: Jasen Domanico, Jamie Evelyn Goldsborough, Nicholas Mattia, Jacob Patnode, William Stauffer, Juan Andres Suarez, and Julia Turner.

Fresh Meat (FM) is an independent journal published by students of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It was founded in 2008, and is produced by students with support of UIC faculty and staff. FM publishes content that both reflects and challenges UIC’s pedagogical agenda and is a response to the architecture discipline. FM orchestrates an open dialogue between students and faculty, as well as between the school and the discipline at large.