x-change 2025

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fall 2024– spring 2025

carnegie mellon architecture

Editorial Note 4 A Wo

UNDERGRADU PROGR GRADUATE PR ELECTIVES 23

Happening at CM–A Pro Research Centers & Laboratories 356 School Awards 386 Studen 2

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Foreword 8 ord From the Head 12

UATE RAMS 16 ROGRAMS 178 36 Public

Programs 304 A 310 ograms on Offer 326 PJ Dick Innovation Fund 362 nt Organizations 392 3

Editorial Note

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Tuliza Sindi

“There is no such thing as neutral education.

Education either functions as an instrument to bring about conformity or freedom.”

—bell hooks “x-change” is the annual publication of Carnegie Mellon Architecture (CM—A) that showcases work from firstyear students to PhD candidates. Inaugurated in 2017 as “EX-CHANGE,” the publication has since evolved into “x-change” to more pointedly reflect its role as a platform for critical discourse and reflection.

Each year, the publication looks critically at the ideas, methods and pedagogical frameworks that shape CM—A’s programs, to position student work within broader disciplinary conversations around architectural research and practice.

The publication becomes a platform for articulating the range of questions that CM—A is both framing and engaging with, as it captures its sociocultural climate while acting as a record of the depth and breadth of student work produced each year.

On the Name: x-change The updated name “x-change”—though understated— holds layered meaning that reflects how we principally approach the publication.

The use of all lowercase letters suggests something in process, unfixed, and still becoming. It resists the authority of a proper noun, to invite readers to see the publication not as a finished product, but as part of ever-evolving discourse and modes of thinking and practice.

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Editorial Note

The “x” with the “e” having fallen away and being isolated by the hyphen, evokes the unknown variable in an equation, which acts as a placeholder for what’s to be uncovered through skill, effort, inquiry and interpretation.

The “x” is a variable that demands intent, engagement and thought.

Exchange, which dates to the late 14th century, comes from the Middle English word “eschaunge” and means the “act of reciprocal giving and receiving.” It is a framework of relationality, and within structured systems— such as the stock exchange—it becomes a political act, and a mechanism through which meaning, value and positioning are continuously negotiated and negated.

In this regard, “x-change” frames the architecture school as a site of intellectual currency, relational complexity and sociocultural friction.

Lastly, “x-change” is conceived as a conceptual frame that can adapt with each edition, to be modified and reinterpreted as compound provocations, such as “climate x-change,” “material x-change,” “x-change rates,” and beyond. In this way, the publication’s name becomes both a title and a prompt.

2024-25 Theme: market x-change This year’s theme, “market x-change,” invites us to reflect on what we, as a school, offer as contributions to the intellectual and speculative economies that shape the discipline. It asks us to consider the values we circulate, the ideas we trade, and the forms of knowledge we put forward for exchange, both within the academy and the profession. This reflection feels particularly 6

market x-change

Tuliza Sindi

urgent as architecture continues to reckon with its ongoing entanglement within practices and systems of land displacement and genocide, housing insecurity, market speculation, gentrification, resource extraction, the environmental consequences of material and construction practices, and other such wicked problems.

The seemingly stable market of ideas that has shaped the modern world is, in fact, more alive than ever, and filled with ideas and futures that remain contested, unresolved, rife with contradiction, and brimming with possibility. With this comes the opportunity to offer new ways of seeing, framing and acting. Some propositions may anchor and shape the evolving field, while others may fall away, but the act of putting them forward, and of entering the conversation, is itself vital.

This year’s course offerings, and the work generated, stake their place in that exchange, offering up their claims with clarity, care, and a call for slow and deep engagement.

“Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.”

—Frantz Fanon

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Foreword

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Mary-Lou Arscott

Gathering, exhibiting and producing the “x-change” publication and the end-of-year exhibition offers two kinds of insights into the life of Carnegie Mellon Architecture (CM—A). In its capture of a year, the collection is like a snapshot, full of subtle variations in the work within each studio and course, yet dizzying in its scope across undergraduate, graduate and PhD programs. The insight that I am more interested in divining is the longer-term pulse of reinterpretation of design thinking which both students and faculty necessarily do in their own development of ideas and practices. Thus, studios themselves are research exercises, with evolving agendas and results.

In the description of each course, the morphing future form offers a discussion of pedagogy and principle.

The work presented in “x-change” captures the imagination. One of the most remarkable aspects of the evidence in the work of CM—A is that the writing, drawing, models and time-based work are suggestive of new forms of positioning. Courses, projects and studios generate questions and create territories for experimentation and learning.

Experimentation is progressive, and connections between varied and sometimes contradictory design processes can begin to generate novel thinking. I have seen these new questions particularly arise in the brave and extraordinary work sketched in the pre-thesis class.

It is exciting to see how these ideas then become thesis projects, directions for graduate research, and reinventions of professional pathways.

It is through time, and navigation of the diverse expressions of the classes that “x-change” demonstrates critical ideas. For example, through the sequence of the 9

Foreword

first four semesters, evolving vocabularies emerge: from the delicate serially transforming pavilion structures, to the disrupted elements, field models, and finally, varied structures in Options Studios. Foundational exploratory thinking is initiated in the ethics class in the first semester, where projects consider the ethical dimensions of forms of society and the built environment.

This questioning does not immediately land in the work of the concurrent studio, but appears progressively over a lifetime. It is thus helpful to all to share work across the school. In connecting these early ethics projects to world-building studios of the Master of Architecture (M.Arch) program, both students and faculty gain from each other’s positioning.

The work of 2024-25 delights our sense of the serious as well as the curious and surprising. Congratulations to all for the immense energy it takes to produce inspirational work of such integrity.

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Mary-Lou Arscott

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A Word from the Head

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Omar Khan

I am excited to share with you student work produced over the 2024-25 academic year at Carnegie Mellon Architecture. The faculty and students continue to innovate design teaching and learning. As you will see in these pages, the adoption of digital and analog tools to explore space making, environmental performance, and building performance remains a strong focus in our core studios. In our option studios, you will see a variety of design approaches that address the school’s three pedagogical challenges of climate change, artificial intelligence (AI) and social justice. These provide a framework for faculty and students to produce work reflective of larger societal concerns. Likewise, you will see in the thesis work how design, technology and societal needs come together. The students embrace the positive potential of technology even as they are critical of its limitations and excesses.

This is especially important when it comes to the adoption of AI technologies within our curriculum. As Carnegie Mellon University is one of the birthplaces of AI, we as a school have taken the responsibility of pioneering new coursework and research in this area. This year we devoted much of our public programming to investigating the emerging role of AI in architecture. Titled, “Artificial (and Othered) Intelligences,” the public programs asked, “how should we be rethinking our processes alongside the multiplicity of intelligences that are needed to address global challenges, and where/how can artificial intelligence be most ideally positioned?” Additionally, our American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) student organization hosted the AIAS Northeast Quad Conference that also addressed how AI is reshaping 13

A Word from the Head

the design process, urban planning and construction practices. Finally, we also shared the school’s current research and new courses at our alumni event at this year’s AIA convention in Boston. AI is not only a technology that has a profound effect on the way we work, but also a profound reordering of our social and political relationships. Within these pages you will see a variety of ways in which faculty and students are addressing this.

Another important development at the school has been the PJ Dick Innovation Fund Faculty Grants Program.

Sponsored by the PJ Dick Trumbull Lindy Group, the program supports faculty projects and course development that address the school’s three pedagogical challenges.

This year we completed the first year of the program with faculty projects and course development on material investigations, craft, AI tools integration and community engagement. The fund is a significant support for the school to develop cutting-edge research and incomparable student learning opportunities.

I hope you enjoy the breadth of work presented in the 2025 “x-change.” It captures the incredible energy and intellectual production of the school as we continue to innovate our teaching and research.

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UN GRAD TE market x-change

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NDER DUA PRO

48-100

Poiesis Studio I

This studio fosters an architectural practice grounded in curiosity, empathy and iteration, where making and thinking grow together through hands-on exploration. The studio invites students to see architecture as a dynamic process of drawing, making and building across different scales of time and space. Students investigate how architects engage both the visible and invisible forces that shape environments, including material, form, systems and human experience.

By analyzing precedents, exploring design challenges, and creating narratives, students develop spatial compositions and abstractions that connect deeply to people, place and purpose. The work encourages iteration, experimentation and clear communication as essential parts of refining and testing ideas.

The studio is structured around a research-driven design project that unfolds through cycles of inquiry and making. Emphasis is placed on analog methods such as drafting, model making, sketching and iterative design as tools for inquiry, communication and discovery. Students build essential design skills, develop strong visual and verbal languages, and learn to move fluently between abstraction, representation and narrative.

Throughout the semester, the studio champions asking good questions, appreciating craft, and approaching design with professionalism and respect, nurturing designers who are thoughtful, adaptable and ready to engage architecture as both a creative act and a meaningful practice.

Coordinators: Erica Cochran Hameen, Jackie Joseph Paul McFarland.

Instructors: Liza Boffi, Nazia Tarannum, Garret Wood-Sternburgh. Teaching Fellows: Sakshi Aparajit, David Buck, Claire Laux, Siddhant Salvi.

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Kaiyi Li, Line Rendering Drawing Lynsey Li, Line Rendering Drawing

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Andy Liu, Metamorphosis Lukas Yao, Ascension Ejoo Kang, Chair Transformation Theo Tran, Struggle Annissa Gao, Transform

Poiesis Studio I

Estee Teo

Ascent

This pavilion and path design were inspired by the legend of the cowherder and the weaver girl, a story of love, separation and reunion across the stars. The project transforms this narrative into a spatial experience where architecture becomes a medium for storytelling and empathy. The pavilion represents the distant worlds of the two lovers, shaped as separate forms that appear to yearn for each other across an open void. The path gently weaves between and around these forms, embodying the magpie bridge that unites them once each year, guiding visitors on a journey of longing, discovery and connection.

Material choices and spatial composition evoke celestial imagery, with elements that reflect, filter and shift light to create a dynamic interplay of visibility and concealment.

The design invites visitors to engage with moments of pause and movement, shadow and glow, distance and proximity. It reflects the emotional landscape of the legend. The pavilion and path together celebrate the beauty of reunion and the resilience of love that endures across space and time.

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Undergraduate Programs

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Poiesis Studio I

Jessica Daley

Solace

This pavilion and path design draws upon the legend of Maria Makiling, the guardian spirit of Mount Makiling, whose presence embodies both the generosity and mystery of nature.

The design translates the story into a spatial journey that invites visitors to reflect on themes of protection, loss and the deep connection between people and the natural world.

The pavilion emerges as a quiet refuge within the landscape, suggesting Maria Makiling’s unseen but ever-watchful presence. Its form and materiality blend with the surroundings, evoking the silhouette of the mountain and the softness of Maria’s figure resting within it.

The path gently guides visitors through moments of concealment and reveal, offering glimpses of the pavilion much like fleeting encounters with Maria herself. Along the way, changes in light, texture and enclosure create a rhythm that mirrors the legend’s balance between generosity and solitude. The design encourages reflection on how we move through and care for the landscapes we inhabit, honoring Maria Makiling’s spirit as a symbol of nature’s enduring grace and quiet strength.

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Poiesis Studio II: Radical Empathy in Architecture

This studio nurtures a way of making and thinking in design that aims to cultivate the practice of architecture as an act of creative citizenship. Cultivating an approach to appraise cross-cultural study of how people perceive and manipulate their environments can help us understand architecture and urban design from different and diverse perspectives. Together, we become detectives to interrogate the contemporary and historical tissue of Pittsburgh through the occupations and working lives of residents at the scale of a neighborhood. These stories elevate ordinary folks and trades that continue to foster how our city functions and creates spaces of belonging. We appraise and use architectural tools as a basis of inquiry to speculate and allow us to transform the way we view our world—empathy for ourselves and those around us.

The structure of the studio follows one cohesive research-driven design project that explores narrative modalities by using critical cartography, archival research, spatial compositions and tectonic exploration. We explore these techniques to produce a hybrid house focused on acts of care in Pittsburgh. Students are introduced to critical proficiencies to learn new techniques of representation and adapt rigorous illustration and animation tools in the production of a dwelling project that is rooted to its context. Students learn tools including Rhino and Adobe Creative Cloud, and develop preliminary GIS skills. These practices in documentation, design and storytelling help us spatialize the city’s situation, its ecological relationships, and its social scenes in a manner accessible to diverse audiences. The studio advocates for a multi-conception of moral knowledge built around relationships, interdependence, lived embodiment and responsibilities.

Coordinator: Tommy CheeMou Yang. Instructors: Section A: Niloufar Alenjery; Section B: Gloria Chang; Section C: Neal Lucas Hitch; Section D: Garret Wood-Sternburgh.

Teaching Assistants: Section A: J. Brody Ploeger; Section B: Chengming (Jacky) Jia; Section C: Grace Kolosek; Section D: Parikshit Kalavadia.

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Spring 2025

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01–02 Qinzhe Lawrence Cai, The House of Unfolding 03 Allen Chen, The Tinkerer’s Imaginarium Kit Model 04 Fangyu Alice Zhang, Multigenerational House

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Liav Soued, Tu Bi Shvat: Tree Planting Holiday Multigenerational House Zihe Alobi Huang, Multigenerational House: Gathering Space for Chidren Devin Chang, 回娘家 Multigenerational House Cynthia Zhang, Tsui Kui Ping’s Community Medicinal Haven Adeline Kwan, Multigenerational Home Yushan Terri Xin, House of Thresholds Mingqia Morris Zhang, More Than Just a House Collage

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Poiesis Studio II

Max Whalley

Polyphonic House

This project is a multigenerational home entwined with a performance hall. Here, sounds and vibrations are a shared language across generations. At its core, a silo becomes a performance chamber lit by daylight and wrapped in stone, as children learn to sing, play and listen alongside their elders.

Sound travels through the architecture itself. The pipes and openings carry musical notes into bedrooms, kitchens and courtyards, blurring the line between living and performance.

Polyphonic House is not just a place for performance, but a dwelling where care, culture and sound are continually passed on and embedded in the landscape of Lawrenceville.

Featured: Physical Model (bottom left), Circulation Diagram (top right), Sectional Perspective (bottom right)

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Poiesis Studio II

Lukas Yao

The Plaza Beyond the Bottomless Well

This project symbolizes release. During my childhood, I lived in a house with large open rooms. I felt like a lonely, small existence in a vast world. My parents would always be on business trips while my sister would always be in school. It was just me and my grandparents.

There was a sunken space in the middle of the large living room. At first, it felt like a relief from my loneliness. I brought my guests (stuffed animals) into my little space that I considered my territory. Soon, however, it began to feel more like an endless well, since my toys would never respond to me when I asked questions.

The Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh is like my childhood. It has large houses with low household sizes, and few families have more than one child. My project bridges the gap between the elderly and children by designing a walkable terrace with multiple entrances and break points along the way—a day care where children can play and walk up the long ramps to acquire knowledge from the elderly while being in an environment full of lively peers and nature. The concept of the sunken living room is brought back; instead of trapping children, it is used to bring the community together. The design implements a series of elevation changes to create spaces through atmosphere. Children can see, hear and respond to others all over the private area of the house, avoiding isolation.

Featured: Physical Model (top left), Circulation and Contextual Axonometric (top right), Formal Operative Diagrams (middle right), Sectional Perspective (bottom right)

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Poiesis Studio II

Shirley Xie

The Working Multigenerational House

What are traces of inhabitation that we see?

What can’t we see? What engulfs balconies, sidewalks and even hidden places, and how can that help us define emerging typologies? Imagine unregistered constructions and hanging lines weaving across the front facades as residents adapt new functions to the static townhouses. Streets become a theatrical performance around citizenship and care.

This project investigates the political, social, cultural and environmental tensions that I gathered through fieldwork. The juxtapositions of imagery, sounds, videos and sketches are used to create an argument that posits an architecture for and of the people into the real-world settings of their sites.

The dwelling and making of a home allow me to consider issues of gender, domestic objects and everyday life. The study of a dwelling allows me to understand how the home is beyond physical construction or machine.

The making of a place to belong and live in is made from a set of social relationships based on practices of maintenance.

Featured: Section (top), Map (bottom left), Renderings (bottom right)

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Poiesis Studio II

Shirley Xie

The Working Multigenerational House

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Drawing I

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The central learning objective of this introductory course in freehand architectural drawing is building a capacity for visualizing three-dimensional space through freehand drawing. A parallel objective is fostering visual literacy: the ability to use line and tonal values to represent architectural space. The course covers the topics of contour drawing, freehand perspective, axonometric projection and tonal drawing in charcoal.

The course concludes with a final project conducted jointly with “48-100: Architecture Design Studio: Poiesis Studio I.” Instructor: Doug Cooper. Teaching Assistants: Aanchal Bansal, Diane He, Tai Le, Rupal Singh, David Vargas.

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Adeline Kwan, Freehand Perspective Section Alice Zhang, Drawing the Spaces Between Dinosaur Bones Andy Liu, Representing Depth With the Pressure of Marks

First Year

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Drawing II

This is the second in a sequence of two courses in freehand architectural drawing. The central learning objective is to build capacity for visualizing three-dimensional space through freehand drawing.

This objective is achieved principally through constructing freehand perspectives from plans and sections. A broader objective is developing hand and visual skills: the ability to use line, tonal values and color (including digital color in Photoshop) to represent architectural space and architectural proposals.

The course is divided into three segments: 1) freehand and constructed perspective; 2) shade and shadow and chiaroscuro drawing in charcoal and colored pencil; and 3) color drawing in pastel. These three parts are preparatory for a final project built around ongoing design studio work and using it as the basis for a hand drawn rendering developed in Photoshop.

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Instructor: Doug Cooper. Teaching Assistants: Aanchal Bansal, Tai Le, Rupal Singh, Zara Song, Isabel Yue. 01 02

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Alobi Huang, Freehand Perspective Amaia de Jesus, Chiaroscuro in Colored Pencil

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Bo Ahn, Freehand Presentation of InProgress Studio Project Ejoo Kang, Freehand Presentation of InProgress Studio Project Devin Chang, Freehand Presentation of In-Progress Studio Project Cynthia Zhang, Freehand Perspective Zifei Zhang, Chiaroscuro in Colored Pencil Shirley Xie, Chiaroscuro in Charcoal

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Marra Storey, Pastel With Restricted Palette Catherine Li, Final Project Render Yiyu Wang, Pastel With Limited Palette Miaoci Yuan, Pastel With Restricted Palette Lukas Yao, Pastel With Restricted Palette

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Poiesis Studio III: Architecture Biome and Climate

This studio explores the intersection of architecture and natural systems, moving design practices beyond sustainability into sympoiesis, or “making-with.”

Eco-philosopher Donna Haraway defines sympoesis as a collaborative process of interconnectedness, emphasizing the role of ecology in shaping design. In this studio, students create architecture that responds to local ecosystems and sociocultural conditions to foster resilience and ecological awareness. Collaboration and shared discoveries are key components of the design process.

The course explores the qualitative aspects of biome and cli01 mate and their role in shaping design decisions. Initially, students study precedents that demonstrate passive design strategies and regional vernacular. Drawing these lessons into their designs, they investigate the symbiotic relationship between architecture and the environment—both physical and ambient. Pedagogical touchpoints include precedent analysis, morphological development and exploring the parameters of context, including topography, climate and ambient conditions. The studio emphasizes the integration of natural systems into design, preparing students to create architecture that responds to climate, ecology and sociocultural needs.These explorations culminate in the design of a landscape and building complex for an environmental school in Pittsburgh. The school’s programs blend indoor and outdoor spaces connected to both the city and the local biome.

Coordinator: Laura Garófalo. Instructors: Vicky Achnani, Jongwan Kwon, Misri Patel, Bea Spolidoro. Teaching Assistants: Tina Han, Clara Martucci, Angela Yang, Patrick Zheng.

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Fall 2024

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Julia Hu & Russell Tsai, Field Model Tvisha Arora, Jing Liu & Amika Sono, Field Model Hazel Buonopane & Jack Kean, Field Model

Second Year

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Maggie Guo & Eliora Kwok, Axonometric Paul Doyle & Jenna Kornbluth, Field Drawing Jessica Adenuga & Lilianne Kouyaté Silvia Kim & Xian Li, Field Model Eleanora Dane & Alex Yauckoes, Watercolor Render

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Poiesis Studio III

48-205

One to One “An architectural work is not experienced as a series of isolated retinal pictures, but in its full and integrated material, embodied and spiritual essence.”

—Juhani Pallasmaa, “The Eyes of the Skin”

Architecture is experienced in pieces—a continuous string of vignettes woven together by movement, memory and multisensory input. Buildings reveal themselves gradually through touch, sound and scale—the way a hand grasps a handle, a toe meets the ground, or a footstep echoes. While plans, sections and axonometric drawings are useful communication tools within the building industry, they often fail to capture human experience or feel intuitive to the layperson.

This studio bridges this gap by exploring architecture through direct human experience. The course emphasizes design beyond the visual, focusing on full-scale engagement and meaningful relationships with the people who inhabit our spaces.

This is a rigorous, hands-on course that seeks to analyze complex issues and optimistic visions for accessible living through the means of architectural design. This studio embraces the multisensory aspects of building design—at a variety of scales—as extensions of design thinking and tools for implementing thoughtful and sensitive solutions.

Instructor: T. Andrew Stone.

Teaching Fellow: Neha Chopra.

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Spring 2025

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Miles Rainwater, Door Handle Eleanora Dane, Door Handle Hazel Buonopane, Door Handle Claire Lowry, Door Handle

Second Year Option Studio

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Emma Dana, Door Handle Boone Lewis, Door Handle Zilan Ong, Door Handle

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David Tang, Door Handle

One to One

Ryan Wang

Benny’s Studio

This project proposed a modest, flexible studio for Benny Schwartz, a Pittsburgh-based painter whose work embraces his visual impairment as a creative generator. Located on a narrow lot in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, the design centers on the threshold between Benny’s private studio and a small public gallery. Through section, lighting and material contrast, the project treats this boundary not just as a circulation point but as a contemplative spatial experience—a thoughtful and meditative transition from work space to display space.

Building on the course’s emphasis on tactility and full-scale design, this project focuses on the body and non-visual perception. A custom easel designed and built for Benny informs the studio layout by clarifying his spatial and ergonomic needs. A sectional model of the building further explores the studio-to-gallery threshold, making visible the project’s attention to scale, light and enclosure.

Rather than compensating for visual impairment, the project frames Benny’s condition as an opportunity to reimagine architectural space. This project aims to support Benny’s work while expanding how space might be navigated, felt and understood.

Featured: Easel (lef t), Section Model (bottom), Easel Detail (top right), Moment Model (bottom right)

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One to One

Paul Doyle

Benny’s Studio

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This project imagines Benny Schwartz’s studio not as a new object, but as something already embedded in the neighborhood—a found structure with a simple shell and an interior designed to support his work. The layout is straightforward and open, prioritizing flexibility and longterm adaptability. Rather than using form to drive the design, this project focuses on material, texture and small-scale details that shape how the space is used and experienced.

A series of large overhead beams organize the section and guide light into the space throughout the day. The textures of the walls and surfaces are mostly tactile and detailed near the ground, where they can be touched and felt, gradually becoming smoother and more atmospheric as they rise—responding more to light and sound than to the hand.

Adjustable infrastructure, designed specifically for Benny, gives him the ability to shape the space as his needs change.

This project builds on early full-scale exercises in materiality and touch. By emphasizing section, flexibility and subtle shifts in surface and light, it offers a generous framework— one that doesn’t dictate how it should be used, but supports Benny in designing the space for himself over time.

Featured: Section Drawing (bottom)

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One to One

48-205

Articulating Forces: Material, Form and Structure

Material, form and structure are inextricably intertwined with the body, sensory experience, and the broader impact of architecture.

This studio delves into and expands upon these complex interrelations. Building upon the foundational understanding of biome, climate and orientation explored in “48-200: Poiesis Studio III,” this studio focuses on the development of material and structural systems that inform architectural composition and embedded spatiality.

This studio probes the intricate relationship between materials, structure and form. This prepares students to cultivate a profound, intrinsic design sensibility, wherein the exploration of spatiality is inseparably linked to the study of structural systems in tandem with materiality. The studio is predicated on the belief that understanding the interplay between materials and structure is indispensable for articulating the grammar of form. Ultimately, the studio seeks to heighten students’ awareness of the underlying principles that guide the form-finding process.

To this end, the studio examines a variety of form-finding methodologies and techniques through workshops and experimental inquiry.

Its approach is methodical, rooted in scientific principles of experimentation, modeling and analysis to achieve effective and innovative design outcomes. Physical models serve as the primary medium for exploration, fostering a hands-on, iterative design process. This studio emphasizes learning by doing, engaging students in the close study of physical models, experimental form-finding, detailing, and exploring spatiality through the structural rhythms inherent in materials.

Instructor: Vicky Achnani. Teaching Fellow: Clover Chau.

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Spring 2025

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Amika Sono, Spanning Grid Jimmy Kweon & Orlando Salinas, Division and Connection Jenna Kornbluth, Material Bank

Second Year Option Studio

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Russell Tsai, Material System

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Eliora Kwok, Branching Domes Jiaxin Lin, From Skin to Volume Xian Li, From Void to Skin

Articulating Forces

James Lee & Ali Sadi

Arc-Tagon Workshop

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This project merges our two individual systems into a unified design, which is then integrated into a larger material bank. The new system combines an organizational framework (James) with structural trusses (Ali), providing essential support and spatial flexibility. We strategically orient the material bank so that community-focused programs face both the residential area and main road, while service cores are tucked at the rear, adjacent to the parking lot for efficiency and accessibility. Workshops are placed prominently near the entrance, serving as a central anchor that visually and functionally connects both sides of the layout. A wide corridor runs through the entire structure, allowing each program to expand beyond its original pentagonal footprint. This corridor also acts as a dynamic, transitional zone—capable of hosting various events over time—and highlights the adaptability of our system through the reuse of the same trusses that once formed the roofs of earlier iterations.

Featured: Detailed Section Model (bottom)

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Articulating Forces

David Yao

Reciprocations

Evolving from the previous stage, the reciprocal frame system was reconfigured to create a more dynamic spatial experience. The system retains its structural integrity through compression, where each module supports and is supported by the next.

This interdependence allows the frames to expand and contract along the circulation path, producing varied roof profiles and spatial rhythms.

A cable system is introduced at the center to generate a reverse tension force, counterbalancing the compression and enhancing structural balance. To standardize assembly, a formalized joinery system replaces nails or variable connectors, allowing consistent repetition and simplifying disassembly. Friction-fit detailing further reinforces the structure without relying on easily altered components.

The system was applied to form the lobby of a material bank, aligning with the project’s core theme of design for disassembly. The natural octagonal geometry of the frame forms a modular grid that organizes programmatic zones and technical workshops. A sinuous circulation path weaves through the space, allowing the structure to shift and adapt, transforming the bank into an experiential and flexible community hub.

This approach emphasizes adaptability, modularity and material consciousness, creating a system that is both functionally efficient and architecturally expressive.

Featured: Detailed Perspective Section (top), Reciprocal System in Plan (right)

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Articulating Forces

Jimmy Kweon & Orlando Salinas

Division and Connection

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Undergraduate Programs

This final stage was built upon the previous massing model, challenging the structural system to support a volume shaped by the site’s constraints. To optimize the material bank’s unloading dock while preserving neighborhood traffic flow, the unloading zone is centralized, becoming the anchor from which the grid system expands.

Leveraging the cantilevering capability of the frame, a tunnel is introduced to create a linear pathway beneath the second-floor communal center, allowing large trucks to pass through efficiently. The logic of subdivision is carried into the facade design, where frosted glass panels are broken into clusters. This mirrors the system’s structural subdivision and recalls the branching geometry of broccoli—adding depth and visual complexity.

The cantilevered facade also creates a welcoming spatial gesture, enveloping visitors as they approach, and reinforcing the building’s dual role as both functional infrastructure and community-centered architecture.

Featured: Detailed Section Model (top left), Hybrid Section (bottom left), Material System (top right)

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Articulating Forces

Xian Li

From Void to Skin

68

Undergraduate Programs

69

Articulating Forces

48-300

Praxis Studio I: The Steel Necklace— Event, Housing, Infrastructure

This studio treats design research as architecture—not a prelude to design, but a spatial and conceptual act in itself. Focusing on Pittsburgh as a collective site, students develop a “Steel Necklace,” a network of architectural interventions across the domains of event, housing and infrastructure. These projects are not isolated, but part of a composite system shaped by social, ecological and cultural relationships.

Rather than designing for a site, we ask: how is site constructed?

Through experimental methods—linguistic, computational and visual—we explore how stories, impressions and systems shape our understanding of place alongside facts and data. The studio interrogates how culture, identity, operations and typology intersect across scales, from the individual to the urban.

Structured as a semester-long sequence of design investigations, students move between solo and collaborative work, shifting between representation and proposition. Digital media workshops—ranging from generative modeling to analytic tools—support an evolving design process.

Inspired by the mash-up as both method and metaphor, the studio challenges students to remix and reconfigure spatial and cultural traditions. Architecture here is not static—it is a world-making practice. As a community of learners, we cultivate a shared space of creativity, critical inquiry and collaborative agency.

Coordinator: Heather Bizon. Instructors: Jared Abraham, Brad Groff, Neal Lucas Hitch, Maryam Karimi. Teaching Assistants: Bina Guo, Darin Kim, Mingyang Zhu.

70

Undergraduate Programs

Fall 2024

01

02

03

04

01–04 Kiki Kuang & Leo Wu, Connections and Flows

71

Third Year

05

06

05 06 07 08 09

72

Lisa Chun & Cara Feng, From Seed to Soil Gateway Station Community Hub Catalina John-Melendez, Exploring Topography in Relation to Human Behavior Jessie Son, Section Cut of Fashion x Pittsburgh Temporary Housing Kiki Kuang, Memory Timeline Zara Song, Glass Necklace Collage: Pittsburgh Southside Rowhouses

Undergraduate Programs

07

08

09

73

Praxis Studio I

SHRED

RECYCLED PLASTICS SORT SHRED WASH + DRY PLASTIC PELLETS

FIBERS MELT + EXTRUDE

FIBER BLENDING

COOL SPIN CARDING

WEAVE + KNIT YARN FABRIC/TEXTILES

10

PRESS CUT + FOLD

12

11

74

Undergraduate Programs

10 11 12 13–14

Jason Asiedu & Mikayla Gee, Re-Thread Reuse Map Lily Frank & Sydney Mansavage, Feedback: Returning Craft and Autonomy to the Everyday Andrew Li & Tom Shen, Riparian Gateway Owen Petrucci & Ryan Shen, Urban Canvas

13

14

75

Praxis Studio I

Nathan Cottrell & David Decker

Workforce Development: Housing & Collaborative

This project proposes a temporal, modular scaffolding system that enables communities to co-design and construct their own living environments. Rather than prescribing fixed layouts, the framework offers physical, educational and infrastructural systems that adapt to local conditions. At its core is a Workforce Development Center housed in Pittsburgh’s Herron Hill Pumping Station, where residents are trained in hands-on construction methods—woodworking, metalwork, masonry, casting and fabric—within a building that itself becomes a learning tool, framed by the scaffolding system it teaches.

Knowledge gained at the center spreads through neighborhood-based DIY interventions, as participants return to their communities to share skills and catalyze localized responses to infrastructural neglect. These interventions form a city-wide network, supported by routes connecting students’ neighborhoods, material sources and project sites.

Incline Housing (bottom left), Water Pump Station Axonometric (top right), Modular Model (bottom right)

76

Undergraduate Programs

77

Praxis Studio I

Eva Chen & Bleona Velic

Reclaiming Urban Spaces: Housing, Art, Collective Action

This project reclaims underutilized spaces along Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh—abandoned warehouses, churches and vacant lots—transforming them into sites for affordable housing, cultural production and collective action. In a city increasingly shaped by privatization and commercialization, these interventions restore public space as a site of agency, equity and care.

Rooted in Henri Lefebvre’s concept of the “right to the city,” the project challenges profitdriven development by prioritizing use value over market value. A warehouse becomes a hybrid housing and gathering space; a church revives a marginalized arts community; scaffolding links these sites through flexible, participatory infrastructure. Traditionally seen as temporary, scaffolding here becomes a permanent armature for evolving spatial interventions—platforms for building, performing and reclaiming.

Featured: Strip District Section (top left), Strip District Axonometric (top right), Strip District Longitudinal Section (bottom right)

78

Undergraduate Programs

79

Praxis Studio I

Simon Han & Catalina John-Melendez

Water IoT

How do the locals coexist with urbanization? How do their beliefs and traditions exist in this changing place? How are modern materials and morphed land repurposed to connect to their beliefs and traditions? People are able to maneuver the new development through the makeshift structures they build or the ways in which they use materials introduced to their villages to produce hybrid structures that exist within the old and the new.

Bridges help to navigate the canal system and maneuver new developments. Some of the bridges use modern materials like concrete. Others use a combination of traditional materials like bamboo and other woods and modern materials like plastic ties and rope.

These interventions show how access to traditional ways of life are created through traditional ways of building as well as the use of found, modern materials. These structures inform the interventions. Through the amplification of these structures, the ghosts of the villages are revealed.

Featured: Rendering (top left), Overall Site Plan (bottom left), Systems Diagram (top right), Section Perspective (bottom right)

80

Undergraduate Programs

81

Praxis Studio I

48-305

Praxis Studio II

This studio explores architecture through cultural, technological and environmental frames to introduce students to integrated architectural design as the synthesis of disparate elements, demands and desires.

The studio directs attention to building concerns—urban context, construction systems, program and regulatory constraints—challenging students to situate design as a project that engages contemporary architectural discourse, culture and ecological imperatives.

This studio addresses the public library, an often contested typology with a rich legacy in Pittsburgh. Andrew Carnegie established the first Carnegie Free Library in Braddock in 1889 and went on to support a network of Carnegie libraries across the United States. Public libraries have served a diverse set of community needs over their history, touching all corners of American life across urban/rural divides and a wide socioeconomic spectrum. Branch libraries are arguably one of America’s last truly public building types, aspiring to provide unfettered access to all. While public libraries no longer act as repositories of otherwise inaccessible information, they remain critical and cherished community hubs.

Library programming has undergone significant transformations over the years, reflecting evolving societal norms and technological advancements. Increasingly more community center than container of books, libraries are asked to support a wide range of services for everyone from children to the elderly.

Coordinator: Jeremy Ficca. Instructors: Kristina Fisher, Maryam Karimi, Jongwan Kwon, Joel McCullough. Teaching Assistants: Camila Martinez, Clara Martucci, I Lok U, Angela Yang, Patrick Zhang.

01

82

01

David Decker, Grotto

Undergraduate Programs

Spring 2025

02

83

Catalina John-Melendez, Compa!

Third Year

04

03

05

84

Undergraduate Programs

06

07

03–04 05 06 07

85

Kiki Kuang, Layering of Silence Eva Chen, Interfold Eve Frackelton-Nelson, Sanctuary Simon Han, Sapling Circle

Praxis Studio II

09

10

08

11

86

Undergraduate Programs

08–09 Ryan Shen, Market+Library 10–12 Lisa Chun, Blending Volumes 13 Kiki Kuang, Layering of Silence

12

13

87

Praxis Studio II

48-400

Praxis Studio III

In Aita Flury’s 2012 edited book titled “Cooperation, The Engineer and the Architect” he states in his introduction that we have mistaken the understanding of the roles of architect and engineer.

This studio is an opportunity for students to start to understand the relationship between the architect, the engineer(s) and the consultant as a collabora01 tive act allowing architecture to be integrated while providing the historic tenets of “firmitas, utilitas et venustas” (“durability, convenience and beauty”) established by Vitruvius Pollio in the first century B.C. in the book “De architectura” (“On Architecture”).

The project: A Neighborhood Fire Station. The fire station is a critical typology for the health and well-being of the citizens of a place. Additionally, it is a safe place for the community, as station workers have empathy for the lives of others. Firefighting was one of the first public services that originated the role of the volunteer and to some degree this tradition still continues in our society today.

“The Bureau,” as it was called, started out as a volunteer fire department and later transitioned to a full-time salary position in 1870.

Pittsburgh also had the country’s first female volunteer firefighter, Marina Betts, from 1830-1840. Paul Ditzel, historian and well known writer on firefighting noted, “Betts became famous for dumping buckets of water over male bystanders who refused to help fight fires.”

Today firefighters are heroic figures helping to save lives through their mission to protect life, property and the environment. This studio is an opportunity to better understand their service, the neighborhoods they serve, and the citizens they protect.

Coordinator: Gerard Damiani. Instructors: Niloufar Alenjery, Kristina Fisher, T. Andrew Stone. Teaching Assistants: Norman Situ, I Lok U, Henry von Rintelen, Jackie Yu.

88

Undergraduate Programs

Fall 2024

03

02

04

01 02 03 04

89

Leyi Han, Isabella Shi, Angela Yang & Mingyan Zhu, Perspective View Shreeja Harisrikanth, Jerry Xu & Henry Yougren, Storyboard Khoi Do, Bina Guo, Charlie Hymowitz & Jordan Lee, Model Hazel Froling, Keng Pu Li, Ella Moon & Ayush Saxena, Section

Fourth Year

05

05 06 07 08 09 10

90

Hazel Froling, Keng Pu Li, Ella Moon & Ayush Saxena, Wall Section Leyi Han, Isabella Shi, Angela Yang & Mingyan Zhu, Model Shreeja Harisrikanth, Oscar Monarrez, Jerry Xu & Henry Youngren, Perspective View Bella Salazar Harper, Ella Maxwell, Shahzadi Padda & Delaney Rice, Axonometric Khoi Do, Bina Guo, Charlie Hymowitz & Jordan Lee, Perspective View Hazel Froling, Keng Pu Li, Ella Moon & Ayush Saxena, Perspective View

06

Undergraduate Programs

07

09

08

91

10

Praxis Studio III

48-500 48-650

Compoundologies: Timber, Folklore, and the Community Irrigation Networks of Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is the second-largest province by land area in Thailand (20,107 square kilometers) and the fifth-largest province by population (approximately 1.7 million people). It is located in the northern part of the country, approximately 685 kilometers from Bangkok, on the Mae Ping River basin at the valley between the mountain ranges of Lampang and Mae Hong Son. As a design family, we situate contemporary design discourses around timber, the commons, canals and architecture into systemic socio-ecological processes that include folklore, forests, land ritual, harvesting, building, repair and the geologic commons. Using field work in a string of villages eight kilometers east of the center of the expanding city of Chiang Mai, we explore how the collective wisdom of community stewards uses vernacular timber methods to reimagine an architecture for and of their commons.

The studio sharpens techniques in urban-rural forensics, animation, detailed prototyping and typo-morphological research. At four different scales—geology, the city, the building and the construction detail— we posit emergent narratives from the villages to establish a critical thinking position, a manifesto, and redefine the notion of the city and its architecture to engage social, political and economic realities.

We believe that contemporary building practices can be recalibrated with the embodied knowledge of everyday stewards, ultimately transitioning object-based approaches to address systemic issues that frame contemporary architectural practice. The studio concluded with an exhibit that hosted conversation around community empowered architectural design, regenerative practices in architecture, storytelling and activism.

Coordinator: Tommy CheeMou Yang.

Research Collaborators: Chiranthanin (Phuwa) Kitika, Brian McGrath.

92

01

Undergraduate Programs

Fall 2024

02

03

01–03 Chengming Jacky Jia; Rituals of Living: Site Model, Unfolded Sectional Model, Oblique Drawing

93

Advanced Synthesis Option Studio

04

05

06

04–06 J. Brody Ploeger; Ghost Lands of the PeriUrban: Rice Structures Axonometric, Scare Crow, Toy Models 07 Rohithkrishna Sravanan, Reclaiming the Compound 08 Nirmal Kumar Kumarasamy; Fragmented Land, Fragmented Lives 09 Parikshit Kalavadia, Reviving the Longan Plantation 10 Abirami Periakaruppan, Navigating Landscapes and Liaisons

94

Undergraduate Programs

07

10

95

08

09

Compoundologies

Chengming Jacky Jia

Rituals of Living: Galactic Polity in Contemporary Chiang Mai

Spirituality and animistic practices of offerings to rivers, mountains and the house continue to maneuver how the city of Chiang Mai is growing today. Historically, Thai villages settled along rivers and under canopies, where families can have extensive wet-rice cultivation.

The village names traditionally reflected these surroundings by incorporating local landscape features; for example, Ban บ้ า น (Village) Tha Thum กระทุ่ ม (Bur Flower Trees)—The Village of Bur Flower Trees (บ้ านท่ าทุ่ ม). Inside each of these villages are temples (Wat วั ด) where monks take care of the families spiritually, and the families give balms to the monks in return.

As such, the villages are marked by temples, landscapes and shrines—big and small— that define the important spaces, practices and life worlds of the periurban caretakers.

This project investigates the relationship between architecture, places of worship, and natural resources. The initial site research, as well as the architecture, revolve around the concept of galactic polity, a mode of organization around cosmological and topographical features, something commonly found in the organization of Southeast Asian villages, Chiang Mai included.

Featured: Fieldwork Analysis and Drawings (top left), Muang Fai Section and Rendering (top right), MultiScalar Shrine Model (bottom right), Unfolded Sectional Model (next spread)

96

Undergraduate Programs

97

Compoundologies

Chengming Jacky Jia

Rituals of Living: Galactic Polity in Contemporary Chiang Mai

98

Undergraduate Programs

99

Compoundologies

48-410 48-510

Bridging Craft: Catechizing Performance-Driven Craft and Paradoxes of High-Tech

In the realm of architecture as a multi-sensorial experience, technological advancements have empowered designers to delve into the nuances of sensory characteristics, utilizing digital tools to explore and craft spatial conditions that resonate with touch, sound and spatial awareness. Just as visual enhancements can make a space visually appealing, aural enhancements enrich the auditory experience of a space.

Architectural evolution has had discernible effects on acoustics. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, architectural design departed from elaborate structures to more minimalist forms. The resulting reverberant spaces and acoustic challenges led to the creation of a specialized architectural product: acoustic panels. In contrast, Wallace Sabine in 1895 used an unconventional yet remarkably effective solution: horsehair.

In exploring the intersection of craft, technology and acoustics, this studio prompts a fundamental inquiry, fostering a deeper exploration into the following questions: How does the integration of acoustic considerations into the design process influence the efficacy of architectural spaces, ultimately preventing acoustics from being relegated to an afterthought in the design phase?

How can advanced prototyping techniques be used to enhance the acoustic design of spaces using traditional and unconventional materials and methods? How can we broaden the pedagogical model to incorporate insights from craftspeople, design technologists, and acoustic specialists, positioning the architect as both designer and maker?

By probing the histories of these disciplines and delving into the synergies between them, this research-based studio serves as a conduit for the realization of spatial environments that transcend traditional boundaries and embrace the forefront of material exploration.

Instructor: Misri Patel 01

100

Teodor Mlynczyk, Living Prints

Undergraduate Programs

Spring 2025

101

Advanced Synthesis Option Studio

Teodor Mlynczyk

Living Prints

Technological progress in construction and fabrication has yielded a profusion of custom geometries and unparalleled precision in part manufacturing. Recent years have seen a growing emphasis on the importance of performance in architectural design, attracting the attention of both professionals and architects. To investigate this line of thinking, this project explores the relationship between materials, methods and acoustic performance.

Initial material studies and experiments aim to interrogate a hybrid material system (dissolvable formwork and cement) combining FDM (fused deposition modeling) printing with casting. Using subtractive casting methods, the project developed a series of panels that shift between smooth, reflective surfaces and porous, diffusive textures, introducing both acoustic and spatial variation. Subsequent designs and aural profiles are validated using standardized sound absorption tests. Refining these transitions, the project explores how digital precision and material adaptability converge into new possibilities. This approach also allows acoustic design to guide audience placement; absorptive panels suggest immersive zones, while reflective ones direct sound.

Featured: PVA Subtractive Casting With Sound Absorption Measurement (bottom left), 3D-Printed Material Exploration (top right), Conceptual Design (top far right), Architectural Assembly (bottom right)

102

Undergraduate Programs

Combining preliminary conceptual and material studies, the project proposes a physically grounded assembly, operating at an architectural scale.

Panelization emerged as a strategy for managing scale, allowing smaller cast components to form larger wall or vault systems. All three panels were cast using a PLA outer mold and a PVA-based formwork to create the internal geometry. A custom jig was employed during the casting process to embed threaded inserts directly into the panels, allowing them to be structurally joined using metal plates. This system transforms the individual panels into modular components of a larger assembly.

103

Bridging Craft

Inara Kardar

Bending Air

How can the manipulation of air pockets within a material help us unite soundscapes and visual aesthetics in the design of a room interior? This project investigates how the flexibility of a material can be enabled by the properties of its local geometry, and how these properties may begin to take on acoustic qualities as well. Rather than treat acoustic engineering like a post-design one-size-fits-all solution, this project investigates the treatment of air in geometries (pockets, holes, cracks) that work for both form/visual and sonic experiences.

The presence of air in a material has significant effects on the way sound travels through that material; crevices can trap sound waves and prevent them from resonating back through the space, porous materials can absorb higher frequencies to “soften” the quality of echoes, and the distance between an acoustic treatment and the wall it’s attached to can also lead to different volumes of the resulting reverbrations. This project explores the effects of including Helmholtz resonators in a material’s section: the specific geometry of incorporating a “cavity” and a “neck” in a shape in order to create a pocket of air that contains any sound that enters (as the waves will continue to bounce around in the cavity rather than clutter the occupant space).

This project proposes a methodology for context specific acoustic performance-based design where consistency of the dimension ratios can potentially allow for design flexibility and aesthetic choices while maintaining functionality as an acoustic system.

Featured: Preliminary Material Research (top left), Helmholtz Resonator Design Exploration (top right), 3D-Printed Prototypes (middle and bottom right)

104

Undergraduate Programs

105

Bridging Craft

Emily Franco

Acoustic Casting

Concrete is a widely used material typically formed into rigid, flat surfaces due to the current standard for formwork. Acoustically, concrete is often highly reflective due to its common surface form with smooth, planar and simple geometries. This characteristic often results in spaces with excessive reverberation, such as parking garages, where the abundance of reflective surfaces creates an uncomfortably noisy environment. To address this, acoustic design can be integrated into concrete structures by combining ornamentation and nonplanar forms. Using fabric as a formwork allows for both ease of casting, and complex and irregular forms, in concrete. Increasing ease of production and accessibility of fabric formwork is the reason for the rise in interest in CNC knitting machines.

Using fabric as a formwork introduces sustainable and flexible methods for adding complexity to concrete surfaces. By exploiting concrete’s moldable properties, it becomes possible to create acoustically manipulative surfaces that can significantly alter the sound dynamics within a space. This project goes on to explore the idea that acoustic manipulation is influenced just as much by material as by geometry. Since concrete is a rigid, non-porous and non-absorbent material, this project focuses on using pocketed geometries to generate a collection of acoustically responsive plaster surfaces.

Featured: Time-Based Acoustic Simulation of Plaster Cast (top left), Material Exploration with CNC Knitting Machine (top right), Speculative Design Study (bottom right)

106

Undergraduate Programs

107

Bridging Craft

48-410 48-510

Enchanted Skins: Ornament, Interface and Expression

This studio explores how institutions, particularly a Center for Craft, represent themselves through their architectural “skin”—the ornamental facade. A central inquiry focused on how these buildings express material histories and index their temporal and physical context, and how design processes and tools inform their expression and performance.

Our analysis of ornamental precedents developed formal and material logic for morphological systems, bridging from building scale to terracotta cladding. By understanding morphology as form evolution based on parameters creating differentiation, our generative exercises defined the architecture’s initial formal language, evolving with site and program. The design process, translating between drawing and model, emphasizes iteration as a core component.

We explored ornament, often inseparable from the building envelope, as a dynamic interface mediating interior and exterior, redefining spatial relationships. The studio investigates how contemporary ornament, integral to the building skin, could reconnect human experiences with context by incorporating ecological patterns, promoting equity, and enhancing sensory interplay.

The studio focused extensively on ceramics, recognizing its reemergence in contemporary architecture for innovative potential, durability and versatility. The visual and tactile qualities of ceramic ornamentation significantly contribute to the built environment’s sensory experi01 ence. As a non-extractive, historically tested material, Instructor: Laura Garófalo

108

Undergraduate Programs

Spring 2025 ceramics are central to developing bioclimatic facade systems reimagining building adaptation to local ecology and climate change. These performative surfaces inherently link ornament to sociocultural and environmental “performance.” Craft is emphasized as a process, combining digital and analog tools to create meaningful ornamentation, celebrating natural and crafted system complexity, and fostering ecological responsiveness.

02

03

01 02 03

109

Connor Gates & Aidan Smith, Facade Detail Model Connor Gates & Aidan Smith, Ornament to Morphology Assembly Connor Gates & Aidan Smith, E. Betty Rafael Center for Craft

Advanced Synthesis Option Studio

04

05

06

110

07

Undergraduate Programs

08

09

08

10

04 05 06–07 08 09 10

111

Shreeja Harisrikanth & Isabella Shi, Enthropic Material Assembly Shreeja Harisrikanth & Isabella Shi, Community Craft Center Shreeja Harisrikanth & Isabella Shi, Terracotta Rainscreen System Rule Set Tejal Kotkar & Akanksha Tayal, Terracotta Ceramic Screen Prototype Tejal Kotkar & Akanksha Tayal, “Smocked Grid” Craft Center Sathvik Nekkanti & Rohithkrishna Saravanan, Pneumatic Space Craft Center Section

Enchanted Skins

Alexia Tan & Henry Youngren

Crafted Encounters

This building is organized by assembly logic derived from the analytical model. This system of shifting ribs and joints informs everything from structural expression to ornamentation as it defines spatial boundaries. As a result, the undulating structure offers flexibility, adaptability and visual connection across rooms and floors. This fluidity allows for spatial variations that are tailored to the different disciplines and creates variation between communal zones and more intimate crafting areas. The circulation unfolds as a staggered path of discovery that encourages wandering and visual glimpses into other areas, echoing the process-based, exploratory nature of craft itself. The facade, composed of green, stepped, mortared terracotta fins, blurs structure, ornament, and environmental function. The ridges offer natural light within and direct water down the terracotta contours and into the surrounding landscape. Together, these elements form a rule-based system that embraces the unpredictability of craft, variability of materials, and the delight of discovery.

Featured: Terracotta Enclosure Model (bottom left), Section of the Center for Craft (top right), Staggered Morphology Assembly (bottom right)

112

Undergraduate Programs

113

Enchanted Skins

48-410 48-510

Past Futures: The Mississippi River Delta— Aesthetics, Politics, and Multiple Mediums

What are our histories? How do politics shape the built environment? How do representations of the past project onto present and future conditions? What is the relationship between representation and projection?

This studio investigates the past futures of the Mississippi River Delta. It asks how we might redesign prevailing assumptions, consensuses, priorities and hierarchies, particularly the often invisible connections between universal, national and local rights.

It explores questions of revolution and resolution within the context 01 of the Delta’s potential histories and futures: How do these forces shape its people and cultures, its ecologies and its evolving environmental conditions?

We question past architecture programs layered with existing infrastructure and its associated stories. We hybridize existing infrastructure with new architectural elements, presenting these ideas as decontextualized “objects.” We operate across a range of scales, developing constructed scenarios that intermix past, present and future conditions to explore potential hybrids.

This studio interrogates how a place’s identity is constructed through cultural, social, political and ecological systems, and how design might critically engage these systems. It examines the consequences of such constructions for operational design thinking: Who are the constituencies; what are the social traditions; how do these challenge new typologies; what are the resulting tectonic, ecological and social details?

Instructor: Heather Bizon

114

Undergraduate Programs

Spring 2025

25ft

25ft 40ft

40ft

25ft

03

02

04

01 02 03 04

115

Ana Furtado & Abhikram Shekhawat, Aurion: A Nation Adrift Serena Sun & Andrew Wang, Sediment and Resilience Violet Chu, Gloria Lee & Andrew Yoon, Culture and Continuity Ana Furtado & Abhikram Shekhawat, Aurion: A Nation Adrift

Advanced Synthesis Option Studio

05

06

08

09

05–07 Violet Chu, Gloria Lee & Andrew Yoon, Culture and Continuity: NOLA on the Rise (2045) 08–10 Kaitlyn Hom, Delaney Rice & Starr Wasler, The Memory Box: Regrowth, Rewild, Reswamp

116

Undergraduate Programs

“The Krewe Bohème is a marching parade which travels through the Marigny and the French Quarter. It is the first parade to roll after Twelfth Night. Their goal is to present a visual and auditory feast of mystery, artistry and fun. The procession is led by a symbol of the bohemian spirit, a green absinthe fairy, The Supreme Green Fairy. She is followed by several inner krewe marching clubs.

The Inner Krewes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

The Process of Weathering Here we are looking at the process of weathering. New Orleans is a city of bright colors, rich patterns, and exciting design combinations.

But, if one looks closely, you can see the effects of weathering on the buildings and structures. To the right is a close-up image of the side of a shotgun house. The paint is chipping and there are stains and discoloration. This is a reminder that the city is historic and has signs of aging and wear. This is not only seen on the shotgun houses, but also on warehouses, stilt houses, and tombs in the cemetery (as well as countless other areas around the city).

• • • • • • • • • •

The Merry Antoinettes Krewe Of King James: Super Bad Sex Machine Strollers Krewe Of Dystopian Paradise Skinz N Bonez The Bayou Babes Of New Orleans Krewe De La Renaissance Krewe D'ensite Les Rebelles Krewe D'esprit Krewe Of Full Bush The Krewe Of New Orleans Dada Krewe De Kink Ménage À Trike Roule Neon Cowboys Interrobang The Jamettes Krewe L Train Brass Band Provocateurs Of Esoterotica Krewe Of Go Cups Tap Dat Krewe De Lune And The Star-Steppin Cosmonaughties Les Sans Culottes Krewe Da Bhan Gras The Legendary Order Of Casket Girls Chaissez Ladies Krewe Du Goo Mystic Krewe Of Aziza Krewe Of Nyades Voulez Krewe Krewe Of Heavenly Bodies Cidade Do Sol Samba

07

10

117

Past Futures

Serena Sun & Andrew Yang

Sediment and Resilience

This project offers a land-building strategy for the future of the Mississippi River Delta. As wetlands disappear due to sediment starvation and human intervention, this project acts as a facilitator to guide sediment deposition to slowly rebuild lost ground. Working with, rather than against, the flow of water and sediment, our interventions create conditions for natural land formation over time.

Positioned at key sites along the edge of the Delta, each structure is embedded into the environment as part infrastructure, part community anchor. Light frameworks slow the current, trap sediments and provide scaffolding for ecological regeneration, supporting the formation of new resilient landscapes.

The structures are programmatically flexible and community focused. The ground floor hosts an informal fishing market; the upper floor can be used as education space or emergency shelter. Yet these functions are secondary to the larger goal of weaving together environmental recovery, cultural continuity, and future resilience into a living system that evolves with the Delta.

Through minimal, adaptive interventions, the project imagines a future where the land itself becomes the outcome of design.

118

Undergraduate Programs

119

Past Futures

Ana Furtado & Abhikram Shekhawat

Aurion: A Nation Adrift

Aurion is a floating nation located in the Gulf of Aurion, the former Gulf of America. It consists of three provinces, each adapted from decommissioned oil rigs. Following the collapse of the fossil fuel industry and intensifying climate catastrophes, these former industrial platforms have been repurposed into reliant civic habitats, two centuries into the future.

Drawing on the concept of parafiction, the project presents an alternative reality through documents, images, maps, artifacts and augmented reality. Its design narrative mirrors reality closely enough to render the imagined feel both believable and urgent.

By contrasting itself with dominant global political systems, Aurion proposes an alternative model of post-crisis governance grounded in ecology, contribution and collective care.

To ground it in the familiar, the project draws upon existing design logics such as shipping container architecture, New Orleans inspired ornamentation, and precedents in disaster relief such as FEMA protocols, the CURA modular hospital, and MADWORKSHOP’s work in emergency urbanism. These position the speculative within the tangible context, occupying the liminal space between the possible and the imagined.

Featured: Perspective (top left), Elevation (top right), Underwater Rendering (bottom right)

120

Undergraduate Programs

121

Past Futures

48-410 48-510

Image Deep:/MycoRepair—Regenerative Reconstructions

This studio examines the architecture of adaptive reuse through bioremediation, material circularity and ecological design. It uses materials from construction demolition, invasive species and mycelium as core material systems, and situates architecture within hyper-local frameworks of material resources, lifecycles and embodied labor. The studio positions design as a regenerative process that supports both ecological and communal restoration by shifting away from purely data-driven approaches to ecologically attuned and sensory-informed processes.

Students engage with computational frameworks and generative AI not merely for visual inspiration, but as tools integrated with material research in mycelium composites and bio-based systems. The studio explores how biological models of regenerative growth inform AI workflows and generate alternative design pathways beyond the aesthetics of conventional text-toimage outputs.

Students prototype myceliumbased structures; digitize analog models to simulate performance; use AI to visualize hybrid material and spatial systems; and design infill structures for specific sites to support ecological integration and circular growth processes.

Instructor: Dana Čupková 01 02 03

122

Julia Kasper, MycoCast Ella Moon, Stratamorph Elizabeth Hage, MycoFlora

01

Undergraduate Programs

Spring 2025 Students work with image-based spatial modeling, depth mapping and physical material prototyping to investigate how site-specific, material-informed and computational design strategies converge.

The studio emphasizes the development of new architectural systems using locally sourced and repurposed materials, rethinks ecological imperatives, and explores the aesthetics of circularity within frameworks of growth and participatory labor.

02

03

123

Advanced Synthesis Option Studio

04

07

05

124

04–05 Julia Kasper, MycoCast 06 Shahzadi Padda, MycoAumento 07–08 Charlie Hymowitz, MycoVault

Undergraduate Programs

BRADDOCK NEIGHBORHOOD FLOW

BRADDOCK NEIGHBORHOOD FLOW

06

08

Image Deep:/MycoRepair

125

Khoi Do

MycoCommons: Growing a Community of Slowness and Stewardship

This project explores architecture as a living, participatory process that integrates mycelium’s biological intelligence into both material systems and community building. A structuraal frame of reclaimed 2x4 lumber serves as a systemic framework for vault construction, around which mycelium is cast in stages using fabric molds, wraps and ties. As the mycelium grows and hardens, it reinforces the structure, binds components, and actively remediates toxins in the surrounding soil— simultaneously providing carbon sequestration and ecological repair. This growth process becomes a shared, slow ritual. Community members are invited to participate in the casting, transforming construction into a space of education, reflection and collective care. The evolving form fosters social connection as deeply as it nurtures the soil.

Architecturally, the project explores three material strategies: dense mycelium mass for insulation, translucent leather-like sheeting for shelter, and open frames where mycelium acts as a binder. The resulting vaulted structures expand habitable space around existing buildings, capture and direct rainwater for gray water systems, and provide shade and trellised surfaces for plant growth. With high surface rugosity, these forms support vertical gardens and living ecologies. MycoCommons proposes an architecture of slowness, stewardship, and mutual growth, where material, environment and community co-evolve.

Featured: AI/Material Workflow (bottom left), Model Output (top left), Interior View (top right), Section (middle right), Mycelium Formwork Cast Onto Stud Frame (bottom right), Site Hydrology Study (bottom far right)

AI Workflow COMPONENT CONCEPT IMAGE & MODEL GENERATION: EXTERNAL PAVILION / VAULT Text + images to image

Image to 3D model

Articulation & Situation Concept

Inp

+

Tectonic Sketch

AI

"A large external roof system made from mycelium enforced tensile structure"

Tex

Man Phy

Formal & Cultural Precedent

TEXTURE GENERATION Text + images to image

Image extrapolation from 3D model

Image processing

AI MATERIAL TECTO

+

"a grid of very thick bio-based material branches"

Model Top View

STRUCTURE & MATERIALS WORKFLOW EXPLORATION Framing Strategy Texture Map

Texture`

Depth Map

Displace

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Final Iteration

Undergraduate Programs

Articulation Articulation & Situation & Situation Concept Concept

Input Input AIAI Generated Generated

Texture/Depth Texture/Depth Mapping Mapping Manual Manual (Analog, (Analog, Digital, Digital, Physical Physical Modelling) Modelling) Image Image processing processing

AI MATERIAL AI MATERIAL TECTONIC TECTONIC RENDERING RENDERING EXPERIMENTATION EXPERIMENTATION

Final Final Iteration Iteration

Mycelium Mycelium Formwork Formwork Casted Casted ontoonto StudStud Frame Frame

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Image Deep:/MycoRepair

Aayush Saxena

MycoHeart(h)

Mycelium is a material that operates in a unique niche within the built environment, not merely as a building block but as an active agent that composes, directs and facilitates the experience of its inhabitants. The MycoHeart(h) positions itself as a constructed act through material experimentation, where the part becomes the whole, the singular becomes the collective, and the role of the material and its various properties at a local scale becomes the basis on which a global art form is created. The project operates under the notion of creating a dialogue between past and present, reinterpreting compositional and formal spatial orders of the past within a future-oriented context. It is a platform that becomes the heart of the neighborhood. Mycelium’s unique material and spatial qualities generate a logic that reimagines the antique world, where a series of components housing mycelium become organizational tools that allow for connection: connection to the landscape, to the picturesque, and to the human.

Featured: Transverse Section (top left), Site Hydrology (middle left), Material Study (middle), Material Prototype (middle right), Material System Logic (right)

128

Undergraduate Programs

Norman Situ

MycoNest: Binded Growth

This project explores mycelium as a sustainable, biodegradable building material, paired with found materials sourced directly from the site. Mycelium, the root structure of fungi, naturally binds to organic substrates like wood, making it a promising alternative to conventional construction materials. The project leverages this property to form enclosure panels by integrating mycelium with wooden frames made from reclaimed 2x4 studs salvaged on site, supporting material circularity and waste reduction. These wooden studs are reassembled into a “nest” system, an open frame that provides a semi-controlled environment for mycelium growth. Rather than enforcing fixed geometries, the nest allows organic textures and forms to emerge, creating enclosure that combines intentional design with biological spontaneity.

To explore structural variation, artificial intelligence (AI) is used as a generative tool.

AI algorithms are used to iterate nest configurations based on environmental and aesthetic criteria, helping guide design decisions while retaining material expression. This integration of biological growth and computational design challenges conventional fabrication methods and proposes a new architectural approach rooted in ecology and adaptability to on-site resources. By combining locally sourced materials, regenerative growth and digital design, the project offers a model for future building practices that are both materially innovative and ecologically responsible.

Featured: Exterior Elevation (next spread)

129

Image Deep:/MycoRepair

Norman Situ

MycoNest: Binded Growth

130

Undergraduate Programs

131

Image Deep:/MycoRepair

48-410 48-510

Barge as Par.a.digm: Artificial River Ecological Formations

In each era of art and architecture, creatives have looked towards the present conditions of context in search of new uses for the ordinary items that exist in plain sight. This studio looks at commonplace Western Pennsylvania waterways and river barges as a way to resolve present cultural and ecological challenges as well as the making of objects that engage the water’s edge.

Architects’ fascination with the barge has been mythological, societal, cultural and utilitarian.

Located on Western Pennsylvania waterways, the studio operates within a number of towns and landscapes located alongside the Monongahela River. The projects operate within the edge conditions of these places. Since the enactment of the Clean Water Act, fish and related species have dramatically increased in rivers. A critical part of this studio’s working process was to investigate how these interventions help to continue this ecological and societal recovery.

This studio’s design method uses design research and speculation. Similar to a thesis, this studio uses the premise above as the hypothesis (the question). Speculations are tested through research, design development, and technical refinement to develop the initial hypothesis into a meaningful architectural intervention. In other words, the proposed hypothesis is researched, tested, retested and developed.

Instructor: Gerard Damiani 01 02

132

David Buck, Perspective View From Monongahela River Darin Kim, Shadow Over Clairton

01

Undergraduate Programs

Spring 2025

02

133

Advanced Synthesis Option Studio

03

04

03 04

134

Camila Martinez, Residue / Infrastructure: A Floating Response to River Waste Nimal Kumar Kumarasamy, The Mon Commons

Undergraduate Programs

05

06

05 06

135

Hazel Froling, Soft Form(s): Care, Craft, and the Space in Between Neha Chopra, How to Make Wine: The Last Documentation

Barge as Par.a.digm

Keng Pu Li

Clairton Material Regeneration & Storage

Located off the riverbanks of the Clairton Coke Works, this project attempts to repair the exploitative relationship exhibited by the plant towards its community using the abandoned barges and existing crane infrastructure. In the highly likely scenario of the decommissioning of the plant due to community and EPA pushback, this barge becomes a living vessel that gradually and delicately salvages, repairs, stores and distributes these re-standardized materials and hardware, all removed from the existing plant. The salvaged materials physically and symbolically repair the community through repair and demolition.

Through careful “kitbashing” and reinterpretation of the salvaged materials, the celebration of local steel heritage is ever present but in hopefully a more symbolic manner to the community. The barge itself becomes a raw and untreated embodiment of the coke plant (through utilization of corrugated metal panels with original paint and signage), gradually becoming an abridged physical collage of both the Clairton Coke Works and the region’s bittersweet steel history.

The facility utilizes the barge’s linear orientation to organize a simple yet efficient operation that constantly refers to standardized material and machinery dimensions.

Programs include a manually controlled (dis)assembly line, forklift accessible storage and distribution spaces, removable floor panels for quick lower storage access, and gantry crane. Functions like a worker’s lounge, changing rooms and visitor’s mezzanine supplement the barge’s mission and operation.

Featured: Sectional Perspective (top left), Plans (top right), 3D View (bottom right)

136

Undergraduate Programs

Barge as Par.a.digm

137

Daria Svintsova

Prefab Express

This project is a floating housing delivery system designed to address vacancy, disinvestment and environmental decline in post-industrial towns along the Monongahela River.

The project transforms a 200-foot retired steel hopper barge into a three-level mobile platform. The lower level supports ecological restoration through floating wetlands, stormwater cisterns, aquaponic tanks and geothermal loops. These systems respond directly to conditions like flood risk, riverbank erosion, and soil contamination. The main deck is dedicated to labor, with spaces for fabrication, rest and daily life. It includes a workshop, kitchen, communal living area, restrooms with showers, lockers, and sleeping quarters.

It functions as a traveling base for the workers who fabricate and assemble the homes.

The upper level carries prefabricated housing units. Each two-story house is divided into 18 modular parts, fabricated off-site and loaded into reinforced compartments on the barge. When the vessel docks in towns like Braddock, where vacancy is high and foundations remain from former homes, the modules are craned onto those foundations and assembled quickly on site.

Prefab Express offers an alternative to conventional construction. It reduces disruption, reuses existing infrastructure, and supports local economies. The project introduces a slower, site-responsive form of logistics that is rooted in care, not efficiency alone.

Featured: Graphic Analytique 2 (bottom left and right), Graphic Analytique 1 (top right)

138

Undergraduate Programs

139

Barge as Par.a.digm

Clair Laux

Lost and Found from Underground

Pittsburgh has a hidden history buried miles below our feet. Mines, once a symbol of innovation, energy and industrialization throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, have since shifted relevancy to the locals who live amongst their graves. The mining town of Monongahela is no stranger to this story. Nestled along the south bank of the Monongahela River, just 25 miles from Pittsburgh, the land was one of the first areas recognized for its extractive potential. The Indigenous Monongahela people formed their communities in a circular plan on mounds in the town. They dug holes to support their hunting and gathering lifestyle, using excavations to store resources. Later, the context of hole making continued with the Catsburg Mine, just 60 feet below the surface of new settlements. This project hypothesizes what would happen if barges could act as a “reparative plug” to this neglected void. Could we find barges embedded in the footprint of the Catsburg Mine to help mitigate the disregard of economic hardship, ecological damage, and personal well-being?

Featured: Section (middle left), Perspective View (bottom left), View From Mon (right)

140

Undergraduate Programs

141

Barge as Par.a.digm

48-410 48-510

Frozen Music: Rhythm & Harmony in Architecture—San Francisco Symphony Experimental Theater

01

Design research focusing on a specific building typology can elucidate basic principles of architecture theory, technology and practice.

Theaters and performing arts buildings of all types are among the most complex typologies, consequently they provide an excellent and challenging subject for the study of advanced and comprehensive architectural design. In this studio, students design a new flexible venue to host a variety of different musical and multimedia performances.

All creative disciplines, specifically architecture and music, similarly express humanity’s artistry in different media. The architectural typology of performance, in which music is ubiquitous, is perhaps where this dialogue and synergy can be most effectively and poignantly addressed. Issues of rhythm, structure, harmony, hierarchy, sequence and balance are seminal to both regardless of function.

Most global cultures developed musical and theatrical performance independently, with their own unique forms and traditions.

Contemporary theater building design typology has continually evolved with changes in culture, social mores, cross-pollination with other cultures, and the development of new technologies. Occupants experience space through their sequence of movement and the changes occurring in the spaces they inhabit.

Instructor: Hal Hayes 01 02 03

142

Hongseok (Eric) Yu, Fort Mason Gateway Amphitheater I Lok U, Fort Mason Crossing Vaibhav Panchal, The Interlude

Undergraduate Programs

Spring 2025

02

03

143

Advanced Synthesis Option Studio

04

06

05

04 05 06 07 08 09 10

144

Abirami Periakaruppan, The Sinuous Stitch Eesha Nagpal, Fort Mason Hill Theater Ben Hao, The Current Clara Martucci, Teatro Acantilado Mackenzie Sorton, Blue Bear Cave Cabaret Jordan Scott Lee, Fort Mason Pier I Adaptive Reuse Siddhant Salvi, The Escarpment

10

Undergraduate Programs

07

08

145

09

Frozen Music

Patrick Zheng

Fort Mason Performing Arts Complex

Located within one of San Francisco’s iconic historic sites, the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (FMCAC) is a nonprofit organization that provides a space for the sharing and performing of artistic programming. After its decommissioning as a military base and World War II embarkation point, Fort Mason was repurposed by FMCAC as a cultural hub, now welcoming over 1.2 million visitors annually to its restaurants, venues and programming.

This design proposal builds on FMCAC’s existing artistic infrastructure by introducing two new large-scale performance venues. Thoughtfully integrated into the site’s dramatic topography and surrounding landmarks of the city, the new building activates the underutilized southern end of the campus. It reimagines the site’s entry as a civic landmark by transforming the entry of the site into an urban node that serves as a civic presence in the city.

Featured: Aerial Perspective (middle left), Section Perspective (bottom left), Main Lobby (top right), Exterior View (bottom right)

146

Undergraduate Programs

147

Frozen Music

48-410 48-510

Reparative Infrastructures: Reworlding Infrastructure Through the Making of Publics

Infrastructure is the literal and figurative armature of modern civilization—the material foundation upon which the contemporary city thrives or fails. The immense systems of buildings and networks— energy grids, transit systems, sanitation, recycling, refuse and waste processing plants—support not only the fundamental functions of everyday life but also sustain the very fabric of modern existence, often unnoticed and unappreciated. Many key infrastructural systems in the United States are rapidly aging and in urgent need of repair or replacement. The climate crisis further exposes the profound vulnerability of these systems and amplifies calls to reimagine infrastructure—not as mono-functional, compartmentalized works of civil engineering, but as ecologically-informed systems that promote circular flows of energy, water and waste.

This studio examines the re-centering of infrastructure as an essential site and tool of architectural investigation. Infrastructure operates across multiple scales and is understood as a network beyond the discrete architectural object. The architecture discipline has long engaged with the idea of building-as-infrastructure—from mat buildings to ecological urbanism, systems thinking is central to the architectural imagination.

The studio explores this productive friction between systemic and place-based design through multi-scalar explorations. We study architectural form through tropes of relief and thickness, considering infrastructure as a layered, hybrid, palimpsestic system. Through precedent studies, we investigate how thickened architectural surfaces embody formal, material and programmatic latencies. As sites and modes of investigation, the studio considers three forms of public infrastructure in Pittsburgh: Sanitation—considering alternative sites to promote a decentralization of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN); Water Supply—making public and augmenting Aspinwall’s Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA); and Mobility—supplementing rails-to-trails infrastructure with socio-ecological programming.

Instructor: Sarosh Anklesaria

148

Undergraduate Programs

Spring 2025

01

02

03

04

01 Field Trip to the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) 02 Bella Salazar Harper, Concept Models: Mending the City 03–04 Leyi (Tina) Han & Angela Yang; Soft Machines, Public Bodies

149

Advanced Synthesis Option Studio

08

05

06

07

05

Isabel Xu, Sympoietic Ground: A New Terrain for Ecological Infrastructure and Rewilding 06 Jeffrey Li, The Palimpsestic Parking Lot 07 Ella Maxwell, Biking the Brilliant Line 08–09 Riddhi Gugale, The Bruecken Threshold: Imagining Productive Grounds for Shared Growth and Ecological Repair 10 Michael Bi, Aspinwall Clearwell Commons

150

Undergraduate Programs

09

10

151

Reparative Infrastructures

Leyi (Tina) Han & Angela Yang

Soft Machines, Public Bodies

This project reconceives sanitation infrastructure as a civic landscape—visible, accessible and deeply public. Located along the Sharpsburg waterfront, the design integrates a regional water treatment plant with a layered urban park system, including a skatepark, bike trails, and walkable paths that allow visitors to move through and alongside the flows of wastewater cleansing and reuse.

At the river’s edge, a brewery anchors the site, transforming treated water into a moment of collective pleasure. This juxtaposition of waste and joy, process and product, offers a sensory invitation to rethink our relationship with public utilities.

The architecture embraces its machine-like quality and chooses to reveal rather than conceal. It celebrates systems in motion, cultivating what we describe as civic confidence—a belief that transparency and shared responsibility can serve as the foundation for new forms of commoning.The project blurs the boundaries between body, ecology and machine, proposing a future in which public space is not just built on infrastructure, but with it.

Featured: Soft Machine-Public Bodies Concept Model (middle top left), Hybrid Sectional Drawing (middle right), Plan (middle bottom left), View (bottom)

152

Undergraduate Programs

Mingyang (Jack) Zhu

Veinflow Confluence

This infrastructure intervention reimagines the boundary between public life and infrastructural necessity through a reparative architectural addition to the Aspinwall Water Treatment Facility, which supplies water to the city of Pittsburgh. The proposal is situated directly atop the existing facility, unfolding as a continuous spatial gesture that integrates hydroponic food production infrastructure along its full length. Transversely, this linear addition is punctuated by a series of public amenities—including event spaces, dining areas, gathering places and gardens.

In making these additions, the intervention reveals the often-invisible systems of water treatment—catchment, purification and circulation—bringing them into public view. By introducing public access and programming to the foundational infrastructure of the Aspinwall facility, the project proposes a new form of urban public space: one that is simultaneously infrastructural and civic. It offers a site where education, reflection and ecological stewardship converge, framing infrastructure not as a hidden utility but as a visible commons for collective engagement.

Featured: Site Analysis (top left), View to River (top right), Transept Sections (middle and bottom right)

153

Reparative Infrastructures

Bella Salazar Harper

Mending the City

Pittsburgh’s aging sanitation infrastructure reveals decades of neglect, calling for a shift from replacement to repair. This project proposes a hybrid public facility that integrates wastewater treatment with hands-on repair initiatives, bridging the gap between infrastructure (hidden functional systems) and superstructure (visible social and architectural elements). More than a utility, this intervention reimagines infrastructure as a site of public engagement.

The facility includes workshops for repairing appliances, clothing and electronics, while also serving as a technical school where residents can acquire practical skills to maintain their city. By fostering a culture of care and stewardship, the center strengthens Pittsburgh’s physical and social fabric—positioning repair not as a last resort but as a civic practice.

Through architectural and programmatic strategies, the project makes hidden urban systems visible, encouraging collective participation in their upkeep. It challenges conventional notions of infrastructure by framing it as both a technical necessity and a cultural asset.

By embedding repair into everyday public life, the center promotes sustainability, resilience, and a renewed sense of agency in shaping Pittsburgh’s future. In doing so, it redefines infrastructure—not as a passive backdrop—but as an active, evolving space of learning, mending and civic empowerment.

Featured: Models—Site and Parts (top left), Hybrid Building Typology Diagram (bottom), Site Drawing (top right), Project Vignette (middle right)

154

Undergraduate Programs

155

Reparative Infrastructures

48-500 48-650

Manahatta Interrotta | Manhattan Interrupted: Recontextualizing the Grid for Sustainable, Equitable Futures

01

As growing populations and economies increasingly stress natural resources and ecosystems, one thing has become clear: increasing development density within established urban environments is the most sustainable form of growth. Sites formerly considered too burdensome, such as railyards and brownfields, have now become among the most desirable development sites in the planet’s most vibrant megacities. Such development is needed to address and respond to major environmental and climatic changes which the building environment is affected by and in turn affects.

This studio challenges students to address the full range of complex and interrelated urban, architectural and infrastructure design issues of a new major intermodal transportation terminal combined with a large, dense mixed-use program. Students explore structure, systems and building morphology on a grand scale, with major new program integrating with already vast existing buildings and systems.

Instructor: Hal Hayes

156

Undergraduate Programs

Fall 2024

03

02

04

01 02 03 04

157

Janessa Gaston, Elliott Gardens Daria Svinstova, The Sky Street Michael Bi, Chelsea Piers Reimagined Sathvik Nekkant, Anchor to Times Square

Advanced Synthesis Option Studio

05

06

05 06 07 08 09 10

158

Isabel Xu, Clinton Museum of Art and Craft Sparsha Kotha, Westside Village Henry von Rintelen, House of Theater Norman Situ, Fulton Houses Reimagined David Buck, Entertainment Contained Emily Franco, Lincoln Landing

Undergraduate Programs

07

08

09

10

159

Manahatta Interrotta | Manhattan Interrupted

Riddhi Gugale

The Artisans’ Alley

This project provides an emergent space for artists, theater production and a live-work community that reformulates the relationship between artists, community and visitors, blending into the Broadway life of New York City. New York’s theater legacy is a core part of its cultural identity; Broadway and the theater district are the stage upon which play the stories that shape the city. Artists from around the world have built a vibrant, creative community here. This project envisions an artisan’s corridor as a dynamic space that honors performances, craftsmanship and community life. It serves as a hub for theatrical production and a nurturing community for those dedicated to the performing arts. The project prioritizes equity, offering space for both emerging and established artists of all backgrounds, ensuring the opportunity to live, work and contribute to New York’s vibrant cultural fabric regardless of socioeconomic status.

160

Undergraduate Programs

The street guides you through the artistic journey, from the making of costumes and sets to the thrill of live performances. This corridor stretches from Worldwide Plaza to Rockefeller Center, extending to the eastern edge of 49th and 50th Streets, forming a continuum of green spaces and public pathways that reflect the rhythms of theater life. These spaces connect people, performances and the surrounding community, while bridging the western edge of Manhattan to offer a stage for everyday life along the riverfront.

The project includes short-term housing for artists-in-residence, providing flexible spaces for them to live, create and collaborate in Manhattan, fostering an environment where transient artists can innovate in a space designed for their needs.

The project also offers long-term housing for theater community members and their families. These residences are designed for comfort, promoting independence while creating opportunities for connection through shared spaces like gardens and lounges.

This blend of short-term and long-term housing creates a multigenerational community that celebrates the rich history and ongoing evolution of New York’s theater world.

Featured: Aerial Rendering (bottom left), Main Entry (top right), Urban Design Concept and Site Context Diagram (middle right), Interior Perspective (next spread)

161

Manahatta Interrotta | Manhattan Interrupted

Riddhi Gugale

The Artisans’ Alley

162

Undergraduate Programs

163

Manahatta Interrotta | Manhattan Interrupted

48-519

Architecture Design Studio: Thesis II

The definition of an academic “thesis” in architecture depends on a diverse and often-contentious field of views that span institutions, individuals, generations and schools of thought and practice. Tied to this question are varying opinions on what constitutes research in architecture, and whether research helps frame a project, or is the project itself. Through design research, one enters a wider conversation of spatial inquiries that have puzzled and inspired others, and by proposing one’s own set of critical questions and methods of inquiry, one recognizes their responsibility to engage seriously and rigorously with prior work, to extend its intellectual scope through one’s own contribution.

The B.Arch thesis studio aim is to guide students through the process of clearly defining, structuring and producing a thesis project through constructive discussion and mutual critique. Projects are approached as liberal and independent explorations, constructed in dialogue with other thinkers, philosophers, artists and architects, and as novel avenues of investigation that chart new territories.

The studio introduces design as a path of inquiry, where past work can serve as a foundation for critical engagement and dialogue, or where entirely new paradigms can be envisioned. Such explorations may be rigorous in their analytical depth or wondrous in their speculative breadth, embracing the thesis as both a tool for intellectual rigor and a medium for imagining architecture’s role in shaping unseen futures. It is an invitation to dream, to challenge conventions, and to craft a unique vision that transcends the ordinary and addresses the extraordinary potential of design.

Coordinators: Mary-Lou Arscott, Maryam Karimi, Tuliza Sindi 01

164

Grace Kolosek, Spatial Mothering: Scenes and Theories of a Framework for Nurture

Undergraduate Programs

Title of 2025 Spring Work

165

Course & Dissertations Theses

Ashley Su

What Remains: Manifestations of the American Cemetery as Spatial Events of Remembrance

The American cemetery has historically been placed at the edges of cities, shaped by a desire to separate spaces of death from spaces of the living. Intended as places of reflection and order, these sites have remained at the margins, sometimes forgotten, sometimes absorbed into the expanding urban fabric.

In their repetition across the country, cemeteries reveal a silent blueprint: a national language of mourning that is uniform, measured and endlessly replicated. Each site is distinct, yet ultimately indistinguishable from the next. The American cemetery today is not a single place, but all places at once.

This thesis asks: How can the cemetery become a place of activity and event rather than one of stillness? How do we remember people through acts of archiving and movement, rather than through fixed monuments alone?

Through a series of spatial interventions along historic corridors once used to transport the dead, the project reimagines remembrance as a dispersed and evolving procession.

Remembrance is no longer confined to a singular ground but unfolds through thresholds, encounters and the continuous passage of time across the living city.

Advisors: Jared Abraham, Niloufar Alenjery, Tuliza Sindi

166

Undergraduate Programs

Title of WorkJacky Jia Chengming

Title ofofWork Tales an Island: Architecture as a Measuring Device for Myth, Folklore, and Rituals

Architecture, compared to the scale of the Yangtze River, is smaller than a grain of sand. It remains temporary, despite our efforts in the pursuit of permanence. The river flowed long before and will continue to flow long after.

On Baguazhou, an island in the Yangtze River north of Nanjing, architecture is a culmination of material practices, climatic knowledge and fluid wisdom of land—a relationship with the river that gives and takes. This thesis attempts to unravel the myth, folklore and rituals of the island using architecture as a medium between land and river, science and fiction, people and materials.

Through three stories: 1) Corridor of the Moon and Fireworks, 2) Boat House of the Past and Present, 3) Viewing Deck of the River and Mountain, the thesis showcases how building practices embody the breadth of the Yangtze River.

Advisors: Mary-Lou Arscott, Tommy CheeMou Yang

167

CourseII Thesis

Suzie Siyi Liu

12, 0: Endless Facts, Seeping

“I found them in the field of sand I walked through. When I was not entirely lost, just a little overwhelmed, a little preoccupied, a little out-of-it. It is a chaotic time of ours— chaotic times. Multiplicity is important here, I thought.

While they were uniformly dressed in white, I could tell at the first glance that they were different apparatus. I could name each of them. The Clock Tower, the Sundial, the Atomic Clock, the Time Zones.”

And then, the Grey Blocks. Inside.

Clack, clack. Sand in your teeth.

Hundreds of objects falling, hitting you.

Hundreds of…cookies, each with one bite taken.

Timelines are parallel until they diverge or converge. Objects seep through.

Facts echo. All things, you already do.

You touch all cookies. All so real. All coated in sand. All hit you hard—facts that even you yourself can’t believe.

Advisors: Heather Bizon, Sinan Goral, Tuliza Sindi

168

Undergraduate Programs

Graham Patrick Murtha

Where the Stone Meets the Land: A Study of Architecture’s Role in the Sublime

This project explores how architecture can be used as both an aid in one’s experience with a certain landscape, and can transcend a simple walk through a natural space into an appreciation for the eternal beauty of the land and its endless lifetime of transformations.

The project is situated on the jagged cliffs of Dunquin Harbor, located on the tip of the Dingle Peninsula, one of the westernmost points of Ireland. This is an area that feels endless in its scale and timeless in its age, due to the ubiquity of stone ruins and exposed geological artifacts that have existed for millenia.

This landscape-oriented build project not only created a path through a series of moments relevant to the site’s natural history, but additionally created structures along the way that inspired a feeling of wonder at the edge of the world. It is through studies like these that I began to see stone as not just the building block of many buildings in the region, but the building block of the landscape itself.

Advisors: Maryam Karimi, Juney Lee

169

Thesis II

Taehyun Eddie Lim

Typological Expansion of the Medium: Designing Virtual Frameworks for Adaptive Exhibition and User Agency

This thesis reimagines the museum as a participatory, hybrid space that integrates digital and physical experiences. It shifts from a static institution of preservation to an interactive platform where visitors actively engage with, curate and personalize their art experiences.

At the center of this project is a critique of how traditional museums reinforce passive observation through fixed spatial models and institutional hierarchies that limit access and agency.

Building on the ideas of Walter Benjamin and Hito Steyerl, the project explores how exhibition value can move beyond physical presence toward visibility, reproducibility and interaction. Through the use of the wave function collapse algorithm, the museum adapts in real time, generating spatial configurations that respond to user behavior and context. Sites are chosen not for prestige but for their existing patterns of cultural participation, making them ideal locations to support this new museum typology. The project envisions museums as flexible frameworks for co-creation, cultural exchange and shared meaning.

Advisors: Mary-Lou Arscott, Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng

170

Undergraduate Programs

Meilan Alexandra Wang

Vessels to Worlds: Bodies and Myths of World-Making in Early Modern Women’s Doll’s House

“Orientalism is a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.”—Edward Said, “Orientalism” (1978) In the Early Modern West, as people poured their wealth into the material objects of their cabinets and homes, their conquest and possession of “other worlds,” especially the Orient, saturated daily domestic life. Women, particularly wives, became extensions of domestic objects, encased in silk and surrounded by spices, reinforcing gendered roles of subordination.

Owning a doll’s house was a popular hobby among the wealthy: it is a cupboard containing a miniature version of their world, fragments of the Orient included. In this makebelieve world, the wife became the maker of worlds, and free.

Using Petronella Oortman’s doll’s house as a site of inquiry, this thesis presents the connection between the Orient and women by peeling back “objectified” bodies and unbinding the “wildness” of Oriental dreams and myths.

Advisors: Mary-Lou Arscott, Tuliza Sindi

171

Thesis II

Adrienne Luk

Small Worlds: Spectacles of Play and Objects of Curiosity

Sicart’s theory on play recognizes that “to play is to be in the world.” Postmodern culture industries have made play become designated, instrumentalized and mechanistic. We need to “reclaim play as a way of expression, a way of engaging with the world—not as an activity of consumption but as an activity of production.”

We rely on designated cues that tell us when and how we’re allowed to play, but every object, space, moment is an opportunity to play. Play is an expression of who we are, how we choose to play is definitive of how we view the world. How do we reintroduce these moments of spontaneity, this way of being, back into the way we relate to and respond to and see the world around us?

By designing objects that “facilitate the emergence of play,” I explore the latent potential of a toy and its relationship to scale, human, object and playful architecture.

Advisors: Kristina Fisher, Neal Lucas Hitch, Tuliza Sindi

172

Undergraduate Programs

Henry von Rintelen

Where We Are: A Tetragrammatic Investigation of the Holy House

This short investigation into Latter-day Saint temple practice unfolds across the following questions: our relationship to divinity, our relationship with time, divinity’s relationship with the places we live, and the challenge of expressing devotion in a materialistic world.

Through these topics, four design proposals seek to express the essentials of temple worship and Latter-day Saint doctrine.

The exhibition, conceived as a landscape, includes space for the living and the dead.

It gathers a family of friends and fellow Saints—leaving a space for memory, building in community, and embodying a new spatial paradigm focused on proximity to, rather than distance from, divinity.

Advisors: Niloufar Alenjery, Mary-Lou Arscott

173

Thesis II

J. Brody Ploeger

A Haunted House: Amplifying the Uncanny of Suburbia and the Dangers of Sameness The land of suburbia is cloaked in the false serenity of utopia. Beneath this cloak and embedded with the land is the violence and history that came before.

This project is an observation of these things hidden under suburbia forever attached to the land and how they begin to creep back, disrupting this utopia with the uncanny.

Through observation, I study things seeking to understand what they are saying and desire.

Advisors: Mary-Lou Arscott, Tommy CheeMou Yang

174

Undergraduate Programs

Oscar Monarrez

(Un)Sewn Shelter, Blue Jeans as Reclaimed Material: Reimagining Shelter and Spatial Identity Through Waste

Shelter, according to Merriam-Webster, means protection—be it physical, emotional or social. While traditionally defined as a structure or safe space, shelter extends far beyond buildings. It is one of humanity’s core needs, offering cover from elements, threats or the gaze of others. But what truly constitutes shelter? A tarp, a coat, even a pair of jeans can function as shelter.

Clothing, like architecture, protects, expresses identity, and defines boundaries between body and world. Warmth, whether thermal or emotional, is what transforms enclosure into shelter. Shelter is thus not a static object but a lived condition. It is personal, political and contextual. When fully integrated, it becomes a mode of care and identity, bridging disciplines and redefining protection as both spatial and human. Shelter is not just built; it is worn, felt and inhabited. Through the exploration of waste, and specifically blue jean waste, as a material, the question of what is shelter becomes clear.

Advisors: Vicky Achnani, Mary-Lou Arscott, Laura Garófalo

175

Thesis II

Ziyi Eric Yeng

Ceding the Control of Architecture: How Flushing Aunties Shape Architecture and Infrastructure

This thesis explores how the everyday actions of Flushing’s aunties—elderly Chinese immigrant women—shape the architecture and infrastructure of Flushing Chinatown.

Through informal adaptations like street markets, gathering spaces and tactical alterations to public and semi-public areas, the aunties create a vibrant, self-sustaining urban environment. Rather than formal architectural interventions, it is their collective, everyday practices that define the character, function and social infrastructure of the neighborhood.

The project repositions these informal spatial practices as legitimate forms of architectural authorship, challenging traditional definitions of design and proposing new ways to imagine community-driven urbanism.

Advisors: Mary-Lou Arscott, Tommy CheeMou Yang

176

Undergraduate Programs

Andrea Wan

Constructing an Architecture of the Spectacle: A Critical Approach to the Hyperreal Using Taipei’s Guang Hua Digital Plaza as a Site for Future Imaginaries

Advancements in technology and media changed how we engage with the world and each other. This thesis takes a resilient, not resistive, approach and asks, what reality do we live in?

Authentic architectural language was once rooted in personal experiences, relationships between body and space expressed in physical details, cultural identity expressed in ornamentation. The rise of industrialization, mass production, imperialism and globalization transformed this paradigm, ushering in an age of capitalist spectacle typified by world’s fairs, shopping arcades, and Disneyland.

In this new reality, institutions leverage technology as a vehicle to manufacture symbolic simulacra, leading to commodified meaning, altering architectural language so that it no longer expresses the real, but the hyperreal.

What is the new architecture of the spectacle?

Advisors: Mary-Lou Arscott, Tuliza Sindi

177

Thesis II

GRAD UATE PR 178

AD E PROG market x-change

48-630

Praxis I: Design for Transitions—Ecology, Form & Worldmaking

Dominant global models of development remain rooted in Eurocentric, patriarchal modernity tied historically to colonial exploitation.

Architecture, when complicit with globalization and neoliberal capitalism, continues to exacerbate structural inequity, ecological degradation, resource depletion, species loss and the climate crisis. Using just transitions (transition design) as a guiding framework, this studio positions architecture as a transformative agent capable of facilitating epochal change through interconnected social justice and ecological systems. It reimagines architecture as “worldmaking”—acknowledging that buildings embody resource consumption, labor, aspirations and intergenerational values. The studio investigates how architectural tools, methods and frameworks can foster new forms of worldmaking grounded in an ethics of care.

Situated in Pittsburgh’s underused industrial neighborhood of Chateau, this studio explores how architecture participates in designs for transitions. Chateau provides an ideal context to unpack architecture’s entanglement with extraction, exploitation and capital, offering opportunities to develop emergent models of transformative, socio-ecological praxis. Here, praxis refers to processes and mechanisms through which just transitions are developed, communicated and realized. Students engage with diverse worldmaking frameworks and tools, operating across formal, social and ecological paradigms, including governance models like cooperatives and community land trusts; participatory politics; circular construction practices emphasizing decarbonized, bio-based materials; adaptive reuse highlighting embodied energy; and synanthropic practices enhancing urban biodiversity. The studio questions what formal operations and aesthetic strategies architecture might adopt to reveal and enact worldmaking as praxis, ultimately challenging divisions between formal autonomy and emancipatory political capacity. Precedent studies and organizational systems provide the foundation for developing innovative structural, tectonic, material and organizational logics.

Instructors: Sarosh Anklesaria, Jonathan Kline, Niloufar Alenjery. Teaching Assistants: Connor Gates, Riddhi Gugale, Ben Hao.

180

Graduate Programs

Fall 2024

01

03

02

01–02 Tai Le, Lora Marks, Sharvi Shah & Nicholas Thies, Play Plant: Wake Up and Smell the Shit 03 End of Semester Exhibition, CFA Great Hall

181

M.Arch Studio

06

04

05

182

08

Graduate Programs

07

09

04–05 Sanjana Bandaru, Abby Feldmann, Julia Lako & Anoushka Sethi, Woven Community 06–08 Megan Fleeger, Sara Krofcheck, Evan Nwankwo & Reece Posey, Harvest Village 09 Mohamed Abdelmohsin, Mark Chen & Sarah Molina, Reconnecting Juniata St.

183

Praxis I

Tai Le, Lora Marks, Sharvi Shah & Nicholas Thies

Play Plant: Wake Up and Smell the Shit

Can architecture make visible transitions of sanitation infrastructure → shifting away from a single, linear, concealed, engineered “solution” towards a more transparent, educational, playful and ecologically conscious approach?

As a pilot project, Play Plant offers a scalable, localized solution to treat wastewater from Manchester and Chateau, reducing the burden on ALCOSAN’s central facility. By integrating mechanical and biological filtration systems, the plant will treat 365 million gallons of sewage onsite annually while transforming the area into a vibrant, community-centered park.

Play Plant reimagines infrastructure as hybrid, soft, and entangled—visible and inviting. Educational features and green spaces create awareness of water systems, turning sanitation into a public spectacle and learning experience.

Hybrid Sectional Drawing (top left), Generative Collage (top right), Interior View (bottom right), Project Isometric (bottom far right)

184

Graduate Programs

185

Praxis I

Aanchal Bansal, Sarthak Bansal & Yulin Chen

Cultivating Corridors: Harvesting a Humane Habitat

This project envisions a transformation of the Manchester and Chateau neighborhoods by reimagining the underutilized highways, Routes 65 and 19, as ecological hubs addressing food insecurity and infrastructure inefficiency in Pittsburgh. This initiative proposes converting highway infrastructure into a testbed for cooperative farming networks and scalable live-work hubs, fostering a circular food economy.

Communities of “agropreneurs” will collaboratively live, work and farm in this system, integrating urban farms, greenhouses, food production silos, and community gardens to ensure year-round, scalable fresh produce. Fresh food will be distributed on site via community kitchens and food markets, enhancing food accessibility.

The existing Norfolk Southern freight rail beneath the highway will be repurposed as a distribution hub, enabling regional scaling. Waste from the system will be processed in biogas plants and composting centers, thereby closing the loop for sustainable operations.

This model unifies social and material networks, enabling communities to grow, distribute, consume and recycle locally, transitioning towards food security and ecological sustainability while revitalizing neglected infrastructures.

Featured: Project Isometric and Interior Views (bottom left), Chunk Details (top right), Project Isometric (bottom right)

186

Graduate Programs

187

Praxis I

Andrew Long, Sarah Meronek, Kritika Sarawagi & Rupal Singh

Repair Park: Prolonging the Life Cycle of Use

Among the remnants of an industrial past of Chateau, the bones of two structures, BusShed and Star Warehouse, silently sit next to Ohio River, underutilized and abandoned.

Across the newer highway, Manchester lies separated with buildings in disrepair that are calling for modes of transformation and repair.

These buildings offer the industrial capacity for a riverfront urban park, whose aim is a culture of repair, care and maintenance, as well as the encouragement of neighborhood relationships. Delving into various scales of repair, from small and everyday, to parts of buildings, the underbelly of this park nurtures spaces which tend to situations that need mending. This place lets you upcycle old, discarded (donated) objects to art installations that are displayed in the park, right above a barter market. This is a market which operates on exchange of goods repaired in the workshops, without currency. Within this epicenter of repair is a guild of trades and craftsmen who extend themselves to the broken porches, dilapidated plots, and shaking windows of Manchester.

Against development, this imagination looks up to a culture of slowness. The existing notion of over-consumption and waste generation has alienated people away from the intimacy of the physical substance of the objects we use. This is an attempt to bring back the joy of interaction with objects through prolonged use, lost crafts and trades.

Featured: Hybrid Sectional Drawing (bottom), Physical Model (top right), Site Diagram (top far right), Sectional Axonometric (middle far right)

188

Graduate Programs

189

Praxis I

48-640

Praxis II: Building as Transition—Designing With Silvi-Technical Systems

Architecture shapes relations between individuals, communities, objects and environments. This studio understands architecture as a modulator of complex cultural, eco-geological and historical flows, but does so by intensively exploring, evaluating and expanding the role that tectonic cultures, especially those emerging from forest products and their associated modes of architectural expression, play in shaping our world and the picture we form of it. Closely linked with corequisite courses on material and assembly and structural design, this studio places particular emphasis on biogenic and low-carbon to negative carbon material ecologies. It embraces the idea that designing a building means participating in, altering and to some degree designing the vast socio-ecological-technical systems that make up material extraction and production. While we embrace the carbon conscious logics championed by advocates of mass timber, we exercise caution and criticality towards the tendency of mass timber assemblies to over-utilize timber volume and to promote extractive relationships to monocultures of fir, yellow pine, and spruce forests in the American Southeast and Pacific Northwest. Rather, we look to the ethic, cosmology and silvicultural management practices of the Menominee Tribal Forest in Wisconsin as a model for sustaining timber yields while increasing living biomass, bolstering ecosystem resilience, fostering critical habitat, and preserving a cultural landscape with respect for diverse agencies. We seek to learn from Menominee conceptualizations of relationality, gift giving, and learning-from-nature to heal and reimagine our relationship to forests and forest products.

Through a non-linear, multi-scalar, iterative design process, small teams develop and refine detailed architectural assemblies conceived as acts of “sympoiesis” or cooperative design between the agency of the species, geologies, and ecosystems from which materials are drawn and the human methods of management, construction, craft and innovation that alter and assemble them. We pay special attention to the role of structural configurations in organizing the spatial distribution of occupancies and human experiences; to how envelopes regulate and respond to thermal, acoustic and visual performance while also participating in aesthetic discourse; to climate and environmental 190

Graduate Programs

Spring 2025 responsiveness; to modes of participation in carbon culture, including environmental management systems, commuting culture, and other patterns of integration with context; and ultimately to the disciplinary imperative to integrate and orchestrate these multiple forces and systems.

01

02

Coordinator: Matthew Huber. Instructors: Liza Boffi, Jeffrey Davis, Brad Groff.

Teaching Assistants: Connor Gates, Sparsha Reddy Kotha.

01 02

191

Sanjana Bandaru, Aanchal Bansal & Tai Le, Sustainable Development Institute Sarthak Bansal, Evan Nwankwo & Anoushka Sethi, Menominee Eco-Innovation Center

M.Arch Studio

03

05

04

192

Graduate Programs

06

07

03 04 05 06 07

193

Isheanesu Tendayi, Composite Mapping of the Menominee Site Visit Sarthak Bansal, Evan Nwankwo & Anoushka Sethi, Menominee Eco-Innovation Center Abby Feldmann, Jacob Johnston & Reece Posey, The Armature Julia Lako, Sarah Molina & Sharvi Shah, Growing Interconnected Relationships: Weaving Together Learning, Making and Nature Abby Feldmann, Jacob Johnston & Reece Posey, The Armature

Praxis II

08

194

Sarthak Bansal, Evan Nwankwo & Anoushka Sethi, Menominee Eco-Innovation Center

Graduate Programs

195

Praxis II

48-713

MUD Urban Ecology

Urban ecology describes the complex relationship between humans and the environment and is bound by an understanding of system dynamics. It draws from the understanding of urban settlements and the cultural values that shape them, as well as conceptions of ecology as the resources and flows that support biotic systems. Urban ecology situates human activity as part of a dynamic and living environment, a relationship that is more continuum than dichotomy.

This course examines shifting conceptions of urban ecology and equips students to lead and contribute to transitions through design.

Urban ecology asks students to see processes and speculate on effects and possible outcomes, and explore how the design process is affected by the ambiguity of systems design. Students learn the fundamentals of system dynamics modeling as applied to historical and contemporary landscapes, infrastructure and spatial practices at macro-, meso- and micro-scales.

The course culminates in a publication of the students’ final research papers exploring ecological theory, social-ecological systems, and infrastructure across three themes: 1) “Ways of Knowing” challenges dominant frameworks for understanding the environment. Drawing on traditional knowledge and emerging technologies like generative AI offers alternative ways of seeing, knowing and engaging with ecological systems; 2) “Fault Lines” investigates how environmental injustice is spatially and historically produced through practices of extraction, neglect and inequitable planning, and how communities resist, adapt and reimagine their futures; and 3) “Shared Entanglements” positions the urban environment as a multispecies ecology. Rather than reinforcing a division between the built and the natural, the work explores how ecological presence shapes, resists and adapts within human-made systems.

Instructor: Christine Mondor. Teaching/Research Assistant: Madhav Joshi.

196

Graduate Programs

Spring 2025

01

02

01–02 Course Publication Spreads

197

Master of Urban Design

48-705

Urban Design Studio I: Reclaiming 65

This studio challenges students to envision the transformation of a highway into a vibrant, interconnected neighborhood. Drawing on theories of urban renewal and the reclamation of public space inspired by Jane Jacobs’ advocacy for human-scale urbanism and Henri Lefebvre’s concept of the right to the city, the project explores how the removal of infrastructural barriers could foster social equity, environmental sustainability, and community identity. Students engage the spatial possibilities of reconfiguring land once dominated by automobiles into a resilient and inclusive urban fabric that prioritizes connectivity and public life.

Urban arterial highways were conceived in the 1950s and 60s as a means to channel resources and people to emerging ex-urban areas. They were constructed to access remote destinations without regard for existing urban flows. The highway imposed great harm on the Manchester-Chateau neighborhood, our community of study, and its potential removal presents an opportunity for the community to reclaim territory.

Instructor: Christine Mondor.

Teaching/Research Assistant: Valeria Duque-Villegas.

198

01

Graduate Programs

Fall 2024

02

Through a semester-long inquiry, students engaged in iterative assignments that built toward a cumulative urban design proposal.

Through a mix of group work, design sprints and sustained investigation, students developed spatial, narrative and analytical skills while examining the interplay between infrastructure and social systems in contemporary cities. The studio was guided by visiting experts and structured methods such as field analysis, engagement, scenario planning and design testing. Students produced theoretically informed, contextually grounded designs that addressed issues of equity, ecology and urban transformation.

01 02

199

Tamuna Cherkezishvili & Cyphanah Khan, Blurred Borders Plan Rameen Aamer, Pal-imp-sest Plan

Master of Urban Design

Cyphanah Khan, Dyanavitha Parimi & Sushruti Santhanakrishnan

Mapping the Agency of Infrastructure

In urban environments, borders are not always marked by physical barriers; they can also be defined by social, economic and psychological divides that contribute to a sense of isolation. The Manchester-Chateau area in Pittsburgh exemplifies this complex interplay of borders, as explored through the lens of public realm theory in Lyn H. Loflan’s “Toward a Geography and History of the Public Realm” and Jane Jacobs’ concept of “border vacuums” in “The Curse of Border Vacuums.” These readings offer valuable insights into how the area’s development and its borders, both visible and invisible, have led to a disconnection between neighborhoods, resulting in what can be termed the “third invisible border.” This border is not defined by infrastructure or geography but by social and economic factors that have created a divide between these two neighborhoods. This invisible border, therefore, represents the psychological and social barriers that can be just as potent as physical ones in separating communities.

Featured: The Public Real (bottom left), The Third Border (top right), The Curse Visualized (bottom right)

200

Graduate Programs

201

Urban Design Studio I

48-670 Section 48-785

M.Arch Thesis Title MAAD Research by Design Project

The definition of an academic “thesis” in architecture depends on a diverse and often-contentious field of views that span institutions, individuals, generations and schools of thought and practice. Tied to this question are varying opinions on what constitutes research in architecture, and whether research helps frame a project, or is the project itself. Through design research, one enters a wider conversation of spatial inquiries that have puzzled and inspired others, and by proposing one’s own set of critical questions and methods of inquiry, one recognizes their responsibility to engage seriously and rigorously with prior work, to extend its intellectual scope through one’s own contribution.

The M.Arch and MAAD theses studios aims are to guide students through the process of clearly defining, structuring and producing a thesis project through constructive discussion and mutual critique. Projects are approached as liberal and independent explorations, constructed in dialogue with other thinkers, philosophers, artists and architects, and as novel avenues of investigation that chart new territories. The studio introduces design as a path of inquiry, where past work can serve as a foundation for critical engagement and dialogue, or where entirely new paradigms can be envisioned.

Such explorations may be rigorous in their analytical depth or wondrous in their speculative breadth, embracing the thesis as both a tool for intellectual rigor and a medium for imagining architecture’s role in shaping unseen futures. It is an invitation to dream, to challenge conventions, and to craft a unique vision that transcends the ordinary and addresses the extraordinary potential of design.

Coordinator: Maryam Karimi

202

Second Year Theses & Dissertations OPTIONS

01

203

Sejal Darla Jain, Urban Interventions for Sensory Engagement Through Rammed Earth

Thesis II

Sejal Darla Jain

Grounding the Intangible: Urban Intervention for Sensory Engagement A r c h i te c t u re a n d urban design have long favored the visual realm, often at the expense of the full spectrum of human sensory experience. While it is true that vision plays a significant role in the way people perceive and navigate space, this focus risks generalizing a perspective that does not account for the diversity of human sensor y processing—across cultures, neurotypes and abilities. In the context of daily urban life, however, there remains a noticeable absence of spaces that invite us to pause—places that encourage a moment of stillness, reflection and reconnection with our sensory selves.

This project moves beyond visual dominance, engaging the body in sensory ways—haptic, thermal and acoustic. It creates a playful space where perception is active, not passive. Here, the body builds, recalls and renews its sensory awareness, connecting with the environment in new yet familiar ways.

Advisors: Jeremy Ficca, Maryam Karimi

204

Graduate Programs

Chuhan Franklin Xu

IntraNote: Prototyping a Design Rationale System with AI-Driven Reflective Reasoning

This thesis prototypes IntraNote (short for InteRaction Annotator), a reflection tool that augments design critique by synchronously logging verbal dialogue and actions into a Rhino model. Architectural critique unfolds through iterative conversations between collaborators and interactions with design artifacts. These transitory conversations can be recorded, not only verbally, but to a new medium that allows for documentation and future analysis.

Existing design rationale systems (DRS) are mere recording devices. This project envisions a new capability to preserve the semantic nuance, real-time modeling, and causal reasoning in spatial design. Recent advancements enable large language models (LLMs) to track and interpret dialogue, presenting a chance to bridge this gap. This shift suggests that AI could move beyond a supportive role to become an active collaborator in critique.

IntraNote generates time-based annotations and infers design logic, enabling designers to revisit, reinterpret and extend prior dialogue and design decisions. This prototype explores the potential of generative AI to actively engage in the evolution of a conversation by shaping its trajectory and continuing its rhythm, offering a platform for new forms of participation.

Advisors: Daragh Byrne, Jeremy Ficca, Maryam Karimi

205

Thesis II

Laura Miles

Land of Opportunity: Adapting and Maintaining the Existing Suburban Landscape

Advisors: Jeremy Ficca, Maryam Karimi

206

Graduate Programs

It has become a mainstream system of belief that the home is a woman’s domain. By association, the home has been historically treated as insignificant in the face of other types of architecture. This thesis pushes against the notion that the ordinary is unimportant.

The act of caring for a home is not simply symbolic of female submission to traditional stereotypes, but rather it is an act of rebellion against a system that commodifies independence.

This thesis interprets suburbia as a land of opportunity. It investigates design potentials that are sensitive to both the extraordinary and the mundane events which take place in this incredibly pervasive residential typology. In doing so, the project adopts a philosophical position towards care in the many forms of maintenance that it offers as a structural solution in the presence of the site’s memory and embodied energy. It establishes a theoretical framework towards interacting with suburbs as built artifacts to envision the futures of these homes. The project studies the history and complexities of the landscape, exploring methods of retrofitting these buildings as a way of advocating for the tender treatment of the home, its memories, its inhabitants and its longevity.

207

Thesis II

Elizabeth N. Laman

Edge Conditions: Queer Identity and the Practice of (Dis)Orientation

Advisors: Theodossis (Theo) Issaias, Maryam Karimi

208

Graduate Programs

Disorientation unsettles the familiar, offering not confusion, but possibility. The project explores disorientation as a generative state—one that reshapes our relationships to space, identity and belonging. Drawing from queer theory, defamiliarization and regional memory, it situates the body within Pittsburgh’s Appalachian-Rust Belt landscape, where domestic spaces carry the weight of memory and queer spaces slip between visibility and loss. The domestic becomes a stage for inherited norms and their undoing; liminal sites invite reorientation.

Through visual and spatial investigation, the work traces how estrangement—personal and architectural—becomes a method of transformation, a practice of seeing differently, and a powerful tool for renegotiating self and place.

The short films accompanying the project are intended to disorient—disturbing habitual ways of being. Through defamiliarization, they unsettle conventional space and time, not as fixed structures, but as lived, embodied and refigured.

They invite new perceptions, making room for queerness to emerge and evolve.

209

Thesis II

48-718

Urban Design Studio III: Commoning the City

Commoning the City is a yearlong research based design studio on social justice and community led transformations. Master of Urban Design students explore design as an agent of change and learn how to support citizens in claiming their Right to the City. The first semester, taught by Stefan Gruber, provides theoretical framing and case study research toward the development of an individual thesis proposal. Learning from the 01 collective research and based on a shared toolkit, students define their own research question and begin testing their design hypothesis in an urban milieu of their choice. At the end of the semester each student frames a design proposal and methodology that is theoretically grounded, geographically and culturally situated, and politically informed. Working empirically, throughout the semester, students go back and forth between research and design.

The second semester, taught by Jonathan Kline, supports students in fully developing their individual projects, culminating in an exhibition.

The commons have emerged as a key concept beyond the binaries of public and private space for tackling the challenges of the contemporary city: How do we build community resilience in the face of systemic and growing inequity? How do we design with finite resources in the face of accelerating environmental crisis? How do we articulate common interests despite splintering social ties and political polarization? How do we find agency in architecture and urban design given the scope of these wicked problems? Here, commoning is understood as social practice structured around the production and self governance of shared resources and spaces beyond contemporary forms of domination.

Instructors: Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

210

Graduate Programs

Fall 2024

02

03

01–02 Immersive workshop on neighborhood regeneration with Emmanuel Pratt at the Sweetwater Foundation in Chicago and visit to Power House Productions with Gina Reichert in Detroit.

03 Final review of Valeria Duque Villega’s project “Community Infrastructures of Resilience” in public thesis exhibition.

211

Theses & Dissertations

Sagarika Kulkarni

Fisherwomen of Mumbai: Rethinking the Cycles of Work and Wealth

Mumbai’s fisherwomen sustain their livelihoods through deeply rooted commoning practices, solidarity networks, self-help groups, shared reproductive labor and informal financial pacts. These systems provide economic and social resilience, yet they remain unrecognized within the city’s formal structures. As environmental degradation, overfishing, monsoon disruptions and systemic gender biases threaten their stability, the lack of institutional support leaves them increasingly vulnerable.

This thesis explores how formalizing fisherwomen’s existing informal networks through cooperative models can strengthen their economic security, ensuring the year-round functioning of fishing and allied value chains. By mapping their daily routines, the research identifies critical intervention points where cooperative frameworks can be incrementally introduced to enhance financial stability and care infrastructure. It also examines the spatial implications of these interventions. Through ethnographic research, urban analysis, and collaboration with potential stakeholders, the study envisions a cooperative model that reinforces Mumbai’s fishing economy and integrated spaces of care and community support.

Featured: Model and Installation View

Advisors: Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

212

Graduate Programs

Sakshi Aparajit

Markets in Motion: Designing Resilient Commons for Women Vendors

This project addresses the challenges faced by women vendors in Noida’s informal hafta bazaars, where extreme heat, unsafe environments, and a lack of infrastructure impact livelihoods. Using the daily journey of a vendor, Susheela, as a narrative framework, the project identifies key vulnerabilities and proposes community-driven design interventions.

Solutions include the “Sahara Canopy” system for modular shading and cooling, shared storage infrastructure, safer street designs and informal childcare spaces. The interventions are designed to be low-cost, adaptable, and rooted in existing vendor practices, encouraging collective ownership and management. Through a focus on commons, tactical urbanism and layered infrastructures, the project aims to build social, economic and spatial resilience.

It envisions a market space where women vendors not only survive but thrive—transforming the hafta bazaar into a stronger, more supportive community space.

Featured: A Day in the Life of Susheela, and Model View

Advisors: Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

213

Urban Design Studio III

Nakshatra Menon

Temporal Edges: Transforming Flood Water into a Resource

This project, set in Kuttanad, Kerala, India, explores the intersection of environmental and social challenges. Kuttanad’s industrialization, contiued human intervention with the landscape, loss of traditional knowledge, and a general lack of care, have increased extreme flooding. This has particularly impacted the lower class that lives in the area, who cannot move out as easily and whose livelihoods are dependent on the landscape. Despite numerous research projects and funding dedicated to this issue, a lack of government organization has resulted in little change. The flooding, along with social issues that exist in the area (access to clean drinking water and a wide discrepancy between the different social classes) have resulted in a decline in population and investment into the region.

Featured: Model with Built-In Animation and Renderings

Advisors: Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

214

Graduate Programs

Valeria Duque-Villegas

Community Infrastructures of Resilience: From Mutual Care to Sustainable Cities

This project explores the intersection of urbanization, environmental challenges and community-driven care infrastructures in Cali, Colombia. Cali’s rapid expansion has transformed its natural waterways into concealed, overburdened infrastructures, causing recurring flooding, particularly in vulnerable areas like Comuna 21—a densely populated cluster of neighborhoods shaped by rural migration and systemic neglect. Despite insufficient government support, Comuna 21 demonstrates resilience through care networks, predominantly led by women, that provide mutual aid, childcare and food security, while fostering social capital and reimagining cooperativism. Public programs, such as community kitchens and monetary aid, support these grassroots initiatives.

Featured: Installation with Interactive Model and Mappings

Advisors: Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

215

Urban Design Studio III

Sindhu Prabakar

Holding Space: Commons and Care for Vacant Land

Is vacancy inherently problematic? By definition, vacancy refers to unoccupied spaces, often shaped by sociopolitical factors. Many American cities have grappled with this challenge. But when does vacancy become a problem? If a community is culturally vibrant, self-sufficient and actively engaged in maintaining its environment, why are areas with vacant properties often labeled as “blighted”? Must every lot be filled for a neighborhood to be considered successful or valuable?

North Lawndale in Chicago exemplifies resilience and community participation.

Yet, despite its strong social fabric, it is frequently classified as “blighted” based on vacancy metrics. This raises a critical question: how can such narratives be challenged? Additionally, in cities like Chicago, aging infrastructure and the effects of climate change have increased flooding. Is there a potential link between vacant spaces and water management?

This thesis examines commoning practices, drawing from real-world patterns, to propose ecological and social frameworks that reframe land care.

Featured: Installation View (bottom)

Advisors: Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

216

Graduate Programs

Jiaxi Wu

Beyond Capital: Reimagining Vacancy in Downtown’s Office Buildings

The rise of remote work has hollowed out the towers that once structured the daily rhythms of our cities, leaving vast vacancies at the core of downtowns like Pittsburgh. This project begins with a simple question: When the market no longer provides the answers, what other systems might sustain life here?

Anchored in the BNY Mellon building—a stark emblem of urban emptiness—the project envisions an alternative future where such spaces are not abandoned but reclaimed for shared living, working and civic life. In a city where the demand for affordable and inclusive development is more urgent than ever, this work asks how we might reimagine the logic of redevelopment itself—not through profit, but through community power, shared resources and spatial imagination. In this vision, the vacant office tower is no longer a relic of a fading economy, but a seedbed for collective possibility.

Featured: Model (left), Phasing (right)

Advisors: Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

217

Urban Design Studio III

Xuan Peng

Redefining Clan Culture: Transforming the Ancestral Halls System into Networked Commons in Foshan

Advisors: Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

218

Graduate Programs

This project addresses urban loneliness and cultural disconnection in Foshan’s historic neighborhood, transforming the traditional network of clan culture into an inclusive commons.

The design introduces new layers of events, rituals and urban objects. By reinterpreting practices like the Piusai ceremony, it fosters new forms of intergenerational gathering while preserving cultural authenticity. The commoning framework activates spatial and cultural resources through tactical urbanism and flexible programming strategies. It emphasizes small-scale, adaptable interventions that allow spaces to shift between daily and ceremonial.

The project outlines a graduated engagement strategy, flexible partnership models, and economic incentives involving property owners and the community. Negotiating ownership dynamics and embedding new traditions, the project demonstrates how heritage can be a living, evolving foundation for inclusive urban life.

Featured: Storyboard of Narrative

219

Urban Design Studio III

Vanshika Bhaiya

Canal as Commons: Hacking Infrastructures to Foster an Equitable Waterscape in Chennai

As taps run dry, rivers choke with waste, and cities face relentless floods, the forgotten layers of Chennai’s waterscape begin to surface. Once thriving on an intricate eri (lake) urbanism under the Chola dynasty and later reshaped by the industrial ambitions of the British Empire, the city’s histories are etched into the land.

Today, the privatization and commodification of water have produced an extractive, exploitative and unstable system. Market-driven management leaves Chennai vulnerable—parched during summer droughts and inundated by monsoon floods. Along the banks of the Buckingham Canal, traces of systemic failure, erasure, and neglect become visible.

Yet within these remnants lie multiple leverage points—moments where targeted interventions could catalyze systemic transformation.

Can a phased space-hacking of the Buckingham Canal, operating through networks of public-commons and private-commons relationships, foster multi-scalar water infrastructures that recharge aquifers, store rainwater, engage existing distribution systems, and ensure equitable access to water? By reimagining water management as distributed, localized and regenerative, the project seeks to redirect Chennai’s waterscape toward a more just and resilient future.

Featured: Section Drawing (bottom), Model (top right)

Advisors: Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

220

Graduate Programs

221

Urban Design Studio III

48-765

AECM Synthesis: Artificial Intelligence in AECM for Public Interest Design in Pittsburgh

This course applies the knowledge and skills that Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management (AECM) students acquire during the program to a critical public interest issue related to Pittsburgh’s built environment. This course built upon the research of prior years on 01 deconstruction (2021), circularity (2022), and adaptive reuse (2023) by focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) for public interest design. Students learn about the global, regional and local impacts of AI for the AECM industries, then discuss basic research skills and methods. From this knowledge, students formulate a coordinated research project by working in teams of three or four. Investigations include AECM modes of inquiry including case studies, expert interviews, GIS story maps, energy modeling analyses, carbon footprint calculations, life cycle assessments, AR/ VR visualizations, LiDAR scanning and photometrics, BIM integration, real estate analyses, feasibility studies, and other modes. Project teams present their findings to a panel of stakeholders and distill their results into a collective report.

The course provides a synthetic experience that prepares AECM students for independent applied research as professionals; supports increased use of AECM technologies (AI, BIM, GIS, AR, VR) to help address pressing societal issues; and generates AECMfocused insights and recommendations for a more sustainable construction industry.

Instructor: Joshua D. Lee. Teaching Assistant: Tannaz Afshar. Advisors: Burcu Akinci, Erica Cochran Hameen, John Mendeloff, Shailendra Singh.

222

Graduate Programs

Fall 2024

02

03

01 02 03

223

Jui Arora & Anupika Babar, AI for Better IAQ: Utilizing AI to Investigate HVAC Systems in Pittsburgh School Buildings Zachary Brigham, Srujan Gajjala & Rishab Umarani; Hey BEXBOT, Where Should I Live? AI Assistant for Student Housing Decision Making Parneet Kaur, Tejas Naidu & Vaishali Singh, AI-Powered Solutions for Nonprofit Construction: A Virtual Assistant for Enhanced Project Management

Theses & Dissertations

Akshita Agarwal & Pooja Ravikumar

PavePulse: Leveraging AI and GIS with Community Power to Create Better Sidewalks

In Pittsburgh, a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle every 34 hours, highlighting the urgent need for improved sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure. Yet sidewalk maintenance remains fragmented, leaving pedestrians at risk due to inconsistent upkeep and poor reporting systems. Annually, 20-25 Pittsburghers lose their lives to traffic-related incidents, with one-third involving pedestrians, underscoring challenges for those heavily reliant on sidewalks—such as the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and those without vehicles.

Key issues include property owners’ responsibility for adjacent sidewalks, causing inconsistent maintenance, and the 311 app’s poor user experience, hindering engagement. As Pittsburgh strives to improve its pedestrian safety and sidewalk conditions, it’s clear that a multifaceted approach will be crucial in creating a more walkable, equitable and safe urban environment for all residents. PavePulse is an AI-powered, GIS-integrated platform that doesn’t just enhance reporting—it revolutionizes it. With real-time issue detection, intuitive interfaces, and community-driven data, PavePulse turns every resident into a stakeholder in sidewalk safety. It’s not just a tool; it’s the future of pedestrian infrastructure—smart, connected and built to empower a safer, walkable Pittsburgh for everyone.

Featured: PavePulse Interface (right and bottom left), Maintenance and Safety Issues on Sidewalks (bottom right)

224

Graduate Programs

Pritesh Anjikar, Natasha Susan Fernandez & Tarun Alluri Venkatesh

P(l/e)acemaker: An AI-Assisted Planning Toolkit for Public Interest Design (PID)

This project enables integration of AI in Public Interest Design (PID), focusing on underserved urban communities. This pilot project, set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, showcases how AI-driven tools empower grassroots planning, streamline resource allocation, and foster equitable urban development. The toolkit features a Qualitative Asset Valuation scorecard, a python-based resource optimization feature and Neighborhood Assistance Toolkit (NAT), and an AI co-pilot that aligns project outcomes with the Triple Bottom Line—social equity, environmental sustainability and economic feasibility. Its intuitive interface supports real-time decision making, stakeholder engagement, and scenario analysis, addressing systemic barriers to inclusive development. The findings underscore the potential of AI to democratize urban planning, optimize resource use, and prioritize community-driven goals.

This innovative approach demonstrates a replicable, adaptive model for sustainable urban transformation in marginalized neighborhoods. Future iterations will refine functionality, ensuring broader applications across diverse socio-economic contexts.

Featured: Project Overview Dashboard Visualized on the Toolkit

225

AECM Synthesis

Shalini Priyadarshini

Setu—Safety in Excavation and Trenching for yoU: A Training and Decision-Making Tool for Worker Safety in Excavation and Trenching Operations in Construction

226

Graduate Programs

Trenching and excavation are important activities on construction projects. However, they are some of the most hazardous construction jobs, presenting significant risk of injury and death. An OSHA study found that fatality rates for trenching are 112% higher than those of other construction jobs.

This Ph.D. research addresses the safety risks of trenching and excavation in construction. The research uses a mixed methods framework to understand the reasons for the limited adoption of proven protective systems in the construction industry and investigates the underlying reasons for this reluctance.

The final deliverable of the research is a workforce training and decision support tool called Safety in Excavation and Trenching for yoU (SETU). SETU is a free, platform independent, web-based application designed to improve worker safety by: 1) making trenching safety information available on hand-held mobile devices; 2) breaking down cognitively complex safety information and jargon into everyday language; 3) offering an intuitive, easy to use interface requiring no additional training; and 4) providing decision-making support with only a few inputs from the user. SETU improves access to information about potential hazards, including soil classification testing and protection systems, to assist the user with choosing an appropriate protection system. By providing accessible safety training, this research aims to enhance occupational safety by positively impacting construction site practices.

Featured: SETU is designed to enhance end-user access to occupational safety standards and procedures. Researcher does not claim nor guarantee that SETU will change end-user behavior or outcomes.

227

AECM Synthesis

48-769

MSBPD Thesis/Project

The culmination thesis project for the Master of Science in Building Performance & Diagnostics includes individual and collaborative dissertations on the integration of advanced building and urban technologies for environmental sustainability, human health and productivity, and organizational change. The thesis projects span the development of innovative design taxonomies and educational tools, advances in public policy for decarbonization, field-tested innovations in building systems, as well as learning from post occupancy evaluation, performance simulation, data analytics and machine learning for advancing high performance built environments.

01

Coordinators: Vivian Loftness, Azadeh O. Sawyer

228

Graduate Programs

Spring 2025

02

03

01 02

03

229

Riya Malhotra, Community Revitalization Through Integrated Building Retrofit Laura Lasariia, Suzy (Zekun) Li, Xuan Peng & Manya Sharma, Benefits of Smart SystemsIntegrated Sidewalks Suzy (Zekun) Li & Manya Sharma, Smart Sidewalk Strategies Taxonomy

Theses & Dissertations

Han Li

Improving Residential HVAC Performance With Data Discovery and Advanced Modeling of a National Smart Thermostat Database

Residential buildings account for approximately 21% of total energy consumption in the United States, with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems being a dominant contributor. The American Time Use Survey indicates that in 2020, people spent about 62% of their waking hours at home, a sharp increase from 50% in 2019. This shift, driven by pandemic-related lifestyle changes, led to a 30% surge in residential energy consumption during lockdowns, highlighting the evolving challenges in managing energy demand and reducing emissions. As residential energy consumption continues to rise, optimizing HVAC operation becomes increasingly critical. Smart thermostats, now widely adopted in modern homes, provide real-time monitoring, remote control and adaptive scheduling, offering not only energy-saving potential but also a rich dataset for understanding occupant behavior, building thermal characteristics, and analyzing HVAC operational patterns.

These insights can help identify opportunities for improving efficiency and reducing peak demand. However, existing studies leveraging smart thermostat data remain constrained in their spatial coverage, temporal range and analytical methodologies, leaving critical research gaps.

This dissertation addresses these gaps by curating a large-scale smart thermostat dataset covering multiple years and thousands of households across the U.S. The dissertation introduces novel methods for large-scale, multi-year data mining to analyze occupant behavior, building thermal properties, and HVAC operation characteristics. Through cross-dimensional analysis, inefficiencies are uncovered alongside opportunities for operational improvements. Additionally, a novel Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) model is proposed that integrates building physics with deep learning to enhance predictive accuracy. The PINN model achieves 1) high-fidelity indoor temperature prediction, 2) inference of HVAC thermal loads and energy consumption, and 3) scalability for diverse residential settings. Leveraging these insights, two case studies were conducted: 1) quantifying the energy and peak demand impacts of thermostat setpoint overrides during demand response (DR) events, and 2) assessing energy savings potential for different nighttime setback depths. This dissertation advances the field by demonstrating how large-scale data mining and PINN modeling can jointly improve residential HVAC system performance.

The findings offer valuable implications for energy-efficient building operation, demandside management, and future smart thermostat-driven optimization strategies.

230

Graduate Programs

231

Building Performance & Diagnostics

48-792

Ph.D. in Architecture (PhD-Arch)

The Ph.D. in Architecture (PhDArch) program at Carnegie Mellon advances interpretive, critical and contextual perspectives on architecture, landscape and urbanism.

The program offers students an interdisciplinary platform to investigate built environment cultures, practices and politics through qualitative, spatial and collaborative modes of research.

The intellectual foundation of the program is informed by Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s commitments to racial and spatial justice in architectural epistemology, pedagogy and practice, building on and extending the foundational work in the school in the areas of community-oriented 01 urban design and research. It is also supported by wide-ranging expertise and resources in the school and across the university, particularly in the arts and humanities.

Track Chair: Nida Rehman 01 02

232

Ifrah Asif; Politics of Pollution: Badshahi Mosque, A Historic Site, During Smog Season in Lahore, Pakistan Ifrah Asif; Cultural Ecologies: Mapping UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Flood Risk Zones in Pakistan

Graduate Programs

Spring 2025

02

233

Theses & Dissertations

Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil

Shadows of Empire: Imperial Epistemologies, Spatial Dispossession, and the Colonial Reordering of Kerala’s Matrilineal Taravads

This Ph.D. research examines the colonial archive as an active instrument in the production of imperial knowledge in relation to the teakwood exploitation in the Nilambur forests of Kerala—one that did not merely record the realities of British expansion in Kerala, but structured the legibility of power, personhood and land. In the specific context of teak extraction, the archive functioned not simply as a record of resource control, but as a medium through which matrilineal kinship, customary land use and Indigenous ecological practices were systematically reconstituted within the epistemic frameworks of British imperial governance. The project engages three critical methodologies—Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s (1995) theory of historical silences, Anna Arabindan-Kesson’s (2021) analysis of material and visual culture, and Ariella Aïsha Azoulay’s (2008) conception of the photographic civil contract—to explore how colonial governance enacted not only economic dispossession but also a broader regime of epistemological violence that rendered matrilineal forms of authority and social organization illegible within dominant historical narratives. Beyond a diagnosis of silencing and domination, the research identifies alternative registers of archival documentation to challenge and subvert colonial categories that have historically effaced the agency of the Nair community, particularly matrilineal structures of governance, and illuminates the fragmented but persistent traces through which matrilineal agency endures, even in the interstices of colonial record-keeping.

Featured: Exhibition catalogue reconfiguring colonial photographs of teak extraction into visual counter-narratives that unsettle the aesthetic and epistemic orders of imperial forestry. Developed in the seminar “After Orientalism” with Dr. Mrinalini Rajagopalan (University of Pittsburgh).

Advisor: Nida Rehman

234

Graduate Programs

235

Ph.D. Independent Study

E TIVE 236

market x-change

ELEC ES

48-310 48-610

Bizarre Details: Stories of the Ordinary, the Uncanny, and the Architectural Comic

This design research seminar pinpoints the architectural and urban detail as a point of departure to understanding socio-ecological systems in the worlds around us. While the conventional “detail” in architecture and urban design normalizes professional values, we look to the mundane to nurture a critical appreciation of material culture, landscapes and people. As a research family, we dwell into theories of informality and in turn produce a series of experimentations around fabrication, aesthetics and precarities that challenge conventional architectural order in favor of storytelling, ethnographies and ecological resistances.

Through a series of tutorials, we engage in our worlds as a laboratory to develop a research project that merges design into a critical praxis around socio-ecological justice. We use this as a vehicle to uncover ideas to develop comic prototypes that aim to recalibrate the ethics of fieldwork, research and dissemination. As part of the research family we dwell with tools in animation (Photoshop, After Effects and Blender Grease Pencil), fabrication and ethnographies.

Our journey into oddities and the bizarre curates a volume of sketchbooks, mock-ups, and interactive comics.

01

Instructor: Tommy CheeMou Yang

238

Electives

Fall 2024

02

02

03

01 02 03

239

Kiki Kuang, Blender Modeling Study of Mateusz Urbanowicz Storefront Series Paul Doyle, Blender Modeling Study of Mateusz Urbanowicz Storefront Series Hua Tong, Blender Modeling Study of Mateusz Urbanowicz Storefront Series

Design Fundamentals

04

240

Kun Simon Han; Television and Gender, Comic Detail

Electives

07

05

08

06

241

05–06 Kiki Kuang; Heritage Keeping and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Comic Spread 07 Yanan Selina Zhou, Pittsburgh’s Erased Chinatown 08 Aayush Saxena, Carta de Lucido

Bizarre Details

David Vargas

Black Baseball on the Hill

I heard you play ball

Hey Josh!

Greenlee Field, destroyed in 1948, was a mecca of Black baseball in Pittsburgh. It wasn’t just a baseball stadium, it was also a celebration of Black talent, a resistance to racial segregation and a place for the Black community to enjoy an afternoon. Here, some of the greatest players in baseball history played. The construciton of the field was funded by a Black businessman, designed by a Black architect and built by Black bricklayers. This design research followed a semester of archival studies, oral histories and historical documentation. The comics explore how Greenlee Field Stadium was an epicenter for a community and its role within the long histories of racial segregation in Major League Baseball.

Featured: Black Baseball on the Hill Pg 01 (top left), Black Baseball on the Hill Pg 03 (right)

242

Electives

Great Great Nephew of of Great GreatGrand Grand Nephew Josh Gibson, Foullah Josh Gibson,Sean Sean Foullah hit his first homerun last season hit his first firstofhomerun last season hopefully many!

hopefully first of many!

243

Bizarre Details

48-313 48-613

Unreasonable Architecture: Beyond Normative Futures

In an article by U.S. architect and critic Justin Shubow (2015) entitled “Architecture Continues to Implode: More Insiders Admit the Profession Is Failing,” a strong case is made for why the architecture profession could be heading toward an impending doom. Shubow highlights the hubris of architects and the architecture profession, as well as a detachment from and disdain for society as some of the profession’s threats. He suggests that the most concerning threat to the architecture discipline is not what can replace us, but rather, our profession’s inability to entertain predictions of our demise as a plausible outcome.

Modern architectural practice continues to lose agency in the trajectory, definition and application of spatial meaning and practice, because its ideological framework is founded on the transdisciplinary production of property (or currency), fantasy, language, administration and power. In the October 2020 “on Land” issue of “The Architectural Review,” Deputy Editor Eleanor Beaumont proclaims in her editorial “Uneven Ground” that “Architects build land, not on it.”

Through this, she highlights how modern spatial practice, due to its enmeshment with colonialism, capitalism and industrialism, hinges on the practice of denying natural terrains, and hence social systems, their inherent temporal breadth (i.e., a range of meaning and evolutionary possibility).

This course makes the architectural Western canon (rather than emerging practices within it) the object of scrutiny, and derives tools that can expand knowledge frameworks to include Indigenous practices and cosmologies through transdisciplinary methods and alternative spatial language mediums.

Instructor: Tuliza Sindi. Research Assistants: Ashley Jauregui, Francesca Menendez.

244

Electives

Fall 2024

01

02

01–02 Publication “Toward an Inventory of Unreasonable Wall-Making” by Tuliza Sindi (editor) and Sanjana Bandara, Abby Feldmann, Connor Gates, Bella Salazar Harper, Max Hong, Emmaline Hubbs, Ashley Jauregui, Elizabeth Laman, Francesca Menendez, Laura Miles, Reece Posey and Henry Youngren

245

Design Ethics

48-314 48-614

Object/Noun/Verb

This course explores the craftsmanship of imaginative storytelling.

Through concurrent investigations of narrative fiction and speculative object making, this course bridges creative writing and the physical craft of making to communicate original ideas through the universal language of stories.

The building blocks of language—verbs and nouns—are the foundations of spatial experience. This nexus between language and embodied experience provides fertile opportunities to ignite the imagination. The course engages the creative process as a dialogue between thinking and making.

Students read, watch, experience and analyze exceptional stories, from literature, to science fiction, to film and television. Students make o b j e c t s a s a re s p o n s e to precedent stories and write stories as a response to given objects.

The culmination of this course asks students to craft their own short story, told through objects and language, which critically reimagines the future.

Instructor: T. Andrew Stone

246

01

Electives

Spring 2025

02

03

01 02 03

247

Tristan Hineman, The Recycling Machine J. Brody Ploeger, Cold Case Rupal Singh, License to Parent

Design Fundamentals

Suzie Liu

Orbit

As I dropped her off at day care, Nicki showed off her luggage and announced to her teacher that we were heading to Chicago tonight.

“Nicki, that’s exciting! You and Mommy?”

“Me, Mommy and Ester!”

“Who’s Ester?”

“Ester is my big sister!”

Ester. The daughter I have not seen for a while. What does she look like? I feel bad I can barely tell you. But trust me, I know everything about Ester. Nicki knows Ester too.

I tell her all about Ester. For example, Ester loves stars, much like me. You see, Ester is around, we just don’t know when we would see her.

The teacher’s sight drifted from Nicki to me, her warm smile slowly taken over by confusion. Why? Why are you looking at me like that?

“Sorry,” she replied a bit frantically, “I didn’t mean to be rude.” Oh no. Did I say that sentence out loud? “And I did not know you had another daughter,” she added hesitantly.

So I had said everything out loud. Again.

There was not much time for me to explain myself—I did not want to anyways. Usually, explaining to people about Ester turned out as a vain effort, one that only resulted in cautious questioning and concern.

I had to go to work. It was going to be a big day—or rather, a big night—at the observatory, where there awaited a conclusion I always attempted to deny.

A month ago at the observatory, we finally resumed our research on Lua. The pandemic had interrupted the research for way longer than we had expected, due to budget constraints and decreasing staff. The six-year pause left our team with a growing longing.

For me, everything around that time period was a blur. All I could remember was the initial discovery of Lua, along with fragmented memories of my pregnancy with Ester, before the pandemic broke out. It was too abrupt of a stop, after discovering a new member of the solar planet family.

“A potential new member,” as my colleague Chris would casually correct me. We all

knew there was much more testing to do before Lua’s official classification as a planet.

A patch of clear afternoon sky sat in the opening of the dome, the gigantic telescope underneath shining in its new coating of aluminum. I took as much time as I needed to wipe the photographic plate holder.

That was the final step. Later that night, our team would insert a glass plate. For Lua. The thought of that gave me a stir in my stomach. Some members seemed to have given up and moved on to other areas. But to me, the pause never felt like an abortion; I’d always known it would be resumed.

“What never felt like an abortion?”

I looked down and noticed Chris just came in.

“Oh,” I responded with embarrassment, “nothing.” Again, I was caught talking to myself out loud. Chris came to tell me there was a phone call for me from my sister Audrey, so I went to pick it up.

“If I were to get married, would you come to my wedding?”

Audrey’s opening line could no longer surprise me, nor could the fabricated casualty in her voice. This had always been the way she communicated: coating disputable announcements in ambivalent jokes so that she could throw them straight at my face. So that I would be too puzzled to make judgements.

“Nope” was my one and only response to questions of this sort, a conclusion drawn from years of trials and errors. Normally it would challenge her to say more. Though this time I was a little concerned about her getting too defensive to offer any information. There were things I needed to know.

She was actually getting married? To whom?

The guy I met once at dinner last year?

“You have to!” To my relief, she screamed with embarrassment.

Turned out it was that guy I briefly met, with whom things were always “going OK” whenever I asked her about it. The wedding was to happen at some historic lodge in suburban Chicago. In a month. “You are telling me now?”

248

Electives

249

Object/Noun/Verb

Suzie Liu

Orbit

Audrey said she picked the place because Mom was unwilling to travel too far away from home. Irrelevant to my question yet valid. Mom was aging, and we said she should travel before her mobility issues worsened, but made no progress in getting her out of the town. The small Indiana town that sat by Lake Michigan, low and quiet.

This time of the year, I could imagine the thick snow starting to melt. Or perhaps the humidity of spring had already crept up on everything. I would smell the damp earth and the fishy algae on my way to school, along the dock. Most of the days the drizzle would have stopped by late afternoon, the sky cleared into a canvas, ready for stars to crawl out the night. The town we grew up in.

The town I left, to see brighter stars.

I came to trust that Mom had a good reason for her own choice, too.

“You and Nicki, you both have to come.”

Audrey circled back to her demand.

“And Ester,” she added. An acquired sensitivity. An obligatory correction.

But hey, at least she was not questioning me.

ligation to explain her decision became an undignifying one. I could not blame her, recalling my slight relief after each of our conversations without being asked about Ester.

Or anything in my life, really.

Our team kept collecting plates for the rest of the week, only to find out none of the photos showed any clean, natural curvature.

Chris pointed out the apparent fact that Lua was full of sharp angles and dips.

“Much like asteroids,” she said. I wasn’t sure whether I needed to hear that.

I drove from day care to the observatory, thinking about Chicago tonight. Was I ready to see my family?

Later the same night, our team stared at the long-parted bright spot in the night sky, as well as the traces it made on the first photography plate. After a short excitement, confusion began to rise with the next few plates.

Through close examination, we all noticed that Lua’s contour didn’t look the way we had thought. Unlike the spherical, well-defined contours we typically associated with planets, Lua’s shape was noticeably irregular.

It was more jagged, almost distorted. The northern hemisphere appeared to bulge outwards, curving rigidly as if its body had been warped by some external force.

Our team was quieter than usual.

All the silence. The avoidance. My mind drifted to Audrey’s news from earlier. I wondered why Audrey avoided mentioning the guy. I’d love to think she was protecting me from memories of my failed marriage. Or it was her self-defense strategy. When she held back on updates for too long, the ob-

Ricky. Now I remembered the name of my soon-to-be brother-in-law. I had met him at a family dinner last year. Ricky sat down next to Audrey, across from Ester’s seat Mom had set up. He quickly glanced at the empty seat, and then everyone else at the table. I felt a sense of betrayal. The precarious actions were proof for training, for how much Audrey has shared with him about our family. About my family. About me. About Ester. Things that I found hard to get a grasp of myself, how could Audrey possibly feel capable of narrating them for me? How could Ricky feel he understood?

While we ate, Audrey and I suggested Mom visit me in Flagstaff at the observatory. Mom smiled and said she was excited to come. We knew she would not come.

I had just swallowed a mouthful of pie crust when I noticed Ricky smiling at me with a nervous anticipation. He decided to seize this opportunity for a friendly conversation.

“Has your family always lived in Arizona?”

My throat was dry. My shirt was sticky, either from the humidity in our house by the dock, or from my sweat. Mom handed me a cup of water and cheerfully answered, “Yes, both my granddaughters were born and raised in Flagstaff.”

“O-buh-ba-to-ry,” Nicki climbed onto my lap and chanted.

Audrey raised her eyes from her plate, alleviated. She suggested to Mom,

250

Electives

“What about Chicago? Much closer.”

In the past month, we shifted our research focus to Lua’s orbit. Movement could only be revealed by gathering still photographs over a period of time, and we agreed that it was worth spending at least a few weeks on.

When tracing the orbital path, I had noticed the tiny irregularities that seemed inconsequential at first, imperfections that I could rightfully dismiss as observational noise. I moved my eyes away from the wavered, slight deviations, and allowed my pencil to slide along smooth curves. I wanted to give Lua and its orbit the shape I needed it to have. “It seems to be pulled here and there,” Chris directed my vision back to the deviated spots, “by Neptune, and even by some of the larger moons and asteroids.” That was one of the many truths I was scared to hold. Lua was thrown off course from time to time by other celestial bodies. I knew, so precisely, that a planet would not yield to external forces like that.

The stir in my stomach was hitting my throat. I was not the owner of Lua or of this research. My hope did not matter. If not Chicago, should I stay at the observatory tonight? To do the one last night of imaging for Lua? “It might rain later tonight. Not sure how long it will last. Perhaps tonight won’t work.”

Chris said hesitantly as I headed out. Rain.

God, no. Especially not today. I was tired of the rain. Ester was tired of the rain. I would never forget those rainy late spring mornings of her kindergarten years, when she protested about everything. The damp bed sheets she woke up on. The soggy breakfast cereals from the cupboard. The quacky yellow rain boots I stuck her feet into. All solid arguments, honestly. Much like me, she was a sensitive kid. To get her into the car, I had to promise her a “long, long nightwalk by the dock” with a crisp, dark sky scattered with crumbs of silver, one that “only comes after the rain.”

She was a smart kid too, unfortunately—very soon I found out the trick could only be used once in a while, since that spring, it drizzled, on and off, for a straight month.

“For a straight month? When did it ever rain like that in Arizona?” Chris asked.

I stopped walking. Not again—did I just say all that out loud?

“Yes? You sure did.” She looked at me with an amused smile, “and what’s with nightwalk by the dock? What dock?”

I did not know how to answer. The dock in my hometown back in Indiana? I awkwardly turned around, and immediately felt my face lit up with a burning tangerine.

Even after so many years, I would still slip and fall into the miracle of Arizona sunset at the most unexpected moment. From here I could not see the ridges on fire or the pines dragging long shadows across the vast landscape. All I could look at, or squint at, was a patch of mid-May sunset framed by the slit in the dome. I asked myself another one of the many questions I was scared to ask.

When, I asked myself, did it ever rain like that in Arizona?

251

Object/Noun/Verb

Nicki was waiting for me at day care. She ran towards me with spotted cheeks and arms full of stickers of different shapes. We sat in the car for a moment looking out from the front window together. The sky was dipped in dark blue now, with a corner of pink dusk quickly fainting, washed away behind the distant mountains. My intuition was that the observatory would be able to operate tonight. Perhaps it would be the night to classify Lua. As a planet, though unlikely; or as an asteroid; or as another type of celestial body.

Nicki reached into her pocket and pulled out a star-shaped sticker. “For Ester,” she looked at me with anticipation. I gently squeezed her hand, then her cheeks. She was beautiful, alive. From her giggles, I was unable to tell if she detected my apologetic kind of love through the touch. Regardless, she was a happy child. A part of me might be lost, as a result of certain conclusions, but I told myself that I could hold multiple truths.

I asked, would you keep the sticker for now, Nicki? Nicki said yes. And then we drove on to the airport.

48-355

Perspective

This course emphasizes freehand drawing in general and freehand perspective technique in particular. Understandings of perspective are developed in figure drawing exercises and transferred to drawings of buildings and other architectonic objects. A key, if somewhat contradictory, objective of the course is that drawing retains a compelling gestural life even as it attains geometric control. The objective is speed and transfer of drawing skill to design.

Following a brief review of perspective construction from orthographic views at the outset of the course, we address the subject of perspective on the basis of three distinct understandings of perceptual psychology. In sequence, these are—A Kinesthetic Basis for Perspective: This work is built on the drawing pedagogy of Kimon Nicholaides. It aligns with the transactionalist understanding of perception and it considers perspective as partly invented and partly discovered truth; The Order of Appearance: This work is built on the early work of the perceptual psychologist James J. Gibson and aligns with the ecological position of Gibson and his followers. It considers perspective as an absolute truth of the visual field; Perspective Imposed: This work aligns implicitly with the position of Gestalt psychology and treats perspective as an imposed schema.

01

252

Instructor: Doug Cooper

Electives

Spring 2025

04

02

03

01 02 03 04

253

Jiapei Wang, Freehand Perspective Construction Alice Yu, Sensing and Feeling Convergence Alex Yauckoes, Imposing X,Y, Z Coordinates on Unusual Objects Alice Yu, Freehand Perspective Construction

Design Fundamentals

05

07

05

06 07 08 09 10

254

Sarah Kshetry, Imposing X, Y, Z Coordinates on Unusual Objects Kailin Chen, Imposing X, Y, Z Coordinates and Moving the Object Kailin Chen, Sensing and Feeling Convergence Jiapei Wang, Imposing X, Y, Z Coordinates on the Landscape Jiapei Wang, Imposing Planes on the Figure Kailin Chen, Imposing Perspective

06

Electives

09 16

08

255

10

Perspective

48-356

Color Drawing

This course builds knowledge and provides practice in the use of color to depict architectural surroundings. Students use media including pastels, colored sticks on white backgrounds, and watercolor.

Use of watercolor comprises the majority of the course. In the interest of speed, the principal technique used in watercolor is a moderate dry brush technique. The coursework assumes prior knowledge of linear perspective. Early exercises use restricted complementary and splitcomplementary palettes. Later work uses palettes of the student’s choosing. By the end of the course, students develop good judgement in evaluating color value and color temperature and gain confidence using watercolor.

Instructor: Doug Cooper 01

256

Alex Yauckoes, Cadmium Yellow vs.

Purple Lake + Burnt Sienna and Purple Lake + Ultramarine Blue

01

Electives

Fall 2024

02

257

Alex Yauckoes, Sap Green + Ultramarine Blue vs.

Burnt Umber + Raw Sienna

Design Fundamentals

04

03

05

06

258

Electives

08

09

07

03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

259

Zara Song, Unrestricted Palette Monica Wan, Cadmium Yellow vs. Purple Lake + Burnt Sienna and Purple Lake + Ultramarine Blue Clover Chau, Unrestricted Palette Jack Kean, Purple Lake vs. Cadmium Yellow; Sap Green + Ultramarine Blue vs.

Cadmium Orange + Burnt Sienna Eliora Kwok, Purple Lake vs. Cadmium Yellow; Sap Green + Ultramarine Blue vs.

Cadmium Orange + Burnt Sienna Eliora Kwok, Unrestricted Palette Henry Youngren, Unrestricted Palette Isabel Xu, Unrestricted Palette

10

Color Drawing

11

260

Isabel Xu, Unrestricted Palette

Electives

261

Color Drawing

48-482 48-682

Advanced Structural Design: Computational Explorations

With nearly three-quarters of a typical building’s embodied energy being attributed to its structural mass, a sustainable future of the building industry ultimately requires a drastic shift in how structural systems of buildings are designed, fabricated and 01 constructed. Architects have a fundamental role to play in a carbon-neutral future for our buildings, as they preside over most of the decisions that directly influence their structural performance as well as energy efficiency.

The ultimate goal of this course is to empower students with new computational tools for reimagining how expressive and efficient structures can be designed. While powerful digital tools allow for the creation of complex forms with unparalleled geometric flexibility, this course emphasizes using these tools to “demystify” black-box solvers and algorithms. By enhancing students’ structural intuition, the course encourages them to critically rethink and challenge the 02 prevailing “shape anything and make it work” workflow that has become standard in today’s architecture and structural engineering practices.

Instructor: Juney Lee

262

Electives

Fall 2024 This course introduces advanced topics in computational structural design and analysis. Students explore various form-finding algorithms and computational design methodologies, learning to use structural geometry as a key design driver for creating efficient and expressive forms. Key topics include: parametric structural modeling, computational structural analysis, structural optimization, and form finding.

The course is hands-on and skill-focused, organized around interactive workshops and design projects throughout the semester, each addressing specific computational tools and design objectives.

03

01–03 Hazel Froling, Darin Kim, Serena Sun & Eric Yu, Form and Force Diagrams of the Bench Structure and Robotically-Fabricated Prototype

263

Design Research

48-615

Experiments in Reuse

Circular Economy principles provide an order of preference for dealing with manufactured finite materials: 1) maintain/ prolong, 2) reuse/redistribute, 3) refurbish/remanufacture, 4) recycle, 5) energy production or sorted landfill. Following this chain of preferred use optimizes embedded carbon and honors embedded labor. Well established practices are already in place for the tails of this spectrum, so in this course we take reuse as our point of design and construction inspiration.

Students select salvaged materials from a local material reseller and experiment with material reconfigurations informed by a wide range of reuse practices: (spolia, architectural salvage, upcycling, modular spatial systems); organizations (Construction Junction, Project RE_, Doors Unhinged); and precedents (Earthships, Wallmakers, Lendager’s Resource Rows, Certain Measures’ CloudFill, the Urban Mining and Recycling (UMAR) Experimental Unit, and others). The final project includes a physical prototype accompanied by responsible material procurement plans, model specifications and instructions.

Instructor: Joshua D. Lee 01

264

Sarah Meronek, Edited Close-Up of Hanging Mosaic Tiles

Electives

01

Spring 2025

02

265

Rounak Godhkey, Down- / Re- / Upcycle

Design Research

Bella Salazar Harper

Pew -> Stool or Bench

This project began with the realization that there are many abandoned religious buildings in Pittsburgh. While some, like St. Clement’s Church in Tarentum, now an event venue called “The Clement,” have found new uses through adaptive reuse, much of their original furniture is left behind or discarded in the process.

One commonly abandoned item is the church pew. While intact pews can sometimes be salvaged and resold, those that can’t be removed in one piece are broken down into seats, backs and supports. Of these parts, the seat backs are particularly difficult to reuse.

Often made from curved composite materials, they don’t have a ready market or obvious second life.

This project reclaims these forgotten pew backs and transforms them into versatile, portable furniture, ideal for use by moving or diminished congregations. Each piece is made from a single salvaged pew back sourced from Construction Junction, using every inch of material with no waste.

The design is intentionally simple, but the construction process is intricate. Each component is carefully cut and sanded to follow the original curves, revealing new forms and signs of wear from every angle, honoring the history embedded in the material.

Featured: Abandoned Church in Pittsburgh (bottom left), Instructions for Maintaining, Re-Manufacturing and Upcycling (right)

266

Electives

267

Experiments in Reuse

48-626

Bending Active System_ Bamboo Research Pavilion Using Robotic Arm and Steam Bending

Bamboo’s heterogeneity, porosity and anisotropic properties lend unique character to its structural and constructional expression.

Composed of linear parenchyma fibers, bent bamboo guides these strands toward desired forms and stability. Its culm varies in density and diameter, and bending reorganizes fiber alignment, enabling intentional material distribution. Features like unidirectional fibers, lateral diaphragms, hollow cross sections and thin lignified walls allow for a range of cross-sectional profiles along its length.

This research leverages tooling, rapid prototyping, iterative model-making and design to explore bamboo’s full potential. By manipulating and testing variable cross sections, it investigates novel spanning systems that reveal structural performance and expressive logic rooted in the material’s intrinsic behavior.

The making process becomes a site of discovery—surfacing real-time construction challenges and unlocking new material possibilities. Hands-on engagement fosters attention to detail, improvisation, recalibration and iterative refinement.

Through this “learning by doing” approach, students gain critical insights into material behavior, tool efficiency and sustainable resource use. Prototyping encourages an understanding of joinery, form and structural logic, bridging material experimentation with architectural intent.

This work demonstrates bamboo’s potential as both a sustainable building material and driver of innovation in design and pedagogy—informing studios, electives and workshops with methods that link craft, structure and creativity.

Instructor: Vicky Achnani. Research Assistant: Myles Sampson.

268

01

Electives

Spring 2025

02

01–02 Tai Le, Module Iterations and Physical Study Model

269

Design Research

03

08

04

05

03–05 Tai Le, Process and Module Derivation 06 Lora Marks & Joane Zheng, Module 07–08 Classroom 1:1 Scale Bamboo Bending Prototype

270

Electives

06

07

08

271

Bending Active System

48-692

Shaping Daylight Through Simulation and Virtual Reality

Light profoundly shapes the way we experience space. More than just a functional element, it defines atmosphere, reveals materials, and influences comfort and well-being. This course explores how light—particularly natural light—can be thoughtfully integrated into architectural design to enhance both performance and spatial quality.

By combining analytical methods with experiential tools like virtual reality, the course examines light from multiple perspectives: as a measurable component influencing energy efficiency and as a sensory experience that enriches daily life. Daylight is a central focus, not only for its environmental benefits but for its ability to bring life and rhythm to built environments.

The course bridges technical and perceptual understandings 01 of light, encouraging designers to see it as a vital material in their creative process. It considers how light interacts with color, form and human perception, and how digital tools can support informed, responsive design decisions.

Through this lens, lighting becomes more than a design detail— it becomes a key driver of sustainable, engaging architecture.

The course invites a deeper awareness of how thoughtful lighting strategies can support health, comfort, and a sense of place.

Instructor: Azadeh O. Sawyer. Teaching Assistants: Niloofar Nikookar, Zeeshan Sheriff.

272

Electives

Spring 2025

02

04

01

03

273

Visha Ahmad & Migel Shehu, INTERSITIUM: A State Between— Exploring Virtual Reality 02 Experiencing VR Spaces 03–04 Meltem Sahin Ozkoc, BI-T-OWER

Graduate Course

Meltem Sahin Ozkoc

BI-T-OWER

This project explores hybrid lighting strategies in the underground amphitheater of the BI-T-OWER, a conceptual data center reimagined as a civic space. Designed as an extension of a 2023 B.Arch thesis, the project integrates natural and electric lighting to create a post-digital, cyber-urban atmosphere. The research focuses on optimizing visual comfort and energy efficiency through parametric ceiling design, choreographing immersive light experiences, and managing spatial orientation using responsive thermotropic glazing and RGB lighting.

To address challenges like limited sunlight, glare, and maintaining a futuristic aesthetic, the design incorporates phase-change materials, robotic spotlighting, and adaptive controls.

Simulation data is visualized in high granularity through custom CSV-based plots, enhancing semantic understanding. This multi-layered lighting solution creates a dynamic journey from natural to theatrical light, transforming the amphitheater into a responsive light instrument and elevating the spatial narrative of underground public architecture.

The immersive interior of the underground amphitheater is shaped by a ceiling of thermotropic, phase-changing modules. These elements modulate daylight and RGBintegrated electric light to create a responsive, cybernetic atmosphere. Below, an exploded axonometric diagram reveals the layered logic of the parametric slab system— merging light, form and perception.

274

Electives

275

Shaping Daylight Through Simulation and Virtual Reality

Kansateshri Megavarnan & Anisha Panesar

Lost in Translation

This project explores the emotional and cultural dimensions of daylighting through simulation and immersive virtual reality.

We chose untranslatable words from four Indian languages that reflect the quality of a space through light. Each word is translated into spatial narratives, where daylight serves as the medium of expression for these words.

The goal was to design four immersive spaces that reflect quality of light and movement in Indian vernacular buildings as the essence of these words. In “Ali Pohor” (Assamese), soft daylight filters through bamboo, warming earth floors and brass utensils. With minimal overexposure, this space balances intimacy and illumination.

“Susegad” (Goan), a word for quiet contentment, slows time. Here, light folds into lace curtains and rests in niches, creating a space that is bright but restful. “Mamiro” (Gujarati) evokes the stillness of a bhunga in Kutch. With sufficient daylight and no overexposure, the space glows gently throughout the day. A small space with small windows speaks loudly when required. “Oli” (Tamil), means a steady, sacred light. This pooja room, with moderate daylight levels, is never harsh. Instead, sunlight slips through the jaali, tracing patterns like daily rituals. Quiet, grounding and eternal. Through VR, these spaces are not just seen but felt. Light becomes language.

Found in translation.

276

Electives

277

Shaping Daylight Through Simulation and Virtual Reality

Visha Ahmad & Migel Shehu

INTERSITIUM: A State Between—Exploring Virtual Reality

Inspired by iconic movie scenes, this project explores the transformative power of daylight and artificial light in shaping indoor environments. By carefully manipulating their qualities, it seeks to evoke a distinct emotional atmosphere in each space. The result is a series of nine interconnected environments designed to evoke specific emotions. Together, they form a continuous experience, inviting spectators to move fluidly from one space to another and fully immerse themselves in a virtual reality journey.

Year 2156. A new form of intelligence has approached Earth, origin unknown and intention unreadable, but radiant with immense potential. It did not come with weapons or words, only presence. A presence that rewrote reality. From the moment it was detected, human behavior began to shift. Thought patterns unraveled and reformed. Old systems collapsed quietly, not with war, but with obsolescence. People stopped asking “What is real?” and began asking “What is next?”

You step into this in-between, not fully fiction and not fully real; a state of becoming.

The world you remember exists only in fragments. In its place, constructed memories, technological echoes, and spatial hallucinations—nine chambers of emotion, each shaped by what civilization has left behind or what may soon become. In some of these spaces, a perfect sphere floats, still and unknowable. Like the monoliths before it, it does not speak, but it changes everything. It marks you. You are not just a viewer but you are the final variable in the system. What you feel may be the only real thing left.

Featured: Section Drawing Depicting the Spatial Relationships and Connections Between the Nine Distinct Areas (bottom), Renders Images (right)

278

Electives

279

Shaping Daylight Through Simulation and Virtual Reality

48-732

Sustainable Design Synthesis

This course focuses on delivering a design-research project that integrates ecological principles into the built e nv i r o n m e n t a c r o s s multiple scales. Based on the premise that buildings, infrastructure and urban systems can function as extensions of natural ecosystems, the thesis projects aim to demonstrate design agility and creative problem-solving, integrating critical analytical, computational and research 01 skills. This serves as the culminating course for the Master of Science in Sustainable Design (MSSD) program, following the prerequisite course “48-731: MSSD Synthesis Prep.” Aligned with the program’s mission, the course advances design methodologies that incorporate multicultural and geospatial perspectives in ecological thinking, emphasizing architectural responses to climate change. It guides students in embedding dynamic bioclimatic processes into the design of constructed environments and explores climate-specific socio-ecological placemaking through the lens of computational design, environmental science, material research and advanced manufacturing.

The goal is to cultivate actionable design expertise in decarbonization and foster a comprehensive understanding of the ecological impact of the design and construction industries.

Instructors: Dana Čupková, Louis Suarez 01

280

Hetvi Shah, Aggregate Geometries of Cooling: Biomimicry Pattern Study for Passive Thermo-Regulation in Hot and Dry Climate

Electives

Spring 2025

02

02

281

Gabrielle Benson, How Crochet Can Shade Cities: Deploying Community Textile Arts to Mitigate Urban Heat Island Effect

Graduate Course

Gabrielle Benson

How Crochet Can Shade Cities: Deploying Community Textile Arts to Mitigate Urban Heat Island Effect This research explores how local communities, specifically those involved in textile crafts like crochet, can contribute to the creation of effective, affordable and aesthetically compelling shading devices that reflect their own cultural identities. The study involves both physical and digital simulation to quantify the shading capabilities of crocheted textiles in daylighting conditions, comparing small-scale physical swatches with large-scale digital aggregations to simulate the performance of full-scale shading systems.

Situated at the intersection of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect and adaptive shading systems, this study draws on local crochet craft traditions. The UHI Effect refers to the increase in surface temperatures predominantly found in urban areas, resulting from a combination of factors. With the lack of green space and foliage typical of rural environments, urban streetscapes often lack sufficient shading to reduce ground temperatures during summer months. While large-scale urban interventions, such as expanding vegetated areas, increasing the reflectivity of pavements and rooftops, or installing permanent shading structures, can mitigate the UHI Effect, these approaches are frequently costly, disruptive during construction, and typically implemented through top-down processes by local governments.

Featured: Matrix of Digitized Handmade Crochet Pattern Swatches with Simulated Shading Capacity and Examples of Their Deployment

Advisors: Dana Čupková, Louis Suarez.

Co-Advisors: Vernelle A. A. Noel, Azadeh O. Sawyer.

282

Electives

Yin Chen

Multimodal Machine Learning for Structural Damage Detection: Integrating Visual and Vibration Data

Structural health monitoring (SHM) for infrastructure requires the reliable detection of both surface-level and internal defects, a challenge that is not fully met by single-modality approaches. This study addresses that gap by integrating visual and vibration data through a multimodal machine learning framework. The proposed approach utilizes a two-branch deep neural network that processes images for surface damage and acceleration time-series signals for internal hidden damage in parallel. The extracted features are fused with an attention-based mechanism, allowing the model to capture complementary information from each modality. This multimodal approach is designed to overcome the limitations of vision-only or vibration-only inspection, providing a more comprehensive and robust damage identification system. The proposed model is evaluated on a laboratory-scale concrete panel instrumented with a camera and accelerometers under varied damage scenarios, including cracks visible on the surface and subsurface defects undetectable by vision alone. The multimodal model consistently outperforms single-modality baselines. The result confirms that fusing visual and vibration modalities yields significantly more accurate and reliable damage detection than either modality alone. This highlights the value of multimodal learning in SHM, as the integrated approach can identify a broader range of structural damage with greater reliability than traditional single-sensor methods.

Featured: Methodology Diagram of Vibration and Visual Data Training for Improved Fusion Mechanism

Advisors: Dana Čupková, Louis Suarez. Co-Advisors: Juney Lee, Kenji Shimada.

283

Sustainable Design Synthesis

Hannah Haytko-DeSalvo

Bacterial Concrete Healing Patterns: Low-Impact Form Logics for Long-Term Maintenance and Repair of Concrete Paneling

This research investigates shaping strategies for bacterial, or self-healing, concrete— a material that activates internal calcification when exposed to air and water, effectively sealing cracks and extending the lifespan of structures. With lower embodied energy compared to traditional concrete, bacterial concrete offers a promising path toward more sustainable construction. The study explores low-impact casting methods using reusable sand and rubble-based formwork, examining how different shaping strategies influence material strength, maintenance requirements, and life-cycle assessment (LCA) outcomes.

By integrating design intent with material behavior, the research highlights how form can play a critical role in optimizing both performance and aesthetics. Findings show that pairing bacterial concrete with carefully considered geometries at specific scales not only enhances durability but also embraces weathering as both an aesthetic and functional asset. Cracking, traditionally viewed as a flaw, becomes an active part of the design— anticipated and remediated through biological processes. In doing so, the project challenges conventional perceptions of material aging and opens new possibilities for sustainable, low-maintenance architecture. This work positions bacterial concrete as a smart, adaptive material that reshapes our understanding of durability, decay and the expressive potential of time in the built environment.

Featured: Panel Crack Pattern Analysis and Bacterial Concrete Panels

Advisors: Dana Čupková, Louis Suarez. Co-Advisors: Stephen R. Lee, Robert Heard, Brian Belowich.

284

Electives

Khevna Modi

School of Architecture | Carnegie Mellon Univer Barrier islands protect coasts from storm surges and sea level rise, yet they are vulnerable to climate impacts. Restoration methods like offshore sediment placement, sand traps, plantings and breakwaters are often carbon-intensive and fail to accommodate dynamic systems.

Back-barrier Marsh This research proposes regenerative terrain manipulation strategies to guide sediment Strategy: 3-Legged Dune Module transport and reduce erosion, enhancing the long-term resilience of the Chandeleur Module Rotation Angle – 90° Islands.

Drawing from principles of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP), the project explores MICP-based bio-stabilization to support natural recovery and adaptation.

A mixed-methods framework combines historical and geomorphological analysis, GIS-based assessments, and parametric terrain modeling using the Docofossor plugin.

Physical sand bed tests simulate wave action on various MICP-guided dune configurations, and depth mapping evaluates sediment deposition and erosion. Larger-scale wind simulations using DuneWorm analyze sediment transport patterns. The results identify a three-pronged manipulation pattern as the most effective low-carbon, adaptive strategy for restoring barrier islands. Integrating ecological processes, geomorphology, and computational design presents scalable, climate-responsive solutions for coastal resilience.

Featured: Mixed-Methods Experiment Development, Physical Sand Bed Simulation, Image Depth Mapping, CFD Simulation, Depth-Map Modeling and Visualization Back-barrier Marsh

Barrier Headland

Back-barrier Marsh

48732 | MSSD: Sustainable Design Synthesis | Tutors: Dana Cupkova, Louis Suarez

Back-barrier Marsh

Barrier Headland

Back-barrier Marsh

Scou

Scou

METHODOLOGY

LITERATURE REVIEW

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

IMPACT BACKGROUND

RESULTS

METHODOLOGY

LITERATURE REVIEW

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

BACKGROUND

48732 | MSSD: Sustainable Design Synthesis | Tutors: Dana Cupkova, Louis Suarez

Regenerative Terrain Strategies for Barrier Island Resilience: MICP-informed Sedimentation Approach to Louisiana’s Chandeleur Islands

Scouring Pattern between 1st and 10th Flush Scouring Pattern after 10st Flush

Advisors: Dana Čupková, Louis Suarez. Co-advisor: Christine Mondor.

285

Sustainable Design Synthesis

2

Manya Sharma

Strategies for Effective Nature-Based Solutions to Mitigate Urban Heat Island in Delhi: An ENVI-met Based Simulation Study

Rapid urbanization in Delhi has intensified the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect, where built environments register higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. The reduction of green spaces and expansion of impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt contribute to trapped heat and diminished natural cooling. This exacerbates environmental degradation and heightens health risks for vulnerable populations— especially children, the elderly and low-income communities—during extreme heat events and prolonged exposure.

Although many studies in Delhi have documented temperature patterns and contributing factors, few offer actionable, design-based strategies at the urban scale.

This research addresses that gap by evaluating biomass integration techniques— green roofs, green walls, tree canopies and planting strips—as design interventions to mitigate UHI effects. The study follows a three-phase, simulation-based methodology. Phase one involved GIS analysis to identify Sadar Bazaar as a representative urban test site. In phase two, selected biomass strategies were modeled using ENVI-met software. Phase three conducted comparative simulations between existing and biomass-optimized scenarios, analyzing urban air temperature, surface temperature, and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). Results indicate that targeted biomass integration leads to substantial thermal reductions, validating its effectiveness as a mitigation strategy for UHI in Delhi’s dense urban context and future planning efforts.

Featured: Methodology Diagram and Urban Surface Temperature Simulation Maps

Advisors: Dana Čupková, Louis Suarez. Co-Advisor: Suzy Li.

286

Electives

Miaoyang Ye

Data-Driven and NLP-Based Structuring of Recommendation Framework for Urban Flooding Mitigation

With rapid urbanization and climate change, urban flooding has become a critical challenge for cities worldwide. This research aims to learn from existing case studies and apply machine learning techniques to simplify the search and adaptability of these cases to current events. While current flood management strategies focus on hazard modeling and impact assessment using GIS, Remote Sensing (RS) data, and historical flood records, casebased flood management data remains largely underutilized. The unstructured nature of case studies further limits systematic analysis of past mitigation strategies. To address this gap, this study develops a data-driven framework that leverages case-based data to provide targeted flood mitigation solutions. Applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML), the framework structures textual case data to enable more efficient retrieval and comparison of adaptive strategies. Site condition embeddings are generated using various pre-trained language models, with the BGE model selected based on performance. Recommendation accuracy is further improved by combining semantic retrieval with traditional BM25 keyword matching and rule-based filters, such as climate zone classification. The resulting decision-support framework assists planners and policymakers in identifying and implementing adaptive flood solutions early in the planning process. Beyond retrieving relevant cases, the framework synthesizes strategies into categorized types, improving flood mitigation decision-making and promoting sustainable urban development.

Featured: Methodology Diagram and Accuracy Comparison of Applied ML Models

Advisors: Dana Čupková, Louis Suarez. Co-Advisor: Stephen R. Lee.

287

Sustainable Design Synthesis

Hetvi Shah

Aggregate Geometries of Cooling: Biomimicry Pattern Study for Passive ThermoRegulation in Hot and Dry Climate

Rising global temperatures and severe heat events, driven by greenhouse gas emissions, pose serious risks to climate-vulnerable populations such as the elderly, low-income communities, and outdoor workers. Conventional cooling methods like air conditioning are energy-intensive and contribute to climate change, while large-scale green infrastructure remains inaccessible in many low-resource settings. There is an urgent need for expanding the framework of passive cooling strategies to ensure equitable access to climate resilience. This research turns to biomimicry for solutions, drawing from nature’s ability to regulate temperature with limited resources and adaptive forms. Rather than mimicking isolated biological features, the study explores how natural systems manage thermal stress through global geometry and surface texture. The saguaro cactus, for example, minimizes solar heat gain and enhances airflow through its ribbed form and spines, offering a model for passive cooling strategies in harsh climates. Using Phoenix, Ariz., as a test site, the study develops and evaluates a range of architectural surface strategies that manipulate form and texture to improve outdoor thermal comfort. Simulations of direct solar radiation (ClimateStudio) and airflow modulation (SimScale) are conducted under consistent environmental conditions to assess effectiveness. The results are demonstrated through a full-scale shading device prototype, illustrating how biomimetic geometries can be translated into effective, practical and scalable interventions for creating cooler microclimates in unconditioned urban environments.

Featured: Environmental Solar and CFD Simulation Framework Integrated Into a Pavilion Form

Advisors: Dana Čupková, Louis Suarez

288

Theses & Dissertations

289

Sustainable Design Synthesis

Huawei Yu

Smart Energy Forecasting in Buildings: Principal Variate Selection Approach for LSTM Models

Accurate building load forecasting enhances energy efficiency in smart construction and facility management. Deep learning models like long short-term memory (LSTM) networks capture complex patterns, but their performance depends on input quality. This research presents a Principal Variate Selection (PVS) pipeline using Bayesian Optimization to identify the optimal feature subset for multivariate LSTM models. While multivariate models often outperform univariate ones, using all features can increase computational costs and reduce accuracy. Our approach improves prediction over univariate baselines while reducing input dimensionality, enhancing both accuracy and training efficiency. It’s ideal for scenarios with limited or costly data acquisition, like early-stage smart building or resource-constrained projects. By optimizing data collection and reducing input complexity, the pipeline delivers actionable insights for more precise, reliable load forecasts—improving prediction quality and minimizing energy waste for smarter, more sustainable energy management.

Featured: Methods and Approach Pipeline for Multivariate LSTM Energy Load Forecasting

Advisors: Dana Čupková, Stephen R. Lee, Louis Suarez. Co-Advisors: Jinzhao Tian, Yunyang Ye.

290

Electives

Jill Zhuang

The Dimension of the Boundary: Exploring Fiber 3D Printing, Dynamic Elasticity, and Fractal Structures in Material Design for MultiFrequency Noise Absorption

3D-printed fabrics represent a novel convergence of material science, computational design and advanced manufacturing. This study investigates the potential of 3D printing on textiles to achieve adaptive stiffness, tensile strength and elasticity, expanding possibilities for acoustic applications. It engages with the ecological concept of acoustic adaptation in relation to human comfort and explores low-impact architectural materials for spatial sound treatment.The research focuses on integrating fractal-based geometries and natural branching principles into the 3D printing process to optimize fabric performance for both formability and sound absorption. Through the application of mathematical sequences and fractal-generated patterns, the study enhances the directional elasticity and structural variability of printed textiles. A primary objective is to evaluate how variations in material properties, geometric deformation, and stiffness influence multi-frequency sound absorption.

By adjusting displacement scales, amplitude, and material thickness, the project explores how 3D-printed textiles can be engineered to absorb a broad spectrum of frequencies.

The ability to tune material stiffness and elasticity offers new potential for expanding acoustic performance across periodic sound ranges. The findings point to scalable strategies for noise reduction, acoustic regulation, and architectural soundproofing using lightweight, adaptable and environmentally responsive materials.

Featured: Process of Sound Wave Extraction and Transfer Print Patterns

Advisors: Dana Čupková, Louis Suarez. Co-Advisors: Jim McCann, Yue Xu.

291

Sustainable Design Synthesis

48-763

Protean Systems: Sustainable Solutions for Uncertain Futures

Uncertainty perpetually plagues the built environment. The inability of our buildings and cities to adapt to shifting circumstances has led to an enormous amount of waste. This course explores various types and scales of change. Students review various concepts, including mass customization, computationally responsive environments and facades, open building, shearing layers of change, adaptive reuse, metabolism, persistence, preservation, circular economy, design for deconstruction and reuse (DfD+R), and repair/maintenance. To deepen their understanding of these concepts, students present group case studies weekly and apply their understanding of the concepts to either a design exercise or the development of a detailed individual case study report.

In this course, students com- 01 pare the many ways that architects have attempted to deal with change in the past. They analyze the effectiveness of specific precedents over time and diagram how anticipated and unanticipated forces of change impact architecture in order to inform the design of their own innovative protean solutions.

Instructor: Joshua D. Lee

292

02

Electives

Fall 2024

03

04

05

01–02 Hannah Haytko-DeSalvo, Upham’s Corner Library-Revisited’s Proposed Plans 03–04 Hannah Haytko-DeSalvo, Upham’s Corner Library-Revisited’s Prototype Axonometric 05 Hannah Haytko-DeSalvo, Upham’s Corner Library-Revisited’s Systems Diagram

293

Graduate Course

Aakash Vipparla

The Cocoon: A Sustainable Living Solution for Urban Challenges

Set in Mumbai, one of the world’s most densely populated cities, this project addresses critical urban challenges such as space scarcity, waterlogging due to monsoons and strained drainage systems, and the erosion of community life caused by poor work-life balance.

This innovative project integrates four key sustainable and future-proof strategies— open building, design for disassembly, resilience to flooding, and mass customization— to redefine urban living. The design emphasizes spatial flexibility through modular configurations, enabling adaptability to changing needs. A buoyant foundation mitigates waterlogging risks, ensuring resilience against flooding. Mass customization allows personalized yet efficient solutions, while open building principles foster community interaction and shared spaces. The project also explores advanced material applications and transportable modules to ensure longevity and scalability. Addressing environmental, social, and spatial challenges holistically, The Cocoon offers a transformative model for sustainable urban living that can be adapted to similar high-density contexts globally.

Featured: Cocoon as Village and Buoyancy Strategy (bottom), Cocoon Layers (right)

294

Electives

295

Protean Systems

62-315 62-715

Shaping Environments: Experiments in Geometry and (Waste)Matter

This seminar explores alternative material formations beyond our petrochemical reality. At the intersection of matter, environment, form and advanced manufacturing, the course investigates new techno-ecological imaginaries through prototyping. We seek resilient material systems in which architectural forms participate in self-care while remaining entangled with local ecologies.

Waste streams constitute the only responsible material resource. As of 2020, humanity officially became the maker of the planet. According to “Scientific 01 American,” all human-made objects now outweigh the total biomass of all living organisms. This raises profound questions about the future of architecture. Continued accumulation of synthetic matter leaves an irreversible footprint, contributing to an ossified landscape. In the 19th century, materials like food waste, blood, clay and sawdust were commonly remixed into new material cultures. Today, this practice has evolved into an absolute necessity.

In this course, students explore biosynthetic approaches to material circularity, rethinking aesthetics and technological strategies for reusing waste. The class introduces design processes in which the system’s ecological performance underpins the creative exploration of organization and form. Projects emphasize ecological thinking and environmental stewardship through prototyping.

Instructor: Dana Čupková. Teaching/Research Assistants: Jil Berenblum, Adrienne Hin To Luk, Taehyun Lim. 01

296

Kimberly Blacutt, Audrey Reiley & Jessica Wu, AlgieChain

Electives

Fall 2024

02

297

Nirmal Kumarasamy, Abirami Periakaruppan, Rohith Saravanan & Zeeshan Sheriff, AgroForm

Design Research

03

298

Khevna Modi, Ella Moon & Vaibhav Panchali, Eco-Shield

Electives

04

05

06

07

04 05 06 07

299

Khevna Modi, Ella Moon & Vaibhav Panchal, Eco-Shield Riddhi Gugale, Tejal Kotkar & Sparsha Reddy Kotha, Mycohabitat Kimberly Blacutt, Audrey Reiley & Jessica Wu, AlgieFold Kimberly Blacutt, Audrey Reiley & Jessica Wu, AlgieChain

Shaping Environments

Tobi Aina, Kimberly Blacutt, Audrey Reiley & Jessica Wu

Stained Glass Bioplastics: Repurposing Invasive Species and Food Waste

This project investigates the repurposing of invasive species—such as Japanese knotweed and spirulina algae—into ecologically attuned biomaterials. Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), once introduced as a hardy ornamental plant, is now one of the world’s most invasive species. Its rapid growth, deep root systems, and lack of natural predators make it highly resistant to conventional control methods such as herbicide spraying, excavation and biocontrols. In contrast, spirulina (Arthrospira platensis), primarily known as a food source, has only recently gained attention for its potential in biomaterial applications.

While invasive species pose significant ecological threats, their removal offers environmental benefits and new possibilities for material reuse. Initial experiments focused on spirulina-based bioplastic panels with a stained-glass-like appearance. The palette later expanded to include pigments from red cabbage and beet. These bioplastics are cast into laser-cut knotweed sheets or transformed into fibrous composites and cork-like bricks.

By integrating ecological restoration with material design, this research explores the aesthetic potential of regenerative practices and reimagines invasive species as valuable resources. Our work combines hands-on material experimentation and iterative prototyping to develop a new material language grounded in ecological responsiveness and design innovation.

Featured: Laser-Cut Japanese Knotweed Pattern (bottom), Installation with Cast Bioplastics (right)

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Shaping Environments

Nirmal Kumarasamy, Abirami Periakaruppan, Rohith Saravanan & Zeeshan Sheriff

AgroForm

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Artificial (and Othered) Intelligences Psychologist Howard Gardner famously argued that intelligence should be thought of in the plural: intelligences. Beyond the eight intelligences he identifies, architects and designers leverage many more forms of intelligences and wisdoms in their practices and ways of being: from material intelligences, Indigenous, mythological, and more-than-human, just to name a few.

As wicked problems become increasingly evident, those in the discipline are required to operate once more within multidisciplinary modes of cognition, toward deriving appropriate articulations of and engagement with the most critical spatial and design questions of our time.

Carnegie Mellon’s history of groundbreaking development in artificial intelligence grounded Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s 202425 public programs, which invited architects, scholars, designers and artists to think about evolving ideas of intelligences in their work, and their resultant tools of thinking and practice. Guests confronted both the opportunities and blind spots that come with innovation, and the frictions that arise when a multiplicity of intelligences attempt to co-exist within conditions of precarity.

The public lectures and workshops explored how interdependent views across intelligences might best serve our complex futures, asking: how should we be rethinking our processes alongside the multiplicity of intelligences that are needed to address global challenges, and where/how can artificial intelligence be most ideally positioned?

Lecture by Nathalie de Vries, co-founder of MVRDV on Nov. 14, 2024. Photo: Abraham Aldaraca of Lenz Fotos (left). Tatiana Bilbao Estudio’s “City of Rooms” exhibition launch day on Sept. 21, 2024. Photo: Isabel Xu (right).

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FALL 2024 Tatiana Bilbao Estudio—City of Rooms Exhibition Launch ● September 21, 2024 “City of Rooms” was Tatiana Bilbao Estudio’s immersive exhibition focused on domesticity, communal space and urban living. The exhibition ran from September 21, 2024 to June 15, 2025.

The corresponding events for the exhibition were co-hosted in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s Remaking Cities Institute (RCI) and the Carnegie Museum of Art (CMoA).

Zenna Tavares—Imagining Possible Worlds ● Lecture ● October 24, 2024 DES[AI]GN—Artificial Intelligence In Architecture ● 2024 AIAS Northeast Quad Conference Host ● October 31 to November 3, 2024 Carnegie Mellon is the place where artificial intelligence (AI) was invented more than half a century ago, giving us an obligation to explore and expand its new frontiers.

By highlighting the intersection of AI and architecture, this event delved into how AI is reshaping the design process, urban planning, and construction practices, ultimately influencing the architectural renaissance of Pittsburgh and beyond.

Anu Mridul—Architecture for Securing Water in Drylands: Invoking the Traditional Knowledge System

Karla Saldaña Ochoa—Distancing from the Curve: Joining Humans and Artificial Intelligence to Articulate Instruments for Design ● Lecture ● September 26, 2024 Karla Saldaña Ochoa—Teaching/ Learning/Inference: A ML Navigation Instrument for Big Data in Large-Scale Projects ● Workshop ● September 27, 2024 Paul Pangaro—#NewMacy In-Person Conversations ● Symposium series ● September 27, October 18, and November 15, 2024 “We work to build new vocabularies of practice that transpose what we take for granted into actionable directions for improving lives. This starts with the radically simple question: What if things were otherwise?”

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● Lecture ● November 7, 2024 Anu Mridul—Reimagining Historical Water Systems for Future Resilience Workshop ● November 8, 2024 Nathalie De Vries—Recent Works ● William Finglass lecture ● November 14, 2024 Delbert Highlands Travel Scholarship Awardee Presentations & Panel Discussion Moderated by Doug Cooper ● 2024 awardee Susie Kim (B.Arch ’23): Hiroshima as Tabular Rasa: A New Modern Urban Ethos in Response to Crisis and Uncertainty ● 2022 awardee Carter Nelson (B.Arch ’17): Dovecotes of Tinos ● 2020 awardee Michael Baker (B.Arch ’05): The Churches of Chiloé and the Jesuit “Circular Mission” ● November 21, 2024 The Delbert Highlands Travel Fellowship supports Carnegie Mellon Architecture alumni in the study of

collections belonging to locales.

Three past awardees presented their research and took part in a moderated talk about how different forms of intelligences are defined in the locales they visited, and what their resultant vocabularies, methods and modes of practice across those different cultures and geographies might be.

Ilmar Hurkxkens—Waiting for Landscape Architecture: Bridging Design and Continuous Adaptation ● Lecture ● December 5, 2024

SPRING 2025 George Guida—Towards a New AI Architecture: Future of Practice ● Lecture ● January 23, 2025 George Guida—AI + Architecture: Gaining Control with Generative AI Models ● Workshop ● January 24, 2025 Vernelle A. A. Noel (Co-Editor)— Critical Computational Relations in Design, Architecture and the Built Environment

Lillian-Yvonne Bertram & Nick Montfort (Co-Editors)—Ars Combinatoria: A Generative Poetics ● Workshop ● February 24, 2025 Output: An Anthology Of ComputerGenerated Text, 1953-2023 ● Book launch ● February 24, 2025 An anthology of seven decades of English-language outputs from computer generation systems, chronicling the vast history of machine-written texts created long before ChatGPT. Anna Puigjaner—From the Kitchen to Collective Care ● Open lecture and gallery walkabout ● February 27, 2025 This William Finglass open lecture and closed gallery walkabout accompanied the Carnegie Museum of Art (CMoA) exhibition “Tatiana Bilbao Estudio: City of Rooms.”

The event was co-hosted in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s Remaking Cities Institute (RCI).

Chatpong Chuenrudeemol—(Re)Defining the Pedigree of Design ● Lecture ● March 17, 2025

● Book launch ● January 30, 2025 This book delves into the power relations between computational practices, technology infrastructures, knowledge and their reproductions of bias in design at multiple scales.

It provides critical perspectives and insights on how computation intersects with architecture, design, the built environment and society.

Sandra Manninger—Co-Creation and Design in the Age of Distributed Intelligence ● Lecture ● February 6, 2025

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Ingrid Mayrhofer-Hufnagl—AI ⊂ IA: Machines and Intelligent Artifacts ● Lecture ● March 27, 2025 Datasets and Design: Exploring Bias and Creativity ● Workshop ● March 28, 2025 Michael Maltzan—From the Bedroom to Social Infrastructure ● Open lecture and gallery walkabout ● April 7, 2025 This William Finglass open lecture and closed gallery walkabout accompanied the Carnegie Museum of Art (CMoA) exhibition “Tatiana Bilbao Estudio: City of Rooms.”

The event was co-hosted in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s Remaking Cities Institute (RCI).

Misri Patel—Critical Computation: Catechizing Craft and Paradoxes of High-Tech ● Lecture, followed by exhibition launch of the same name ● April 17, 2025

SUMMER 2025 Playing Models Symposium: Artificial Intelligence, Architecture Storytelling ● AI Symposium in collaboration with the University of Florida, Digital Architectonics at ETH Zurich, and Carnegie Mellon Architecture ● August 13-14, 2025 Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s Public Programs are organized by Tuliza Sindi, Curator for Public Programs and Director of Publications, in consultation with a faculty-student committee. The 2024-25 Public Programs Committee included: Jared Abraham, Niloufar Alenjery, Sarosh Anklesaria, Mary-Lou Arscott, Christi Danner, Matthew Huber, Meredith Marsh, Vernelle A. A. Noel and Tommy CheeMou Yang.

Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s Public Programs series is generously sponsored by the Alan H. Rider Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in Architecture Fund, the William Finglass Practice Lecture Series Fund, and the Hans Vetter Memorial Lecture Fund.

Q&A session with Thai architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol after his Mar. 17, 2025, public lecture. Photo: Jason Asiedu (left). Michael Maltzan, in conversation with Stefan Gruber and Sarosh Anklesaria at the Carnegie Museum of Art, around the “City of Rooms” exhibition by Tatiana Bilbao Estudio on Apr. 7, 2025. Photo: Isabel Xu (right).

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Retiring: Mary-Lou Arscott

This year we are bidding farewell to Associate Studio Professor MaryLou Arscott, who is retiring. Mary-Lou joined CMU in 2007 and served as a studio faculty member, an Associate Head and over the past four years the Associate Head for Design Fundamentals. She has been the welcoming face of our Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program since she started coordinating the first year studio. That seminal

Mary-Lou Arscott was honored at this year's Architecture diploma ceremony and given a Herman Miller Eames chair as a gift.

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studio, “Critical Cyborg,” introduced many students to the discipline of architecture and laid out a few important principles that students should abide by in their studio education. These were the following: ● Keep your mind open as there is no right or wrong answer. ● Craft, develop practical skills, practice new techniques, respect the materials, tools, matrix, media and methodologies. ● Be inventive and try to confound conventional default constraints. ● Communicate through formal composition and in abstract ways. Keep pace with this by developing skills with visual language and verbal expression. ● Develop criticality, become able and adept at asking good questions. ● Practice fluent cycling through translations from material realm to virtual worlds and to drawn propositions.

Mary-Lou’s teaching aimed to expand the limits of architecture.

It challenged students to reflect on the architect's responsibility within a complex world of multiple demands. Students were introduced to ideas from the arts and humanities to critically engage their work and develop their aesthetic and ethical positions. She did this with incredible empathy and a bit of mischief. Under her tutelage students discovered their design voices and courage to challenge orthodoxy. She championed the undergraduate thesis as a vehicle for students to develop very personal work. The last three years of her tenure witnessed the production of incredible undergraduate theses at the school. They have demonstrated the independence of thought and inventiveness that Mary-Lou hoped to inculcate in her first year studio. We will miss her and thank her for her dedication to the students and school.

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Curator for Public Programs and Director of Publications at Carnegie Mellon Architecture After conducting an international search, Carnegie Mellon Architecture is pleased to announce Tuliza Sindi as the new Curator for Public Programs and Director of Publications. Tuliza is a South African architecture educator, researcher, practitioner and curator. She founded the graduate design-research studio Unit 19 (2020-22) at the University of Johannesburg’s Graduate School of Architecture (GSA) and most recently held the 2023-25 Ann Kalla Professorship in Architecture at Carnegie Mellon Architecture.

In 2022, she co-founded cross-disciplinary architecture collective room19isaFactory. with three Unit 19 graduates. Through the practice she terms “Unreasonable Architecture,” she explores ways to suspend design approaches to “land” as defined by the cosmologies of modern reason, chronopolitics and property regimes, through the view of architecture as cosmological wall-making.

As Curator for Public Programs and Director of Publications at Carnegie Mellon Architecture, Tuliza will plan and execute the school’s annual Public Programs series in collaboration with faculty, staff and students. She will also be responsible for the “EX-CHANGE” (now “x-change”) publication and exhibition, an annual event that highlights the work of students across our programs. Finally, Tuliza will develop publications that share the school’s research and student work more widely and will lead the discourse in areas related to our schools pedagogical focus on climate change, artificial intelligence and social justice.

Tuliza aims to position Carnegie Mellon Architecture as a contributor to architectural discourse and an instigator of ideas and futures, to carve new trajectories that respond to the most prescient challenges of our time.

Tuliza believes the school’s public programs and publications can meet any global or local moment, acting as a mediator unconstrained by the mandates of curricula or practice. “The vehicle affords us the capacity for radical discursive and polemic pursuit, where historical and theoretical groundwork can be set, ground-breaking methods uncovered, declared, interrogated and incubated through interdisciplinary means, and where innovative practitioners and firms can be platformed to introduce a new generation of pioneers and radical thinkers.”

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“As the birthplace of artificial intelligence and an ongoing contributor to warfare intelligence technologies, CMU fills a complex but intellectually productive role in the collective consciousness of the U.S. and the world,” Tuliza outlines. “Ideas of ‘intelligence’ remain rooted in politicized meaning, as its definitional foundations paved the view of the modern world and its racialized participants through determinations of which humans have the capacity for modern reason (i.e., humanitas) and which do not (i.e., anthropos, or approximating to human). As we see ideas of intelligence continually ascribed to inanimate objects, it resurfaces ongoing questions around what and who is human, and what systems and corresponding worlds we are doomed to repeat as confirmations of what we constructed as universal beliefs.”

She continues, “Through Public Programs, we position our discursive provocations ‘Between Intelligences.’ Modernity, as a hegemonic, totalizing and seemingly universal, transcultural and transhistorical framework of belief, negates other modes of intelligences, as it is unable to co-exist with them. To approach ideas between varying cosmological and definitional frameworks of intelligences is to attempt to destabilize modernity’s totalizing posture. As we transition from modes of practices that no longer serve us into new ones, we lie between disciplines, specializations, knowledge systems and futures as we uncover the new modes of practices that lie before us; even the ones not yet conceived.”

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Introducing: Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s in otherwards Imprint Mission Statement There are architectures we dream up, architectures we perform, and architectures we inherit in the dark. Some are poured in concrete, while others get whispered through prayer, exile and survival.

CM-A’s in otherwards Imprint is born not only to echo or be in conversation with the canon, but to invigorate it anew: with language, story and memory of what blueprints are not always able to draw. in otherwards publishes what does not translate neatly, what moves between cosmologies, and what stays with the land, even as the map forgets it. We don’t treat architecture as just material.

We also know it as myth. As technology. As a tool. As imposition.

As the scaffolding of empire. As lullaby. As pilgrimage. As policy.

As the way a people speak to their ancestors.

We explore vocabularies that hold contradiction, history, myth, refusal and futures all at once, as they don’t pass through dominant filters smoothly or intact. These such vocabularies don’t seek permission, and their grammars don’t ask to be standardized. These are

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the grammars of migration, the poetics of refusal, and the relational cosmologies that resist both abstraction and extraction. in otherwards persists toward unimagined futures.

We publish to build new questions.

We publish to unbuild the universal.

We publish otherwise.

Editorial Framework CM-A’s in otherwards Imprint operates through a tripartite structure that serves different timescales, audiences and forms of knowledge: ● CM-A in otherwards: Books—Includes long-form research books, critical monographs, essay collections, academic journals, and the school’s annual publication of student work, with the intent to produce rigorous, original and expansive architectural research that reframes the boundaries of architectural practice, theory and pedagogy. This focus provides a platform for extended thinking and critical scholarship to build discourse over time and cement the school’s intellectual legacy. ● CM-A in otherwards: Folios—Includes project-based research from faculty, labs/centers/institutes, and courses, with the intent to document and amplify the design research, material experiments, and speculative practices developed by faculty and students. This focus establishes a systematized and unified language and adaptive format that tracks the pulse of everyday research inside the school, offering glimpses into architectural thinking-in-process, toward broader discursive visibility. ● CM-A in otherwards: Broadsheets—Includes Public Programs event documentation, with the intent to capture the school’s public-facing discourse and extend these ephemeral events into enduring and generative provocations. This focus brings the school’s voice to the broader public imagination by publishing fast turnaround, slight footprint print formats that intervene in public and academic spaces alike.

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SEPTEMBER Vernelle A. A. Noel and Tommy CheeMou Yang’s panel, “Embodied Knowledge(s), Technological Distancing, and Experience,” was accepted for the 4S 2025 “Reverberations” conference taking place September 3-7, 2025 in Seattle.

Daniel Cardoso Llach is the recipient of a yearlong Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation fellowship to research computational design practices in Germany. Daniel was hosted by the Institute for History and Theory and Architecture at Leibniz University in Hanover and collaborated with colleagues in Stuttgart, Munich and Berlin.

Daniel Cardoso Llach delivered a lecture on September 24, at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, entitled “The Agencies, Interfaces, and Metaphors of Design Machines.” The talk explored the concept of “critical technical practice” and featured recent research developed at CM-A’s Computational Design Laboratory (CodeLab).

Nida Rehman was a visiting scholar at the Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys) at Humboldt University, Berlin during the 2024-25 academic year.

Morgan Newman (PhD-Arch candidate) completed a six-week research placement at Forensic Architecture, London, U.K., where she worked on two research projects and gave a talk about her dissertation research to the organization.

Azadeh O. Sawyer was selected to serve as a juror for the AIA Dallas Design Awards alongside fellow jurors Neil Denari and Andrew McGee.

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Azadeh O. Sawyer gave a presentation titled “Intersection” as part of the Texas A&M Department of Architecture Lecture Series.

Niloofar Nikookar, Azadeh O. Sawyer, Mayank Goel (HCII) and Siobhan Rockcastle (University of Oregon) published a paper, “Investigating the Impact of Combined Daylight and Electric Light on Human Perception of Indoor Space,” in the “Journal of Sustainability.”

Sarosh Anklesaria’s forthcoming book, “Building and Unbuilding the City Museum” was approved to advance to publication. The book is co-edited

by Anklesaria and Lily Chi (Cornell).

The project is supported by the PJ Dick Innovation Fund at CM-A. Research from the Master of Urban Design studio “Commoning the City,” led

by Stefan Gruber and Jonathan Kline, was presented at this year's International Architecture Biennale of Rotterdam Nature of Hope. Their installation entitled “Community Condensers” featured case studies and field work of Uruguay's Mutual Aid Housing Cooperatives, as well as a 12-minute film produced by the Cooperative Center of Uruguay (CCU).

Vernelle A. A. Noel published a paper “A Mindful Body Approach to Creating Architecture: Movement, Models, and Spatial Experiences” in “Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.”

“An Interview with Vernelle A. A. Noel” by editors Galo Canizares and Zach Cohen, is featured in “Homing the Machine in Architecture,” 1st edition, 252–63. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Omar Khan’s research in programmable elastomers is included in an invited group show, “Material Acts: Experimentation

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in Architecture and Design” at Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles, September 28, 2024 to January 5, 2025.

Neal Lucas Hitch presented papers, “Half of a House: Formwork Follows Function,” at LEHM 2024, 9th International Conference on Earth Construction, Weimar, Germany and “FLIM-FLAMS: Force-Lifted, Timber, Flat-Laminated, Shells” at ACADIA 2024 Designing Change, U. Calgary.

OCTOBER Doug Cooper gave the keynote address “Why still Draw? Why Hand Drawing still matters in the Digital Age,” at the biennial meeting of the Design Communication Association held at Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont.

Erica Cochran Hameen, Richard Orr (RCH) and Stephanie Pincetl (UCLA) presented in the “Decarbonizing Buildings: A New Vision of Energy of Where We Live and Work” at the Buildings Action Coalition Summit on October 2.

Ifrah Asif, PhD-Arch candidate, received a Professional Engagement Fund grant by the Provost Office and Graduate Student Assembly at CMU to attend the “Cement Age-Concrete Nation” conference at the University of Pennsylvania from October 4-6, 2024.

Nida Rehman’s collaborative project with Hira Nabi, “Mitti, Mazdoori, Mahaul” opened at the third Lahore Biennale on October 5.

On October 7, Vernelle A. A. Noel gave a talk and was part of a panel for the Marilyn T. and Byron C. Shutz Lecture Series on Artificial Intelligence and Human Creativity at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Invited

by Barry Anderson, Professor, Media, Art and Design. With Kimberly Lyle and Lillian-Yvonne Bertram.

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Erica Cochran Hameen presented in the AIA Pittsburgh Architecture Week “Architecture Matters Panel: Designing for Wellbeing” on October 8.

Kristen Kurland coordinated and moderated two National Academies of Sciences meetings: Board on Earth Sciences and Resources (BESR), Partnerships, Innovations, and Opportunities in Geohealth, October 11, and Geographical and Geospatial Sciences Committee (GGSC), Recovery from Dynamic Events: Geospatial Data and Tools for Disasters and Conflicts, October 22. She is a member of (BESR) and chair of (GGSC).

Yael Netser, PhD-AECM candidate, presented “Ethics in Computational Design: Infusing Equity into AI and Generative Design for Building Design Processes” at the Autodesk University 2024 Conference on October 17.

On October 23, Vernelle A. A. Noel gave a talk and was part of the CMU Faculty Dialogues panel on AI and the Future of Art with Daragh Byrne, Brett Crawford, and Johannes DeYoung. The event had more than 750 registrants.

Nida Rehman presented a paper “Reading the City Through Grounded Practices” at a one-day symposium “Amplifying Politics, Unsettling Frames: Everyday Spaces and Regimes of Dispossession and Agency” organized by Faiza Moatasim and Tayeba Batool at the Annual Conference on South Asia 2024, University of Wisconsin, Madison, on October 30.

Kristen Kurland was appointed Chair of the Faculty Affairs Council at CMU and will serve on the Faculty Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.

Misri Patel was selected to participate in the Open-Studio Artist Residency at New Bedford Research & Robotics.

The initial part of her residency began during the Fall 2024 break.

Neal Lucas Hitch was interviewed by “Dezeen” and “The Architect’s Newspaper” about his role as curator and organizer of the Bethel Woods Art and Architecture Festival 2024. Titled "BuildFest," the event gathered over 60 students and 24 professors from universities across the U.S. to design and construct digitally fabricated installations on the historic site of Woodstock.

Vernelle A. A. Noel was one of 96 architects commissioned to produce one drawing and write about it as a site of investigation for the book, “Drawing Codes: Experimental Protocols of Architectural Representation” by Andrew Kudless and Adam Marcus. The book explores how architects have critically integrated procedural thinking into their drawing process. Her critical drawing is entitled “Embodied CODEnition.”

NOVEMBER On November 1, Vernelle A. A. Noel gave a talk on AI and local knowledge as part of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture and Planning (GSAPP) AI Actioning Summit.

Nida Rehman gave a keynote lecture, “The Intractable Garden: Improvement and Unruliness in Lahore’s Landscapes,” at the Climate Congress, the academic program of the Lahore Biennale, on November 5.

Sarosh Anklesaria's essay “Architectures of Dissent: Building Memorials to Gandhi through Everyday Praxis” was accepted through a peer-review process for publication in the forthcoming issue of “The Plan Journal” themed on “Democratic Space.” The essay builds upon the work of a spring 2022 ASO Studio to propose alternative, liberatory imaginations for the future of Gandhi Ashram, through anarchistic, non-state and everyday praxis of memorializing and dissent.

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Misri Patel was invited to teach a course, titled Sonic Morphology Tool, for Winter School ’24 at CEPT University, Ahmedabad.

The Dining Room, designed and built

by Kristina Fisher and Neal Lucas Hitch, was featured in the online magazine “designboom.” The public installation was created by intentionally eroding two rammed earth walls to reveal playful public infrastructure and stands as one of the first public earth projects in the state of Iowa.

Riya Malhotra (MSBPD ’25) won the Adam Rozenberg Community Builder Award. She was placed at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and developed a wireframe of a centralized JLL Building Performance Standards (BPS) dashboard and calculator that serves as a “one stop shop” for existing and prospective clients to advance their regulatory compliance efforts.

Yiqun Pan published two journal papers: “Optimal Design of Building Envelope Towards Life Cycle Performance: Impact of Considering Dynamic Grid Emission Factors” in “Energy and Buildings,” and “A Tri-Level Optimization Model for the Integrated Energy System with Orderly Charging/Discharging of Electric Vehicles” in the “Journal of Energy Storage.”

William Bates and Erica Cochran Hameen were identified as “Famous Trailblazers”

by AIA Pittsburgh.

Erica Cochran Hameen received a $97,000 grant from CMU’s Block Center for Technology and Society for the project “Equity, Energy, Education, and Jobs: Using Robots and Advanced Sensing Technology to Make a Pathway for a Better Future.”

JANUARY Vernelle A. A. Noel co-edited the book, “Critical Computational Relations in Design, Architecture and the Built

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Environment,” with Dr. Yana Boeva.

It features contributions from 11 outstanding scholars, practitioners and researchers, and explores computational practices, tools and methods and how they mask social, political and environmental entanglements.

Vernelle A. A. Noel's latest article, “Repairing Code, Craft, and Computation,” was published in “Technology Architecture Design” (“TAD Journal”), Volume 8 Issue 2: CODING. Vernelle A. A. Noel was named the 2026 Arts Papers Chair for SIGGRAPH, an annual conference centered around computer graphics.

PhD-CD candidate Myles Sampson was elected as the Graduate Student Representative, a new position, on the board of directors of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA).

Neal Lucas Hitch and Kristina Fisher were selected to present the research paper “Testing Ground: A Democratized, Low-Tech Method for In-Situ Rammed Earth Compression Testing” at the Earth Builder Summit 2025, Biberach University of Applied Sciences in partnership with the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart.

Morgan Newman, PhD-Arch candidate, was awarded a grant from the FrankRatchye Further Fund (FRFF) from the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry to conduct dissertation field research in Alabama’s Black Belt.

PhD-Arch candidate Ifrah Asif’s work in built heritage preservation, including restoration of the Lahore Fort’s 16th century Picture Wall, was featured by the Getty Center. Ifrah worked as a graduate intern at the Getty Conservation Institute in 2023-24.

from Top-Down and Bottom-Up Perspectives,” at the Distinguished Speaker Seminar at the Department of Architectural Engineering, Penn State University, on January 31.

FEBRUARY Vernelle A. A. Noel participated on the TAD 8:2 Coding Panel with Peggy Deamer, Anna-Maria Meister, Bernard Geoghegan, Adam Marcus and Andrew Kudless, and the Editorial Board’s Winifred Elysse Newman and Theodora Vardouli, during a webinar on February 6.

Doug Cooper had a show of paintings, titled “Forbes Field and Other Remembered Places,” on view at the Concept Gallery in Pittsburgh from February 15 to March 29.

Stefan Gruber was featured in David Bollier's podcast Frontiers of Commoning.

Bollier is the director of the Reinventing the Commons program at the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, and is one of the most prominent Commons scholars. Their hour-long conversation, titled “An Atlas of Urban Commons of the World” was downloaded over 2,000 times and shared by platforms such as Grassroots Economics, Resilience.org and Popular Resistance, among others.

Vernelle A. A. Noel and Tommy CheeMou Yang received 19 submissions for their 4S 2025 panel on “Embodied Knowledge(s), Technological Distancing, and Experience.”

Vernelle A. A. Noel gave a talk at the “Text, Textile, + Technology” workshop at the Department of Studio Arts, Dartmouth University, N. H., on February 24.

MARCH

Yiqun Pan delivered a presentation titled, “Research on Building Decarbonization

Sarosh Anklesaria published a peerreviewed essay, “Architectures of Dissent,” in “The Plan Journal’s” call on

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“Democratic Space,” arguing for every day, anarchistic memorials to Gandhi.

Using the work of a recent ASO studio, the essay critiques the state sponsored, “world-class" Gandhi Ashram Memorial Redevelopment Plan, to offer a radically different vision for the ashram's future, rooted in micro-histories of the site and memorials of everyday praxis.

Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng, in collaboration with Nero Chenxuan (Texas Tech University), co-presented The Domestic Game—Automavision, a multi-agent video game and installation exhibited at the Texas Tech University Department of Architecture on March 7.

Sarosh Anklesaria participated in an international jury for The New Age Makers Institute of Technology (NAMTECH) University, to be built on a 150-acre site in Ahmedabad, India. Sarosh was part of a five-member jury panel that convened over four days to interview eight international architecture firms with extensive background in sustainable campus planning and design.

Niloufar Alenjery’s abstract “Architectural Imagination and Technological Revealing Beyond Data” has been accepted to the 4S 2025 Conference “Reverberations,” which will be held September 3-6, 2025, in Seattle, Washington.

Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng presented the paper titled, “Customize3DForm: Introducing Human Subjectivity to Objective Objects Using Text-Based Generative Pipeline” at CAADRIA2025, March 22-25, in Tokyo, Japan.

Vernelle A. A. Noel gave a talk on Craft and Computation at the Island City Lab Public Talk Series on March 27.

APRIL Misri Patel’s abstract “Tailored Acoustics: Enhancing Acoustic Performance with Customized 3D-Printed Textures” was accepted to the 2025 International Symposium on Musical and Room Acoustics (ISMRA).

Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng delivered a talk titled “Digital Agency and Interfaces” during The Domestic Game roundtable conversation, held at the Texas Tech University Department of Architecture on April 7.

Vernelle A. A. Noel gave a talk, “From Craft to New Computational Frameworks and Tectonics,” at Florida A&M University (FAMU) on April 7.

The Bethel Woods Art and Architecture Festival, curated by Neal Lucas Hitch, launched its 2025 open call, BuildFest 2, seeking timber proposals to be built on the historic site of Woodstock.

The call was featured on “Dezeen” and “ArchDaily.”

Details for the ARTocka Trailoop, a six-part master plan for Bondurant, Iowa, designed by Kristina Fisher and Neal Lucas Hitch, were published in an artist feature on “StirWorld.”

The Remaking Cities Institute (RCI) has received a gift from John Henne to study the impact of pedestrianization on main streets in general, and the incremental upgrade of Walnut Street's public space in particular.

Neal Lucas Hitch and Kristina Fisher presented the paper “Eroding Barriers: In-Situ Testing and Geo-Mimetic Design for Rammed Earth Construction” at the 2025 Architectural Materials Technologies Commons in Columbus, Ind., on March 28.

Stefan Gruber has been invited to serve as a guest editor for the Fall 2026 issue of “sub/urban,” a journal for critical urban studies dedicated to the Commons and urbanism. Gruber will join an interdisciplinary team of coeditors, which includes Susanne Heeg, Isabel Feichtner, Tim Wihl, Boris Michel and Laura Calbet Elias.

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Azadeh O. Sawyer presented her research at the Clean Energy Workforce Ecosystem in Pittsburgh on April 15.

Stefan Gruber participated in a panel entitled “‘Technically Urban’: Emerging Intersections between Technology, Society, and the City" hosted by the Sociology Department at the University of Pittsburgh on April 23. Other panelists included Sharon Zukin (CUNY), Natalie Koch (Syracuse), Michael Madison (Pitt Law) and Michael Glass (Pitt).

MAY Kristen Kurland was promoted to CMU University Professor. From Provost Garrett: This prestigious designation, the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member, is a testament to her remarkable achievements and her profound impact on the university and the wider academic world. Her international recognition and significant contributions to her field truly embody the spirit and legacy of this esteemed title.

Azadeh O. Sawyer and Sanaz Saadatifar’s (PhD-AECM ’25) paper, “Leveraging Humanized Performance Labeling to Drive Sustainable Building Choices,” was published in the “Journal of Architecture’s” special issue “Sustainable Built Environments and Human Wellbeing.”

Tuliza Sindi was included in “Africans Column's” 2025 list of 50 Influential African Women Architects, which celebrates the visionary women shaping the built environment across the African continent. The list is made up of women breaking barriers, preserving heritage, and pioneering sustainable solutions, while transforming the future of African cities and communities by redefining architecture through innovation, cultural storytelling, and resilience.

Gandhi” was accepted for presentation to the Teachers Conference “Conflict: Resolution” to be held in Halifax, Canada in June 2025.

Erica Cochran Hameen and Robert Flemming presented “Developing Design Studio Pedagogy for Increased Student Wellness & Success” for AIA Pennsylvania on May 19.

Sarosh Anklesaria and Jonathan Kline have been invited to join the Transition Design Institute, led by Terry Irwin and Gideon Kossoff at CMU’s School of Design. The institute is a resource for those working toward positive, systemlevel change.

Autumn Chelsea Dsouza (M.Arch ’24) had her paper accepted to the peerreviewed journal “Interstices: Journal of Architecture and Related Arts” (Issue 24, “On Water: The Aqueous in Architecture”).

Expanding on her thesis—advised by Sarosh Anklesaria, Theodossis (Theo) Issaias and Sarah Rafson—the paper examines coastal Sri Lanka as a site of colonial, ecological and architectural entanglement.

Carla Flores Travez (MSCD ’26) was awarded a summer internship with the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, selected out of an applicant pool of over 8,000 candidates.

Ziru Wei's (MSCD ’26) abstract, “Embodied Generative Taskscape: Re-Connect Cultural-Ecological Perception in 5-Animal Play,” was accepted to the 4S 2025 Conference “Reverberations,” which will be held September 3-6, 2025, in Seattle, Washington.

Sarosh Anklesaria's paper “Architectures of Dissent: Everyday Memorials to

Vivian Loftness received a one-month writing fellowship from the Paris Institute for Advanced Study to focus on writing “The Critical Role of the Built Environment for a Carbon Neutral Future” in a setting shared with international peers in summer 2025.

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Recognitions

Vivian Loftness, Gail Brager (UC Berkeley) and Clayton Merrill (NUS) constitute the advisory board of the EU Multidisciplinary Doctoral Network MuSIC (Multi-sensory solutions for increasing human-building resilience in face of climate change). The board met with 10 faculty and 10 students from five EU universities in Cyprus from May 21-23.

Maryam Karimi will present a paper titled “Placemaking, AI, Control and Rethinking Design Studios,” at the 23rd International Conference Arquitectonics: Mind, Land, and Society, ETSAB, Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, June 4-6, 2025.

Maryam Karimi will present a paper titled “Embodiment, Technological Mediation, and the Perception of Selfhood in Hybrid Spaces” in “Embodied Knowledge(s), Technological Distancing, and Experience” at 4S 2025, September 3-7, 2025, in Seattle.

Maryam Karimi is a recipient of the Provost’s Inclusive Teaching Fellowship for the 2025–26 academic year. Her project focuses on reimagining design ethics and social justice in architecture to cultivate a more inclusive, critically engaged and participatory learning environment.

Niloufar Alenjery was selected to participate in the 2025 NCARB Scholars in Professional Practice program at the University of Utah, College of Architecture and Planning in Salt Lake City from August 7-9, 2025.

Yael Netser (PhD-AECM candidate), Erica Cochran Hameen, and Pingbo Tang’s (CEE) paper “Socio-Sustainable Architectural Design Through Ethical Implementation of Generative Design and Artificial Intelligence” was presented at the CIB Conference.

Wei Liang (PhD-BPD ’24), Yiting Zhang (MSBPD ’23), Adrian Chong (PhDBPD ’17), Erica Cochran Hameen and Vivian Loftness’s paper, “Exploring Gaussian Process Regression for Indoor Environmental Quality: Spatiotemporal Thermal and Air Quality Modeling with Mobile Sensing,” was accepted by the journal “Building and Environment.”

Jeremy Ficca’s teaching and research was featured in a longform interview on the Harvard GSD website.

Maryam Karimi is the recipient of the Ontario Arts Council’s Creative Research Fund and a Frank-Ratchye Further Fund (FRFF) for her project Luminous Cartography. This interdisciplinary research examines the spatial and affective capacities of light as a medium for articulating embodied experience and environmental memory.

Niloufar Alenjery’s abstract “Speculative Architecture and Poetic Creation in the Age of Technological Mediation” was accepted by the Athens Institute to be presented at the 15th Annual International Conference on Architecture from July 7-10, 2025, in Athens, Greece.

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Pedagogies The school has an established reputation in the productive role that technology plays in the art and design of architecture. Our pioneering work in sustainability, building science and computation has distinguished our school from our peers. Likewise, our seminal work in participatory and community engaged design has laid the foundations for the values we ascribe to architecture: that, above all, it must be in the public interest and accessible to all. These legacies put the school in a unique position to address some of the daunting challenges we face as a society that require imagination, innovation and empathy.

Pedagogy is reductively understood as the methods of teaching employed in lectures, seminars and studios to impart knowledge and skills to students. In the School of Architecture, we take the term to mean the broader context within which learning takes place.

This includes not only the methods of teaching but also the physical, political, social and cultural context within which it occurs. We take direction from John Dewey’s understanding of pedagogy as a vehicle for student self-realization. We are also guided by the work of critical pedagogy, recognizing that education, research and creative practice are always in dialogue with society’s evolving concerns and must critically examine its prevailing paradigms.

Our pedagogies are critical, speculative and provocative; grounded in science and evidence but also the projective capacity of the architectural imaginary. Our faculty, students and staff must represent the global society we aim to design for, and our educational and research facilities must be able to support the innovative design and research we plan to do. Most significantly, our pedagogy must address the imminent challenges facing society: ● Climate change and its impending environmental and social problems and how architecture can support living in the Anthropocene; ● Artificial intelligence and its challenge to human agency and what it means to live in a posthuman society; ● Social justice and the need for greater equity and inclusion of intersectionality in our politics and communities.

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Programs on Offer

To prepare our students to address these three challenges, the school developed three separate but interrelated pedagogies in Design Fundamentals, Design Research and Design Ethics. Our goal is to continue to develop these pedagogies informed by the global context and to foster an ongoing dialogue within the school across our public programs, coursework and collective thinking.

Design Fundamentals This pedagogy articulates an expansive approach to teaching core architectural competencies. It builds on learning through drawing and making (hand and digital), supported by computational, building science and ecological thinking. It embraces Indigenous and global historical models that demonstrate care and responsibility for the environment. This pedagogy addresses the following questions: ● What is the argument for architecture in the 21st century? ● How does the school position and address the great challenges of our time? ● What are the fundamental competencies that an architect must have to design in this context? ● What tools, skills and intellectual traditions are vital for the architect? ● What are the ethical challenges facing architecture?

Design Research This pedagogy focuses on developing new knowledge and innovation in architectural design. It embraces interdisciplinary, industry and community engaged approaches to develop better design practices and new technologies. ● What is the future of architectural practice? ● How can research support innovation in architecture? ● What is the role of design in contributing to interdisciplinary research at Carnegie Mellon? ● What is the role of interdisciplinary research within architectural design?

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● How can community partnerships and industry engagement open opportunities for collaborative research?

Design Ethics This pedagogy addresses the role architecture can play in creating more equitable, inclusive and just communities at every scale. It promotes democratic approaches to design and recognizes the agency of humans and nonhumans in the sustainability of our built environment. It also takes a critical approach to design education that has been exclusionary. ● How are matters of inclusion woven into the world’s great challenges, and how can we best respond to them? ● What is the argument for pluralism, collective action, radical inclusiveness and community-building in today’s increasingly fragmented world? ● What is the agency of the architect in shaping the built environment to serve everyone, including those without a voice? ● How can ethics, justice, equity and values play a more dominant role in shaping architectural education in order to better prepare our students for the increasingly agonistic future? ● What are unique strengths and challenges that are specific to the School of Architecture with regard to ethics?

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Programs on Offer

Program Outlines

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS Carnegie Mellon Architecture offers two baccalaureate degree programs: the Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) and the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (B.A.).

Undergraduate students are admitted to the school without a declared degree program. By the end of the second year, students must select either the B.Arch or the B.A. Both programs begin with the same studio-based curriculum in the first year but then begin to diverge in terms of opportunities and outcomes.

Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) The B.Arch is a five-year, first professional degree program accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). This program centers around a carefully structured set of professional and technical courses on building design and construction. Students graduate with a professional degree that prepares them to excel in practice—but that also launches them into key specialties within the profession. Due to the technical nature of the B.Arch program, it is STEM-eligible.

The B.Arch requires 10 studios.

Students begin with a highly scripted three-year sequence of foundation courses and studios—the fundamental, core architecture education essential for every professional. In the fourth and fifth years, students follow a path forged by their own interests, choosing an Advanced Synthesis Option Studio (ASOS) and electives each semester. Students can choose to specialize, with paths including architectural robotics, sustainability, computation, urban design, or building design or performance.

Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (B.A.) The B.A. is a four-year pre-professional degree program that allows and encourages interdisciplinary exploration.

B.A. students have the opportunity to

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double major, test the boundaries of the discipline, and explore a variety of interests. As a four-year degree program, the B.A. allows those who are interested to go on to specialize in other fields in graduate school, including the two-year professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch) degree program (often called a 4+2 degree).

The B.A. requires a minimum of four studios, which can be spread out over the four years of the program.

BXA Intercollege Degree Programs For students seeking a non-professional degree integrating architecture with another field of study, Carnegie Mellon also offers the BXA Intercollege Degree Programs. BXA students graduate with a Bachelor of Humanities and Arts, a Bachelor of Science and Arts, or a Bachelor of Computer Science and Arts degree.

GRADUATE PROGRAMS Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD) This postgraduate, studio-based program engages emerging methods of design and fabrication through architectural design to speculate upon future modes of architectural practice, enhanced construction methods and material culture within the built environment. Track Chair: Jeremy Ficca With a particular emphasis on design, the four-semester program leverages the School of Architecture’s and Carnegie Mellon’s core strengths in design fabrication, architectural robotics, computational design and ecological thinking as vehicles for knowledge acquisition and speculation.

The program focuses on the creation of new insights and new knowledge—or “research”—through the design process, or “research by design.”

The program seeks to probe the technical and cultural opportunities and implications of a data-rich future in which design methodologies, construction processes and sustainable building life cycles are intrinsically interlaced.

The goal is consciously speculative and experimental work that is deeply enmeshed with social and environmental concerns, and with explicit ties to humanistic and cultural discourses, industry and contemporary practice.

The faculty seek advanced-level projects that will position graduates as future thought leaders in architecture and allied fields relating to advanced fabrication, material performance, construction methodologies and/or academia.

Master of Architecture (M.Arch) This two-year, NAAB-accredited, professional degree program educates tomorrow’s leaders in architecture through a collaborative, studio-based education that centers design, research and technology. Track Chair: Sarosh Anklesaria The program addresses the grand challenges of our time through an understanding of design ethics at the intersections of social equity, technology and climate change. It trains students to demonstrate a solid intellectual base in design thinking by participating in advanced and emerging discourses in the discipline.

The curriculum aligns closely with the Pedagogies dialogues at Carnegie Mellon Architecture to offer courses in three simultaneous tracks: Design Fundamentals, Design Ethics and Design Research. The M.Arch curriculum features advanced design methods that focus on design-research, synthesis and integration at every level through deep disciplinary and interdisciplinary engagement of sites, buildings, landscapes, ecologies and technical systems.

of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

Track Chair: Joshua D. Lee The AECM programs prepare building-delivery professionals for careers in capital project delivery dealing with the entire life cycle of capital projects, from pre-design to design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance stages. They focus on the integration of design and technology, particularly advanced information systems, as a means of both improving building performance and enhancing environmental sustainability.

Graduates of our AECM programs are educated to become effective decision makers who can positively impact economic, environmental and ethical aspects of the built environment through professional management strategies.

Our graduates have successful careers in government, industry, business, real estate and NGO (non-governmental organization) sectors, prospering in positions where design professionals continuously make large-scale capital project design, construction and operations decisions.

Graduates of the program have specific position titles including Real Estate Developer, Project Manager, Construction Manager, Facility Manager, Code Inspector and Plan Reviewer.

(MSBPD | PhD-BPD) Building Performance & Diagnostics

These programs are jointly offered by the School of Architecture and the Department

These programs have long led the world in advanced building technologies that sustainably reshape the built environment.

Track Chair: Azadeh O. Sawyer “Sustainability” was our passion and expertise long before it became a buzzword. Our top-ranked building science degree programs are dedicated to advancing high performance buildings and communities for a more resilient and sustainable future.

The MSBPD is a two-year program for architecture and engineering graduates committed to advancing the quality of the built environment for human health and ecological sustainability. MSBPD graduates have successful careers in

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Programs on Offer

(MSAECM | PhD-AECM) Architecture– Engineering–Construction Management

design and engineering practice, industry, government, consulting and nonprofit sectors designing, catalyzing and quantifying high performance buildings and communities.

The MSBPD and PhD-BPD curricula offer a building science and research-oriented course of study with technical depth for careers in sustainability-focused professional practice, environmental research and consulting, the building industry and higher education. These programs are specifically designed for those who seek quantitative depth in building and urban design, building performance, building science, computational design and design invention, leading to sustainability positions in professional practice, research, environmental consulting, industry and government.

closely interacting with field-defining researchers, educators and mentors in the program and across the university.

The program is well suited to highly inquisitive applicants with technical, creative and/or critical backgrounds who are motivated to challenge disciplinary boundaries, develop a unique research agenda and explore the intersection of computation and design with creativity, technical rigor and critical depth.

Master of Science in Sustainable Design (MSSD)

These programs investigate creative opportunities and critical issues at the nexus of design and computation. Track Chair: Daniel Cardoso Llach With a shared emphasis on critical technical practice, faculty and students in the program draw from fields including computer science, robotics, humanmachine interaction, machine learning, art, and science and technology studies to illuminate emerging potentials as well as unforeseen consequences of new technologies in design. The program examines topics including roboticallysupported construction, machine learning- and AI-based approaches to design generation and analysis, tangible interaction, shape grammars, responsive environments, digital heritage and computational urban studies, as well as historical and ethnographic investigations into design technologies and technologically-mediated design practices. The program’s research and creative works are frequently published and exhibited in leading national and international venues. Inherently interdisciplinary, the program invites students to forge unique curricular paths,

This post-professional, design-research program fosters innovative sustainable strategies for designing the built environment across scales. Track Chair: Dana Čupková The MSSD program advances design methodologies that integrate multicultural and geospatial aspects of ecological thinking, focusing on addressing architectural responses to climate change.

It incorporates dynamic bioclimatic processes into the design of constructed environments, guiding students to explore climate-specific socio-ecological placemaking through computational design, environmental science, material research and advanced manufacturing.

The program emphasizes the relationship between historical patterns and new technologies, constructed and natural systems, the symbiosis of human and non-human environments, energy systems and human-centered design, regenerative landscapes and circular economies, bio-based material production, and the integration of architectural assemblies.

The goal is to cultivate actionable decarbonization expertise and understand the holistic ecological impact of design and construction.

The MSSD program builds upon its robust academic roots in sustainability and green building systems integration while expanding on bioclimatic approaches from architecture to landscape ecology to natural material systems. Embracing cross-scale relationships between human habitation, biodiversity, industrialized manufacturing and the extraction of

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Program Outlines

Computational Design (MSCD | PhD-CD)

material resources, the MSSD program pro-motes symbiotic strategies that integrate passive and active building systems with low-tech and high-tech modes of production within the context of embodied and operational energy.

The program emphasizes regenerative design methods that connect ecological and natural patterns with social sustainability and the decarbonization of the built environment.

Master of Urban Design (MUD) This post-professional, two-year program prepares graduates for careers using urban design to critically address environmental, economic, social, political and cultural issues affecting urbanization.

Track Chair: Stefan Gruber The studio-based curriculum allows students to explore design strategies in a variety of scales and settings, from the post-industrial city to the suburban periphery to the dense global metropolis.

The studio sequence is supported by small-group seminars and workshops to develop the skill sets necessary for an urban designer in the 21st century.

Students graduate with a firm grasp of the history, theory and practice that has established urban design as a discipline, as well as skills in cutting-edge media and design methods.

This program is distinguished by its emphasis on integrating socially engaged practice with new tools and techniques for representing, understanding and designing cities; by the opportunity to work in transdisciplinary teams at the intersection of the arts, humanities and technology across Carnegie Mellon’s departments and colleges; and by location in Pittsburgh— a thriving post-industrial laboratory.

humanities, digital humanities, environmental justice and communityoriented research, the program offers students an interdisciplinary platform to investigate built environment cultures, practices and politics across a range of historical and geographical contexts.

The intellectual foundation of the program is informed by Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s commitments to racial and spatial justice in architectural epistemology, pedagogy and practice.

The program builds on and extends the foundational work in the school in the area of community-oriented urban design and research and is supported by the wide-ranging expertise and resources in the school and across the university, particularly in the arts and humanities.

Doctor of Design (DDes)

This program advances interpretive, critical and contextual perspectives on the built environment and spatial design.

Track Chair: Nida Rehman Bringing together methods in history of architecture, urban studies, critical spatial practices, environmental

This three-year program is for midcareer professionals who aspire to solve advanced problems in the fields of architecture, engineering or construction.

Track Chair: Erica Cochran Hameen The program’s modes of study include conference and video calls, webbased learning, field work, professional practice work, international exchange and institutional meetings and conferences.

Unlike academically founded graduate programs, the DDes is based on the assumption that mid-career professionals can develop doctoral-level research building on their tacit knowledge acquired through years of professional practice. The cohorts in this program come from various AEC (Architecture–Engineering–Construction) fields, as well as from various states in the U.S. and nations of the world. The program is a collaborative effort with Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse.

The program seeks self-motivated cohorts who thrive in multitasking situations and are able to manage concurrently the DDes program requirements and their full-time professional practice responsibilities. Thanks to a sophisticated distance-delivery system, the program accommodates participation both in residence (Pittsburgh) and remotely.

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Programs on Offer

Ph.D. in Architecture (PhD-Arch)

Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP) Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s undergraduate students have the opportunity to expedite their completion of a master’s degree, saving both time and money and allowing them to hit the job market with specialized knowledge and two Carnegie Mellon degrees. 2024–25 Faculty: Joshua Bard, Associate Professor & Associate Head for Design Research Carnegie Mellon Architecture students can obtain an accelerated master’s degree in one additional year after completion of their bachelor’s degree. Two options are available based on the undergraduate program: ● 5+1 Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch): Five years of undergraduate coursework followed by two semesters of full-time master’s level coursework for a total of six academic years. ● 4+1 Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (B.A.): Four years of undergraduate coursework followed by two semesters of full-time master’s level coursework for a total of five academic years.

THE GEM FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM The GEM Fellowship Program offers M.S. and Ph.D. level students an outstanding opportunity and access to dozens of the top engineering and science firms and universities in the nation. GEM also offers exposure to a number of opportunities in academia. The objective of this program is to promote the benefits of a master’s degree within industry. GEM Fellows are provided practical summer work experiences through an employer sponsor and a portable academic year fellowship of tuition, fees and a stipend which may be used at any participating GEM Member University where the GEM Fellow is admitted, including Carnegie Mellon.

UDREAM UDream is a zero-cost academic and workforce development program admitting up to 15 candidates annually. The 22week post-graduate experience includes a six-week academic intensive, two oneweek community engagement modules, and a 14-week paid internship with Pittsburgh-based organizations. UDream participants help grow the K-12 pipeline by serving as community educators for under-resourced students in youth programs, inspiring their paths in the built environment. After the six-week intensive academic session at CMU, participants match with local firms and organizations for a three-month paid internship in the fall, overlapping with the graduate school application cycle.

UDream scholars were featured at the NOMA Conference in Baltimore, and the program was also invited to the 2023 Preston H. Thomas Memorial Symposium, where Nihar Pathak (PhD-AECM candidate) represented UDream as a panelist on Civic Professionalism. Additionally, UDream received a commitment from the PJ Dick Innovation Fund.

As part of the UDream program, scholars engage in a wide range of enriching experiences that blend community engagement, professional

UDream (2024) studio presentation to Center of Life for a project in Hazelwood, Pittsburgh, Pa. (above).

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Program Outlines

development and interdisciplinary learning. Highlights include urban planning and housing-focused site visits with ULI, Neighborhood Allies, and the Housing Authority, as well as communitybased outreach with Assemble and NOMA's Project Pipeline. Scholars participated in architectural tours with firms including SmithGroup and Stantec, and explored regional planning through a Mon Valley GIS analysis. Professional growth was supported through career workshops and networking events such as the Welcome Luncheon, professional development sessions, and a luncheon with AEQUO Funds. Cultural and educational outings included workshops at the Carnegie Museum of Art and the architectural landmark Fallingwater.

Perkins Eastman and BCJ invited UDreamers from the 2023 cohort to return for summer internships in 2024.

Additionally, IKM hosted Dr. Sharon Sutton and the UDreamers as part of the CMU Architecture public lecture series.

In June, 2025, PWWG kicked off the new UDream cohort with a welcome luncheon, studio and site visit.

Leadership: Omar Khan (School Head), Erica Cochran Hameen (UDream Program Director), Aaron Martin (Associate Director, Institutional Partnerships), Nihar Pathak (UDream Teaching Fellow), Aftyn Giles (UDream Fellow) UDreamers: Jade Andrews / Studio Volcy, Tahija Cambridge / Green Building Alliance, Parth Danait / SmithGroup**, Justyn Grant / Perkins Eastman***, Mai Graves / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson*, Niles Hattaway / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson*, Vinisa Howard / Studio Volcy + Center of Life, Kendale Jackson / Stantec***, Oumar Korehala / IKM Architecture**, Thomas Kracl / Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel Architects**, Moyinoluwa Okulate / evolveEA, Cornelius Pace / Neighborhood Allies, Derrick Smith / GBBN*, Gianna Southard / LGA Partners*, Shayla Thomas / Moss Architects, Alycia White / Hill CDC + Perkins Eastman***, Monico Williams / Aequo Fund** (***Benefactor Sponsor, **Supporter Sponsor, *Ally Sponsor)

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OUTREACH Energy, Education and Jobs (EEJ) The EEJ program uses robots and advanced sensing technology to make a pathway for a better future.

In the United States, individuals spend approximately 90% of their time indoors—a statistic that has only increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While federal and state policies have made significant progress in improving outdoor environmental quality, indoor environmental quality (IEQ)— particularly indoor air quality (IAQ)— has not received the same level of public attention or policy intervention.

The EEJ program’s curriculum was designed to be an adaptable course that can be delivered as either a continuing education program for professionals or as a free enrichment/workforce development training class for communities. EEJ teaches skills related to the evaluation of indoor air quality, lighting, acoustical, thermal, and spatial quality. The program imparts these skills by focusing on three core objectives: 1) Teach participants to think critically about the comfort and vitality of the places they live, work and play; 2) Using a hands-on approach, train participants to identify areas of concern with specialized IEQ sensing technology; 3) Engage participants in creating solutions to transform their spaces into healthy, sustainable, and energy-efficient environments.

To support these objectives, the project features an interactive educational platform that includes a mobile robotic unit—MS ERICA (Mobile Sensing and Educational Robot for Indoor Climate Assessment)—and the development of an accessible, web-based, IEQ National Toolkit and Dashboard. The toolkit offers standardized protocols for conducting IEQ field assessments across diverse building types and provides guidance for interpreting and reporting data. While the toolkit and dashboard can be used alone, they are optimized when interfaced with the MS ERICA robotic unit.

Programs on Offer

Center for Architecture Explorations (CAE)

MS ERICA is equipped with an integrated suite of sensors that enable comprehensive monitoring of IEQ. Together, these technologies allow MS ERICA to capture high-resolution, realtime data across multiple environmental parameters, facilitating accurate spatial assessments and supporting data-driven decisions for indoor comfort and health.

The EEJ indoor environmental quality evaluation program is taught by Carnegie Mellon Architecture instructors in partnership with Pittsburgh Gateways’ Clean Energy Center at Penn College.

The program is funded by a Build Back Better grant from CMU’s Block Center for Technology and Society, and partnered with Rover Robotics.

Instructor: Erica Cochran Hameen (Principal Investigator). Teaching/ Research Assistants: Aftyn Giles, Waku Ken-Opurum, Kari Leif, Nihar Pathak, Tiancheng Zhao

The CAE supports architecture education for all ages. Building on Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s experience with youth education, university service-learning projects, engagement with architectural practice and academic research, CAE creates dynamic architectural education pedagogy with an emphasis on building equity and diversity within the design professions.

The mission of CAE is to facilitate links between architecture organizations, K-12 educators and K-12 students, particularly in underserved neighborhoods; to provide scalable training courses, workshops and mentorship opportunities for professionals and undergraduate/graduate students to better prepare them to teach in K-12 and higher education contexts as well as better communicate with the communities they serve as designers; and to conduct research into STEM and design pedagogy to develop innovative educational materials and curricula.

CAE youth programs are a collection of architecture-based extracurricular and academic enrichment programs for students in kindergarten through high school. Through its programs, CAE aims to foster knowledge of and appreciation for the built environment, encourage creative expression and critical thought, and inspire civic responsibility. CAE’s programs include the K-6 Saturday Sequence program, which emphasizes problem-solving skills central to the architectural design process by guiding students through an architectural project; the Saturday Studio program, a series of workshops for students in grades 7-12 that provides a studio-like experience with a focus on hands-on model-making and digital design; and summer day camps offered in partnership with fellow arts organizations in Pittsburgh.

MS ERICA robot with (from left to right) Aftyn Giles, Tanya Singh, Nihar Pathak, Erica Cochran Hameen, I. Hameen, Gopika Danayakapura Somashekar and Tiancheng Zhao.

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Program Outlines

CAE is supported in kind through partnership with CMU’s UDream program, and its Benefactor Sponsor, Perkins Eastman.

The CAE is an Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST) Quality Campaign Member, and all youth programs are part of the Architecture Learning Network (ALN).

The CAE collaborates with schools and nonprofits in the region and is advised by an education committee composed of architects, architecture students, parents, faculty and educators.

Partners: ACE Mentor Program, Architecture Learning Network, Assemble, Carnegie Museum of Art Sponsors: The Grable Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, Remake Learning, The Sprout Fund, United Way

Shreeja Harisrikanth; Teaching Assistants: David Decker, Jenna Kornbluth, Eliora Kwok, Tom Shen

Pre-College Architecture This intensive and immersive summer program at Carnegie Mellon Architecture engages high school students in the creative energy and speculative culture of the college-level experience in studying the discipline of architecture.

In these changing times, Pre-College Architecture responds to challenges regarding practice, communication and our relationship with the built environment by utilizing a diverse set of tools and techniques, guided by the leadership of the school’s faculty.

Pre-College Architecture introduces design practice, creative problem solving and critical thinking to young designers through a matrix of programming, celebrating curiosity and providing a strong foundation for architectural education. Pre-College students navigate complex design problems that encourage growth through the development of skills and prepare them for future undergraduate studies in architecture.

2025 Pre-College Teaching Team: Director: Heather Bizon; Design Studio Instructors: Vicky Achnani, Brad Groff, Maryam Karimi, Tommy CheeMou Yang; Media Instructors: Claire Laux, Suzie Li; Media Teaching Fellows: Bina Guo,

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Programs on Offer

Course Descriptions

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES First Year Fall 48-025—First Year Seminar: Architecture Edition Instructor: Heather Workinger Midgley.

This course focuses on how students learn, develop, and make decisions as they transition into architecture education.

48-100—Poiesis Studio I Coordinators: Erica Cochran Hameen, Jackie Joseph Paul McFarland. This studio fosters an architectural practice grounded in curiosity, empathy and iteration.

48-104—Shop Skills Instructors: Jon Holmes, Steven Sontag. This course introduces basic material assembly methods and the use of shop machinery, hand and power tools, preparing students to participate in a wide range of subsequent building and fabrication projects.

62-104—Design Ethics & Social Justice in Architecture Instructor: Maryam Karimi. This course introduces students to social justice, design ethics, and the school’s pedagogy on these issues.

62-122—Digital Media I Instructor: Matthew Huber. This is the first in a two-course sequence that introduces students to cultures of digital drawing and image production.

62-125—Drawing I Instructor: Doug Cooper. This course in freehand architectural drawing builds capacity for visualizing three-dimensional space.

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First Year Spring 48-105—Poiesis Studio II: Radical Empathy in Architecture Coordinator: Tommy CheeMou Yang.

This studio nurtures a way of making and thinking in design that aims to cultivate the practice of architecture as an act of creative citizenship.

48-111—Exploring Pittsburgh Instructor: Francesca Torello. In this course, students explore Pittsburgh as built environment in which their work might be situated, cultural context to interpret, and creative material for their own work.

48-112—Digital Fabrication Skills Instructor: Steven Sontag. This course introduces students to the equipment and methodologies used in architectural fabrication. Students leverage these processes to explore and represent the complex nature of their designs.

48-240—History of World Architecture I Instructor: Diane Shaw. This course examines the history of architectural and urban design as a form of cultural expression unique to its time and place, surveying critical episodes in the built environment from ancient times through the 19th century.

62-123—Digital Media II Instructor: Matthew Huber. This is the second in a two-course sequence that introduces students to a broad range of architectural drawing techniques and practices that document, communicate and generate design possibilities.

62-126—Drawing II Instructor: Doug Cooper. This course builds capacity for visualizing threedimensional space through freehand

drawing. Students develop hand and visual skills, including the ability to use line, tonal values and color to represent architectural space and proposals.

Second Year Fall 48-116—Introduction to Building Performance Instructor: Nathan Sawyer. This course introduces fundamental concepts of building physics. The knowledge and skills can be applied to studio projects and beyond, improving building design and performance through standard methods of evaluation and simulation tools.

48-200—Poiesis Studio III: Architecture Biome and Climate Coordinator: Laura Garófalo. In this studio, students create architecture that responds to local ecosystems and sociocultural conditions to foster resilience and ecological awareness.

48-215—Materials & Assemblies Instructor: Gerard Damiani. This course introduces and examines the fundamentals between design intent and construction materials, and the science of materials (performance) and their assemblies.

62-225—Generative Modeling Instructor: Joshua Bard. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of generative modeling using computer aided design as practiced in the field of architecture.

Second Year Spring

internships, academic minors/additional majors, and research opportunities.

48-205—Articulating Forces: Material, Form and Structure Instructor: Vicky Achnani. This studio investigates the relationship between materials, structure and form to prepare students to cultivate an intrinsic design sensibility, wherein the exploration of spatiality is inherently linked to the examination of structural systems in conjunction with materials.

48-205—Ar·ti·fact Instructor: Jackie Joseph Paul McFarland.

This studio uses artifact making to explore one’s own lived experience to explore the question, “Who are you?”

Through a series of prompts, students respond by making artifacts based on readings that introduce them to theories and lenses to explore different aspects of the self.

48-205—One to One Instructor: T. Andrew Stone. This studio explores architecture through direct human experience, emphasizing design beyond the visual to focus on full-scale engagement and meaningful relationships with the people who inhabit our spaces.

48-205—Unlikely Hybrids Instructor: Jared Abraham. This studio aims to entirely reimagine Pittsburgh’s historic Gulf Tower as an adapted and revitalized civic center that would support a mix of civic, commercial and residential uses in the very heart of downtown’s Golden Triangle.

48-234—Structural Design I: Form and Forces

Instructor: Heather Workinger Midgley.

The course encourages students to pursue their interests inside and outside of the school by introducing a range of opportunities, including study abroad,

Instructor: Juney Lee. This course introduces structural systems and the materials and elements that make up those systems. Students develop their problem solving skills and ability to communicate ideas by practicing using equations, drawing and writing.

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Programs on Offer

48-026—Second Year Seminar

48-241—Modern Architecture: History & Theory Instructor: Kai Gutschow. This course investigates the history of a wide range of buildings, architecture, cities, landscapes and theory across the 20th century around the world. We interrogate the deep legacies of colonialism, globalization, extractivism and capitalism in which modern architecture so actively participated.

62-275—Fundamentals of Computational Design Instructor: Vernelle A. A. Noel. Addressing conceptual and practical aspects of the relationship between computation and design, this course explores the fundamentals of generative and rulebased systems for designing and making, along with basic approaches to creative data processing, visualization and materialization using low and high-tech approaches.

Third Year Spring 48-305—Praxis Studio II Coordinator: Jeremy Ficca. This studio introduces integrated architectural design as the synthesis of disparate elements, demands and desires. It situates architecture as a technological, cultural and environmental process that is inherently contingent and entangled, yet tethered to a historical project of autonomy.

48-324—Structural Design II: Materials & Analysis

Third Year Fall

Instructor: Juney Lee. This course introduces the fundamentals of strength of materials, computational modeling of structures, and basic finite element (FE) analysis. This is a hands-on, skillbuilding course about learning how to translate a conceptual design intent into a computational structural model, then applying material and boundary condition constraints to analyze and understand structural behavior.

48-250—Urbanism and the Social Production of Space

48-380/48-658—Constructing Value(s): Economies of Design

Instructor: Jongwan Kwon. This course introduces contemporary urbanism, offering a comprehensive exploration of how cities and urban systems are made, remade, and even unmade.

48-300—Praxis Studio I: The Steel Necklace—Event, Housing, Infrastructure Coordinator: Heather Bizon. Studios often conduct site research and then design an intervention for that site. However, in this studio the design research part of the semester becomes the project itself.

48-315/48-635—Environment I: Climate & Energy in Architecture Instructor: Vivian Loftness. This course introduces architectural design responses for energy conservation and natural conditioning, human comfort, and the sitespecific dynamics of climate.

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Instructor: Alicia Volcy. This course critically examines capitalist frameworks in real estate development and explores alternatives that prioritize social equity, inclusivity and sustainability.

Fourth & Fifth Years Fall 48-400—Praxis Studio III Coordinator: Gerard Damiani. This studio is an opportunity for students to understand the relationship between the architect, the engineer(s) and the consultant as a collaborative act.

48-432/48-655—Environment II: Design Integration of Active Building Systems Instructor: Yiqun Pan. This course focuses on active systems in commercial buildings

Course Descriptions

and strategies for their successful integration with passive components.

48-525—Thesis Seminar Instructor: Francesca Torello. This seminar prepares undergraduate students planning to work on a thesis project in the following semester.

Fourth & Fifth Years Spring 48-381/48-649—Issues of Practice Instructor: Niloufar Alenjery. This course critically examines the professional practice of architecture through historical and contemporary lenses.

Students explore how the practice of architecture has evolved and the role of the architect in shaping not just the built environment, but societal values and well-being.

48-383/48-648—Ethics Instructor: Richard Nisa. This course examines the complex intersections of ethics, power and space that often shape architects' choices. The course is not about mandating any ethical benchmarks. Instead, we work to develop our own processes and strategies to help us navigate difficult ethical quandaries.

48-497—Pre-Thesis Instructor: Mary-Lou Arscott. This course develops an understanding of research methods and explores the formation of ideas for an architecture thesis.

48-519—Architecture Design Studio: Thesis II Instructors: Tuliza Sindi, Maryam Karimi, Mary-Lou Arscott. Marking the transition between academic and professional practices, the thesis project is an exciting opportunity for students to define their unique positionality and modes of practice relative to the discipline of architecture.

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Advanced Synthesis Option Studios (ASOS) Fall 48-500/48-650—Compoundologies: Timber, Folklore, and the Community Irrigation Networks of Chiang Mai Instructor: Tommy CheeMou Yang.

This studio uses fieldwork, toys, comics, film and visual storytelling to explore citizen empowered design and the regenerative building practices of Indigenous timber construction.

48-500/48-650—From City to Forest: From One Body to a Billion Instructors: Mary-Lou Arscott, Nick Liadis.

Inside to outside and across a range of scales, this studio collects data— empirically, experientially and theoretically— to generate propositions for guiding billions of birds safely around cities and buildings.

48-500/48-650—Manahatta Interrotta | Manhattan Interrupted: Recontextualizing the Grid for Sustainable, Equitable Futures Instructor: Hal Hayes. Students address complex and interrelated urban, architectural and infrastructure design issues for a major intermodal transportation terminal with a dense mixed-use program.

48-500/48-650—Waste Machines: Unmaking Intelligent Spaces Instructor: Daragh Byrne. This studio examines how we might { break down; undo; rethink; dismantle; discard } the { visions; systems; objects; infrastructures; landscapes; junk; detritus } of { smart; connected; intelligent } technology.

Advanced Synthesis Option Studios (ASOS) Spring 48-410/48-510—Barge as Par.a.digm: Artificial River Ecological Formations Instructor: Gerard Damiani. Architects’ fascination with the barge has been

Programs on Offer

mythological, societal, cultural and utilitarian. This studio looks at Western Pennsylvania waterways and river barges to resolve present cultural and ecological challenges and make objects that engage the water’s edge.

48-410/48-510—Bridging Craft: Catechizing Performance-Driven Craft and Paradoxes of High-Tech Instructor: Misri Patel. This studio explores the intersection of craft, technology and acoustics.

48-410/48-510—Enchanted Skins: Ornament, Interface and Expression Instructor: Laura Garófalo. This studio explores the intersection of ceramic materiality, building envelope expression and the communicative potential of ornament.

48-410/48-510—Frozen Music: Rhythm & Harmony in Architecture— San Francisco Symphony Experimental Theater Instructor: Hal Hayes. In this studio, students design a new flexible venue to host a variety of different musical and multimedia performances.

48-410/48-510—Image Deep:/ MycoRepair—Regenerative Reconstructions Instructor: Dana Čupková.This studio examines the architecture of adaptive reuse, focusing on bioremediation through the use of invasive species and mycelium, along with material circularity, embodied energy and labor frameworks as primary inspirations for the formation of matter.

48-410/48-510—Past Futures: The Mississippi River Delta—Aesthetics, Politics, and Multiple Mediums

48-410/48-510—Reparative Infrastructures: Reworlding Infrastructure Through the Making of Publics Instructor: Sarosh Anklesaria. This studio examines the re-centering of infrastructure as an essential site and tool of architectural investigation.

GRADUATE COURSES Fall 48-607—Architectural Agency: Dig Where You Stand!

Instructor: Theodossis (Theo) Issaias.

By revisiting histories of the 20th and 21st centuries, this seminar treats the profession as an uncertain, contested and contingent category.

48-620—Graduate Seminar: Situating Research Instructor: Richard Nisa. This course introduces students to different modes of conducting architectural research, while creating opportunities for cohort building, social exchange and skills development.

48-625—Thesis Seminar Instructor: Francesca Torello. This seminar prepares undergraduate students planning to work on a graduate project in the following semester.

48-630—Praxis I: Design for Transitions— Ecology, Form & Worldmaking Instructors: Sarosh Anklesaria, Jonathan Kline. This studio positions architecture as a transformative agent capable of facilitating epochal change through interconnected social justice and ecological systems.

48-635—Environment I: Climate & Energy in Architecture

Instructor: Heather Bizon. This studio investigates the past futures of the Mississippi River. It asks how we construct facts and our understanding about the built environment.

Instructor: Suzy (Zekun) Li. This course introduces architectural design responses for energy conservation and natural conditioning, human comfort and the sitespecific dynamics of climate.

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Course Descriptions

48-655—Environment II: Design Integration of Active Building Systems

48-725—Graduate Real Estate Development

Instructor: Yiqun Pan. This course focuses on active systems in commercial buildings and strategies for their successful integration with passive components.

Instructor: Tom Hardy. This course teaches the fundamentals of real estate development and the social, economic and regulatory context in which development takes place.

48-689 (Summer Mini)—Digital Skills Workshop

48-727—Inquiry Into Computational Design

Instructors: Matthew Huber, Sinan Goral. This course for incoming CM-A graduate students establishes a baseline of technical skills appropriate to the expectations of the design culture at the school.

Instructor: Vernelle A. A. Noel. This course examines the emergence of computation as a pivotal concept in contemporary architecture and design through a selection of design theories and practices responding to the so-called “computer revolution.”

48-705—Urban Design Studio I: Reclaiming 65 Instructor: Christine Mondor. This studio challenges students to envision the transformation of a highway into a vibrant, intercon­n ected neighborhood.

48-707—MUD Seminar: The Practice of Urban Design Instructor: Paul Ostergaard. This course explores the roles urban designers play in the design of cities and their leadership responsibilities.

48-716—MSCD Pre-Thesis II Instructor: Vernelle A. A. Noel. This seminar draws from design, media, and science and technology studies to cultivate an awareness of the discursive and political dimensions of technology in design, and to guide participants in the formulation of a graduate thesis in computational design.

48-718—Urban Design Studio III: Commoning the City Instructor: Stefan Gruber. Commoning the City is a year­long research based design studio on social justice and community-led transformations.

Students explore design as an agent of change and learn how to support citizens in claiming their Right to the City.

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48-729—Sustainability, Health and Productivity to Accelerate a Quality Built Environment Instructor: Vivian Loftness. This course explores the relationship of quality buildings, building systems, infrastructures and land-use to productivity, health, wellbeing and a sustainable environment.

48-731/48-732—Sustainable Design Synthesis Prep Instructor: Azadeh O. Sawyer. This intensive course helps students refine their research plan and prepare for their synthesis project.

48-733—Environmental Performance Simulation Instructor: Dave Parker. This course introduces fundamental knowledge in building physics in relation to a variety of environmentally responsive building design principles and incorporates computational approaches to increase resiliency for human habitability while minimizing reliance on mechanical systems.

48-740—Urban Design Methods and Theory Instructor: Jonathan Kline. This course gives students a foundational understanding of urban design, examining key critiques

Programs on Offer

of urbanization, and exploring emerging modes of design agency.

48-742—Planning and Public Policy for the Future of Urbanism Instructor: Karen Abrams. This seminar focuses on how practices and policies from American plantation life to the modern U.S. city have created racial and economic inequality, human exposure to environmental hazards and climate risks, and how community organizing power has altered these conditions at all levels of government.

48-743—Introduction to Ecological Design Thinking Instructor: Dana Čupková. This seminar provides an overview of scholarly, design and research-based approaches addressing ecology, technology and climate change in architecture and urban design.

48-753—Intro to Urban Design Media Instructor: Jared Abraham. This course explores new forms of media and representation in urban design.

48-763—Protean Systems: Sustainable Solutions for Uncertain Futures Instructor: Joshua D. Lee. Students com­ pare the ways archi­tects have dealt with change, ana­lyzing the effectiveness of precedents to inform the design of their own innovative protean solutions.

48-764 A2 Mini—BIM for Architects: Leveraging Revit Parametric Design to Empower Innovative Architectural Design Practice Instructor: Yael Nester. This course focuses on novel technological tools at the intersection of BIM and AI, helping architects achieve value-based design.

and skills they have acquired during the program to a critical public interest issue related to Pittsburgh’s built environment.

48-767—Transdisciplinary Thinking Instructor: Stephen Quick. This course is a compendium of Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) practice, methods and management with an emphasis on how the AEC professions can more effectively work together by understanding each other’s roles, responsibilities and professional perspectives.

48-768—Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ): Energy, Health and Productivity Instructors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Nihar Pathak. This course is an introduction to the importance of the indoor environment and human health and productivity.

48-769—MSBPD Thesis/Project Coordinators: Erica Cochran Hameen, Vivian Loftness, Azadeh O. Sawyer.

The culmination thesis project for the MSBPD includes individual and collaborative dissertations on the integration of advanced building and urban technologies for environmental sustainability, human health and productivity, and organizational change.

48-772—MAAD Advanced Synthesis Options Studio I Instructor: Jeremy Ficca. This studio introduces integrated architectural design as the synthesis of disparate elements, demands and desires. It situates architecture as a technological, cultural and environmental process that is inherently contingent and entangled yet tethered to a historical project of autonomy.

48-774—MAAD Pro-Seminar I

Instructor: Joshua D. Lee. MSAECM students apply the diverse knowledge

Instructor: Jeremy Ficca. This course explores evolving topics of material and digital culture in contemporary architectural design, research and practice to provide foundational knowledge necessary for the establishment of the MAAD thesis proposal.

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Course Descriptions

48-765—AECM Synthesis: Artificial Intelligence in AECM for Public Interest Design in Pittsburgh

48-783—Generative Modeling Instructor: Joshua Bard. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of generative modeling using computer aided design as practiced in the field of architecture.

48-785—MAAD Research by Design Project Instructor: Jeremy Ficca. The MAAD program culminates with a design thesis in the final year. This two-semester independent project allows students to conduct design research and develop a project on a topic they have defined in consultation with the track chair.

48-798—HVAC and Power Supply for Low-Carbon Buildings Instructor: Yiqun Pan. This course introduces HVAC and power supply needs and system choices likely to produce comfortable and healthful buildings that help us move toward a zero-carbon future.

94-802—Urban Design Media: GIS Instructor: Kristen Kurland. In this course, students learn how to use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to investigate spatial relationships, patterns and processes of cultural, biological, demographic, economic, social, environmental, health and other phenomena.

Spring 48-638—Structural Design II: Materials & Analysis Instructor: Juney Lee. This course introduces the fundamentals of strength of materials, computational modeling of structures, and basic finite element (FE) analysis. This is a hands-on, skillbuilding course about learning how to translate a conceptual design intent into a computational structural model, then applying material and boundary condition constraints to analyze and understand structural behavior.

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48-640—Praxis II: Building as Transition— Designing With Silvi-Technical Systems Coordinator: Matthew Huber. This studio intensively explores, evaluates and expands the role that tectonic cultures, especially those emerging from forest products and their associated modes of architectural expression, play in shaping our world and the picture we form of it.

48-644—M.Arch Pre-Thesis Instructor: Sinan Goral. This course develops an understanding of research methods and explores the formation of ideas for architecture thesis projects.

48-647—Materiality & Construction Systems Instructor: Joel McCullough. This course introduces students to contemporary methods of construction and draws attention to the materialization of architectural intent. It foregrounds the historical, technological and conceptual basis of construction systems to understand the building as a process and cultural artifact.

48-649—Design Leadership Instructor: Matthew Krissel. This seminar explores architecture and adjacent creative fields—industrial design, graphic design, etc.—to understand design leadership models that fuel future-forward speculation.

48-658—Constructing Value(s): Economies of Design Instructor: Asli Selay Darga. This course explores the systems of economic, political, social and regulatory forces driving the production of contemporary architectural projects. It critiques these systems, examines alternatives, and tests interventions in pursuit of value propositions outside of the bottom-line driven norms of late capitalism.

48-670—M.Arch Thesis Instructor: Maryam Karimi. Marking the transition between academic and

Programs on Offer

professional practices, the thesis project is an exciting opportunity for students to define their unique positionality and modes of practice relative to the discipline of architecture.

48-677—Hines Competition Instructor: Stefani Danes. This course is for graduate students participating in the prestigious national Urban Land Institute (ULI) Hines competition. This is an intensive real estate and urban design competition that takes place January 9-23, 2025.

48-692—Shaping Daylight Through Simulation and Virtual Reality Instructor: Azadeh O. Sawyer. By combining analytical meth­o ds with experiential tools like vir­t ual reality, this course examines light from multiple perspectives: as a measurable component influencing energy efficiency and as a sensory experience that enriches daily life.

48-706—Urban Design Studio II: Urban Systems Instructor: Stefani Danes. This studio expands on MUD students’ understanding of neighborhood-scaled urban design through the examination of urban systems and systemic processes, focusing on the infrastructures of toxicity and modes of local action against them. The studio is anchored in an ongoing collaboration with North Braddock Residents For Our Future, a grassroots organization which has led the opposition to unconventional gas drilling and environmental injustice in Braddock and North Braddock and surrounding communities.

48-708—Urban Design Studio IV: Commoning the City Instructor: Jonathan Kline. Commoning the City is a yearlong research based design studio on social justice and community-led transformations. Students explore design as an agent of change and learn how to support citizens in claiming their Right to the City.

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48-711—Paradigms of Research in Architecture Instructor: Joshua D. Lee. This course provides an introduction to a variety of synthetic approaches to design and research with multiple levels of depth.

48-712/90-805—Graduate Seminar II: Issues of Global Urbanization Instructor: Stefan Gruber. This seminar investigates the future of cities by focusing on three existential challenges: the escalating environmental crisis, growing social inequity, and technological dislocation. We address how to lay the foundational infrastructure for an emerging collaborative age.

48-713—MUD Urban Ecology Instructor: Christine Mondor. This course examines the shifting regimes of urban ecology and equips students with skills and core concepts that enable them to lead or contribute to transition through design.

48-715—MSCD Pre-Thesis I Instructor: Daragh Byrne. This seminar introduces MSCD students to the rudiments of graduate level academic research, and offers a space to discuss inchoate research methods, questions and projects in the field.

48-721—Building Controls and Diagnostics Instructor: Shahryar Habibi. This course introduces students to collecting and processing data acquired from building systems and evaluating their performance.

It discusses the basics of control systems, including both traditional and advanced control logics.

48-722—Building Performance Modeling Instructor: Shahryar Habibi. This graduate-level course examines the emergence of computation as a pivotal concept in contemporary architecture and design through a selection of design

Course Descriptions

theories and practices responding to the so-called “computer revolution.”

and use spatial data science to make inferences.

48-732—Sustainable Design Synthesis

48-781—GIS/CAFM: Geospatial Analysis in Infrastructure Planning

Instructor: Dana Čupková. This is the culminating thesis course of the MSSD program. The course focuses on delivering a design-research project that integrates ecological principles into the design and analysis of the built environment across multiple scales.

48-756—Project Planning & Reporting Instructor: Najeeb Hameen. This course exposes students to advanced project scheduling methods and familiarizes them with the primary reporting practices as performed in the construction industry.

48-759—Value Based Design Introduction Instructor: William Bates. This course teaches students the importance of value based design across all project types and delivery methods.

48-769—MSBPD Thesis Instructors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Vivian Loftness, Azadeh O. Sawyer.

The culmination thesis project for the MSBPD includes individual and collaborative dissertations on the integration of advanced building and urban technologies for environmental sustainability, human health and productivity, and organizational change.

48-769—MSCD Thesis Instructor: Daragh Byrne. This course provides both depth and breadth, while the culminating thesis project allows students to narrow their research focus to a topic of personal and professional interest.

Instructor: Kristen Kurland. This course covers important geographic information system (GIS) concepts. Software tutorials and technical sessions cover leading GIS software from Esri Inc. 48-785—MAAD Research by Design Project Instructor: Maryam Karimi. The MAAD program culminates with a design thesis in the final year. This two-semester independent project allows students to conduct design research and develop a project on a topic they have defined in consultation with the program track chair.

48-795 A3 Mini—LEED, Green Design and Building Ratings Instructor: Yiqun Pan.This course compares global community and infrastructure rating systems to gain perspective about sustainable infrastructure development and community design. The course uses USGBC’s LEED Cities & Communities Rating System and the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Envision Rating System as springboards for exploration and discussion of other world rating systems that address these topics.

48-787 A4 Mini—LEED, Green Infrastructure and Community Rating in Global Context

Instructor: Suzy (Zekun) Li. In this course, students collect local or global data and apply mapping skills, including using ArcGIS and Illustrator, to map local experience and large-scale urban systems

Instructor: Yiqun Pan. This course compares global community and infrastructure rating systems to gain perspective about sustainable infrastructure development and community design. The course uses USGBC’s LEED Cities & Communities Rating System and the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Envision Rating System as springboards for exploration and discussion of other world rating systems that address these topics.

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Programs on Offer

48-773—Urban Design Media: Emerging Media

ELECTIVES Design Fundamentals Fall 48-095—Spatial Concepts for Non-Architects Instructor: Nina Barbuto. This course serves as an introduction to the spatial concepts of architecture for students from other disciplines. The hands-on course is focused entirely on project design work.

48-310/48-610—Bizarre Details: Stories of the Ordinary, the Uncanny, and the Architectural Comic

building networking skills, verbal and communication skills and how to increase their human capital.

48-724—Scripting and Parametric Design Instructor: Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng.

This course prepares students for modeling geometry through the scripted development of parametric schemes, primarily for design applications.

The goal of the course is to introduce students to basic scripting in a geometrical modeling environment with a focus on form-making algorithms, and to reinforce and extend basic concepts of parametric modeling.

Instructor: Tommy CheeMou Yang.

This seminar pinpoints architectural and urban detail as a point of departure to understanding socio-ecological systems in the worlds around us. While the conventional “detail” in architecture and urban design normalizes professional values, we look to the mundane to nurture a critical appreciation of material culture, landscapes and people.

48-734—IDeATe: Possibilistic Design

48-356—Color Drawing

48-314/48-614—Object/Noun/Verb

Instructor: Doug Cooper. This course provides practice in the use of color to depict architectural surroundings.

By the end of the course students will have good judgement in evaluating color hue, value and temperature and gain confidence in the use of watercolor.

48-386/48-786 A2 Mini—Portfolio & Resume Preparation Instructor: Heather Bizon. This course is geared towards undergraduate and graduate students to assist them with preparing their resumes and portfolios for job searches.

48-661 A2 Mini—Professional Development

Instructor: Sinan Goral. This project-based seminar concentrates on how critical design theory and powerful storytelling might pave the way for a more responsible, equitable and exciting future.

Design Fundamentals Spring Instructor: T. Andrew Stone. This course explores the craftsmanship of imaginative storytelling. Through concurrent investigations of narrative fiction and speculative object making, this course bridges creative writing and the physical craft of making to communicate original ideas through the universal language of stories.

48-328/48-737—Detailing Architecture Instructor: Gerard Damiani. This course examines the role of the architectural detail in the formation/thematic development of a work of architecture and how the detail reinforces the theoretical position of the architect.

Instructor: Lori Claus. This course is geared towards graduate students who are seeking an internship or new employment opportunities. Focus includes

48-355—Perspective

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Course Descriptions

Instructor: Doug Cooper. This freehand drawing studio considers perspective from three understandings of perceptual

psychology, including the pedagogy of Kimon Nicolaides, the early work of the perceptual psychologist J.J. Gibson, and Gestalt psychology.

48-386/48-786 A3 Mini—Portfolio & Resume Preparation Instructor: Jared Abraham. This course guides students in creating their personal architectural portfolios.

48-485/48-685—Design and Documentation in Revit Instructor: Nathan Sawyer. This course guides students through the process of designing in Revit from the schematic, conceptual design phase, to the construction document phase. The skills learned from this course help students understand the phases of design and documentation in the Revit environment.

48-516/48-616—Carnival Gateway Special Project Instructor: Omar Khan. In this course students fabricate and construct the CMU Spring Carnival entryway pavilion.

48-517/48-617—Carnival Gateway Project Management Instructor: Omar Khan. This course is for the team responsible for the project management of the CMU Spring Carnival entryway pavilion.

48-545/48-745—Design Fabrication Instructor: Neal Lucas Hitch. This course investigates the creative repurposing and reconfiguration of found and discarded timber cut-offs (design) as material stock for digitally fabricated laminate wood structures (fabrication). Leveraging computational design tools—AI, parametric design software and more—students explore novel economic models that are smaller, more sustainable, and circular.

who are seeking an internship or new employment opportunities. Focus includes building networking skills, verbal and communication skills and how to increase their human capital.

48-668—Sankofa Greenhouse Instructor: Vicky Achnani. Amid the Anthropocene, this bamboo assembly intervention exemplifies low-carbon, community-centered design. It challenges extractive architectural norms through upcycling, participatory pedagogy, and sustainable prototyping. Addressing climate justice and food apartheid, it reimagines education as experiential, resilient, and civically engaged—aligning architecture with circular economies and the exigencies of our tumultuous epoch.

Design Ethics Fall 48-313/48-613—Unreasonable Architecture Instructor: Tuliza Sindi. This course makes the architectural Western canon (rather than emerging practices within it) the object of scrutiny, and derives tools that can expand knowledge frameworks to include Indigenous prac­tices and cosmologies through transdisciplinary methods and alter­native spatial language mediums.

48-368—Rediscovering Antiquity: Archaeology for Architects Instructor: Francesca Torello. This course engages critically with the outsized influence of antiquity on architectural theory and practice by following the intertwined histories of architecture and archaeology, from the mid-18th to the early 20th century.

48-371—City & Suburb: Housing in America After 1850

Instructor: Lori Claus. This course is geared towards graduate students

Instructor: Diane Shaw. This architectural history course examines the development of American house and housing choices during the period 1850-1975. A recurring picture of the “American Dream” has typically included the image of a single-

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Programs on Offer

48-661 A3 Mini—Professional Development

family, detached dwelling set within its own green yard in the suburbs. However powerful and durable that image is, the history of house and home in America is actually a far more complex story with many different twists and turns.

48-560/48-750—Design & Redesign of Capital Cities

design seminar that charts environmental uncertainty and contends with the role of spatial practices in territorial and ecological transformations. Central to our attention is the region of Western Pennsylvania, its rivers, forests, fracklands, cities and its associated social, political, cultural and material geographies.

Instructor: Diane Shaw. This architectural and urban design history course examines the cultural histories of the design and redesign of world cities. The scale of urban interventions we look at varies greatly, from the macro-scale of designing totally new capitals to the micro-scale of altering small nodes within a city.

48-367/48-667—Material Histories

48-634—Architectural Theory & Contemporary Issues

48-433/48-633—Afrofuturism and Othered Ways of Seeing & Being in the World

Instructor: Kai Gutschow. This graduate seminar explores important writings and ideas being discussed in architecture today in relation to “Design Ethics,” one of the central pedagogies of the school and the M.Arch program.

Design Ethics Spring 48-314/48-614—New Pedagogies: Material Regeneration—Prototyping Circular Materiality Instructor: Jongwan Kwon. The current energy crisis and climate change have impelled architects to challenge many standing assumptions in material culture and rethink the relationship between materials, the environment, construction methods, and labor. To address the urgent need for climate protection, architects should scrutinize the enduring material system and practices and seek simple, adaptive, and constructive solutions that enable ongoing change.

48-314/48-614—New Pedagogies: A Planet in the Scale of a Pellet in the Stomach of a Shiner in the Dream of a Gull

Instructor: Francesca Torello. This seminar looks at the history of the architecture of the last two centuries by following the thread of the history of materials. We learn from historical examples to assess the consequences of the choices we make as designers.

Instructor: Jackie Joseph Paul McFarland.

This course examines the issues of the destruction and reconstruction of buildings and cities. In doing so, we raise questions about the nature of architecture and cityscapes, cultural loss and cultural recovery, and how buildings and cities have come to represent other issues such as national identity and progress.

48-440/48-639—American Regions & Regionalism: An Architectural History of Place, Time and Culture Instructor: Diane Shaw. This course examines the ways in which the interactions and intersections of place, time and culture have created distinctive regional patterns. We primarily focus on the periods before the 20th century, when the forces of vernacular traditions were stronger, but we also make forays into more recent trends of regionalism as an aesthetic choice, a theoretical stance, and an intentional placemaking device.

48-442/48-642—History of Asian Architecture

Instructor: Theodossis (Theo) Issaias.

The course is organized as a research-by-

Instructor: Xin Chen. From prehistoric times to the 20th century, this course

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Course Descriptions

examines a broad spectrum of building forms and urban planning in China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia.

The course motivates next-generation architects to include an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective in their own works of design.

48-641—Modern Architecture: History & Theory Instructor: Kai Gutschow. This course investigates the history of a wide range of buildings, architecture, cities, landscapes and theory across the 20th century around the world. We interrogate the deep legacies of colonialism, globalization, extractivism and capitalism in which modern architecture so actively participated.

48-699 A4 Mini—Environmental Racism, Injustice and Unfreedom: Lessons for Architects and Designers Instructor: Morgan Newman. This seminar examines the histories and definitions of environmental racism, environmental injustice/justice and environmental unfreedoms.

Design Research Fall 48-313/48-613—New Pedagogies: Acoustic Topologies Instructor: Misri Patel. By delving into the fundamentals of acoustics and employing quantitative prototyping methods, this course examines the application of the acoustic performancebased design (APBD) method.

48-409/48-709—History and Future of Interaction Design Instructor: Paul Pangaro. The history of Interaction Design (IxD) is far richer than what is visible from today’s tech.

Many great ideas have been mangled and even lost. By making prototypes inspired by this history, we reach new insights and illuminate a future of promises and perils.

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48-482/48-682—Advanced Structural Design: Computational Explorations Instructor: Juney Lee. This course introduces advanced topics in computational structural design and analysis. Through various form-finding algorithms and design methodologies, students learn how to use structural geometry as a key design driver to shape efficient and expressive forms.

48-516/48-616 A1 Mini—NOMAS Competition Instructor: William Bates. The focus of this course is for students to prepare an entry for the 2024 Barbara G. Laurie NOMA Student Design Competition, entitled “The Highway to Healing: The Transformation of the West Baltimore I-40 Corridor.” The prompt includes the repurposing of an abandoned highway that bisects an urban community with a new transit hub, housing and commercial development.

48-531/48-771—Fabricating Customization: Prototype Instructor: Jeremy Ficca. This course foregrounds architectural component customization to explore prototyping and customization within the context of contemporary practice.

48-555/48-755—Introduction to Architectural Robotics Instructor: Joshua Bard. This course provides a practical, hands-on introduction to the application of industrial robotics in architectural and related construction domains. It also provides students with the necessary knowledge and safety protocols to work in the architectural robotics lab.

48-568—Advanced CAD, BIM and 3D Visualization Instructor: Kristen Kurland. This course is designed to introduce students to 3D software tools, including Autodesk AutoCAD 3D, Revit Architecture and/or 3D Studio MAX.

Programs on Offer

48-626 A1 Mini—Bending Active Systems: Bamboo Research Pavilion Using Robotic Arm and Steam Bending Instructor: Vicky Achnani. In this course, students engage with the process of material distribution and designing, tooling, testing, prototyping and true-scale fabrication using bamboo, a meticulous endeavor that extends the sphere of their architectural education.

48-651 A1 Mini—Vector Visions: Introduction to Image Processing and AI for Designers Instructor: Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng.

This course integrates computer vision and generative AI for students in architecture, urban design, sustainable design and related fields. It covers fundamental image processing and generative AI concepts like generative adversarial networks (GANs) and diffusion models.

48-652 A2 Mini—Pixels to Photons: Introduction to Stable Diffusion and Projection Mapping Instructor: Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng.

This course integrates computer vision and generative AI for students in architecture, urban design, sustainable design and related fields. It covers fundamental image processing and generative AI concepts like GANs and diffusion models.

48-668 B2 Mini—Sankofa Bamboo Greenhouse Instructor: Vicky Achnani. Amid the Anthropocene, this bamboo assembly intervention exemplifies low-carbon, community-centered design. It challenges extractive architectural norms through upcycling, participatory pedagogy, and sustainable prototyping.

Addressing climate justice and food apartheid, it reimagines education as experiential, resilient, and civically engaged—aligning architecture with circular economies and the exigencies of our tumultuous epoch.

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48-675 A2 Mini—Designing for the Internet of Things Instructor: Daragh Byrne. This course charts the emergence of the now connected world to explore the possibilities for future products and connected spaces with the Internet of Things (IoT). This introductory, hands-on course invites students without any knowledge of programming, electronics or systems to create connected products.

62-315/62-715—Shaping Environments: Experiments in Geometry and (Waste) Matter Instructor: Dana Čupková. This seminar explores alterna­tive material formations beyond our petrochemical reality. At the intersection of matter, environ­ment, form and advanced manu­facturing, the course investigates new techno-ecological imaginaries through prototyping.

94-802—Geographic Information Systems Instructor: Kristen Kurland. In this course, students learn how to use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to investigate spatial relationships, patterns and processes of cultural, biological, demographic, economic, social, environmental, health and other phenomena.

Design Research Spring 48-314/48-614—New Pedagogies: Computing, Cognition and Syntax— Beyond Seeing, Doing and Being Instructor: Vernelle A. A. Noel.

This interdisciplinary course investigates the intersections of computing, cognition, and syntax through the visualperceptual, rule-based approach of shape grammars.

48-551/48-751—Lab for Cybernetics: Engaging Wicked Challenges Instructor: Paul Pangaro. The Laboratory for Cybernetics enables students to

Course Descriptions

engage with wicked challenges using models and methods from Cybernetics and Systems.

48-557—Formless as an Operation Instructor: Heather Bizon. This seminar focuses on the formless as an operation relative to social constructs, parametrics and aesthetics. Students develop an archive and original visualizations that utilize multiple mediums and platforms to culminate in a final project as part of an exhibition.

48-615—Experiments in Reuse Instructor: Joshua D. Lee. This course takes reuse as our point of design and construction inspiration. Students select salvaged materials from a local material reseller and experiment with material reconfigurations informed by a wide range of related reuse practices, organizations and precedents.

48-626—Bending Active System_ Bamboo Research Pavilion Using Robotic Arm and Steam Bending Instructor: Vicky Achnani. This course leverages tooling, rapid prototyping, iterative mod­e l-making and design to explore bamboo’s full potential. By manip­ ulating and testing variable cross sections, it investigates novel spanning systems that reveal structural performance and expressive logic rooted in the material’s intrinsic behavior.

48-632—Taxonavigating the Digital Space Instructor: Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng.

This course focuses on the search engine and the discussion of digital representations in the context of search engines and generative AI. 48-795 A3 Mini—LEED, Green Design and Building Ratings

USGBC’s LEED Cities & Communities Rating System and the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Envision Rating System as springboards for exploration and discussion of other world rating systems that address these topics.

48-787 A4 Mini—LEED, Green Infrastructure and Community Rating in Global Context Instructor: Yiqun Pan. This course compares global community and infrastructure rating systems to gain perspective about sustainable infrastructure development and community design. The course uses USGBC's LEED Cities & Communities Rating System and the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Envision Rating System as springboards for exploration and discussion of other world rating systems that address these topics.

62-408/62-708 A3 Mini—Theater Architecture I Instructor: Hal Hayes. A diverse student cohort drawn from Architecture, Drama and Arts Management students works with the actual client, the Festival d’Avignon, and theater consultants Jean Guy Lecat and Len Auerbach to plan and program the project design challenge as part of the co-requisite studio.

62-418/62-718 A4 Mini—Theater Architecture II Instructor: Hal Hayes. Students work with the programming and planning guidelines developed in the prerequisite course “62-408/62-708: Theater Architecture I” to further define the building design (Architecture students), performing arts programming (MAM students), and production systems (Drama students) for the subject theater project.

Instructor: Yiqun Pan. This course compares global community and infrastructure rating systems to gain perspective about sustainable infrastructure development and community design. The course uses

62-706—Serious Game: Generative Systems for Worldbuilding

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Programs on Offer

Instructor: Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng.

This course focuses on using software as a storytelling machine to provoke

architectural thinking about reality.

Through the interaction, simulation and immersion of play, we can experiment with ideas, collect data and create narratives about our vision of the future built environment.

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Course Descriptions

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News Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s research centers have a rich and venerable history of leading the architecture discipline in research excellence in sustainable, computational and urban design.

Our faculty members combine their deep expertise in architectural subdisciplines (the “vertical” dimension) with broad, collaborative interconnectedness across campus and the globe (the “horizontal” dimension). The result? Our research centers push the boundaries of architecture, forge connections beyond the discipline and draw government, industry and nonprofit partners to fund and apply our work.

Cybernetics imagined as a biology of networks, an ecology of mind, a design for conversation (above), one of several panel discussions held at the 2025 CMU Building Performance & Diagnostics Symposium (right).

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Research Centers & Laboratories

Laboratory for Cybernetics (L4C) Director: Paul Pangaro. L4C is an experimental studio that integrates cybernetic thinking, systems theory and design. It empowers students across disciplines to engage with complex, “wicked” challenges through research, collaboration and creative inquiry. L4C supports thesis work, design briefs, and cybernetic project prototyping—such as the “Re‑Braiding Cybernetics & AI” exhibit, transgenerational colloquies, and development of a cybernetic design toolkit. The lab cultivates resource networks, practitioner partnerships, and student-led experimentation, positioning conversation-based systems at the forefront of architectural innovation.

L4C received 30 submissions from across multiple academic departments from CMU Pittsburgh and from CMU Africa in its first annual #NewMacy Cybernetics $50,000 prize design competition.

Focused on wicked challenges from a cybernetic/systems lens, the international jury, chaired by Omar Khan, announced the winners in June 2025.

Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics (CBPD) Director: Erica Cochran Hameen.

The CBPD, in conjunction with its university-industry-government partnership the Advanced Building Systems Integration Consortium (ABSIC), is engaged in groundbreaking work that investigates the impact of natural and advanced technologies on the physical, environmental and social quality in buildings and communities. The CBPD works to advance building systems and systems integration for environmental sustainability; human health and productivity; and organizational flexibility and performance.

On Friday, April 4, 2025, global scholars gathered in the Intelligent Workplace for the inaugural CMU Building Performance & Diagnostics Symposium.

The event was a huge success, with attendees including 15 Ph.D. graduates, 12 alumni and eight current graduate

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students, along with faculty, staff and students connected to Ph.D. alumni and CM-A.The event showcased extraordinary work from around the world, celebrated the emergence of a new generation of scholars, and offered reflections on what to study, where to work, and what the world needs most. A dedicated career development panel provided valuable guidance for current students, offering insights into diverse career paths and professional growth. From breakfast through dinner, the Intelligent Workplace buzzed with inspiration, ideas and laughter.

Computational Design Laboratory (CodeLab) Director: Daniel Cardoso Llach. The CodeLab is a post-disciplinary research and learning laboratory exploring critical questions and creative opportunities at the nexus of design, computation and the built environment. Current work includes research into experimental design and fabrication systems, tangible interaction, spatial analytics, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, data visualization and architectural robotics, and theoretical questions concerning technology in design.

The CodeLab secured an $80,000 gift from Autodesk to support its teaching and research initiatives with a focus on critical approaches to AI in design, and a new series of digital and print publications that will disseminate the lab’s research and pedagogical projects.

Remaking Cities Institute (RCI) Director: Stefan Gruber. The RCI is a research center for urbanism, participatory action and community design. Its mission is to catalyze spatial equity and resilience in the future of cities.

It provides a forum for transdisciplinary discourse and collaboration, radical imagination, creative advocacy and placebased activism in response to the most urgent contemporary issues in urbanism.

It contributes to the Pittsburgh region’s revitalization and advances community leadership in that process.

of ceramics through digital fabrication, ecological design and material science.

Operating under Liminal Projects, LACE develops dynamic, sustainable ceramic systems through hands-on prototyping and interdisciplinary collaboration.

It plays a key role in advancing ceramic innovation in architecture. LACE is also central to Khan and Garófalo’s broader work, including the Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop (ACAW), an annual collaboration with Boston Valley Terra Cotta that brings together architects, artists, and manufacturers to prototype terracotta facade systems and experimental structural assemblies.

LACE completed the Artpark Grotto in Lewiston, N. Y. Entirely built from waterjet cut extruded terracotta panels, the permanent installation presents an innovative use of one of the oldest building materials, terracotta, which has been reworked by digital fabrication technologies to create a unique haptic and sensorial experience that communicates bioclimatic conditions and ecological processes.

Situated Computation + Design Lab (Sit.Co.De)

Directors: Laura Garófalo, Omar Khan.

LACE explores the architectural potential

Director: Vernelle A. A. Noel. Sit.Co.De generates new knowledge through design and making practices. It is an interdisciplinary research lab that asks questions about technology, knowledge, skill, society, and more by examining sites and acts of design and making, and draws from fields in computing, and science technology and society studies (STS). Sites include craft and technological practices, digital design and fabrication with emerging and automated technologies in architecture, design, and the built environment. Work includes analysis, prototyping, developing novel tools and methods, as well as utilizing cuttingedge technologies. The lab fosters a culture of hands-on experimentation with critical inquiry, investigating the relationships between making, knowledge and computational systems. At the lab, research, teaching and practice are all interconnected.

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The RCI contributed to two international architecture biennials.

At the Architecture Biennial of Rotterdam, RCI presented its research on Uruguay’s mutual aid housing cooperatives.

At the Tbilisi Architecture Biennale, RCI showcased the fifth iteration of the traveling exhibition An Atlas of Commoning and co-organized a symposium exploring the commons in a post-Soviet context.

Lab for Architectural Ceramic Experimentation (LACE)

On January 30, 2025, lab director Vernelle A. A. Noel held a book launch and gave a talk on her new book, “Critical Computational Relations in Design, Architecture and the Built Environment,” co-edited with Dr. Yana Boeva. The book explores computational practices, tools and methods and how they mask social, political and environmental entanglement.

Regenerative Structures Laboratory (RSL) Director: Juney Lee. The RSL explores how architecture can actively restore ecosystems through regenerative

materials, computational design, and sustainable construction methods. RSL merges structural optimization, circular material research, and digital fabrication to prototype low-carbon, ecologically integrated structures. With a focus on locally sourced, bio-based materials, the lab’s work includes full-scale testing— such as its 3D printed pilot project—and builds partnerships across Pittsburgh’s supply and fabrication networks. Grounded in both pedagogy and practice, RSL advances a future where buildings don’t just reduce harm, but restore ecosystems and sequester carbon, pushing the built environment beyond sustainability toward true regeneration.

In January 2025, the RSL completed its first full-scale prototype made of compressed hemp fiber boards. As a part of the PJ Dick Innovation Fund program, this project demonstrates how alternative, more sustainable materials can be scaled up for structural applications when combined with novel structural design methods.

Work view of Autodesk modeling software. Junke Zhao, MSCD ’25 (top left). View of “Community Condenser,” RCI’s display as part of the exhibition “Nature of Hope” at the New Institute in Rotterdam. Photo: Jacqueline Fuijkschot (bottom left). Vernelle A. A. Noel’s book launch at the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO For Creative Inquiry. From left to right: Richard Nisa, Morgan Newman, Noel and Tuliza Sindi. Photo: David Zak (top right).

The final RSL prototype on display at the PJ Dick Innovation Fund Round 1 Awardees Celebration Event on Jan. 24, 2025. From left to right: Juney Lee, Isaac Martinotti, Hazel Froling and Darin Kim (bottom right).

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2024 Faculty Grants Program Thanks to a strategic investment from the PJ Dick Trumbull Lindy Group to advance the mission of Carnegie Mellon Architecture (CM-A), the school recently concluded an impactful first year funding cycle of faculty research projects that address the challenges of climate change, artificial intelligence and social justice.

The 2024 PJ Dick Innovation Fund Faculty Grants Program supported 10 design research projects and seven experimental courses exploring the three challenges. These diverse initiatives reflect the broader culture of the school. Many projects focused on the Pittsburgh region as a critical site of history, architecture and urbanism. Others explored global perspectives, with the funds making possible faculty and student work and travel in Thailand, India and Nepal.

While the impact of this work will mature in the coming years, the funds have already enabled two book publications and faculty participation in journal publications, academic conferences, and the ability to compete for additional funding.

Students have also been an integral part of nearly every funded project in this cycle. Twenty-five students were hired as research assistants, gaining valuable project based experience. The funds also impacted student learning with a total of 152 students enrolled this past year in a course directly supported by PJ Dick.

As our industry grapples with the interconnected realities of ecological, social and technological change, we gratefully recognize PJ Dick’s support of this work and a future generation of practitioners who will transform the way we imagine and construct our built world.

Project Grant Awardees ● Jeremy Ficca, Associate Professor; Farm to P rototype: Constructing Biogenic Robustness Through Hempcrete Prototypes ● Tommy CheeMou Yang, Visiting Special Faculty; Village in the City, City in the Village: The Twelve Villages of San Pu Loei ● Sarosh Anklesaria, Assistant Teaching Professor; Contestations of Modernity: Origins, Obsolescence and Liberatory Futures for a City Museum 364

PJ Dick Innovation Fund

● Vernelle A. A. Noel, Lucian and Rita Caste Assistant Professor in Architecture; Craft Practices and Computation in Three Cultures: Pittsburgh, South Carolina and Thailand ● Azadeh O. Sawyer, Assistant Professor in Building Technology; Leveraging AI for Equitable Lighting: Smart and Adaptive Solutions for Healthy Environments ● Vicky Achnani, Associate Studio Professor; The Second Life: From Waste to Oasis_ A Greenhouse Design-Build Project Using Bamboo as the Primary Material ● Priyanka Bista, Joseph F. Thomas Visiting Professor; Sharing the Entangled Stories of the Anthropocene: Multispecies Conflicts/Multispecies Futures Globally and Locally ● Joshua D. Lee, Assistant Professor; Sustainable Design for Uncertain Futures Book Production and Website Enhancement Support ● Matthew Huber, Special Faculty; (de)Mass(ing) Timber: Geometric and Tectonic Strategies for Material Resource Reduction in Timber Construction ● Juney Lee, T. David Fitz-Gibbon Assistant Professor of Architecture; Regenerative Structures Laboratory: Seed Funding for Pilot Prototype Teaching Grant Awardees ● Jongwan Kwon, Assistant Teaching Professor; Urbanism and Social Production of Space ● Dana Čupková, Associate Professor; Image Deep:/ Contested Matter ● Francesca Torello, Special Faculty; The Pittsburgh Sequence ● Jared Abraham, Associate Studio Professor; Mixed Use in Pittsburgh's “Climate Haven” ● Daragh Byrne, Associate Teaching Professor; Data Dump: Unmaking Intelligent Spaces ● Tuliza Sindi, Curator of Public Programs and Director of Publications; Unreasonable Architecture 365

2024 Faculty Grants Program Project Grants The project grants support projects that address the school’s three pedagogical challenges. It supports the diverse work of CM-A’s faculty in creative practice, professional practice, artistic practice, funded research, participatory design, design build, curation, scholarship, critical and digital humanities, and more.

Funds may be used as seed funding to start a project with the aim of getting external support, and for continued work on a project that may not have the option for sponsored research. Example uses for funds include: ● Pre-project planning: feasibility studies, background research, teaming, grant writing ● Project execution: supplies, equipment, research assistants, travel ● Post-project dissemination: publications, exhibitions, media production ● Collaborative events and publications: symposia, conferences, workshops, pamphlets, anthologies, curatorial projects, group exhibitions, collective installations Funding Details: ● Total funding available: $80,000 per year ● Funding per project: $2,500 to $20,000 Teaching Grants The teaching grants program recognizes that the future of architecture and its related industries starts with the education of the profession’s next generation of practitioners through innovative pedagogies.

Teaching grants support changes to existing courses and the development of new courses that focus on the school’s three pedagogical challenges. Example uses for funds include:

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PJ Dick Innovation Fund

● Developing new courses ● Implementing significant changes to existing courses ● Piloting new initiatives including materials, equipment, external expertise and more Funding Details: ● Total funding available: $20,000 per year ● Funding per course: $2,500 to $5,000

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Jeremy Ficca

Farm to Prototype: Constructing Biogenic Robustness Through Hempcrete Prototypes

This project is for the construction and testing of a series of full-scale hempcrete architectural assemblies. It applies and tests ongoing research into carbon sequestering and biogenic methods of construction through a series of prototypical architectural conditions.

Particular emphasis is directed to monolithic, lower-tech methods of construction that utilize the unique affordances of hemp-lime material composites. The prototypes are instrumental in testing methods of site-formed and prefabricated unitized hempcrete elements to develop a language of construction that addresses the unique hybridity of hempcrete construction that bridges stereotomic and tectonic methodologies.

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PJ Dick Innovation Fund

Tommy CheeMou Yang

Village in the City, City in the Village: The Twelve Villages of San Pu Loei

Chiang Mai, the capital city of the historically remote mountain valley Kingdom of Lanna in Northern Thailand, is experiencing unprecedented urban development. Lanna means “one million rice fields” and due to its cultural and natural riches, the city was formerly a culturally diverse regional trading center but is now easily reached by an international airport.

This ease of access has especially threatened the village-based rice fields that give the historical Kingdom its name. In collaboration with Chiang Mai University, the proposal expands a relationship between designers, students and local villagers to focus on the current urbanization of a municipality of agricultural villages in San Pu Loei. This research has three main objectives: 1) to foster a community empowered design research praxis through design, 2) develop a design build project in San Pu Loei working with craftsfolks from Thailand, and 3) investigate how craft practices of Chiang Mai’s urban villagers inform socio-ecological justice tactics in the development of a new theoretical framework through a current book proposal, “Compoundologies.” These stories are proposals for a future Chiang Mai Valley rooted in kinship and commons making.

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2024 Faculty Grants Program

Sarosh Anklesaria

Contestations of Modernity: Origins, Obsolescence and Liberatory Futures for a City Museum

This project is a book that offers readings in Design Ethics on questions of broad contemporary import: that of participatory publics in an era of neoliberal development and hardline politics, of design and its spatial agency, of the legacies and futures of modernism in the Global South, and of the care and repair of buildings and cities in an age of climate crises.

As a prompt for this inquiry, it uses a relatively obscure project by Le Corbusier and B. V. Doshi, the Sanskar Kendra/City Museum, at multiple scales, times and disciplinary lenses.

From the ambitions of its inception to the discourses for its prospective demise, from construction details to publics imagined and excluded, architecture’s role in projects of city and nation building is mapped through historiography, design analysis, urban sociology, museum programming and heritage discourse. The readings aim at opening up imaginations for the building far from hagiographic discourses that often underpin debates of modern buildings and their vulnerable futures.

More broadly, the editors seek to question the normalization of architecture-as-spectacle in design culture and media. The story of Sanskar Kendra offers concrete illustration of architectural agency as a constructed enterprise with social, political and ethical reverberations.

The book also uses work from design studios at Cornell and Carnegie Mellon universities as an invitation to consider alternative, liberatory futures—other ways of worldmaking.

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PJ Dick Innovation Fund

Vernelle A. A. Noel

Craft Practices and Computation in Three Cultures: Pittsburgh, South Carolina and Thailand

This project is an ethnographic study, computational investigation and design exploration of craft practices in three different locations: willow, wire and textile weaving in Pittsburgh; the Gullah tradition of sweetgrass basket weaving in South Carolina; and joinery, umbrella-making and weaving in Thailand. Starting from a Situated Computations framework, this research project has three main components: 1) examining craft through computational modes of inquiry, 2) comparing these craft practices across cultures, and 3) examining how situated sociocultural practices can inform computational ideas and develop new theoretical frameworks. Investigations in Pittsburgh include conducting ethnographic work and engaging in workshops with craftspeople and artists. Investigations in South Carolina include conducting ethnographic fieldwork, visiting sites where sweetgrass is grown and is at risk, and participating in workshops to learn the craft. Investigations in Chiang Mai, Thailand include ethnographic work and workshops. Outcomes include papers, presentations, exhibitions of the research and artifacts, and conducting workshops to explore computational approaches to these crafts.

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2024 Faculty Grants Program

Azadeh O. Sawyer

Leveraging AI for Equitable Lighting: Smart and Adaptive Solutions for Healthy Environments

Lighting design in indoor spaces traditionally remains static and unresponsive to external and internal conditions, neglecting the well-being of occupants and their preferences. Our research centers on the concept of “light equity,” emphasizing that lighting systems should not only provide circadian lighting for occupant well-being, but also adapt to external and internal factors affecting human mood and perception. Historically, lighting practices have primarily prioritized task performance, disregarding their impact on human well-being and resulting in disparities in access to quality lighting in various office settings. The project addresses these disparities by developing a user-centric smart lighting system that collaborates with the architectural facade to enhance mood and perception while ensuring equitable access to quality lighting in everyday spaces. The project has several key objectives, including a comprehensive investigation of how specific lighting attributes, such as Correlated Color Temperature (CCT), brightness and facade systems impact human perception and well-being in office environments that combine natural and electric lighting.

Additionally, we developed an adaptive lighting system that works with the facade system and is tailored to individual needs and preferences.

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Vicky Achnani

The Second Life: From Waste to Oasis_ A Greenhouse Design-Build Project Using Bamboo as the Primary Material

Existing methods of architectural practice, characterized by the incessant use of carbon-intensive materials, which account for 40% of global emissions, and working in isolation in a studio without user input, clearly indicate that education for the next generation of architects must actively incorporate carbon-conscious construction. Additionally, it should provide opportunities to establish trusting and constructive relationships with the people they design for. Our era behooves that we make our communities resilient, foster alternative local economies, and challenge architectural education to promote circularity and upcycling. This year-long studio project is carefully curated with the aforementioned aspects in mind by utilizing bamboo that has been repurposed from the previous NOMAS Spring Carnival Pavilion installed on campus. The project set a cogent case of low-carbon practices through a full-scale intervention for Sankofa Village. Constructing a greenhouse for the locals, the project exposes students to the intricacies of participatory design. Establishing a new classroom that deviates from the conventions, the students develop a comprehensive understanding of the site's subtleties, the intrinsic properties of the materials, and the intricacies of the design-build process.

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2024 Faculty Grants Program

Priyanka Bista

Sharing the Entangled Stories of the Anthropocene: Multispecies Conflicts/Multispecies Futures Globally and Locally

The Anthropocene is predominantly known as an era witnessing the greatest biodiversity loss. However, it is also an era that is negatively impacting and violently excluding the most marginalized human communities, often under the guise of biodiversity conservation mechanisms. The work supports local communities to conserve their biodiversity-rich landscapes through its work over the last two years. This phase of the project is for the dissemination of stories globally as a storybook of methodologies, and locally as a series of stories shared as an exhibit.

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2024 Faculty Grants Program

Joshua D. Lee

Sustainable Design for Uncertain Futures Book Production and Website Enhancement Support

Lifecycle change processes in most buildings are very costly and characterized by material waste, energy inefficiencies and lost productive potential. All buildings change and when they do the full costs are often externalized to communities in many ways: embodied skill and material energy is lost when buildings are demolished; toxic materials are released into the environment and present hazards to workers during the renovation process; and dramatic alternating cycles of disinvestment and reinvestment are often traumatic for communities and compound income inequalities. The effects are exacerbating the problems of climate change and social injustice. In the project lead’s course, “48-763—Protean Systems: Sustainable Solutions for Uncertain Futures,” students are introduced to a wide range of time-based strategies through key readings and case studies. The project comprises an in-progress book and an engaging website with edited video excerpts and interactive diagrams as the work’s modes of dissemination. The aim of the book and website are to provide academics and practitioners with strategies that can be used in combination throughout the building project lifecycle to help designers align their work with the appropriate forces of change.

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PJ Dick Innovation Fund

Matthew Huber, Juney Lee & Azadeh O. Sawyer

(de)Mass(ing) Timber: Geometric and Tectonic Strategies for Material Resource Reduction in Timber Construction

Mass timber, boosted by industry marketing, is heralded as the construction industry’s emerging savior from climate catastrophe. Yet little is understood about the implications of widespread adoption: are Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools accurately accounting for logging industry emissions and the sequestration potential of forests in carbon calculations?

What is the impact of forest fires and climate fluctuations on the timber industry's capacity?

How will increases in production impact ecologies and land use? The World Resources Institute identifies growing timber demand as a critical pressure on land use and global carbon, challenging the optimism projected by mass timber manufacturers. This work studies a typical structural bay as a use case for lightweight timber assemblies using form-finding techniques to critically reform mass timber assemblies with reduced resource intensiveness as a way of mitigating impacts on climate and ecology.

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2024 Faculty Grants Program

Juney Lee

Regenerative Structures Laboratory: Seed Funding for Pilot Prototype

This project establishes the Regenerative Structures Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon Architecture. To address the greater challenges of climate change, this cutting-edge lab aims to propel the construction industry from a sustainable (minimizing harmful impact of future construction) to a more regenerative (maximizing positive impact to offset emissions from both past and future construction) design paradigm. The transdisciplinary research at the lab across the areas of 1) artificial intelligence-driven computational structural design; 2) regenerative, renewable and circular materials; and 3) sustainable construction methods, are united by an effort to design and materialize building structures—the largest contributor to a building’s embodied energy—more responsibly through emerging digital technologies that are scalable and accessible to a broader range of social and economic contexts.

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PJ Dick Innovation Fund

Jongwan Kwon

Urbanism and Social Production of Space

This course introduces contemporary urbanism, exploring how cities and urban systems are made, remade and even unmade. It approaches urbanism through theory, research and practice to investigate the interplay of physical, social, environmental, technological, political and economic forces shaping urbanization and urban life. With a focus on challenges like climate change, artificial intelligence and social justice, the course includes urban theory readings, design and research projects, guest lectures and workshops on topics such as climate resilience, sustainable communities, open data mapping, surveillance, gender and subculture. As a mandatory course for B.Arch and B.A. students, it serves as the primary urban studies offering in the undergraduate curriculum, aiming to deepen students’ critical and theoretical design thinking.

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2024 Faculty Grants Program

Dana Čupková

Image Deep:/Contested Matter

Amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning reshaping design, this studio interrogates AI’s role beyond visual inspiration. Focusing on natural materials like bio-cement, students build analog material models to guide AI workflows—particularly moving beyond text-to-image aesthetics. The process fosters deeper understanding of technology’s societal impacts, challenging the notion of AI as merely a tool, and emphasizing material research linked with AI processes.

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Francesca Torello

The Pittsburgh Sequence

This project develops a sequence of courses rooted in Pittsburgh’s urban and architectural history. It includes “Exploring Pittsburgh” (a first-year course), an upper-year studio component, and an urban history elective titled “Pittsburgh Through the Archives.” Each offers hands-on engagement with archival research, oral histories, and urban storytelling to build a situated understanding of the city. The initiative reinforces local grounding as a model for architectural pedagogy in a global context.

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Jared Abraham

Mixed-Use in Pittsburgh’s “Climate Haven”

This course explores how Pittsburgh’s potential as a “climate haven” can inspire adaptive, sustainable architectural models. Students investigate mixed-use typologies that integrate climate resilience, affordability and spatial justice. Through research and speculative design, the course evaluates how development in a warming world can address migration patterns, environmental adaptation and inclusive growth.

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Daragh Byrne

Data Dump: Unmaking Intelligent Spaces

This course is a three-year Advanced Synthesis Option Studio sequence that engages students in design research through the lens of e-waste. The studio investigates material flows, embedded intelligence, and the consequences of digital consumption. Students dismantle, repurpose and reimagine the waste infrastructure of “smart” systems, translating critical inquiry into fabrication and speculative design work that proposes more ethical futures for technology and architecture.

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Tuliza Sindi

Unreasonable Architecture

This course introduces students to alternative systems of spatial knowledge, prioritizing restorative and just design approaches. Drawing from Indigenous systems, politics, ecology and critical theory, the course challenges modern architecture’s complicity in systems of oppression. It includes workshops, seminars and collaborative outputs with a focus on dismantling unjust spatial frameworks toward generating radical and emancipatory modes of architectural practice.

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2025 Faculty Grants Program Project Grant Awardees ● Christine Mondor, Special Faculty; From Pipes to People and Places: Regime Change in Urban Water Infrastructure ● Nida Rehman, Assistant Professor; South Asian Urban Climates ● Dana Čupková, Professor; MycoRubble: Regenerative Biomatter ● Theodossis (Theo) Issaias, Special Faculty; Unmapping State Monocultures ● Tommy CheeMou Yang, Special Faculty; Of Mothers and Dragons: Tracing the Life Worlds of Chiang Mai’s Peri Urban Through Water and Craft ● Vernelle A. A. Noel, Lucian and Rita Caste Assistant Professor in Architecture; Building, Builders and Built-Things: Pittsburgh, Charleston and Chiang Mai ● Stefan Gruber, Associate Professor; CommonsPublic-Partnerships: Scaling Cooperative Housing for Just Transitions in Cities ● Vicky Achnani, Associate Studio Professor; Second Life: From Waste to Oasis Teaching Grant Awardees ● Vicky Achnani, Associate Studio Professor; Bending Active Systems_Bamboo Research Pavilion I— Prototyping Material and Spanning Systems in Bamboo Using Robotic Arms and Steam-Bending ● Jared Abraham, Associate Studio Professor; Unlikely Hybrids ● Juney Lee, T. David Fitz-Gibbon Assistant Professor of Architecture; Advanced Structural Design: Computational Explorations ● Jongwan Kwon, Assistant Teaching Professor; Material Regeneration: Prototyping Material Circularity

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Awards Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s annual awards program provides over $100,000 to support travel, projects, internships and research for undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty. Awards also recognize student work in public interest design, design and representation, sustainable design and professional promise.

We appreciate the generous support of our donors for making these awards available and the juries for their work evaluating the applicants. We also extend our thanks to EPIC Metals for sponsoring the reception following the spring awards ceremony.

● Vanshika Bhaiya (B.Arch ’25); Urban Intelligence at the Biennale Architettura, Venice, 2025; Award: $2,000 ● Sohyun Jin (MSCD ’25); Presenting co-authored paper “A Minimal Fabrication Grammar for Friction-Based 3D Lattice Structures” at CAADRIA Conference, Tokyo, 2025; Award: $2,000 ● Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil (PhDArch); Attending 113th Annual ACSA Meeting: REPAIR, New Orleans, 2025; Award: $2,000

FALL 2024

Measuring & Monitoring Services, Inc. Internship Fund

Project & Internship Support

This fund provides financial support to undergraduate students who wish to undertake a summer internship or related program under the guidance of established professionals during the summer preceding their final year of undergraduate study.

Jury: Jongwan Kwon (Chair), Vicky Achnani, Lori Claus, Misri Patel Burdett Assistantship This award is open to students pursuing their first professional degree in architecture and is intended to support projects and activities that will enhance the winning student’s future work. ● Grace Kolosek (B.Arch ’25), Function + Necessity: Mothering Through Architecture + Artifact, Award: $3,000 ● Patrick Zheng (B.Arch ’26), Rethinking Bamboo Tectonics with Digital Fabrication, Award: $3,000 ● Sanjana Bandaru (M.Arch ’26), Documentation of Architectural Exhibitions and Curatorial Strategies, Award: $3,000 Alwin Cassens, Jr. Memorial Fund in Architecture This fund provides financial support to students to attend conferences or other

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events in support of their academic pursuits in the area of public interest design.

● Charlie Hymowitz (B.Arch ’26); ARUP BIM Intern, Chicago, 2025; Award: $1,500

Sustainable Design Award Jury: Dana Čupková (Chair), Vicky Achnani, Yiqun Pan, Louis Suarez Ralph H. Burt Jr. and Alva L. Hill Scholarship This scholarship provides financial support to students whose work focuses on sustainable environments, performancebased design, and systems integration throughout the design process in alignment with the legacy of the work of Burt Hill. ● Alexandra Wang (B.Arch ’25), Award: $2,000 ● Khevna Modi (MSSD ’25), Award: $2,000

School Awards

Travel Awards Jury: Joshua D. Lee (Chair), Doug Cooper, Francesca Torello, Tommy CheeMou Yang Gindroz Prize for Summer Travel and Study in Europe This award was established to enrich lives and enhance education through travel and the study of traditional architecture, urbanism and music in Europe. ● Tai Le (M.Arch ’26), Local Architecture Reflections in Venice, Grado and Camargue Laguna, Award: $10,000 Luther S. Lashmit and Louis F. Valentour Traveling Scholarships These scholarships support international travel and research under the guidance of a faculty advisor for students with one or more years remaining in their degree program. ● Xian Li (B.Arch ’28), PostIndustrial Cityscapes in Northeast China: Urban Adaptations to Paradigm Shift, Award: $6,000 ● Jerry Xu (B.Arch ’26), Defying Urbanization: The Resilience of China’s Nail Houses, Award: $5,500 ● Waku Ken-Opurum (PhD-AECM); Visualizing the Breath of a Region: Exploring the Nexus of Air Quality, Health, and Community Engagement in the Niger Delta Through Art; Award: $6,500 ● Ifrah Asif (PhD-Arch), Travel for PhD Research Investigating the Impact of Climate Change on Built Heritage in Pakistan, Award: $2,500 ● Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil (PhD-Arch), Disrupted Lineages: Colonial Dispossessions, Erasure and the Unmaking of Kerala’s Matrilineal Taravads, Award: $5,500

Research Awards Jury: Kai Gutschow (Chair), Neal Lucas Hitch, Matthew Huber, Maryam Karimi

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Ferguson Jacobs Prize in Architecture This award supports projects and travel experiences that explore traditional architecture and building techniques as vital knowledge to an architect’s education, practice and scholarship. ● Vicky Achnani (Associate Studio Professor), Carbon and Craft_Joints of Circular Design: Design for Disassembly in the Construction Techniques of Traditional Japanese Architecture, Award: $6,500 ● Laura Garófalo (Associate Professor), Exploring the Manufacturing and Construction Traditions of Architectural Ceramics in China, Award: $6,500 Isabel Sophia Liceaga Discretionary Fund This award supports faculty-led projects that critically engage students and advance the mission and reputation of the school. ● Vicky Achnani (Associate Studio Professor), Resilience: Enhancing Bamboo Building System—Sankofa Community Green House_A Design Build Project Led by Students and Faculty

Additional Awards These awards are offered by organizations outside of Carnegie Mellon Architecture.

Andrew Carnegie Society (ACS) Scholars Program This award recognizes undergraduate seniors who embody CMU’s high standards of academic excellence, volunteerism, leadership and involvement in student organizations, athletics or the arts. Scholars receive a monetary award and participate in a giveback event with $5,000 to support student-led projects, campus organizations or the campus community. ● Jackie Yu (B.Arch ’25)

AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Student Award This award recognizes the exceptional scholastic achievement and future promise of a B.Arch student in the graduating class of each NAAB-accredited school in the state. ● J. Brody Ploeger (B.Arch ’25)

SPRING 2025 Design & Representation Awards EPIC Metals Competition The EPIC Metals Corporation sponsors this competition for third-year B.Arch students in the Praxis II Studio to design an innovative project incorporating metal deck systems. The project brief for the 20th annual competition in 2025 was “Forbes Avenue Pedestrian Bridge: A Pedestrian Bridge to Unify the North and South Sides of Campus.”

Spring 2025 Jury: Michael Schuyler, AIA (Manager of Estimating, EPIC Metals Corporation); Praxis II Studio Faculty: Jeremy Ficca (coordinator), Kristina Fisher, Maryam Karimi, Jongwan Kwon, Joel McCullough; Structures Faculty: Juney Lee ● First Place: Simon Han (B.Arch ’27) & Kiki Kuang (B.Arch ’27), Tartan Connection, Award: $3,000 ● Second Place: Tom Shen (B.Arch ’27) & Leo Wu (B.Arch ’27), Carnegie Gateway, Award: $2,600 ● Third Place: Lisa Chun (B.Arch ’27) & Catalina John-Melendez (B.Arch ’27), Arete, Award: $2,200 John Knox Shear Award This award recognizes exceptional design and representation as demonstrated through studio work.

Jury: Doug Cooper (Chair), Gloria Chang, Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng, Jackie Joseph Paul McFarland ● First Place: Angela Yang (B.Arch ’26), Award: $4,000

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● First Place: Henry Youngren (B.Arch ’26), Award: $4,000 ● Runner-up: Leyi Han (B.Arch ’26), Award: $3,000 ● Runner-up: Patrick Zheng (B.Arch ’26), Award: $3,000 ● Runner-up: Mingyang Zhu (B.Arch ’26), Award: $3,000

Professional Promise Award Stewart L. Brown Memorial Scholarship This scholarship recognizes professional promise in terms of attitudes and scholastic achievement.

Jury: Pittsburgh AIA Chapter leadership—Bob Shelton (President), Sean Sheffler (Immediate Past President), Rebecca Schwartz (First Vice President) ● First Place: Patrick Zheng (B.Arch ’26), Award: $7,000 ● Runner-up: Ella Moon (B.Arch ’26), Award: $3,000 ● Runner-up: Mingyang Zhu (B.Arch ’26), Award: $3,000

Public Interest Design Awards George W. Anderson, Jr. Award This award recognizes graduate students who demonstrate through their work an exceptional level of attention to detail or dedication to beneficially impacting the community. The nine finalists presented Pecha Kucha presentations of their work to fellow students and faculty on March 31.

Jury: Jonathan Kline (Chair), Kristen Kurland, Yiqun Pan, Azadeh O. Sawyer ● First Place: Clara Martucci (M.Arch ’25), FLORAL RITUALS: Weaving Local Village Stories Through Craftmaking & Performance, Award: $3,000 ● Runner-up: Sakshi Aparajit (MUD ’25) & Nakshatra Menon (MUD ’25), Braddock Reimagined:

School Awards

Designing a Sustainable and Inclusive Community, Award: $2,000 ● Runner-up: Ifrah Asif (PhD-Arch), Cultural Ecologies: CommunityBased Strategies for Climate Resilience in Cultural Heritage Preservation, Award: $2,000 ● Runner-up: Valeria Duque-Villegas (MUD ’25), Community Infrastructures of Resilience: From Mutual Care to Sustainable Cities, $2,000 ● Runner-up: Tai Le (M.Arch ’26), Lora Marks (M.Arch ’26), Sharvi Shah (M.Arch ’26) & Nicholas Thies (M.Arch ’26); PLAY PLANT: Praxis I—Design for Just Transitions; Award: $2,000 David Lewis Community Engagement Design Scholarship This award provides financial support to students who demonstrate a commitment to working within diverse communities through participatory architectural design processes and who demonstrate commitments to social justice and community service.

Jury: Diane Shaw (Chair), Vicky Achnani, Stefan Gruber, An Lewis ● First Place: Sakshi Aparajit (MUD ’25) & Nakshatra Menon (MUD ’25), Braddock Reimagined: Designing a Sustainable and Inclusive Community, Award: $3,000 ● Runner-up: Nathan Cottrell (B.Arch ’27), Project Management with the CMU Chapter of Freedom by Design, Award: $500

Sustainability Award Payette Prize in Building Science This award recognizes the accomplishments of a student who has achieved exceptional performance by integrating the fundamentals of building science in their design work.

Jury: Dana Čupková (Chair), Vicky Achnani, Yiqun Pan, Louis Suarez

Travel Awards Master of Architecture (M.Arch) Travel Awards The M.Arch program grants travel awards each spring for selected students to support work grounded in architectural design research as it relates to a range of diverse contexts, practices and cultures. Students are encouraged to take on research projects in areas of their choice that will be further developed through research papers, a thesis or independent study. ● Sanjana Bandaru, England (London): “London Public Architecture” ● Emmaline Hubbs, Costa Rica: “Constructing Communities of Synergy” ● Tai Le, France (Paris): “Claude Parent's Architecture” ● Lora Marks, Netherlands (Amsterdam) & Norway (Oslo, Brumunddal): “Pine-ing for the Skies” ● Sarah Meronek, France (Paris) & Netherlands (Amsterdam): “Sociology & Architecture of Communal Spaces” ● Reece Posey, Argentina (Buenos Aires): “Brutalist Buenos Aires” ● Sparsha Reddy Kotha, Finland: “Timber and Tradition” ● Siddhant Salvi, USA (New York City) & Norway: “Reimagining Public Space: Snøhetta” ● Anoushka Sethi, Italy (Venice): “Temporary Installations Venice Biennale” ● Sharvi Shah, Netherlands, Belgium & Denmark: “Shifting Material Systems: RAU, Rotor, MVRDV” ● Rupal Singh, Japan: “Ecology of Repair” ● Ishanesu Tendayi, Denmark: “Evolving Design Futures: Digital Twins” ● Joanne Zeng, Finland: “From Wood to Biomaterials: Alvar Aalto”

● Recipient: Ella Moon (B.Arch ’26), Award: $4,500

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Student Life

ORGANIZATIONS American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) The CMU chapter of AIAS creates a connection between students and the professional and academic world of architecture by offering members a diverse set of events and experiences, including firm visits, local and national networking opportunities, community service build initiatives and exposure to cutting-edge developments within the field of architecture.

In the fall semester, AIAS hosted the AIAS 2024 National Northeast Quad Conference “DES[AI]GN: Artificial Intelligence in Architecture.” They were thrilled to apply the insights and connections gained in the conference towards their academic endeavors. The experience enriched the CMU community by fostering collaboration and innovation, and AIAS aims to leverage the opportunities gained to continue growing toward renewed success in the upcoming year.

President: Mikayla Gee (B.Arch ’27), Vice President: Ryan Shen (B.Arch ’27), Professional Development Coordinator: Ali Sadi (B.Arch ’28), Outreach Programming Coordinator/Public Relations: Camila

Martinez (B.Arch ’26) & Starr Wasler (B.Arch ’26), Graduate Liaison: Cyphanah Arshad Khan (MUD ’26), First Year Liaison: Cynthia Zhang (B.Arch ’29) Freedom by Design™ (FBD) FBD is a community service program of AIAS that uses the talents of architecture students to radically impact the lives of people in their communities through modest design and construction solutions.

FBD provides students with real-world experience through working with clients, learning from local licensed architects and contractors, and experiencing the practical impacts of architecture and design. The chapter’s signature outreach program is the Weatherization Kit project, a box of items that helps Pittsburgh residents prepare their homes for winter.

FBD spent the greater part of the year working with the Larimer Consensus Group to create a neighborhood engagement program focused on rehabilitating the Larimer Community Garden. Guided by this foundation, students and residents will collaborate next year through a series of hands-on workshops to progress the revitalization effort.

Co-Director: Zoe Botta (B.Arch ’27), Co-Director: David Decker (B.Arch ’27), Project Manager: Nathan Cottrell (B.Arch ’27), Development Manager: Youstina Riad (B.Arch ’28), Co-Public Relations Manager: Liliane Kouyaté (B.Arch ’28), Co-Public Relations Manager: Kaiyi Li (B.Arch ’29), First Year Liaison: Cynthia Zhang (B.Arch ’29) National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS) In alignment with the mission of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), the CMU chapter of NOMAS focuses on creating safe spaces for minority and underrepresented students at Carnegie Mellon Architecture.

The organization provides a community

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of purpose for students by championing diversity, advocating for an education that considers the socioeconomic consequences of design and connecting students to minority professionals in the field.

NOMAS had one of its most successful years, filled with events, competitions and trips. A major highlight this year was the retreat they coordinated during spring break, where over 14 students traveled to Washington, D.C. Students visited museums and joined a firm crawl, networking with professionals beyond Pittsburgh and gaining valuable industry insights.

President: Starr Wasler (B.Arch ’26), Vice President: Jordan Lee (B.Arch ’26), Secretary: Catalina John-Melendez (B.Arch ’27), Treasurer: David Vargas (B.A. ’25), Public Relations: Nadia Cho (B.Arch ’26), Outreach/Events Coordinator: Ternilla Robinson (B.A. ’25)

AIAS 2024 National Northeast Quad Conference “DES[AI]GN” (left). Shayla Thomas (M.Arch ’24), Starr Wasler (B.Arch ’26), William Bates, Alicia Volcy and Erica Cochran Hameen at NOMA Pittsburgh’s 10-year anniversary celebration (top right).

Larimer site plan composite (bottom right).

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President: Lily Frank (B.Arch ’27), Secretary: Bella Salazar Harper (B.Arch ’26), Treasurer: Vanshika Bhaiya (B.Arch ’25), Programming: Hazel Froling (B.Arch ’26), Design: Paul Li (B.Arch ’26), Documentation: Jessica Adenuga (B.Arch ’28), Pavilion Design: Nicholas Thies (M.Arch ’26) & Sydney Mansavage (B.Arch ’27), Construction Management: Emma Dana (B.Arch ’28) & Andrew Long (M.Arch ’26) inter·punct

CLUBS Architectural Crafts Collective (ACC) The ACC is dedicated to enriching the academic journey of students from first years to masters, by teaching traditional and contemporary crafts such as woodworking, ceramics, metalworking, glassblowing and more. Through workshops, club-sponsored lectures, field trips and collaboration, the organization educates members on methods and techniques related to craftsmanship.

The ACC brings students from different backgrounds and majors to celebrate hands-on making and material exploration. This year, they took on the task (for the first of three years) of designing and building the CMU Spring Carnival entrance pavilion with a dedication to inclusive craft—an ambitious, collaborative project that showcases interdisciplinary creativity, structural ingenuity, and a commitment to sharing the joy of building with all.

inter·punct is a platform for ideas, theory and discourse—sometimes about architecture and sometimes at its periphery. Founded by students in 2011, the group has released issues “para·meter” (2014), “inter·view” (2016), “now is the time to panic!” (2021), “we only dream the night before tomorrow” (2021), “just listen” (2022), “Reconstruction” (2023) and “Demolition” (2023). Through guest interviews, group discussions and writing, inter·punct looks critically to better understand the past and future.

2025 CMU Spring Carnival entrance pavilion construction process (top left).

An installation of the work produced during the Poster-Making Workshop, where students were encouraged to create a poster about a topic they cared about as part of inter·punct Week (bottom left).

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This past year, inter·punct ran numerous workshops, engaging with intervention-inspired activities. They explored poster collaging, sticker designing, a retrospective roundtable, and more!

As the focus of their upcoming publication, they encouraged participants to question their surroundings and define “intervention” for themselves.

Co-Editors: Khoi Do (B.Arch ’26) & Julien Derroitte (B.A. ’26); Co-Program Directors: Bina Guo (B.Arch ’26) & Tina Han (B.Arch ’26); Outreach: Jessica Adenuga (B.Arch ’28); Graphics: Graana Khan (B.Arch ’24), Tracy Zhang (BXA ’25) & Mingyang (Jack) Zhu (B.Arch ’26); Advisor: Tuliza Sindi

ADVISORY COUNCILS Architecture Peer Mentors (APM) APM connects first-year students with upper-level students to encourage a community of mentorship, learning and inter-year collaboration. Mentors assist students in their transition into Carnegie Mellon Architecture to establish an early, mutually beneficial relationship.

Advisor: Heather Workinger Midgley; Coordinators: Nathan Cottrell (third year), Daniella Cisneros (third year), Mikayla Gee (third year), Ashley Jauregui (third year) Undergraduate Architecture Student Advisory Council (SAC) SAC provides a formal means of interaction between students, faculty and administration. The student representatives are responsible for communicating the efforts of the council to their colleagues, bringing issues forwarded by fellow students to the council, and contributing time, energy and ideas to improve both Carnegie Mellon Architecture and CMU. Advisor: Heather Workinger Midgley.

Representatives—First Year: Ashley Dai, Andy Liu, Victor Teng; Second Year: Jessica Adenuga, Emma Dana, Lilianne Kouyaté; Third Year: Nathan Cottrell, Nataniella Essang, Ashley Jauregui;

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Fourth Year: Jordan Lee, Shahzadi Padda, Bella Salazar Harper; Fifth Year: Zihan Dong, Jason Shao, Andrea Wan Graduate Student Assembly Committee (GSAC) GSAC is the student body that represents Carnegie Mellon Architecture graduate students. GSAC oversees the planning and funding of graduate social events and offers programs that benefit the school’s graduate students. Representatives meet regularly with the GSAC advisor and school head over the course of the semester to address the concerns of graduate students and to develop solutions. Graduate students are invited to speak with their representatives about the changes they would like to see in their programs and facilities. GSAC liaisons to the Carnegie Mellon Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) to advocate on behalf of Carnegie Mellon Architecture to the greater GSA network, connecting students with opportunities and funding. Campus wide, GSA and departmental committees strive to improve academic support and collegiate activities for graduate students.

Advisor: Alison Petrucci.

Representatives—MAAD: Vaibhav Panchal (first year), Sejal Jain (second year); M.Arch: Sharvi Shah (first year), Elizabeth Laman (second year), Siddhant Salvi (second year); MSAECM: Tanya Singh (first year), Parneet Kaur (second year); MSBPD: Smera Sera Oommen (first year), Riya Malhotra (second year); MSCD: Carla Flores Travez (first year), Leslie Liu (first year), Shandon Jude Herft (second year); MSSD: Anisha Panesar (first year), Mohammed Zeeshan Kareem Sheriff (second year); MUD: Sushruti Santhanakrishnan (first year), Jaixi Wu (second year), Sindhu Prabakar (second year); PhD-AECM: Tannaz Afshar Bakeshloo; PhD-BPD: Haipei Bie; PhDCD: Nihar Pathak, Myles Sampson; PhD-Arch: Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil

People

FACULTY Jared Abraham, Associate Studio Professor Karen Abrams, Adjunct Faculty Vicky Achnani, Associate Studio Professor Burcu Akinci, Affiliated Faculty, Professor & CEE Department Head Niloufar Alenjery, Special Faculty Sarosh Anklesaria, Assistant Teaching Professor & M.Arch Track Chair Mary-Lou Arscott, Associate Studio Professor & Associate Head for Design Fundamentals Nina Barbuto, Adjunct Faculty Joshua Bard, Associate Professor & Associate Head for Design Research William Bates, Adjunct Faculty Heather Bizon, Assistant Teaching Professor Liza Boffi, Adjunct Faculty Daragh Byrne, Associate Teaching Professor & Interim CD Track Chair Daniel Cardoso Llach, Associate Professor, CD Track Chair & CodeLab Director Gloria Chang, Visiting Assistant Professor Xin Chen, Adjunct Faculty Jimmy Wei-Chun Cheng, Special Faculty Lori Claus, Special Faculty & Director for Career Development Opportunity Erica Cochran Hameen, Associate Professor, DEI Director & DDes Track Chair Donald Coffelt, CEE Adjunct Professor, Affiliated Faculty & AVP Facilities Management Doug Cooper, Andrew Mellon Professor of Architecture Dana Čupková, Professor & MSSD Track Chair Gerard Damiani, Associate Professor Stefani Danes, Adjunct Faculty Asli Selay Darga, Adjunct Faculty Jeffrey Davis, Adjunct Faculty Jeremy Ficca, Associate Professor & dFAB Lab Director Susan Finger, Affiliated Faculty, CEE Professor & IDeATe Associate Dean Kristina Fisher, Adjunct Faculty

John Folan, Affiliated Faculty Laura Garófalo, Associate Professor Sinan Goral, Adjunct Faculty Brad Groff, Adjunct Faculty Stefan Gruber, Associate Professor, MUD Track Chair & RCI Director Kai Gutschow, Associate Professor & Associate Head for Design Ethics Najeeb Hameen, Adjunct Faculty Tom Hardy, Adjunct Faculty Volker Hartkopf, Professor Emeritus Hal Hayes, Studio Professor Robert Heard, Affiliated Faculty & Materials Science and Engineering Teaching Professor Neal Lucas Hitch, Special Faculty Jon Holmes, Shop Director Matthew Huber, Special Faculty Theodossis (Theo) Issaias, Special Faculty Maryam Karimi, Special Faculty Lynn Kawaratani, Liaison Librarian to the School of Architecture Omar Khan, Professor & Head Jeff King, Adjunct Faculty Jonathan Kline, Studio Professor Ramesh Krishnamurti, Professor Emeritus Matthew Krissel, Adjunct Faculty Kristen Kurland, Teaching Professor Jongwan Kwon, Assistant Teaching Professor Khee Poh Lam, Professor Emeritus Berangere Lartigue, Visiting Researcher Joshua D. Lee, Associate Teaching Professor & AECM Track Chair Juney Lee, T. David Fitz-Gibbon Assistant Professor of Architecture & Regenerative Structures Laboratory Director Stephen R. Lee, Professor Emeritus Golan Levin, Affiliated Faculty & Professor of Art Nick G. Liadis, Adjunct Faculty Vivian Loftness, University Professor Joel McCullough, Adjunct Faculty Jackie Joseph Paul McFarland, Special Faculty Christine Mondor, Special Faculty Richard Nisa, Affiliated Faculty & IDeATe Special Faculty

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Destenie Nock, Affiliated Faculty, Affiliated Faculty & CEE Assistant Professor Vernelle A. A. Noel, Lucian and Rita Caste Assistant Professor in Architecture, Situated Computation + Design Lab Director Paul Ostergaard, Adjunct Faculty Yiqun Pan, Special Faculty Paul Pangaro, Visiting Scholar in Computational Design Dave Parker, Adjunct Faculty Misri Patel, Ann Kalla Visiting Professor Stephen Quick, Adjunct Faculty Nida Rehman, Assistant Professor & PhD-Arch Track Chair Azadeh O. Sawyer, Assistant Professor in Building Technology & BPD Track Chair Nathan Sawyer, Special Faculty & Facilities Director Diane Shaw, Associate Professor Tuliza Sindi, Special Faculty, Curator for Public Programs & Director of Publications Steven Sontag, Adjunct Instructor & Shop Assistant Director Bea Spolidoro, Adjunct Faculty T. Andrew Stone, Joseph F. Thomas Visiting Professor Louis Suarez, Adjunct Faculty Pingbo Tang, Affiliated Faculty & CEE Associate Professor Nazia Tarannum, Adjunct Faculty Francesca Torello, Special Faculty Alicia Volcy, Adjunct Faculty Garret Wood-Sternburgh, Adjunct Faculty Heather Workinger Midgley, Associate Adjunct Faculty & Senior Academic Advisor for Undergraduate Studies Tommy CheeMou Yang, Special Faculty

STAFF Robert J. Armitage, Computing Administrator Alycia Barney, Financial Assistant Christi Danner, Marketing & Outreach Manager Kristen Frambes, Assistant to the Head & Director of Alumni and Professional Relationships Terry L. Hritz, dFAB Lab Manager

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Mark Jovanovich, Multimedia Support Specialist David Koltas, Business Manager & Assistant Head Todd Luckey, Office Assistant Meredith Marsh, Director of Communications Alexis McCune Secosky, Director of Recruitment and Enrollment Ana Montes, Special Projects Coordinator Erica Oman, Academic Advisor Alison Petrucci, Graduate Academic Advisor Leanne Rosso, Outreach Associate

GRADUATE INSTRUCTORS Ifrah Asif, PhD-Arch Candidate Aftyn Giles, PhD-AECM Candidate Suzy (Zekun) Li, PhD-BPD Candidate Yael Netser, PhD-AECM Candidate Morgan Newman, PhD-Arch Candidate Nihar Pathak, PhD-AECM Candidate Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil, PhD-Arch Candidate

x-change Carnegie Mellon Architecture Carnegie Mellon University 2024–25 Publication of this book has been generously aided by the EX-CHANGE Fund.

Published by in otherwards, the Imprint of Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Copyright © 2025, CM-A’s in otherwards Imprint All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the publisher Manufactured in Lithuania 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cover and Book Design: Studio Elana Schlenker and Jordi Ng Editor: Tuliza Sindi Co-Editor and Copy Editor: Meredith Marsh Student Team: Narayan Ashanahalli, Jason Asiedu, Trijya Bhardwaj, Pausha Bovornthamajak, Melika Davarkhah, Lilianne Kouyaté, Keng Pu (Paul) Li, Ananya Shrimali, Aakash Vipparla Staff Acknowledgements: Alycia Barney, Christi Danner, David Koltas Special Thanks: Carnegie Mellon Architecture gratefully acknowledges Mark Ferguson (CFA’78) and Natalie Jacobs (CFA’79), and Desmone (Gold Sponsorship), for their generous sponsorship of this publication. Additional thanks to our individual donors: Julio Ascencios (P’CFA’28), Katherine Bojsza (CFA’03, H&SS’03), David Burson (CFA’72, P’CFA’04), Patricia Burson (CFA’71, P’CFA’04), Laurence Clodic (P’CFA’25), Nicholas Colello (CFA’01), Chip Desmone (CFA’87), Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern, Ian Friedman (CFA’18, CFA’20), Kristin Froling (P’CFA’26), Mark Froling (P’CFA’26), Front Studio Architects, Robert Grubb (CFA’80), Jim Halpern (CFA’81), Cassie Howard (CFA’21), Melinda Hungerman Johnson (CMU’00, HNZ’01), Stefan Hurray (CFA’03), Naim Jabbour (CFA’09, CFA’22), Brian Johnson (TPR’05), Adam Shong Jing Kor (CFA’18), Suzan Lami (CFA’79), Norman Larson (CFA’89), Lauren Marx-Ascencios (P’CFA’28), Anne Riggs (CFA’09), Eric Warfel (P’CFA’25), Frederick Watts (CFA’68, P’CFA’96), Jiaxi Wu (CFA’25), Yumiko Yamada (CFA’99), Andrew Yoon (CFA’25) and Rachel Zsembery (CFA’00).

How to reach us: Instagram: @cmusoa; @inotherwards issuu: https://issuu.com/cmusoa (9 editions available) YouTube: Carnegie Mellon Architecture Website: https://www.architecture.cmu.edu

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isbn 978-1-969941-01-6