Accomplishments

Faculty Accomplishments: School of Architecture & Design

The School of Architecture & Design is excited to share recent accomplishments from our faculty and staff members.

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Accomplishments are listed by date of achievement in reverse chronological order, with the most recent first.


All Recent Accomplishments

Carrie Rubinstein, adjunct instructor of digital art and design, had her work "Brick Fiction" displayed at the Brooklyn Art Cluster gallery from June 16 - August 23, 2023, as part of the exhibition Regarding Time and Memory. In his review, Tyler Holter writes, "[t]he once-industrial space resonates with her paper creation. The first section, a nine-by-twelve-and-a-half-foot 'wall,' has interlocking panels with exposed layers: the brick, wallpaper, plaster; all done on paper, in slate gray watercolor, gouache, and India ink, with flashes of red. In the second section, a room takes shape as walls form a corner, capped with a wire-suspended ceiling. In minute detail, Rubinstein has sculpted electrical outlets, conduit, picture frames, light fixtures, and even breaker boxes with a functioning door. Her work meditates on our built surroundings, drawing on the material histories and even labor involved in the production of space."

Pablo Lorenzo-Eiroa, M.Arch., associate professor of architecture, has published the book Digital Signifiers on an Architecture of Information: From Big Data and Simulation to Artificial Intelligence in May 2023, published by Routledge. This 500-page book contains 20 chapters and covers over 20 years of research on the connection between big data and simulation in order to achieve artificial intelligence emergent programming. It suggests ways to advance the field by identifying challenges related to computational linguistics and visual semiotics in architecture and urbanism. Additionally, the book puts forth the idea of revising architecture history and theories by identifying insights in buildings and urbanism.

Matthias Altwicker, M.U.P., B.Arch., associate professor of architecture, presented a paper, "The Unfamilliar," at the National Conference of the Beginning Design Student in Fargo, N.D., on May 19, 2023. The paper detailed the methodologies and results of 15 years of international workshops run collectively by New York Tech, North Dakota State University, and Fachhochschule Potsdam.

Fadhil Fadhil, robotics fabrication lab manager in the School of Architecture and Design, designed The Floating Acrobats. The designed installation aims to investigate the concept of performance, which is directly related to the term resilience as a cultural action capable of creatively relating the body and space, where the acrobats vaults interpret the "glimpse of the magic" underlying theatrical staging. The designing process involved computational design, AI-generated imagery depicting acrobats soaring through the air in a circus setting. The opportunity arose when their work was selected to be part of the exhibition Hoperaperta, at the prestigious FuoriSalone di Milano in 2023. Leveraging their expertise in virtual installations, Fadhil and Battistoni embarked on a creative journey to reimagine the image and integrate it into a VR immersive experience.

Emma Fuller and Michael Overby, both adjunct instructors of architecture and principals in the firm of Fuller/Overby, were featured in an April 3, 2023, article on the Architectural Record website, "Fuller/Overby's Lakeside House Strikes up a Conversation Between the Whole and its Parts."

Evan Shieh, M.AUD., assistant professor of architecture, presented a topical session titled "Pedagogy: Inclusive Boundaries" at the 111th ACSA Annual Conference, hosted by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) on March 30, 2023, in St. Louis, Mo.

Evan Shieh, M.AUD., adjunct professor of architecture and director and founding partner of Emergent Studio, received an Honorable Mention Prize for the firm's competition entry on March 14, 2023, for the construction of the 26,500-square-meter international Incheon Geomdam Library Cultural-Complex hosted by the Incheon Metropolitan City Municipality. In collaboration with Strange Works Studio and Terrain Work, their shortlisted entry proposes an ecology of knowledge and culture as a multilayered border condition that mediates exchanges of information between three distinct forms of repositories: the Library (recorded information), the Museum (cultural objects embedded with information), and the Landscape (biological information).

Jason Van Nest, M.Arch., associate professor of architecture, launched a new startup, Logic Building Systems, in March 2023. It is aimed at tackling the affordable housing crisis. The venture seeks to leverage Van Nest's years of experience in building information modeling and virtual design and construction consulting for the modular hospitality industry by applying manufacturing principles to high-quality multifamily home construction. More information is available about the company and the larger construction technology investing space at the Logic website.

Dongsei Kim, M.Des., assistant professor of architecture, had his research work, “A Construct The Koreas (Never) Made Together: Deconstructing the DMZ For The Imaginary – 2019,” featured in Google Arts & Culture’s “Korea's Demilitarized Zone,” an online exhibition that explores the DMZ through the lens of history, nature, and art, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice. beginning on February 24, 2023. Google Arts & Culture is Google’s non-commercial initiative that works with cultural institutions and artists around the world. Their mission is to preserve and bring the world’s art and culture online, making them accessible to anyone, anywhere.

Jason Van Nest, M.Arch, associate professor of architecture, delivered an address, BIM (Revit) for Lighting Designers – Part 2, virtually, on February 15, 2023. It was the second of a three-part consolatory series of addresses on the ways that new Building Information Modeling workflows are changing the design industry in general, and lighting designer's roles specifically. Van Nest has also recently been elected to the society's IES BIM Committee to advance these contributions into the organization's technical documents.