Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture EX-CHANGE 2020

Carnegie Mellon University

School of Architecture

2019–2020

CFA ceiling

MM rotunda

MM 203 table

CFA great hall walls

CFA entrance

MM studio oor

spraybooth

wall

CFA 214 projector

MM studio ceiling

broken plotter

statue in CFA great hall

MM water fountain

MM rotunda

CFA studio

Zebra Lounge

base of CFA

Joel’s table

homasote 4x8’ pin up boards

paper

MM studio desk

Ryu’s sketches

first year’s desk

newsprint

metal 8x8 pin up board

Rachel’s sketchbook

ground outside CFA

spinning wood bench

Miro board

CFA lawn

Rhino 6

EX-CHANGE squad

2019–20 | 1

EX-CHANGE 2019–20 LEADERSHIP SARAH RAFSON, DIRECTOR MEREDITH MARSH, CATALOG EDITOR TALIA PERRY, DESIGN DIRECTOR JEREMY FICCA, DESIGN LEAD LOLA BEN-ALON, GRADUATE LIAISON EDITORIAL FELLOW RACHEL LU, DESIGNER AND EDITOR EXHIBITION TEAM MOHAMMED RAHMAN LYDIA RANDALL JASON GARWOOD CHLOE WANG CHRISTOPHER OH WEBSITE & DEVELOPMENT TEAM CHRISTOPH ECKRICH SAM LOSI IDENTITY DESIGN ASSISTANT MIMI (WEIYIN) JIAO MEDIA TEAM VIVAN TENG LAKE LEWIS VIEW ONLINE EXHIBITION AT SOA.CMU.EDU/EXCHANGE

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EX–CHANGE CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE 2019–20

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CONTENTS

06

INTRODUCTION STEPHEN LEE

08

EDITORIAL NOTE RACHEL LU

10

CURATORIAL NOTE TALIA PERRY, JEREMY FICCA, LOLA BEN-ALON

12

HEAD-TO-HEAD INTERVIEW STEPHEN LEE + OMAR KHAN

ADVANCED SYNTHESIS OPTION STUDIOS (ASOS) FALL 2019 FUTURE TENSE DENSE FUTURE FICTIONS DESIGN-BUILD PORCH BOUCA SOCIAL HOUSING CONT. SUBJECT TO CHANGE TERMINAL SYSTEMS INFRASTRUCTURE STUDIO

62 66 70 74 78 82 86

SPRING 2020 MIGRATION, MEDIUM, MIRAGE LOW-RELIEF SOLAR DECATHLON LITHOPIC HOUSE HARDCORIST LECTORES COOPERATIVE HOUSING HUMANIZING BRUTALISM

90 94 98 102 106 110 114

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CORE STUDIOS

16

FOUNDATION I CRITICAL CYBORG

20

FOUNDATION II

26

ELABORATION I URBAN DWELLINGS

34

ELABORATION II

40

INTEGRATION I ENVIRONMENT, FORM AND FEEDBACK

48

INTEGRATION II ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION STUDIO

54

THESIS BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE B.ARCH

120

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE M.ARCH

128

MASTER OF ADVANCED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN MAAD

134

COMMONING THE CITY B.ARCH, M.ARCH, MUD

138

GRADUATE RESEARCH

146

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE M.ARCH

148

MASTER OF URBAN DESIGN MUD

158

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN MSSD

164

M.S. & PhD IN COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN MSCD / PhD-CD

168

M.S. & PhD IN BUILDING PERFORMANCE AND DIAGNOSTICS MSBPD / PhD-BPD

176

M.S. & PhD IN ARCHITECTURE— ENGINEERING—CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT MSAECM / PhD-AECM

186

DOCTOR OF DESIGN DDes

192

196

ELECTIVES

210

BEYOND THE STUDIO STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS (AIAS, FBD, NOMAS, INTER•PUNCT, LUNAR GALA, BEAUX ARTS BALL) CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURAL EXPLORATIONS TRAVEL

232

SoA NEWS 2019–2020

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Introduction In December 2017, when under my headship, we inaugurated the first EX-CHANGE — our now-annual exhibition and publication — it was devised as an opportunity for the school to try something significantly different from what we had done before. Since my student days at the School of Architecture (SoA), I could not think of a single time when we gathered together to collectively look at the work of the studios and courses from first year through PhD. EX-CHANGE was envisioned as an opportunity for us to gather in celebration — a chance to step back and reflect on what we had learned, created and discovered before moving on to the next year.

A pause.

The onset of the global pandemic this past spring interrupted our ability to gather in person, and with that the idea of a pause takes on new meaning. The current state of the world has put all of our lives on pause and forced us to readjust our plans and rethink what comes next. It’s easy to get nostalgic about simple things we took for granted a few months back. Catching up over food at the first day of school cookout or settling in to the red chairs of Kresge Theatre for a Monday-night lecture feel like relics of the past. But even though we’re physically apart, I’ve been encouraged to see how our students, faculty and staff have been successful in translating the culture and community of our school across virtual modes of interaction.

The first iteration of EX-CHANGE was a risky endeavor, as it opened the school up to the world to be critiqued, investigated and challenged. Our hope was that EX-CHANGE would become a permanent fixture of the culture of the SoA, and I am proud to say I believe that we have done just that. Yet with the equal rights movement now sweeping the nation and the world in response to the violence and injustices perpetrated on the Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) community, we must not lose sight of the ways in which our culture has centered the hegemony of Western, white, patriarchal and U.S.-centric perspectives. EXCHANGE was envisioned as an opportunity to shine new light on the SoA, and now more than ever we are called upon to reckon with what has been in order to forge a better future of what can be.

6 | EX–CHANGE

This past year also marked my final year as head of school.

One of my proudest accomplishments in this role has been the recruitment of amazing new faculty that I am confident will be able to move the SoA forward in bold new directions. These super talented professionals honor the legacy of the school, but they have their own distinct ideas about integrating the three focuses of the SoA: cities, computation and sustainability. This next generation of academics and practitioners will be integral in helping the school work collaboratively towards building synergy in all our design and research activities, as well as the ways in which we work toward a profession that is more just and equitable for all.

I am absolutely enthusiastic about my successor, Omar Khan — he is the perfect fit for us. I am confident that with his vision and leadership, he will propel the school forward, whatever the coming years may bring.

Stephen R. Lee, AIA, LEED AP Professor & Head

2019–20 | 7

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CURATORIAL NOTE

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Head-to-Head Interview Excerpts edited from a conversation between outgoing Head Stephen Lee and incoming Head Omar Khan about shaping the future of architectural education, design practice and regional economies.

Steve, it would be great for me to hear about what you saw as the big challenges in architectural education when you took over as head.

Omar Khan

Stephen Lee

When I started, three-fourths of studio instruction was taught by adjuncts who were Pittsburgh-based practitioners. Research faculty had pulled themselves out of studio instruction. There was no stability and less commitment by full-time faculty who now make the school what it is through their research and practice.

I’ve flipped it so that all core studios are coordinated by full-time faculty members, so I think the integrated framework of the school between research, practice and teaching has a greater impact on studio education.

I think that disjunction between researchers and designers once was much more pronounced. I remember when I started teaching, you almost had to declare yourself one or the other. It was a period of time when those in practice thought it was better to get more practitioners in schools to teach. The integration now of research and practice has opened up a more productive discussion between professional practice and academia. Practice, more than ever, is producing applied, specific, problem-focused research.

That’s where I think education is going to become a bit more interesting, because people can do more than just put buildings together.

It predated my headship, but I remember when the cover story in Architectural Record was “How the Schools Are Failing the Profession.” That created quite a stir. The ACSA then wrote an opinion piece about how the profession is failing the schools.

What was good about that was that it raised questions about what the future of practice is.

I see a split in the architecture field between people who characterize themselves as designers and people who characterize themselves as tectonically oriented who know how to build buildings. There are firms out there who identify as design firms that don’t have the knowledge to do the actual documentation and construction of the building and vice versa. Now there’s a third type: the designers, technologists and researchers who are trying to formulate questions and to develop integrated teams to actually answer those questions in a meaningful way.

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I think we’re in for a new alignment, which isn’t necessarily because of pressure from NAAB or NCARB, but it’s really a response to societal pressure. For instance, we don’t have an ethics class. Right now we’re dealing with questions of social injustice, but how do we as architects address them? Whether it’s about sustainability, resilience or how to handle a catastrophe like COVID-19, we need to understand the ethics in this larger set of questions.

On top of that is the whole issue of environmental justice. There’s a direct connection between social equity and environmental equity.

That’s right. These kinds of topics need our participation. How well are we trained to do that? What is the right way to train architects? These are unprecedented times. We put out great technologists and great designers, but are we great researchers?

Do we put out agile thinkers who are capable of taking these pressing issues on and have the skillset to develop the solutions?

Yeah, these are truly wicked problems. We need to recognize that the complexity of the problems we’re dealing with is increasing exponentially. It’s beyond the ability of one human being to successfully answer those questions or even to understand what the question is that needs to be asked. On a personal note, one of the reasons that I continue to practice with Yoko as well as working in the school is that I recognize that in practice you have to deliver things that are going to work. In a five-person firm, you don’t have the money to set aside to do research. I’ve always had great opportunities to explore larger questions at the school with the Solar Decathlon and designbuild studio, without the limits of delivering a project that’s going to work on day one.

A question of the future of practice is: how can we build a model that allows for that meaningful research?

I think that collaborative model of practice is an interesting one.

And as educators, it’s important for us to demystify collaboration a bit more. A lot of architecture mythology has been based on this kind of heroism that makes it very hard to change the conversation.

I’m interested in models of practice that are not expensive and could also promote collaborative approaches to design. I mean, how does a firm of five like yours do it? If you look at more developing-world practices, they’ve set up certain models of collaboration between craftsmen and architects that may be much more sustainable and viable.

2019–20 | 13

Yasmeen Lari in Pakistan, for example, was a very successful architect who decided later in her career that she wasn’t going to work for banks and oil companies anymore. She decided to work with craftsmen and started to develop a very different practice.

I think these kinds of models are very interesting because of the architect’s role as not only a technical innovator, but also sustainer of practices, of craft and of traditions, while also continuing to help it evolve and continue to be relevant.

I was so inspired by your work with Boston Valley Terra Cotta. It’s amazing that you bring together people who have been making terra cotta their entire careers with architects who are thinking about facades of the future and students who are working on computational models for figuring all this stuff out. That’s such a valuable experience for everybody involved.

It makes me think about how we gain experience in architecture.

I wish there could be a model in architecture similar to the residency model in medicine, where graduates get practical experience taking care of patients under the direction of experienced doctors. That could be an incredible way to capture the knowledge of older generations and provide practical experience for young architects.

I think that is true especially in the U.S., where we require an accredited degree, internship and exams for licensure. This brings up serious issues of equity as the long process discriminates against those that can’t afford the extended time or expense. This disproportionately falls on women and people of color. While on the one hand we frame the whole licensure process as a validation of competency, it has layers of exclusion embedded in it.

That’s part of the reason I envisioned the option studios the way I did. Once students complete their NAAB-mandated requirements in third year, if they want to be an architect, we continue to provide building design studios. But I would have students come to me and say, “my friend in the art department and I want to do a project.” I would say, “write it up and we’ll give you credit for the studio.”

There needs to be that freedom.

It’s a great moment we’re in, because I think our students are feeling a very strong sense of agency that they can affect the world.

My son has been out in the streets protesting. When I was his age, nuclear disarmament was the big issue. When the Berlin Wall came down, we sort of just said, “OK, it resolved itself.”

14 | EX–CHANGE

I think what’s different about the Black Lives Matter movement is that it asks society as a whole to respond. That tells you that there’s a real reckoning about to happen. It is happening. And we have to sort of absorb it and understand how our curriculum changes around that.

Steve, maybe you could talk a little bit about the region and the whole idea of regionalism, which is, I think interesting given where we are located.

Coming from another Rust Belt city, I think this is something that we could play up more. I’m very intrigued by manufacturing and the ecology of how architecture gets built and put together.

The Boston Valley project made me realize that it was great to be in Buffalo, because you could really do something that was impossible to do anywhere else. And that’s what I’m looking for; things that are impossible to do anywhere else. Pittsburgh is incredibly unique.

It’s funny, I grew up in Buffalo and then came to Pittsburgh. My experience of Buffalo was in an Olmsted-designed, beautifully manicured park with regular visits to the Albright-Knox art gallery.

When I came to Pittsburgh in 1971, it was, as James Parton described it, “hell with the lid taken off.”

But what I’ve come to learn as I’ve watched the rebuilding of Pittsburgh and keeping in touch with what’s going on in Buffalo, Pittsburgh has a unique history of collaboration. I think the reason Pittsburgh came out of the gate ahead of other cities in the Rust Belt is that they had a massive philanthropic community.

And the combination of philanthropy with government, corporate management structures, and the universities in a collaborative way is really what the Pittsburgh model is.

I agree. And of course, Buffalo has looked at Pittsburgh as a model to follow. I think they’re very similar in their trajectory of trying to affect the built environment in positive ways.

2019–20 | 15

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Core Studios CORE STUDIOS | 17

Foundation tak_shing_dickson_yau.pdf

sean_sun.pdf Sean Sun

62-122 Digital Media I

will_lin.pdf 62122 DIGITAL MEDIA I

Will Lin

SCOTT HALL ARTHUR C. RUGE ATRIUM

62-122TAK SHING DICKSON YAU

Digital Media I

LONG SECTION DRAWING

tory_tan.jpg

rebecca_cunningham.dwg SECTION A

WEAN HALL

jerry

ROBERTS HALL

SECTION B LEVEL 5

HAMERSCHLAG HALL LEVEL 4

LEVEL 4 PLAN

0'

8'

24'

40'

SECTION B

SCALE: 1/16" = 1'-0"

.dwg/.pdf F19 DIGITAL MEDIA, EDDY MAN KIM .jpg/.png F19 DRAWING, DOUGLAS COOPER

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SCALE: 1/8" = 1'-0" 0'

4'

8'

16'

jerry_zhang.png

y_zhang.jpg

Fall 2019 COORDINATOR

Mary-Lou Arscott

INSTRUCTORS

Nathalie Frankowski Cruz Garcia Sarah Rafson Annie Ranttila Jinmo Rhee Manuel Rodriguez

Spring 2020 chloe_wang.jpg

COORDINATOR

Gerard Damiani

INSTRUCTORS

Jenna Kappelt Chris Minnerly Andrew Moss José Pertierra Annie Ranttila Stephen Quick

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS:

Gabrielle Benson, Jai Bhatnagar, Eamonn Burke, Athan Chang, Sophie Chau, Ricky Chen, Leon Chung, Rebecca Cunningham, Xander Fann, August Fox, Sharon Fung, Bennett Goeke, Harley Guo, Tina Guo, Brian Hartman, Hannah Haytko-Desalvo, Amy Hu, Margaret Hu, Angela Huang, Gloria Huang, Lily Hummel, Caroline Jiang, Darin Kim, Winston Kim, Graana Khan, Sarah Kwok, Clara Lee, Lake Lewis, Howie Li, Jimmy Li, Josh Lin, Will Lin, Adrienne Luk, Abiola Morakinyo, Ann Mulgrew, Emma Nilson, Chris Oh, Vishesh Pagarani, Brenna Robinson, Isaiah Rodgers, Sean Sun, Sydney Sun, Tory Tan, Kit Tang, Mai Tian, Mira Teng, Anishwar Tirupathur, Jasper Townsend, Shray Tripathi, Colin Walters, Chloe Wang, Jason Wei, Esme Williams, Anthony Wu, Jing Jing Wu, Sihan Wu, Isabel Xu, Yunpeng Xu, Dickson Yau, Kevin Yao, Eric Yu, Dunn Zhang, Jerry Zhang, Owen Zhang, Grace Zhong, Le Fa Zhou CORE STUDIOS | 19

01

02

03

04

Foundation I: Critical Cyborg WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

Various

WHAT

Various

YEAR

B.Arch I / B.A.

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This course acts as an introduction to a variety of modes of thinking, methods of work and scales of operation. It helps students begin to develop a critical practice that considers materiality, virtuality, time and space. The studio is rhizomic, forming interlocking groupings in order to expand intellectual and creative cross-connections. In this way, the studio develops its own language and shares a set of discoveries both conceptual and material.

05

06

Part 1: Mass + Mess: a series of assignments involving transformation and spatial exploration at a variety of scales, from the buzzing of a y across a room to geological time.

01 Colin Walters, Mass + Mess 02 Mai Tian, Mass + Mess 03 Clara Lee, Mass + Mess 04 Shray Tripathi, Mass + Mess 05 Chloe Wang, Mass + Mess 06 Mass + Mess Overall 07 Mass + Mess Exhibition, Great Hall, College of Fine Arts

07 CORE STUDIOS | 21

08

09

10

11

12

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13

15

17

14

16

Part 2: Cyborg: The design and construction of participatory prosthetics — mechanical devices to enact a critical attenuation of human powers.

08 Margaret Hu + Winston Kim, Disconnect to Reconnect 09 Chloe Wang + Leon Chung, The Astro Belt 10 Gloria Huang + Anishwar Tirupathur, The Draw-With-Me 11 Chloe Wang + Leon Chung 12 Gloria Huang + Anishwar Tirupathur 13 Shray Tripathi + Tina Guo, Sound Color Sound 14 Howie Li + Sihan Wu, Cyborg 15 Gloria Huang + Anishwar Tirupathur 16 Mai Tian + Bennett Goeke, The Reflective Spider 17 Colin Walters + Eamonn Burke, Projecting Tactility CORE STUDIOS | 23

18

19

20

21

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24

25

26

27

28

Part 3: Colony: a provocation in which we imagine that the industrial structures of Silo City in Buffalo, New York, become overun by colonies of twelve more-thanhuman species.

18 Jing Jing Wu, Flying Squirrel Colony 19 Isaiah Rogers, Beaver Colony 20 Gloria (Xiaofei) Huang, Turtle Colony 21-22 Jasper Townsend, Raccoon Colony

29 23 Yunpeng Xu, Snake Colony 24-26 Chloe Wang, Bat Colony 27 Shray Tripathi, Heron Colony 28-29 Rebecca Cunningham, Frog Colony 30 Audrey (Shuo) Jin, Bee Colony 30 CORE STUDIOS | 25

01

Foundation II WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Various

WHAT

Various

YEAR

B.Arch I / B.A.

26 | EX–CHANGE

The Foundation II studio is about developing architectural instinct. The studio focuses on how to evaluate architectural ideas through analysis and representation. Each project introduces timeless compositional methods that architects consider when designing a memorable piece of architecture.

Students build upon each of four themes, learning to work within architecture and how to critically appreciate the architectural works that are studied.

02

01 Colin Walters, Critical Composition 02 Kit Tang, Critical Composition CORE STUDIOS | 27

03

04 28 | EX–CHANGE

05

07

06 03 Brian Hartman, Mass & Composition 04 Brenna Robinson, Mass & Composition 05 Abiola Morakinyo, Mass & Composition 06 Jasper Townsend, Mass & Composition 07 Darin Kim, Mass & Composition 08 Chloe Wang, Mass & Composition

08 CORE STUDIOS | 29

09

10

A

A

B

D

D

B C

11 30 | EX–CHANGE C

0 4 8

16

32

64

12

13

14

09 Graana Khan, Addition to a Significant Residence 10 Gloria Huang, Addition to a Significant Residence 11 Rebecca Cunningham, Addition to a Significant Residence 12 Shray Tripathi, Addition to a Significant Residence 13 Sydney Sun, Addition to a Significant Residence 14 Shray Tripathi, Addition to a Significant Residence 15 August Fox, Addition to a Significant Residence

15 CORE STUDIOS | 31

Elaboration

.pdf F19 MATERIALS AND ASSEMBLY, GERARD DAMIANI .png S20 FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN, DANIEL CARDOSO LLACH

32 | EX–CHANGE

Fall 2019 COORDINATOR

Jonathan Kline

INSTRUCTORS

Lori Fitzgerald Jennifer Lucchino Andrew Moss José Pertierra

Spring 2020 COORDINATOR

Jeremy Ficca

INSTRUCTORS

Bea Spolidoro Jennifer Lucchino Nathan Sawyer Manuel Rodriguez

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS:

Aadya Bhartia, Yael Canaan, Angela Castellano, Emily Chan, Max Chen, Cody Chen, Sean Chen, Thomas Chen, Seyoung Choo, Lee Chu, Nicholas Coppula, Madeline Cotton, Jason Garwood, Giulia Giampapa, Margeaux Gould, Amal Jafrani, Vivian Jia Jia, Xiaoyu Kang, Anjali Kanodia, Rachel Kim, Susie Kim, Mari Kubota, Jackson Lacey, June Lee, Taehyun Lim, Melinda Looney, Carson Michaelis, Katherine Peppas, Meghan Pisarcik, Andy Qiu, Lydia Randall, Amyas Ryan, Ankitha Vasudev, Natalie Waldram, Jenny Wang, Nicholas Wong, Xuyang Wu, Claire Xu, Jerry Yang, Tony Yang, Franklin Zhu, Xiaojie Zou

CORE STUDIOS | 33

01

02

03

Elaboration I: Urban Dwellings WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Townhouse & Cooperative

YEAR

B.Arch II /B.A.

34 | EX–CHANGE

This core studio explores the architecture of urban dwellings through a pair of projects designed to expand students’ ability to integrate program, site, materials, tectonics, typology, urban design and social context into their architectural design process. The studio includes two projects of unequal duration, moving fast through an initial study of a townhouse, and then more slowly through the design of a cooperative house within a collectively master planned urban enclave.

Upward House Nicholas Coppula

HILLS ACROSS RIVER

OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS PARISH DOWNTOWN

Site Diagram

Spatial/Sequence Diagram

48–200 CMU School of Architecture F19

Nicholas Coppula

48–200 CMU School of Architecture F19

First

04

01 Vivian Jia Jia, Site & Context Studies 02 Meghan Pisarcik, Site & Context Studies 03 Seyoung Choo, Site & Context Studies 04 Nicholas Coppula, Townhouse: Upward House

CORE STUDIOS | 35

First

05

36 | EX–CHANGE

Second

Third

06

05 Meghan Pisarcik, Cooperative: Interstitial Dwelling 06 Carson Michaelis + Margeaux Gould, Cooperative: Habitat 6

CORE STUDIOS | 37

07

08

38 | EX–CHANGE

Section A

Section B

Section C

Floor 2

Floor 3

C

B

A

First

Floor 1

09

10

07 Madeline Cotton, Cooperative: House for Related Families 08 Franklin Zhu, Cooperative: Artist Dwelling 09 Thomas Chen, Cooperative: Iron City Co-Op 10 Cody Chen + Jerry Yang, Cooperative: Artist House & Gallery

CORE STUDIOS | 39

01

02

Elaboration II WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

WHAT

C&O Canal Visitor’s Center

YEAR

B.Arch II / B.A.

40 | EX–CHANGE

This studio explores contemporary relationships between materials and architecture. It positions architecture as an applied material and spatial practice in which issues of materiality are central to the conceptualization, design, construction and experience of architecture. A broad set of subjects related to architectural materiality are addressed, spanning cultural, technical, political and environmental concerns.

03

04 01 Nicholas Coppula 02 Model Collection at Final Review 03 Observation Tower Process Models 04 Andy Qiu 05 Meghan Pisarcik

05

CORE STUDIOS | 41

06

07

Urban Regenerator WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Spring Garden Hostel

YEAR

B.Arch II / B.A.

42 | EX–CHANGE

Over the course of their lifespans, most buildings support a range of uses. This is evident across the globe and here in Pittsburgh where industrial building stock, valued for its versatility and intrinsic characteristics, finds new purpose as spaces of working, living and leisure. This process of reuse and reprogramming challenges simplistic notions of “form follows function” to reveal the potential durability and adaptability of buildings and building elements.

08

10 06 Claire Xu 07 Andy Qiu 08–10 Meghan Pisarcik

09

CORE STUDIOS | 43

11

12 44 | EX–CHANGE

13

14

11 Thomas Chen 12 Claire Xu 13–14 Nicholas Coppula 15 Thomas Chen

15

CORE STUDIOS | 45

III. Integration mike_jin.jpg

adam_he.jpg

jasmine_lee.jpg

yangjian_wang.jpg

shanice_lam.jpg

carly_sacco.jpg

F19 CASE STUDIES IN ARCHITECTURE AND CITIES, STEFAN GRUBER

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adam_he

e2.jpg

Fall 2019 COORDINATOR ellen_zhu.jpg

INSTRUCTORS

Dana Cupkova Nicolas Azel Putu Dawkins Matt Huber Matt Plecity

Spring 2020 lukas_hermann.jpg

COORDINATOR INSTRUCTORS

Stephen Lee Erica Cochran Hameen Stefani Danes Lori Fitzgerald Joshua Lee Azadeh Sawyer

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS:

Clover Chau, Kimberlyn Cho, Joanne Chui, Juhi Dhanesha, Emily Edlich, Emmanuelle Father, Steven Fei, Isabella Giammatteo, Paul Greenway, Jenna Guo, Ammar Hassonjee, Adam He, Lukas Hermann, Veronica Hernandez Garrido, Yuxin Huang, Mike Jin, Sarah Kang, Shanice Lam, Jasmine Lee, Sam Losi, Xindi Lyu, Taisei Manheim, Han (Sean) Meng, Vishaka Nayak, Mohammed Rahman, Robert Rice, Carly Sacco, Shariq Shah, Steve Wang, Olivia Werner, Yingying Yan, Clara Zhao, Ellen Zhu

CORE STUDIOS | 47

01

02

Environment, Form and Feedback WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Museum of Weather

YEAR

B.Arch III / B.A.

48 | EX–CHANGE

Environment, Form and Feedback focuses on architectures for extreme urban environments. Considering projections of rising waters and extreme weather events, the Six Mile Island in Pittsburgh’s Allegheny River becomes a testing ground for new forms and infrastructures within a landscape ecology of perpetual flooding and experience of weather while focusing on embracing biodiversity. By engaging social and environmental patterns, and identifying microclimatic behaviors using modeling, simulation and drawing as a tool for discovery, students move towards the design of architectures that translate across scales to give new shape to the contemporary city within the Anthropocene Era.

03

Surface Water Runoff

Sewer Outfall (Combined Sewer)

Summer Wind Direction

Winter Wind Direction

Sewer Waste Deposition According to River Water Flow

Sewer Waste Deposition According to Wind Direction

ETFE Membrane

Chain Mail like Framework construction

Pleating Landscape Study

05

Service Core

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Learning and Obervation Labs Bioplastic Retaining Wall

Entrance Canopy

Public Gallery and Library

Researcher Living Unit

TRASH BUBBLE BRIDGE

Underground tunnel connecting the separate unites under the habitat.

Create separate circulation for weasels and human.

06

04

01 Sarah Kang 02 Sean Meng 03 Juhi Dhanesha 04 Tai Manheim 05 Clara Zhang 06 Timothy Nelson Pyne

Promgram Components Exploded Axon

SIDE GALLERY INTERIOR RENDER

CORE STUDIOS | 49

07

SCALE 1/64” : 1’ 0”

08 50 | EX–CHANGE

PLAN

Living Architecture Joanne Chui

constructed wetland - anoxic reactors promote growth of microorganisms to reduce BOD5 levels - closed aerobic rector stimulates nitrification with a planted biofilter - open aerobic reactors have aerated tanks, and support

water purifying tank - filters extremely fine particles - treats water with uv light and chlorine

cleaned water sent for recirculation

water flow equalizer - evens out water flow in periods of high and low flow

input black + gray water

anaerobic reactor - reduces amount of solids and BOD5

living machine system study

A. INSIDE WEATHER 1. MAINTENANCE ENTRY 2. AMPHITHEATER 3. RESEARCH-LEARNING SPACE 4. BATHROOMS

initial island formation idea

A1

A4

B. EXPERIENCE WEATHER 1. FOG EXHIBITION SPACE 2. COMBINABLE CLASSROOMS 3. RESEARCH LAB 4. LIBRARY

A3

B2 A2

B1

09

B4

initial surface studies for water filtration B3

07 Ellen Zhu 08 Sean Meng 09 & 11 Veronica Hernandez 10 Joanne Chui

initial roof formation idea D. RESEARCHING WEATHER 1. RESEARCH FLOOR 2. BATHROOMS 3. CONFERENCE 4. GREEN HOUSE

C. SUPPORT WEATHER 1. BATHROOMS 2. DISPLAY SPETIC TANKS 3. SEATING

E. CARETAKERS CABIN 1. LIVING/DINING 2. BATHROOM 3. STORAGE 4. SLEEPING

C1

E2 D1

D2

E3

D3

E1 D4

C3

E2

E4

C2

water flow throughout structure

10

11 CORE STUDIOS | 51

52 | EX–CHANGE

A. INSIDE WEATHER 1. MAINTENANCE ENTRY 2. AMPHITHEATER 3. RESEARCH-LEARNING SPACE 4. BATHROOMS

A1

A4

B. EXPERIENCE WEATHER 1. FOG EXHIBITION SPACE 2. COMBINABLE CLASSROOMS 3. RESEARCH LAB 4. LIBRARY

A3

B2 A2

B1

B4

B3

D. RESEARCHING WEATHER 1. RESEARCH FLOOR 2. BATHROOMS 3. CONFERENCE 4. GREEN HOUSE

C. SUPPORT WEATHER 1. BATHROOMS 2. DISPLAY SPETIC TANKS 3. SEATING

E. CARETAKERS CABIN 1. LIVING/DINING 2. BATHROOM 3. STORAGE 4. SLEEPING

C1

E2 D1

D2

E3

D3

E1 D4

C3

E2

E4

C2

SCALE 1/64” : 1’ 0”

PLAN

15

12 Clara Zhao 13 Mohammed Rahman 14 Shariq Shah 15 Ellen Zhu 16 Olivia Werner 16

CORE STUDIOS | 53

01

02

03

Advanced Construction Studio WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Environmental Learning Center

YEAR

B.Arch III / B.A.

54 | EX–CHANGE

The Advanced Construction Studio is concerned with the detailed development and reďŹ nement of architectural design as informed by the integration of structural, enclosure, environmental and material systems and the process of construction. Students are expected to comprehensively articulate concepts and develop designs with more precision and in greater detail than done in previous studios and courses.

04

05

06

01 & 03 Mohammed Rahman 02 & 04 Paul Greenway 05 Shariq Shah 06 & 07 Joanne Chui 07 CORE STUDIOS | 55

08

9

09

10

56 | EX–CHANGE

11

12

08 Clara Zhao 09 Mike Jin 10 Adam He 11 Robert Rice 12 Steve Wang 13 Mike Jin

9

13

CORE STUDIOS | 57

14

15

16

17 58 | EX–CHANGE

18

19

20

14 & 18 Shariq Shah 15 Clara Zhao 16 & 17 Sean Meng 19 Mohammed Rahman 20 Mike Jin 21 Olivia Werner 21 CORE STUDIOS | 59

Advanced S

O 60 | EX–CHANGE

Synthesis

Option Studios ASOS | 61

01

02

Future Tense Dense WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

East Liberty, Pittsburgh

WHAT

Affordable High-Rise Residential

PROFESSOR(S)

Akhil Badjatia

62 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Studio VLOZ: Longney Luk, Isabella Ouyang, Chitika Vasudeva, Curran Zhang studioSTAY: Shirley Chen, Tanvi Harkare, Jacky Yinjie Tian, Alvin Wong STUDIO DENSE: Ever Clinton, Benita Nartey, Swetha Tulluri, Kwins Minghao Yang

03

Pittsburgh, like most other cities in the U.S., has a housing crisis.

There is a 17,000-unit shortfall of affordable housing units within the city limits. The city’s topography creates an additional challege, further disenfranchising those needing accessible housing. Although there are many organizations working on housing solutions, most, if not all, are considering low-density developments with even fewer considering universal design. This studio proposed a highrise, universal-design-based affordable housing alternative.

01 STUDIO DENSE 02 Studio VLOZ 03 studioSTAY 04 Studio VLOZ 04 ASOS | 63

05

06

07 64 | EX–CHANGE

08

09

SUMMER 9AM LIGHTING ANALYSIS

WINTER 9AM LIGHTING ANALYSIS

05 STUDIO DENSE 06 studioSTAY 07 Studio VLOZ 08 STUDIO DENSE 09 studioSTAY 10 Studio VLOZ 10

ASOS | 65

01

Future Fictions WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Projected Futures

PROFESSOR(S)

Heather Bizon

66 | EX–CHANGE

Identity, Aesthetics and the American City STUDENTS

Harry Branch-Shaw, Kirman Hanson, Stephanie Huang, Leah Kendrick, Yoo Jin Kim, Lana Kozlovskaya, Jonathan Liang, Alejandra Meza, Daniel Noh, Emmanuel Nwandu, Hsiao Tyng Peck, Louis Suarez

02

Projections into the future can often become mere fantasy escape. But an aesthetics of a speculative realism can produce scenarios that directly comment on our own moment in time through advancing a particular crisis into the near future. These scenarios often become lenses for a critical engagement with contemporary problems.

In many ways, architecture is always a future speculation. If the aesthetics of a future reality can be articulated to a point where the familiar becomes strangely other, these speculations can gain political influence; they can build new audiences, new constituencies.

How architects have made aesthetic arguments through diffrerent mediations is of crucial importance for the discipline of architecture, both past and future.

01 All Students 02 Hsiao Tyng Peck 03 Jonathan Liang

03

ASOS | 67

04

The Post-Bee Urban Fabric

The Hive Renovation

One of the most significant ramifications of the Apis Influenza in Pittsburgh was the change of the urban fabric. It may be surprising to hear, but the notorious, new road system emerged merely 5 years after the infliction of the bee centric disease. It has been researched and speculated upon that it was possible only through the social structure that exists in the apis community.

The roads also reflect flower visitation networks of bees, as previously researched on actual bees. The pathways connect different hubs where the homo apians can pollinate and/or socialize. It is uncertain what the next steps for the city of Pittsburgh in its urban infrastructure.

The Apis Influenza brought more than the Homo Apians to Pittsburgh. After the flu struck Lawrenceville, the buildings were quickly flipped to accomodate the new inhabitants of the row houses. Although the houses remained as houses formally, the structure and material of the residences came to resemble the hive-like structure created by the bee species.

Heinzian Architecture

The new apis afflicted road system has sparked many disagreements on what the next steps are. The multi-billion dollar company, Heinz, has come up with various plans to modify certain architectural monuments as well as the entire city. These designs, much like Haussmann’s renovation to Paris in the 19th century, focus on wide avenues and spread out buildings. This can be seen as an attempt to bring hygiene back into the city through the modifications of the underlying infrastructure.

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Contentious Festivities With the redevelopment of the infrastructure of Pittsburgh, came various social changes. Some events, like Picklesburgh, were slightly modified to accommodate for the new elements. Some events spawned out of the changes in societal behavior. Although many have seen these events as light-hearted, there are various unseen political motives and ideas behind them.

completed 2053

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Wintertime Drone Evictions

LOUIS SUAREZ, EDITOR DANIEL NOH, CHIEF CARTOGRAPHER

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Winters in Pittsburgh are perhaps best known for freezing rain, poor road conditions, and random days seemingly belonging to the spring season. On top of all these, another annual phenomenon has creeped into the steel city. Every winter, hundreds of men are left homeless in Western Pennsylvania. This occurs in the apian communities throughout the Greater Pittsburgh Area, where adult males are expelled from their communes during the winter months when the family unit’s primary focus is warmth and food conservation. Homeless shelters in Pittsburgh’s North Shore, East Liberty, and are overflowing with flu victims, to the point that several stadiums are now being used as impromptu refugee camps.

THE INTERVENTIONS OF THE INFLUENZA

The Apian Influence You might have to be an avid reader of medical journals—or a beekeeper—to notice that the United States is in the midst of a high-speed disease disaster.

The disease is Apis Influenza. The disease is able to jump to humans when a strain develops that is a mixture of animal and human versions of the virus.

As of August 2047, almost 26 billion honey bees have died, or been killed to keep the disease from spreading. Apis Influenza, which is not fatal, in most cases, to humans, causes dramatic physical mutations in infected persons, ranging from trýpic disfigurations to insectoid vestigial structures. However the most striking of these alterations, are the neurological changes experienced by apis flu patients. This map is the first look into the infrastructural and social changes inflicted by the Apis Influenza.

05 68 | EX–CHANGE

06

07

08

09

04 Kirman Hanson 05 Louis Suarez + Daniel Noh 06 Jonathan Liang 07 Hsiao Tyng Peck 08 Daniel Noh + Kirman Hanson 09 Jonathan Liang + Emmanuel Nwandu 10 Emmanuel Nwandu 10 ASOS | 69

01

02

03

Design-Build Porch WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

Wilkinsburg, PA

WHAT

Porch

PROFESSOR(S)

Stephen Lee, Liza Cruze

70 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Red Ribbon Porch: Alyssa Mayorga, Jacob Moskowitz, Yashwitha Maram Reddy Gullwing Porch: Edward Fischer, Owen Haft, Ryan Smerker Woodhenge: Kyle Bancroft , Jordan Takumi Davis, Taylor Latimer

04

A design-build intervention with Wilkinsburg’s Community Forge.

The spring 2019 ASO studio under Stefan Gruber’s direction worked with the Community Forge and created a master plan of improvements to the parking lot at the former Johnstone School in Wilkinsburg. An important proposal from the master plan was the creation of a porch on the west end of the building to directly connect the playground to the community room and toilets.

The design-build studio considered the porch as a critical element of architecture mediating the realm between the building and the surrounding space.

05 01–03 Red Ribbon Porch 04–05 Gullwing Porch

ASOS | 71

06

Polycarbonate

Perforated Plywood

Tapered LVL Brackets

2.5” Structural Metal Pipe Columns

2”x4” Wood Studs

Wood Stair Treads

Trex Decking

08 2”x12” Wood Joists @ 16” O.C. 12” LVL Mesh Rope

Concrete Stairs

07

72 | EX–CHANGE

06 Gullwing Porch 07 Red Ribbon Porch 08–10 Woodhenge

09

10

ASOS | 73

a. Rachel Lu b. Fon Euchukanonchai c. Zhi Tao Chen d. Alexander Wang e. Gil Jang f. Vincent DeRienzo g. Hugh Keon Ho Lee h. Scarlet Tong i. Jihoon Park j. Deepthi Ganesh k. Brandon Smith l. Shariwa Sharada

01

m. Fon Euchukanonchai n. Gil Jang o. Rachel Lu p. Hugh Keon Ho Lee q. Alexander Wang r. Scarlet Tong s. Vincent DeRienzo t. Brandon Smith u. Deepthi Ganesh v. Joao De Castro w. Shariwa Sharada x. Zhi Tao Chen

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j

k

l

m

n

o

p

q

r

s

t

u

v

w

x

Bouça Social Housing Continued Making the City Fabric versus Monument WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

Porto, Portugal

WHAT

Social Housing

PROFESSOR(S)

Gerard Damiani, Mark Shapiro

74 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Joao de Castro, Zhi Tao Chen, Vincent DeRienzo, Fon Euchukanonchai, Deepthi Ganesh, Gil Jang, Hugh Keon Ho Lee, Rachel Lu, Jihoon Park, Tye Silverthorne, Shariwa Sharada, Brandon Smith, Scarlet Tong, Alexander Wang

02

At a time when so much of the discussion in architecture seems to center around the generation of highly eccentric sculptural forms employing advanced fabrication techniques, it might be well to remember that the most effective sustainable strategies may involve the creation of coherent, dense urban areas. We may also posit that successful urban districts and cities are made up of both normative fabric and exceptional buildings and spaces that create hierarchy and order.

Designed in the 1970s, the Bouรงa Social Housing complex in Porto, Portugal, was developed by ร lvaro Siza with Serviรงo de Apoio Ambulatรณrio (SAAL) to address the housing crisis facing the country during a turbulent period that saw a military coup in 1974 and a right-wing coup in 1975.

03

The studio focused on extending the community on the western edge of the site on a small triangular parcel.

The program was the addition of a few housing units, a community meeting hall, an arts center and public service offices.

04

#8107

Appropriated Spaces | Eye-Level Perspectival Sketch

01 Alexander Wang 02 Gil Jang 03 Rachel Lu 04 Alexander Wang

ASOS | 75

05

06

07 76 | EX–CHANGE

08

09

05 Hugh Keon Ho Lee 06 Brandon Smith 07 Zhi Tao Chen 08 Deepthi Ganesh 09 Tye Silverthorne 10 Jihoon Park

10 ASOS | 77

01

Subject to Change WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

Paris, France

WHAT

Temporary Worship Space + Cultural Center

PROFESSOR(S)

78 | EX–CHANGE

Jeremy Ficca, Francesca Torello

And Other Inevitabilities of Time

STUDENTS

Fallon Creech, Cathy Dong, Christoph Eckrich, Martin Kunze He, Grace Hou, Kevin Jiang, Romi Jin, Yeong Il Jo, Ryu Kondrup, Xiaoying Meng, Shailaja Patel, Kathy Song, Monica Toren, Crystal Xue

The recent fire and near collapse of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral challenges expectations of architectural permanence while revealing the significant measures of restoration and preservation needed to maintain architecture through time. The striking video of Viollet-le-Duc’s burning and imploding spire, livestreaming across the globe, stripped bare architecture’s perpetuity to reveal the incomprehensible fragility of a structure that has stood for over 850 years.

Using the postfire context and its extensive discourse related to the restoration of the cathedral as a point of departure, this studio foregrounded architecture’s existence through time, challenging participants to reexamine architecture’s historical preoccupation with permanence. It recalibrated one’s understanding of a building’s lifespan in the Anthropocene through a reevaluation of cheap energy and a culture of disposal on one hand and the urgent need to address climate change and growing resource scarcity on the other.

01 Ryu Kondrup 02 Christoph Eckrich 03 Ryu Kondrup

02

02

03 ASOS | 79

04

05 06

04 Kevin Jiang 05 Kevin Jiang 06 Christoph Eckrich 07 Ryu Kondrup 08 Shailaja Patel 09 Christoph Eckrich

07

80 | EX–CHANGE

08

09

ASOS | 81

01

02

03

Terminal Systems WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

New York, NY

WHAT

JFK Terminal 4 Expansion

PROFESSOR(S)

Hal Hayes

82 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Cotey Anderegg, Eric Chen, Xin Chen, Zuoming Chen, Alessandra Fleck, Vanshika Gandotra, Jamie Ho, Min Young Jeong, Lingfan Jiang, Aaron Lee, Juliane O’Day, Lan Wei, Kai Zheng

04

This studio helped students develop a strong, comprehensive, holistic design process and learn to seek inspiration from the design components and sociocultural issues involved in a large, complex building project. The key semester goal was for each student to create a unique individual design of a civic gateway celebrating New York that was completely responsive to the needs of the users, elegantly balanced the many interrelated and interdependent performative systems that are critical to the function and that was a compelling whole greater than the sum of its parts.

The studio project requirements closely paralleled the real project currently being planned for the expansion of T4.

05 01 Lan Wei 02 Min Yeong Jeong + Lingfan Jiang 03 Min Yeong Jeong + Lingfan Jiang 04 Cotey Anderegg 05 Xin Chen ASOS | 83

06

07

09

84 | EX–CHANGE

08

10

11 06 Min Yeong Jeong + Lingfan Jiang 07 Min Yeong Jeong + Lingfan Jiang 08 Min Yeong Jeong + Lingfan Jiang 09 Lan Wei 10 Xin Chen 11 Xin Chen ASOS | 85

Name TAXONOMY

MACRO SEQUENCE

1776

1839

1835

ship turning radius

shore to shore proximity

rail transport

MICRO SEQUENCE

1842

1873

1849

undeveloped coast

increase in coastal development

fully developed coast

OPERATIONS

1880

2019

1950

industry at river edge

density increase

city blocks fill with small parcels

TAXONOMY

OPERATIONS

MICRO MESO MACRO

3

low coastal fractal dimension

increase in fractal dimension

fully developed fractal dimension

shipping traffic

change in turning radii over time

rail transport

01

02

03

INFRAstructure Studio Forces Underlying Urban Form WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Sculpture Park

PROFESSOR(S)

Christine Mondor

86 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Andrew Chong, Colleen Duong, Cassandra Howard, Grace Ji, Denise Jiang, Claire Koh, Jessica Kusten, Zhuoying Lin, Michael Longo, Kelly Lu, Fernanda Mazzilli, Somin Shim, Carmen Yu, Selena Zhen

South Elevation

04

East Elevation

Third Floor

Second Floor

05

1

Master Plan

First Floor

This studio is part of a series of studios examining architecture’s functional, spatial, experiential and cultural relationship with urban infrastructure. Our studio shifted scales, understanding each scale as an opportunity for design. We design places, but sometimes design systems or even engagements. The studio expanded our understanding of resource flows in placemaking, in system functioning and how our designs and design processes can activate human experience.

The studio focused on the relationship between urban infrastructure and an architectural scale of development to create inspiring places that improve the performance of urban systems, contributing to an evolving understanding of the [re]production value.

Section 1

Section 2

06

4

3

01 Jessica Kusten 02 Fernanda Mazzilli 03 Zoe Lin + Selena Zhen 04 Grace Ji, Michael Longo, Somin Shim 05 Zoe Lin + Selena Zhen 06 Andrew Chong + Jessica Kusten Section 3

ASOS | 87

Pittsburgh Zoo Parking Lot

08

07

09

07

10 88 | EX–CHANGE

PARTI - WATER

Dry Area Architecture & Dam

PARTI - ZONES

STORE

FILTER

Water Filtration Pockets Water Movement (hidden)

COLLECT PARTI - OCCUPANCY

SITE PLAN 1:2000

DRY SEASON

PROPOSED WATER FLOW

DRY SEASON CIRCULATION

JULY SUN RADIATION ANALYSIS

Dry Area Architecture & Dam

PARTI - ZONES

FLOOD

FLOOD SEASON CIRCULATION

STORE

PROPOSED BIOTIC SYSTEMS

Norway Maple Common Pleco

FILTER

River Birch

Oak

Cattail Soft Rush

Cabomba Cottonwood

Grass Carp Oak

Oak

Honeysuckle

Ash

Water Mint

Cattail

Northern Maple Northern Red Oak

Staghorn Sumac

COLLECT

Cork

Common Pleco

Soft Rush Noth Catapala Cabomba

Staghorn Sumac

Oak

Hornwort Sugar Maple

Water Lily Mosquitofish

Norway Maple

Cattail

SITE PLAN 1:2000

Sugar Maple

White Ash

Cottonwood Honeysuckle Ash

DRY SEASON

DRY SEASON CIRCULATION

EXISTING WATER FLOW

PROGRAM AREAS

PROPOSED WATER FLOW

JULY SUN RADIATION ANALYSIS

WATER TYPOLOGY 1

WATER TYPOLOGY 2

WATER TYPOLOGY 3

WATER TYPOLOGY 4

PROGRAM LAYOUT 1

PROGRAM LAYOUT 2

PROGRAM LAYOUT 3

PROGRAM LAYOUT 4

0.5x Reservoir 1 Water Storage

FLOOD

FLOOD SEASON CIRCULATION

PROPOSED BIOTIC SYSTEMS

Norway Maple Common Pleco

River Birch

Oak

Cattail

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery

Soft Rush

Cabomba

Parking Garage

Cottonwood

Visitor Center

Grass Carp Oak

Service Building

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery

Ash

Water Mint

Cattail

Northern Maple Parking Garage

Parking Garage Visitor Center

Oak

Honeysuckle

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery

Staghorn Sumac

Cork

Service Building

Common Pleco

*Note: 100’x100’ squares, with depth 1’ to hold water

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery

Parking Garage

Visitor Center

Northern Red Oak

Service Building

Parking Garage

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

Service Building

Service Building

Soft Rush Noth Catapala Cabomba

Staghorn Sumac

Oak

Hornwort

ZONNING STRATEGY 1

SOLAR EXPOSURE ANALYSIS

ZONNING STRATEGY 2

Sugar Maple

EXISTING BIOTIC SYSTEMS

Water Lily Mosquitofish

VEHICULAR

VEHICULAR

Norway Maple

Section A

Section I

Section B

Section J

Section C

Section K

Cattail

White Ash

Cottonwood

Sugar Maple

Norway Maple River Birch Oak

Honeysuckle Oak

Ash

Cottonwood Honeysuckle Oak

Ash

Northern Maple

PEDESTRIAN

EXISTING WATER FLOW

Section D

Section L

Section E

Section M

Staghorn Sumac Northern Red Oak

PEDESTRIAN

WATER TYPOLOGY 2

WATER TYPOLOGY 1 ALTERNATIVE ACCESS

WATER TYPOLOGY 4

WATER TYPOLOGY 3

E

D

C

B

I

Section H

Sugar Maple

Cottonwood White Ash

H

Honeysuckle

J

Full Sun: > 6 hours of direct sun daily Part Sun: 3-6 hours of direct sun daily

Norway Maple

A

F G

Section G

Part Shade: 3-6 hours of sun daily

Oak

Sugar Maple

Section F

ALTERNATIVE ACCESS

Cork

Noth Catapala Staghorn Sumac

M

L

Ash

K

11 07 Grace Ji, Michael Longo, Somin Shim 08 Grace Ji, Michael Longo, Somin Shim 09 Colleen Duong + Claire Koh 10 Colleen Duong + Claire Koh 11 Denise Jiang + Kelly Lu 12 Colleen Duong + Claire Koh PROGRAM AREAS

PROGRAM LAYOUT 1

ZONE 1 - DRY TO MIXED WEATHER 0.5x Reservoir 1 Water Storage

ZONE 1 -FLOODED

PROGRAM LAYOUT 3

PROGRAM LAYOUT 2

ZONE 2 - DRY TO MIXED WEATHER

ZONE 2 -FLOODED

PROGRAM LAYOUT 4

ZONE 3 - DRY TO MIXED WEATHER

ZONE 3 -FLOODED

12

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery Parking Garage Visitor Center Service Building

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery Parking Garage

*Note: 100’x100’ squares, with depth 1’ to hold water

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery Parking Garage

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery Parking Garage

Indoor/Outdoor Gallery Parking Garage

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

Service Building

Service Building

Service Building

Service Building

ASOS | 89

01

02

Migration, Medium, Mirage WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Various

WHAT

Various

PROFESSOR(S)

Mary-Lou Arscott

90 | EX–CHANGE

01 Minghao Yang, The Three-Body Problem 02 Jessica Kusten, DRY // WET 03 Isabella Ouyang, Entanglement 04 Yoo Jin Kim, Meditative Oblivion 05 Jonathan Liang, Iris 06 Shirley Chen, Effervescence 07 Emmanuel Nwandu, Eulogy 08 Eric Chen, Envisioning an Industrialized Future of Rwanda 09 Jacky Tian, Shikumen 10 Grace Hou, Repatriation

03

The design prompt for this studio was to reconsider the phenomena of migration.

Shelter and basic bodily functions are currently prescribed within a narrow cultural imperative and ignored for any marginalized individual in movement. It is from Foucault that we understand that the body is a battleground, where definitions are insisted upon to reinforce power positions, to satisfy convention and to protect from a constructed set of fears.

This studio developed a response to these sociopolitical constraints and reimagined a design for populations in movement with creative, strategic and radical thinking.

The title “Migration, Medium, Mirage� is used to denote the joining of the potential of physical principals (e.g. of shelter, fuel and food) to be connected with a rich narrative of memory, dream state, fantasy and the surreal.

These emotive and volatile factors in the realm of culture find expression in cinema and in the expanded cinema.

04

ASOS | 91

05

06

07 92 | EX–CHANGE

08

09

10 ASOS | 93

01

02

Low-Relief

The Virtual and Material Cultures of Architectural Deceit WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Student Homes Worldwide

WHAT

B.Arch, M.Arch, MAAD

PROFESSOR(S)

Joshua Bard, Francesca Torello

94 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Xin Chen, Zuoming Chen, Stephanie Huang, Min Young Jeong, Grace Ji, Denise Jiang, Lingfan Jiang, Aaron Lee, Yugyeong Lee, Michael Longo, Jihoon Park, Twisha Raja

03

Low-Relief explored the material cultures of deceit in architectural design and construction. The studio positioned architectural illusion not just as a visual technique, but a precise shaping of physical material and the blending of hybrid media forms in three dimensions. The motivating frame of LowRelief coincides with a proliferation of virtual reality in contemporary media and seeks to position the built environment as a proto-virtual-interface. If a latent virtuality exists in architecture’s past, can historical precedents frame the use of emerging digital technologies — like robotics, projection mapping and reality capture — to explore new expressions of architectural duplicity?

04 01-04 Denise Jiang + Min Young Jeong + Xin Chen, Our House

ASOS | 95

05

06

96 | EX–CHANGE

07

05-07 Lingfan Jiang + Aaron Lee + Jihoon Park, Magic Box - Fresco

ASOS | 97

01

02

Solar Decathlon WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Uptown, Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Zero Energy Housing

PROFESSOR(S)

Liza Cruze

98 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

01 Uptown Row: Rachel Lu, Jacob Moskowitz, Brandon Smith 02 Future Context: Edward Fischer, Alyssa Mayorga, Alejandra Meza 03 OaSys: Andrew Chong, Owen Haft, Vanshika Gondotra 04 Team Sustain: Alessandra Fleck, Jamie Ho, Ophelie Tousignant

04

04

ACTION-Housing, a nonprofit with the mission of addressing the housing needs for underserved populations, has an established real estate development arm with a strong commitment to green building. They believe that affordable housing should be designed with long-term sustainability in mind. This principle guided four teams of students as they envisioned housing on three conjoined lots ACTION-Housing owns in Uptown. The fact that the City of Pittsburgh recently designated Uptown as a “EcoInnovation District” and implemented a progressive zoning plan set an additional parameter for the project.

SABATIER SYSTEM

The studio participated concurrently in the Solar Decathlon. The competition has been reorganized and now offers an annual design challenge that includes categories for attached housing and mixed-use multifamily housing. The technically oriented demands of the competition were addressed through a parallel course co-taught with Sarah Christian (CEE), which brought architecture and engineering students together to research, design and integrate the multiple building systems into each team’s design.

04

ASOS | 99

FUTURE CONTEXT School of Architecture Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Ave., CFA 201 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 412.268.2354 Design Team: Edward Fischer Alyssa Mayorga Alejandra Meza

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Carnegie Mellon University Porter Hall 119 Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 (412) 268-2940 Engineering Team: Joseph Iacobellis Valentina Ortiz de Zarate Helen Yu

01

ORIGINAL ISSUANCE For Review

DATE XX.XX.XX

Revisions No.

Description For Review

Date XX.XX.XX

FUTURE CONTEXT 2000 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15219

COVER PAGE

02

Scale

AS NOTED

Date

05.05.2020

Project No.

03 100 | EX–CHANGE

20-01

01

02

03

ASOS | 101

.5 mi

Section through Infrastructural Core Revealing Water Collection/Filtration Processes and Circulatory Connection from Street to Hillside

2.0 mi

2.5 mi

3.0 mi 1.5 mi

Downhill view to Housing Garden Roofscape 1 mi

Ha zelwo

Blake Family

0 mi

0.5 mi

01

02

Mudslide Damage

Two environmentally-conscientious hazelwood families with interests in gardening and outdoor activities enjoy separate living spaces while sharing water infrastructure and structural core.

Embedded Infrastructure, House with Living Walls 1.5 mi

Sectional Chunk Highlighting Earth Retention Mill 19 Site and Water Process Relationship to Living Spaces

Priya Suresh Age 36 2nd Grade Te

Kelley Blake Age 48 Social Worker

Mihir Suresh Age 39 Concrete Sub

Abby Blake Age 16 Sophomore

Jason Suresh Age 8 3rd Grade

Site Plan

Client Profile and Intertwined Double House Massing Strategy

Hazelwood Boundary Railroad

Flow Lines Waterways

2 mi

Greenways Woodlands

High

Black Carbon

2 mi

e) House: Ecoloal science semof construction s cradle-to-cravolume of new ams heading to minimal material coupled with a y into the archi-

Low

1.5 mi

1 mi

0.5 mi

0 mi

0.5 mi

On-Site Material Excavation

outflow

1.5 mi

2.0 mi

2.5 mi

3.0 mi

Assembly of Printed Components

On-Site Robotic Concrete Printing

for foundation, relocated earth used in concrete component fabrication

03

1.0 mi

forms the structural shell of the house and provides the infrastructure for water management and food production

eliminates need for concrete formwork and allows creation of complex 3d geometry

Mass-Optimized Structural Component

Site-Sourced Silica as Concrete Aggregate

reduced to 20% original volume, printed with minimized carbon footprint and material investment

to eliminate carbon footprint of commercial aggregate extraction and transportation

The ambition of this studio was to examine architecture that inquires into energy as a primary inspiration for formation of matter. Promoting a shift away from purely data-driven rationales, retaining the desire was to engage in wall the design of sensorial subjectivities as part of our collective aesthetic and ecological experience. kitchen

ning

bath

filtration tank

bath

The Landslide House is a double house, situated at the base of one of Hazelwood’s many hillside slopes, anchoring into the earth at a depth of 38 feet. It unfolds from a shared infrastructural and circulatory service core linked to two intertwined single-family dwellings. The families occupy separate living spaces with a shared water-collection system located in the belly of the retaining wall. Urban roof gardens and interwoven internal stair create a balance while entangling private and communal spaces and resources in a more intensive way. The ample greenspace connected to the controlled water flow from the retaining wall allows the families to develop a degree of food autonomy in a neighborhood officially classified a food desert, while the rain garden and roofscape allow for social engagement and recreational activity from rock-climbing to family gardening to community cookouts.

Lithopic House: Ecologies of Earthen Matter kitchen

outflow

WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Living Stone House

PROFESSOR

Dana Cupkova

102 | EX–CHANGE

Suresh Family

Maggie Blake Age 42 EMT and Flight Attendant

Jade Blake Age 10 5th Grade

INTEGRATED DUPLEX LIVING

1 mi

graphy of Pittsnd contaminatracially diverse, mographic. The d into a hill-likectural resilience al engagement growing edible

ing

od

0.5 mi

STUDENTS

Harry Branch-Shaw, Colleen Duong, Kirman Hansen, Tanvi Harkare, Gil Jang, Leah Kendrick, Ryu Kondrup, Lana Kozlovskaya, Longney Luk, Louis Suarez, Scarlet Tong, Alexander Michael Wang

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01 Ryu Kondrup 02 Gil Jang 03 Ryu Kondrup 04 Gil Jang 05 Alexander Wang + Longney Luk with Sand Print by Gil Jang 06 Alexander Wang 07 Alexander Wang

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Lithopic (Living Stone) House studio negotiated physical prototyping with digital environments while considering material ecologies of earthen composites central to design.

LH investigated the role of shape-factor in formation of architecture conceived out of granular-based waste-streams materials using large-scale jet-binder printing. Focused on devolumizing strategies for minimal material use, the goal was to explore dissipative approaches for coupling thermal pathways with biomass in the design of architecture. We sought to engage the notion of ecological attunement beyond the environmentalist paradigm, questioning the implication of binary logic between objects and environmental ethics.

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ood”, d’s azelwood”, erable elwood’s mic y vulnerable conomic

, that by a Matter”, that o-cradle inned by a well as adle-to-cradle inimal ls, as well as rate for minimal o integrate nce. water, ents mud, water, sediments se, this enhouse, for the this s and for the

ble . Double n with unction with

ople of people hold household the use of the me overing time over-

08

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11

Material Optimization Design Process using Simulations to understanding how much material can be saved, thus reducing overall cost of the project.

+

=

Water flow simulation of new house-landform Water flow simulation of new house-landform

=

Design Process Workflow: Using AI to identify ecological patterns that would support plant growth integrated into material form of the house.

StructuralFLOW Form Study: Increasing Ecological Impact by Reducing MaterialTEXTURE volume WATER DIRECTION BIOMASS

Design Process Workflow: Using AI to identify ecological patterns that would support plant growth integrated into material form of the house.

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=

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Transverse section looking south.

Longitudinal section looking east.

Air Flow.

Family Chapel.

Southern Light.

Design Process Workflow: Using AI to identify ecological patterns Hearththat would support plant growth integrated into material form of the thin shell construction.

Access to L

Grotto

13 Art.

Dining.

Kitchen.

Chicken Indoor Living Area.

Main floor plan.

Transverse section looking south.

Chicken Outdoor Living Area.

Longitudinal section looking east.

Structural F

Air Flow.

Bath.

Family Chapel.

Southern Light.

Geothermal Energy.

Hearth Access to Loft.

14 Sleep.

Prayer.

Relax.

Chimney and hearth assembly.

Grotto

Casing10 assembly.

Loft floor plan.

Art.

Dining.

Kitchen.

Chicken Indoor

In the Grotto, after Jean-François Millet.Living Area.

Main floor plan.

In the Kitchen, after Ander Zorn.

Chicken Outdoor Living Area.

Integration of the thin shell.

08 Colleen Duong 09 Ryu Kondrup 10–12 Colleen Duong 13 Kirman Hansen 14–15 Louis Suarez + Longney Luk

Bath.

Geothermal Energy.

15 Sleep.

Prayer.

Relax.

ASOS | 105

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Hardcorist Lectores &their worldmaking laboratories WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Ceiba, Puerto-Rico

WHAT

Worldmaking Campus

PROFESSOR(S)

WAI Think Tank,

106 | EX–CHANGE

2019-20 Ann Kalla Visiting Professorship in Architecture

STUDENTS

Zhi Tao Chen, Takumi Davis, Vincent DeRienzo, Christoph Eckrich, Cassandra Howard, Taylor Latimer, Kelly Lu, Hsiao Tyng Peck, Swetha Tulluri, Crystal Xue, Kai Zhang, Selena Zhen

R.A.I.D. Center Race and Art Immersive Discovery Center Centro de Descubrimiento Inmersivo de Raza y Arte The RAID Center is a place of growth.

The Center cultivates inclusive, open, informed and confident minded people.

This immersive discovery center focuses on race and how art can be used as a method to decrease racial divide.

Creation is an integral part of the immersive discovery experience. The two main towers hold studios fit for many types of art to be created. Glass openings in the floor allow artists to view the work from their peers and possibly even be inspired by them.

The bridging polyform structure in between the two towers holds a small gallery.

Its unique shape creates an enveloping space providing for an immersive viewing experience.

The art created and showcased at the Center is supplemented with programs to uplift students and provide them with the skills needed to suceed in inclusive environments.

1st Floor - Sculpture Studio & Quality Assurance Studio 2nd Floor - Music Studio 3rd Floor - Painting Studio, Film Studio, Media Room, & Gallery 4th Floor - Written Art Studio & Photography Studio 5th Floor - Dance Studio & Active Learning Studio

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A century after the founding of Unovis, Bauhaus and Vhkutemas, Hardcorist Lectores & their worldmaking laboratories reconsidered the relationship between pure form, radical pedagogy and the creation of spaces for the exploration and development of critical forms of architecture. The studio explored the possibility of Universal Workshops and Architectures of Emancipation.

Engaging with the design of a collective campus, public spaces and pedagogical programs, each student identified pressing challenges to forge new critical curriculums. Following the model of the lector (“loud-reader�) in the tobacco factories at the beginning of the 20th century, new landscapes, institutes, laboratories and workshops construct new forms of worldmaking.

For the full studio description and project documentation, including drawings, videos, images and publications, visit loudreaders.org

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01 Christoph Eckrich, The Institute of Peoples Art and Action 02 Selena Zhen, Laboratory for Virtuous Textile Production 03 & 05 Collective Campus Design for New Worldmaking 04 Taylor Latimer, Race and Art Immersive Discovery Center (R.A.I.D) 06 Kai Zhang, Institute of Decentralized Influence 07 Vincent DeRienzo, Institute of Liberated Pleasure ASOS | 107

and the students in learning and practicing local food production.

08

The architecton form allows for a great pattern of diversity throughout the site for each year of the curriculum. The main building is used as the social hub for the site, bringing together discourse from all three parts of the curricula. There are pedestals located around the site for the loudspeakers to spread their knowledge of land use to those working and researching. There are research buildings located in the field adjacent to the produce. The plaza in front of the main building is flexible as a farmer’s market or outdoor kitchen spaces for lessons on using fresh produce. And throughout the whole site, there are places beneath the trees and furniture in the plaza for communities to just come together and be together.

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10 11 08 Cassandra Howard, Center for Land Use Reparations 09 Takumi Davis, Battleground of Human Settlement (B.O.H.S.) 10 Zhi Tao Chen, Academy for the Emancipation of the American Dream 11 Collective Campus Design for New Worldmaking

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Headquarters for the Discrediting Union

Development of Research and Design for the Deconstruction of Philanthrocapitalism

Field of Incomplete Generosities

Foundational Studies into understanding the paradox of Elite Empathy

Facilities:

Core Curriculum:

Department of Injustices Ministry of Re-education of Billionaire Philanthropists Cafeteria for Ethical Veganism Hall of Inconclusive TED talks Library of Self-serving Foundations Galle of Elite Scrutiny Gallery Laboratory for Democratic Resurrection Studio for Uncharitable Art

Depoliticising Philanthropy The Ungolden Age of Giving Reclaiming the Machinery of State Governance Language of Inequality - A Rigged Conversation Horizontal Distributions of Power Dismantling Power Structures Individual agency in a Civil Society Refuting Win-Win Fallacies Constructive Cynicism Identifying Plutocracy in a Democracy

The problem with Elite Empathy is that it depends on and trusts the volunteerism of the people with the most to lose from real social change to be our changemakers. This curriculum challenges students to uncover solutions to topple the existing power structures and systemic inequities that are at the root of o the dire inequality of our society.

The school is stocked with immersive facilities and a diverse faculty who are each experts in the field of exposing Elite Hypocrisy. We seek to groom a new generation of change-makers who will actively challenge the status quo, recognising positive change cannot be achieved that posit without upturning a system that is inherently flawed.

Garden of Disbelieving Loudspeakers

Seminars:

For the Activation of a new Truth

The Billionaire’s Guide to Changing the World The Giving Pledge and Why it’s Real Appropriate Outfits for Charity Galas Top Ten Third World Nations for your Giving Gap Year Developing a Rich Person Savior Complex Crafting Instagram Captions to Serious Tragedies Getting Buildings Named After You Tax Evasion through Charitable Donations Eradicating Injustice in 280 Characters Gene Generosity as a substitute for Justice New Age Apps to solve World Hunger Writing your Memoir on Some Woke Thought Trading Altruism for Political Favours Solving Public problems through Private action

Through a series of o ironically named workshops, we examine the various forms of Elite Hypocrisy as the Rich and Famous find ways to heal the world. While putting a bandaid on the bleeding tumor that is the social injustices of this world isn’t necessarily always a bad thing, it comes nowhere close to solving the root of the problem. Besides highlighting the half-heartedness of these gestures, we uncover the political agendas behind Elite aid to prove how these actions in fact seek to entrench the very power structures that allow these problems to continue. We uncover the insidious harm of allowing these Incomplete Generosities to become the headlines of Social Change in all this age. The goal is to introduce greater critique and skepticism instead of mere deferetential gratitude to the un-altruistic acts of Elite Empathy.

5 Pillars:

Science and Technology Justice Governance Social St Structures Education

These five f are the targeted arms of power through which we will enact change and broadcast disruption.

Information gathered and produced at the School is in this way dispersed to the administrations and agencies of the world that can redistribute power and refocus the conversation on social change.

“Whether such extreme inequality is or is not sustainable, depends not only on the effectiveness of the repressive apparatus but also, and perhaps primarily, on the effectiveness of the apparatus of justification.”

Thomas Piketty

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14 12 Tyng Peck, Institute fo Deschooling Philanthrocapitalism 13 Crystal Xue, The Reformatory of Digital Consumption 14 Swetha Tulluri, Workshops of Feminist Representation 15 Kelly Lu, Laboratory of Information Generation

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ASOS | 109

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03

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Cooperative Housing: Neighborhoods as Commons WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Mixed-Use Housing

PROFESSOR(S)

Stefan Gruber

110 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Fon Euchukanonchai, Deepthi Ganesh, Yeong Il Jo, Hugh Lee, Zoe Lin, Fernanda Mazzilli, Benita Nartey, Juliane O’Day, Yashwitha Maram Reddy, Shariwa Sharada, Tye Silverthorne, Alvin Wong,

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Our current lifestyle transcends planetary boundaries. Yet the world population is projected to grow to 10 billion people by 2060. Sustaining their lives will require us to radically rethink how we live, how we share resources, what and how we produce and consume and how we care for our individual, community and planetary well-being.

According to the 2000-Watts society model, each earthling is allotted a fixed primary energy budget of two kWh. This entails our individual and shared energy for housing, mobility, food, goods and waste, including embodied energy.

This studio tested the implications of the 2000-Watts society for Pittsburgh by envisioning new typologies of collective living and working. More

specifically, it explores the possibility of limited equity housing cooperatives in Polish Hill as a way to provide affordable housing beyond the binaries of home ownership or renting. By means of pooling resources and collective governance, neighborhood communities can achieve more local, self-sufficient and circular economies.

Thus, at an urban scale, housing co-ops can contribute to reframing neighborhoods as commons.

The studio approached the design by reflecting on three essential elements of the home: the land, the bed and the kitchen. The land raises question about ownership, the commodification and affordability of housing. The bed is no longer a place of intimate privacy, but the site of everyday activities including work and public communication. Thus, the

bed points toward the contemporary crisis of imagination in architecture that lingers in a binary thinking of public and private space. Meanwhile, the kitchen addresses questions of housework, labor of care and the gendered politics of domesticity. The kitchen leads us to challenge the normativity of the nuclear family and acknowledge the diverse set of social constellations that constitute a home. Along with the study of selected typological precedents and a careful reading of the urban milieu, these elements prompted students to reconsider “the trap of the American dream� (Mike Davis) and explore alternative forms of collective housing.

01 Hugh Lee, Collage of Proto-typology 02 Yeong Il Jo, Diagram of case study 03 Shariwa Sharada, Proto-typology 04 Yeong Il Jo, Model of case study 05 Hugh Lee, Project section ASOS | 111

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Alvin Wong, Benita Nartey, Deepthi Ganesh, Fernanda Mazzilli, Fon Euchukanonchai, Hugh Lee, Juliane O’day, Shariwa Sharada, Tye Silverthorne, Yashwitha Maram Reddy, Yeong Il Jo, Zoe Lin.

06 Deepthi Ganesh, Diagrams of proto-typology and project section 07 Yeong Il Jo, Typical floor plan and birdseye view 08 Shariwa Sharada, Unfolded elevation of public square and project section 09 Fon Euchukanochai, Project section, ground floor plan and perspective view of inside-out-courtyard-desk

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02

Humanizing Brutalism WHEN

Fall 2020

WHERE

London, UK

WHAT

Theater

PROFESSOR(S)

Hal Hayes

114 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Fallon Creech, Cathy Dong, Martin He, Romi Jin, Christine Kim, Jihee Kim, Claire Koh, Xiaoying Meng, Daniel Noh, Anthony Ra, Carmen Yu, Curran Zhang, Christine Zhu

03

04

05

Two of London’s defining characteristics are its physical legacy of postwar brutalist architecture and its cultural tradition of English drama.

This studio explored the seminal integration of these two art forms at London’s landmark Southbank Centre and studied how they may be adapted, reinterpreted and further developed to serve the needs and capitalize on the technological opportunities of the 21st century.

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01 Claire Koh 02 Carmen Yu 03 Christine Zhu 04 Romi Jin 05 Christine Kim 06 Christine Zhu 07 Curran Zhang 07 ASOS | 115

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11

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13

08 Martin He 09 Fallon Creech 10 Martin He 11 Anthony Ra 12 Daniel Noh 13 Cathy Dong 14 Curran Zhang

14 ASOS | 117

See more at thesis.soa.cmu.edu

118 | EX–CHANGE

Thesis THESIS | 119

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Bachelor of Architecture

B.Arch Thesis Fall Coordinator

Joshua Bard Spring Coordinator

Sarah Rafson Students

Michael Powell Alina Kramkova Jonathan Cheng Alison Katz Alex Lin Chitika Vasudeva Kevin Jiang Christina Brown Cotey Anderegg Shan Wang

THESIS | 121

01 Michael Powell

02 Alina Kramkova

03 Jonathan Cheng 122 | EX–CHANGE

01 too little TOO MUCH: USING SENSORY THERAPY PRACTICES TO INFORM SPATIAL EXPERIENCES Michael Powell, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Joshua Bard, Dan Lockton The discipline of architecture has been criticized for relying on solely visual understandings of space and access by writers such as Kat Holmes, Juhani Pallasmaa and Ellen Lupton. As Holmes describes, the “mismatches” created through design practices act as building blocks for exclusion. Approaching inclusive design methods with rather than for occupants can create elegant solutions that benefit all. Specifically, I examine Sensory Processing Disorder and their impact on people’s perception of space by complicating our ability to interpret sensory stimulation.

The thesis project builds upon these concerns as it looks to reevaluate design strategies and practices to be more sensorily conscious and inclusive of people with SPD. By questioning existing standards of practice we can work beyond designers’ biased assumptions to understand accessibility as more nuanced than mobility challenges alone. I am reevaluating approaches towards programming to be more supportive of various ability identities through a belief that notions of place are realized through those who engage with it. Through conversations with members of these communities, and embracing the spectrum of sensory preferences, we can propose occupations that invite more comfortable learning, eating and living environments.

02 DESIGNING PRO-COMPASSION: CONCEPTUALIZING DESTIGMATIZED SPACES FOR INDEPENDENT ABORTION PROVIDERS Alina Kramkova, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Annie Ranttila, Nina Barbuto, Erica Cochran Hameen Abortion providers in many regions of the U.S. currently operate in a restrictive political climate, despite protections under federal law. In response, the restrictive geographies and fortress-like spaces of clinics threaten access and the emotional well-being of individuals with female-assigned reproductive systems. “Pro-compassion,” a mission

by Plants for Patients, the supportive wing of the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, North Dakota, believes in challenging this harmful stigma around abortion and the polarization of our related cultural conversation by creating spaces of shared value for their community.

This thesis seeks to advocate pro-compassionately for other independent providers that serve a critical presence in areas deemed too risky for established organizations like Planned Parenthood to operate.

While precarious, their lack of public presence gives them a level of flexibility to their image that larger organizations do not have. In this space, architects have the potential to design contextually meaningful and compassionate spaces to continue reducing stigma and creating dignity for patients.

03 HUMANcare: REIMAGINING AN ENGAGING OUTPATIENT CLINIC Jonathan Cheng, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Mark Dovey (UMPC Children’s Hospital), Charles Klee (Payette), Kristen Kurland, Azadeh Sawyer Health care design has been developing to best facilitate the current health care system. As a result, hospitals are products of needs and functions dictated by the health care system, but not occupancy. Design of hospitals has been dictated by user input for improving efficiency and efficacy, and this has led to a pristine, but sterile environment for humans. Patients go to hospitals primarily for treatment and care, so the interactions within a hospital have become transactional. Architecture and health care design can reestablish the intent of hospitals and its intent for caring for humans.

This thesis explores design features that can influence the social infrastructure of hospitals.

The goal is to reorient the design process so that the building and architecture influences the social environment. Architecture can create a supportive environment that is “centered around” humans as the occupants; targeting the stress and burnout of doctors, nurses and staff, as well as the fear and anxiety of patients and visitors. This means an environment that coherently supports various populations within the health care system. This thesis looks into outpatient clinics more intensively, as they are populated by both the transient patients and perpetual staff. Architecture can be the initiative to promote a more collaborative environment, where interactions and relationships can be developed to be more personal and intentional.

THESIS | 123

04 Christina Brown

05 Cotey Anderegg

06 Shan Wang 124 | EX–CHANGE

04 GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE: EXTERNALIZATION OF BUILDING PROGRAMMING TO DESIGN IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RESILIENCY Christina Brown, B.Arch & MSSD 2020 Advised by Vivian Loftness, Marantha (Putu) Dawkins, Herbert Dreiseitl The idea of “universal climate” or “la respiration exact” created by Le Corbusier was an idea that resonated with generations of modernists. As technology and science continue to develop, we have now successfully achieved our goal of hermetically sealed buildings due to the innovation in the air conditioning industry and the development of the psychometric chart. However, with this newfound ability to produce artificial environments, we have also successfully disassociated ourselves from the natural environment by relying solely on mechanical conditioning even when we are equally able to open a window or a door. We now treat space as a simple box, internalizing all our design efforts inside the conditioned box, rather than considering what spaces could be outside or externalized to outdoor environments.

SUPERIMPOSED LANDSCAPES adapts the community gardening model into a form that can be modularly implemented in five-eight story apartment buildings (50-100 units) common in Brooklyn’s residential neighborhoods. This system is supported within a structural frame that hangs from the top of the building, storing and filtering rainwater and supporting greenery on a fine scrim of wire. On the apartment scale, residents can utilize a kit of prefabricated enclosure elements and growing systems to allow it to be infilled according to the microclimatic conditions around the building.

The project will be based off an underlying framework, with several infill units that can transform infrastructure merely performative into something that has the potential to be a beautiful, productive and healthy addition to the building, and the neighborhood overall. It will involve a look at relevant precedents to identify key features and proven systems for structure, enclosure and growing, along with analyzing the productive crop potential using various food plants at differing light levels.

06 AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE: WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

In addition to disassociating people from the natural environment, this conventional approach also creates spaces where people disconnect themselves from their communities. The social vibrancy of a community isn’t embedded into the architectural design, so a corridor is simply for walking (rather than meeting neighbors and chatting), a lobby is purely to enter the building (rather than serving as a community gathering space for all its tenants) and the rooftop is just for mechanical systems (rather than acting as an urban farming space for its community).

The vibrancy of hearing children playing, people chatting and the birds chirping is all taken away as we build glass walls around ourselves on all sides.

We have internalized ourselves away from our local communities, resulting in vacant and disconnected neighborhoods.

Shan Wang, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Yuvraj Agarwal, Joshua Bard, Sarah Rafson, in collaboration with CMU Synergy Lab

05 SUPERIMPOSED LANDSCAPES: ADAPTING THE COMMUNITY GARDEN MODEL TO VERTICAL URBAN LANDSCAPES

Despite the value that this technology brings — such as maintenance and space optimization — my research explores issues of privacy and security.

Specifically, how do privacy concerns and strategies change human behaviors and expectations, and how might the architecture profession adapt to this new paradigm of digital and physical symbiosis?

Cotey Anderegg, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Dana Cupkova, Vivian Loftness, Stephen Lee

This thesis investigates the values and risks embedded IoT (Internet of Things) technology can bring to the physical space, the occupants and the architecture profession. In particular, I explore how successful synthesis and representation of data in space can increase peoples’ understandings about the environment, provide valuable analytics for space optimization and inform future design decisions. Such affordance will be created through my design of two digital platforms, mobile and desktop, which visualize aggregated sensor data collected in Tata Consultancy Service Hall to provide insights about the occupant activities over time.

THESIS | 125

07 Alison Katz & Alex Lin

08 Chitika Vasudeva

09 Kevin Jiang 126 | EX–CHANGE

07 RE_VISION: A RESOURCE FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS + HOUSING ADVOCATES Alison Katz + Alex Lin, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Nina Baird, Stefani Danes, Stephen Lee Pittsburgh still struggles with many issues characteristic of postindustrial cities. Housing inequity is a wicked problem that will only worsen as we experience the effects of climate change.

Pittsburgh is positioned well to become a climate refuge and to experience massive population growth. However, if it does not address its current housing crisis first, climate migration will continue to put more pressure on historically underserved neighborhoods and displace existing low income residents.

By investigating the regulatory framework of historically disinvested urban neighborhoods, this thesis explores economic models, policies and building strategies creating a larger system that provides permanent affordable housing and stabilizes existing residents in their homes. Using Garfield as a case study, this resource includes a revision of the Garfield 2030 Plan based on the neighborhood’s needs today and an analysis of potential interventions to promote equitable development. Leveraging the work of existing Pittsburgh nonprofit organizations and individuals, we identify barriers and explore ways to capitalize on the potential of transitioning neighborhoods, creating a potential path to the realization of a future that invests in the existing residents.

08 SCHOOL’S OUT: REIMAGINING VACANT PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN PITTSBURGH Chitika Vasudeva, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Cassandra Osterman, Dr. Francesca Torello, Raymond Gastil This thesis examines the community engagement and adaptive reuse potentialities of disused Pittsburgh Public School (PPS) buildings. Once a major part of the city’s architectural identity, a number of Pittsburgh’s public school buildings remain abandoned since their closure in the late 2000s. This is especially concerning in a neighborhood-driven city like Pittsburgh, as school closures lead to the loss of social and cultural nexuses, often accelerating trends of decline and disinvestment in the affected neighborhood.

Using the former Fort Pitt Elementary School building in Garfield as a case study, this thesis project proposes a design and planning strategy for the conversion of the facility into a new, mixed-use development that will provide spaces for education, events and entrepreneurship in the neighborhood. The goal is to create a “neighborhood building” that would serve as a social and cultural nexus — a community landmark — making the case for preserving and repurposing out-of-use PPS infrastructure. Ultimately, this project engages with issues of holistic approaches to sustainability and resource optimization by contending that we have enough buildings; the way forward is to rebuild, repurpose and revitalize existing structures.

09 THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOWL: QUEENS COMMUNITY STADIUM AT FLUSHING MEADOWS-CORONA PARK Kevin Jiang, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Hal Hayes, Jeffrey Davis, Raymond Gastil with additional help from Valentina Vavasis and Nina Chase In particularly high-profile cases, stadiums have generated serious concerns and controversy over their true costs and impact on communities. To justify the exorbitant costs of building a new stadium, it is often portrayed as a catalyst that will provide economic and social benefits. However, research has shown that that is rarely the case and some even become “white elephants.”

The ineffectiveness of the stadium is largely a result of development- and profit-driven priorities and a lack of integration with its physical, social, environmental and economic context. The value of the stadium should instead come from its ability to connect to its locality through those means.

This thesis seeks to rethink the role of the stadium — not as a catalyst, but as a component within larger urban planning frameworks. Its intent is to invite and involve communities in the life of the stadium, serve as an anchor for amenities and greenspace, facilitate ecological improvements and establish consistent and varied uses at different scales both within and without the stadium bowl.

Set in an alternate reality beginning in the aftermath of New York City’s failed bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, the main site is a 2.1 million-square-foot piece of land remaining from the construction of Citi Field to replace Shea Stadium. Rather than keeping that as surface parking and roads like in reality, it will become an exciting addition within Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

THESIS | 127

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Master of Architecture

M.Arch Thesis Fall Coordinator

Joshua Bard Spring Coordinator

Heather Bizon Students

Kyle Bancroft Shailaja Patel Lan Wei Joao Castro Ever Clinton Ryan Smerker

THESIS | 129

01 Kyle Bancroft

02 Shailaja Patel

03 Lan Wei 130 | EX–CHANGE

01 INTERLOCK’D: TRADITIONAL CRAFT IN THE ERA OF AUTOMATED FABRICATION Kyle Bancroft, M.Arch 2020 Advised by Jeremy Ficca, Joshua Bard The development of automated fabrication technologies has had an enormous impact on designers, tradespeople and the building industry.

However, this new era of digital design and fabrication brings with it an ominous threat to the artisans and craftspeople. Interlock’d investigates the affordances of these two disparate ways of making and aims to integrate them through the design of a 40-foot wide arching gateway. Using various weaving techniques, Interlock’d aims to demonstrate that generative design and automated fabrication can be utilized to celebrate and empower regionally specific craft.

02 RE_PACKAGING ARCHITECTURE: A FLAT-PACKED SHELTERING KIT FOR RESILIENCY DURING NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS Shailaja Patel, M.Arch 2020 Advised by Jeremy Ficca, Liza Cruze Today is not the first time we are fighting for survival.

We have been in this situation every time there has been a natural disaster, war or epidemic. And every single time, the people who are impacted the most are the underserved sections of the society who battle with everyday crises. As we face the COVID-19 pandemic, we are privileged to have a house to be quarantined in, to self-isolate in, to keep ourselves and our families safe. But what about those numerous homeless people who do not have a roof over their heads or a wall to lean on?

03 CONNECTING BY RABBIT HOLES: BUILDING EXPERIENTIAL CONNECTIONS BY INTEGRATED MEDIA ENVIRONMENT AND A DISTRIBUTED PUBIC SPACE SYSTEM Lan Wei, M.Arch 2020 Advised by Eddy Man Kim, Hal Hayes The future of our cities is uncertain, but we can already foresee that they will be dense and crowded.

In the thesis, the concept of ‘distributed integrated media space system’ is proposed as a way of building connections by distributing public spaces in high-density environments. An integrated media environment (IME) is a space where the physical environment and the virtual environment coexist.

The research adheres the concept of designing experience in spaces, aiming to create diverse experience of spaces and interpersonal connections by using a distributed space system and integrated media environments. By applying IMEs in a distributed public system, traditional spatial concepts will be changed, including distance, neighborhood, accessibility, designer and user.

In this thesis, Kowloon Walled City (KWC) is selected to be the test case of the hypothesis, although it no longer exists. KWC will be reexamined and redesigned in a future context through integrations with IMEs. By placing IMEs as a distributed public system in high-density building clusters like KWC, negative effects of the lack of public spaces will be offset, traditional architectural boundaries defined by walls will be challenged and novel spatial experience will emerge.

Welcome to the Rabbit Hole.

What does an architecture for emergency situations looks like? How can these difficult times leverage automated/off-site construction? How can a layman build his own shelter? And to what extent does this shelter become a ‘home’? The proposed thesis situates itself within these questions and responds to them by exploring the potentials of a flat-packed, IKEA-style architecture kit for creating shelters in emergency situations.

THESIS | 131

04 Joao Castro

05 Ever Clinton

06 Ryan Smerker 132 | EX–CHANGE

04 HIGH CUBE PASSIVE HOUSE: RETROFITTING SHIPPING CONTAINERS INTO PASSIVE HOUSE CRITERIA Joao Castro, M.Arch 2020 Advised by Stephen Lee, Nina Baird My thesis subject entails retrofitting shipping containers into highly energy-efficient Passive House (PHIUS) criteria for residential applications.

Utilizing cargo containers as a construction material for housing is an enormous cliché at the moment.

While the popularity of this application is growing, a big consideration seems to be missed. Steel, like most metals, is extremely thermally conductive. And yet, the large majority of housing applications using cargo containers are being insulated from the inside.

This creates a great potential for thermal bridges and, aside from energy loss, can lead to durability issues such as condensation. This is particularly true in northern and/or humid climates.

My design process consists of utilizing energy modeling software and an iterative methodology that seeks to generate custom construction details and products that allow traditionally energy-inefficient shipping container envelopes to attain Passive House standards of insulation and thermal bridge-free design. By generating visual and numeric data that confirm compliance of my custom envelope details with PHIUS’ performance targets, and by comparing and contrasting high-performance building materials available in the market, I have come across a need for improved efficiency of specific building materials in North America. I will be extending this research upon graduating from CMU and focusing on creating, prototyping and fabricating products that will improve both the efficiency and affordability of Passive House products.

05 SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY: A RADICALLY INCLUSIVE PROCESS FOR ENGAGING ECONOMICALLY DIVESTED NEIGHBORHOODS Ever Clinton, M.Arch 2020 Advised by Stefani Danes, Monica Chadha, Riccardy Volcy

Although it is mandatory to receive community approval before developing projects within any neighborhood, the National Research Center states that 82% of those who make $25,000 or less do not attend these engagement sessions. This is an issue because it means that people who live within their neighborhoods are not making decisions about their physical environment.

As a participant observer, I conducted pop-up engagement sessions and in-depth interviews to redefine Social Sustainability, used this new definition to construct Social Sustainability Guidelines for architects and then used this data to create a space that reflects the social needs of the existing population within the 53206 zip code of Milwaukee.

06 REACTIVATING THE ABANDONED: THE ART OF BLENDING IN AT CARRIE FURNACE Ryan Smerker, M.Arch 2020 Advised by Liza Cruze, Kai Gutschow Focused on the Carrie Furnace, an abandoned blast furnace in Rankin, Pennsylvania, this thesis proposes a system of built intervention for the adaptive reuse of postindustrial sites that have fallen into disrepair.

The Carrie Furnace site is owned and operated as a national historic landmark by local nonprofit entity Rivers of Steel. Under the supervision of Rivers of Steel, the remnants of Carrie’s powerful industrial past are being infused with a radical new purpose as a home for guerilla and cultural arts. Here, industrial leavings are being reclaimed by both mother nature and art. Here, historical significance is valued as an equal to the region’s cultural and guerilla art scene.

Utilizing this duality of historical significance and lively guerilla artwork as a lens, this thesis explores the possibilities for built intervention on site. As the programmatic needs of Rivers of Steel expand at the Carrie Furnace, how does new built space fit into the picture? How does one design for a bright, artful future while respecting the historic past of the site?

What will it take to “reactivate” the Carrie Furnace once again?

Through social sustainability, architects have the ability to include marginalized identities within the process of designing places in economically divested neighborhoods. This concept has many definitions but altogether describes a process for neighborhoods that promote well-being by understanding what people need from the places they live, work and play in. These definitions assume that everyone can participate within this process.

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Master of Advanced Architectural Design

MAAD Thesis Fall Coordinators

Jeremy Ficca & Joshua Bard Spring Coordinator

Heather Bizon Students

Shang Liu Joonyoung Choi Jichen Wang Zhiheng Jiao

THESIS | 135

01 Shang Liu

02 Joonyoug Choi

03 Jichen Wang

04 Zhiheng Jiao 136 | EX–CHANGE

01 KERF BENDING PAVILION: CREATING A ROOF STRUCTURE THROUGH KERF BENDING PLYWOOD SHEETS PATTERN DESIGN

03 PHOTON FACADE: A LIGHT-RESPONSIVE FACADE SYSTEM DESIGN WITH COMPUTATIONAL EVALUATION

Shang Liu, MAAD 2020 Advised by Jeremy Ficca, Joshua Bard

Jichen Wang, MAAD 2020 Advised by Jeremy Ficca, Joshua Bard

This thesis focuses on a special woodcraft technique, kerf bending, which can make the wood panel bendable. The purpose of the thesis is to create an extendable plywood sheet system based on kerf bending pattern design and joint design. The thesis is developed from the research of the performance of kerf patterns to the optimization of the surface, which is composited through plywood bending tiles.

Then the thesis explores the possibility of shifting the surface to building scale.

With the wide adoption of HVAC systems and the increasingly extreme environment conditions all over the world, contemporary architectures rely more on mechanical equipment to adjust physical environment. However, it might cost extra energy, and the “manufactured sense of comfort” might not be the best choice for users. Facade, as a vital medium between indoor and outdoor environments, has a great chance to become responsive to support the sustainable purpose of buildings.

02 THE GREEN FABRIC: LAYERED AND ADAPTIVE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SEOUL Joonyoung Choi, MAAD 2020 Advised by Jeremy Ficca, Joshua Bard The Green Fabric is the project that suggests the new type of park for metropolitan Seoul today. Typical parks that are planned on the ground level are generally acceptable in the development period of the city. As more ground levels are built, however, it is difficult to get a place for a new park. As a result, most green spaces end up being located at the border of the city, far away from where people live.

Therefore, this new park layer can be on the existing city fabric. This action of layering can provide new land for the greenery that is close to modern people’s lives. Also, it can separate the park visitors from all the busy environment of the city, such as cars and noise. Finally, the layering allows overcoming the limitations of the city fabric by connecting different places above the ground level.

The thesis aims to design a light-responsive facade system to create good interior light comfort with sufficient and uniform light distribution for large working spaces. The main approach is to take the reflection attribute of light into consideration, analyze the light behavior and select the proper geometries and materials for the system. To achieve this, digital evaluation tools to simulate light and optimize geometries were developed through iterations.

04 GENERATIVE DESIGN SYSTEM FOR SPACE AGGREGATION: A NEW DESIGN WORKFLOW ENABLED BY A GENERATIVE DESIGN FRAMEWORK Zhiheng Jiao, MAAD 2020 Advised by Jeremy Ficca, Joshua Bard The way architects work in a professional scenario has changed dramatically along with the evolving technology. In past decades, computer-aided design tools led the transformation from hand drawing to computer drawing and to 3-D modeling. As technology keeps evolving, the way architects work will keep changing in the future.

This thesis project explores a generative design system framework for space aggregation. By developing this framework, I propose a possible future workflow where architects actively develop variants of the generative system for the project on the fly using a framework in the design process.

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Commoning the City Fall Coordinator

Stefan Gruber Spring Coordinator

Jonathan Kline Students

Ghalya Alsanea, B.Arch Rachel Park, B.Arch Ryan Smith, B.Arch Srinjoy Hazra, M.Arch Abhinavv Singh, MUD Jinhan Liang, MUD Ryann McMahon, MUD Suprima Joshi, MUD Wenzheng Wu, MUD Xianfu Sun, MUD Yilun Hong, MUD

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COLLECTIVE RESEARCH: AN ATLAS OF COMMONING This two-semester research-based-design studio was focused on the bottom-up transformation of cities and explores how designers and planners can tap into the self-organizing behavior of cities in order to empower citizens to claim their right to the city.

The first semester, taught by Stefan Gruber, provided theoretical framing case study research, including field work in Vienna, that served as a stepping stone for developing an individual thesis. The second semester, taught by Jonathan Kline, supported students in developing their individual projects. culminating in an exhibition.

Commoning is emerging as a key concept beyond the binaries of public and private space for tackling the challenges of the contemporary city: How to build community resilience in the face of growing inequities? How to design with finite resources in the face of accelerating environmental crisis? How to articulate common interests despite increasing social and political polarization? And how to find agency as architects given the scope of these challenges?

Here, commons are understood as a set of practices dealing with the production and self-management of collective resources and spaces beyond contemporary forms of domination, such as class, gender or race.

01 A SEAT AT THE DIWANIYYA: TRANSFORMING A TRADITIONAL SPATIAL PRACTICE TO EMPOWER WOMEN, IMMIGRANTS AND OTHER MARGINALIZED PEOPLE IN KUWAIT Ghalya Alsanea, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline This thesis proposes we learn from and adapt the systems and core ideas of the Diwaniyya, an already established structure for mediating between Kuwait’s civic, political and economic spheres, to be more inclusive to women, immigrants and people otherwise excluded from decision-making power by researching past to current Diwaniyyas, analyzing physical aspects and how they changed, looking into their relationship to government and people and reimagining a new Kuwaiti public sphere. Can we transform this traditional spatial practice to empower women and immigrants in Kuwait? Can people learn from each other in public? Can we restructure a community and allow for equal opportunity and access for people? Can we promote bottom-up transformation in cities through strategic spatial and sociopolitical interventions? The Kuwaiti home supports a plausible substitute for civil society in the public space, the Diwaniya, which straddles the public-private divide.

02 QUILTED INEQUALITIES: REDEVELOPMENT SANS DISPLACEMENT OF SLUMS IN KOLKATA’S URBAN CORE Srinjoy Hazra, M.Arch 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline This thesis proposes an in-situ redevelopment of the homes of the urban poor in Kolkata’s Duttabad neighborhood. By harnessing the social culture of solidarity (local workforce for construction) and creating a spatial manifestation of a modified, more inclusive model of the older social structure (the panchayat system), the project proposes a cooperative housing program that would provide affordable, resilient houses. While utilizing the local workforce for construction, the members of the community would be given job skills training with respect to construction techniques that they can utilize in the future. The project also puts forward a new shared ownership model for Duttabad’s residents.

03 SHANGHAI METABOLISM: ADAPTING AGING DANWEI HOUSING COMPOUNDS Yilun Hong, MUD 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline Housing in China has evolved along with its political and economic system since the establishment of the country in 1949. From the state-owned and centralized planned economy in the early stage to today’s socialist market economy, housing from each era has left legacies on the city. Among them, the object of this thesis, the old Danwei housing, constitutes a large proportion. Massively constructed and distributed to workers by the state and stateowned enterprise in the socialist era, Danwei housing was privatized and commodified during the economy reform era and today amounts to 40% of Shanghai’s housing stock and 30% of its real estate market. This thesis reviews the history of Danwei housing in different eras and current Danwei housing governance and regeneration models, and envisions a new era of Danwei housing where residents are empowered to improve their own living environment and forge new connections between social groups.

Drawing inspiration from several international precedents and theory of commoning, this thesis proposes new participatory processes of design decision-making, shared space management and physical improvements at a variety of scales for Shanghai’s Danwei compounds.

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04 CARING FOR THE KATHMANDU RIVERFRONT: REFORMING OWNERSHIP OF CARE AND MAINTENANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMONS ON THE BAGMATI RIVERFRONT

06 WHOSE OPPORTUNITY? AN INVESTIGATION OF THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE TAX LEGISLATION IN THE CONTEXT OF LARGER URBAN POLICIES

Suprima Joshi, MUD 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

Ryann McMahon, MUD 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

For centuries, the Kathmandu Valley has been a land of rich culture, myth and serene heritage. To sustain these resources, the indigenous society had built ‘Guthi’ (institute) systems. Taking care of public spaces was a daily norm rather than a necessity.

However, unstable sociopolitics and globalization in the last few decades have changed the demographics and beliefs of people in the valley. Critically caring for the commons is needed to adapt to this rapid urbanization. Perhaps sustenance is not in building new places but in keeping the existing ones intact.

This thesis seeks to understand and build new processes to sustain the community commons of the Kathmandu Valley, and more broadly Nepal’s public realm. Transversality in the notion of care and stewardship towards public resources such as the Bagmati riverfront is important for its successful sustenance. The thesis proposes a new model of care towards these common resources that integrates the various scales at which the site is impacted and connects the leverage points of existing economic, ecological and social systems to create a new organizational model for care of the commons.

The Opportunity Zone is a tax incentive mechanism designed to spur capital investment in underinvested communities across the United States and its territories. Tracking the history of exploitative urban policies, from the blatant racism of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) redlining maps, to “good intentioned” urban renewal that set “the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family” through slum removal, to market undermined public housing systems, to the privatization of housing affordability through tax incentives and subsidies, the Opportunity Zone is the next step in a process that exploits the poor and working class while continuing to benefit the rich. This thesis analyzes the Opportunity Zone act and its potential impact in Pittsburgh’s Homewood community. In response, the project offers a contrasting series of potential policy prescriptions and alternatives, including modifications to extend Opportunity Zone tax benefits to existing residents, investment in limited-equity and creative housing models and reinvigorated support of public housing.

05 LONELINESS IN THE GATED COMMUNITY: FOSTERING SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN DAILY LIFE IN GUANGZHOU Jinhan Liang, MUD 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline While loneliness is a universal and timeless experience, research suggests that the contemporary city is, in fact, getting lonelier. This thesis hopes to foster new social interactions organized around a shuttle bus system for residents in a gated community in Guangzhou, China. The Commons brings different people together, taking people who might be somehow neglected in the public view. The new shuttle bus system initiated from the common need of all residents and acts to connect people together in their daily life, offering a moment of social interaction. The project renovates the oftendisregarded public spaces at the proposed bus stops, adding play elements, street furniture and other amenities designed to encourage people to observe, interact and hopefully connect.

07 SUBURBIA UPZONING: THE EVOLUTION OF DENSITY IN SUBURBAN MARYLAND Rachel Park, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline American suburbs were designed for efficiency and to gain capital; early suburban design was focused on the nuclear family. It was for the stereotypical dad, mom and two kids. But in today’s modern family, that’s not always the case anymore. The original designs of the suburbs don’t really support the contemporary single individuals, single parents or elderly individuals. What if the suburbs became places where interactions become more productive? What if we could decrease our carbon emissions solely by redesigning the streets to be more pedestrian friendly? What if we just get rid of those useless lawns? Using suburban Glenn Burnie, Maryland, as a case, this thesis proposes that an upzoning design strategy of experimental suburban typologies, combined with zoning revisions to use and density, can benefit existing residents and begin to address larger issues of American socioeconomic housing disparity and the global climate crisis.

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08 Abhinavv Singh

09 Ryan Smith

10 Wenzheng Wu 144 | EX–CHANGE

11 Xianfu Sun

08 WATER RESILIENT KOLIWADA: ADAPTING MUMBAI’S KOLI COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMIES TO SEA LEVEL RISE

10 THE COMEDY OF THE COMMONS: INCREMENTAL RENEWAL OF URBAN VILLAGES IN SHENZHEN

Abhinavv Singh, MUD 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

Wenzheng Wu, MUD 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline

Mubai’s indigenous Koli communities face multifarious water problems such as sea level rise, unreliable monsoons, outdated infrastructure of storm water management, waste disposal and failure on behalf of the authorities in addressing the plight of the citizens. This thesis integrates social, economic and spatial actors and proposes a design framework that combines inventive ecological and contextual infrastructural interventions, while tapping into the existing commoning practices inherent to the community to address water issues of the Koli community while aiding them in adapting to a new way of living through building new skills, thereby making them more resilient.

“Surrounding the city with villages” was an explicitly political, economic and social strategy of the Great Leap Forward in China during the 1970s. Indeed the speed of urbanization in Shenzhen has been so fast that villagers who once surrounded the city have had no time to move out. Thanks to the collective land ownership, the villagers have the ability to act in a “common” way, which is collectively choosing “informal bottom-up urbanization” in reaction to the top-down land collecting process by the state.

Attempts to practice commoning might have the chance to work, but more typically the selfishness of people leads to a “tragedy of commons,” where building owners increase density by adding more floors, ultimately deteriorating the overall living conditions. This thesis puts forward a strategy aiming at bringing villagers together to act collectively in the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the neighborhood in order to improve the living conditions while retaining the morphological, cultural and social characteristics of the urban village’s milieu. Rather than predetermining a fixed master plan, the project proposes a set of rules that guarantee specific spatial attributes, while leaving other parts open for negotiation.

09 COMMUNITY BARN: TRANSFORMING A FLEA MARKET INTO A CATALYST FOR SOCIOECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN BRADENTON, FLORIDA Ryan Smith, B.Arch 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline American cities often take the form of suburban archipelagos — landscapes of socioeconomically segregated islands where residents are dependent on their cars. These islands each have their own typological and programmatic specificity, some filled with poverty and others with affluence, but rarely does any mixing occur between them. However, many cities do have moments of interaction in the form of flea markets, offering an informal shared space of socioeconomic diversity. Using Bradenton Florida’s Red Barn Flea Market as a starting point, this thesis proposes the introduction of a system of cooperative living, trading and making into an existing flea market as a starting point for alleviating socioeconomic segregation and encouraging local cooperation to improve and diversify social relationships within the city.

11 THE URBAN VILLAGE OF TOMORROW: AN ALTERNATIVE URBAN PROTOTYPE FOR URBAN AND RURAL TRANSFORMATION IN GUANGZHOU Xianfu Sun, MUD 2020 Advised by Stefan Gruber, Jonathan Kline Among all the cities in the world, Chinese cities might be the most contentious and paradoxical. They are simultaneously monolithic and diversified, modern and traditional. This thesis focuses on the binary of rural and urban, which has existed for more than 50 years, bringing distinctive phenomenon of population migration, urban villages and contrasting urban fabrics. The project proposes a new formal approach to integrating the urban village through a layered self-protective architectural wall that buffers and negotiates with an increasingly heterogeneous urban context, while simultaneously creating new highdensity infrastructure and programs for the village, allowing its identity to be reinforced and historic structures to be preserved.

THESIS | 145

CMU SoA

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Master of Architecture M.Arch

Carnegie Mellon University’s Master of Architecture (M.Arch) is a NAABaccredited, studio-based, first professional degree program to educate tomorrow’s leaders in architecture-related careers.

NOTES

Master of Science in Sustainable Design Our M.Arch program is built on CMU’s 115-year tradition of training MSSD architects in the practice of design and technical fundamentals, as well as the SoA’s long legacy of leading-edge research. Students and faculty from The Master around the world engage both the core of the discipline and tackle the of Science in Sustainable Design (MSSD) is research-based graduate program focused on enabling great challenges of our built environment in focus areas of sustainable critical thinking and investigation of innovative sustai design (MSSD/MSBPD), computational design (MSCD), urban design the design of the built environment.

(MUD) or construction management (MSAECM). Our M.Arch program’s strategically small size allows our self-motivated students to shape their NOTES Thedirectly MSSD program has long led the world in advanced individual educational agendas and career paths as they interact technologies with a broad array of vertically integrated studios and advanced research that sustainably reshape the built enviro engages aroundand investigates environmental issues related Master of Urbanprojects Designin the school, the university, the local community, and and urban systems at the intersection of building scien the world.

MUD technology. The MSSD program explores technical and Master of Advan aspects of ecological thinking, while MAAD enabling actionab The Master of Urban Design (MUD) is a studio-based program sustainable design methodologies. Based in the legacy distinguished by its emphasis on integrating socially engaged practice teaching at Carnegie Mellon University, MSSD Thethe Master ofprog Adv with new tools and techniques for representing, understanding and research-based design innovation strategies, prepares studio-based prog designing cities; by the opportunity to work in trans-disciplinary teams research methods, and to become experts in integrativ fabrication throug NOTES at the intersection of the arts, humanities and technology across Carnegie for the future of the built environment. of architectural p Mellon’s departments and colleges; and by its location in Pittsburgh—a culture within the thriving post-industrial laboratory.

Computational Design

The program focu MSCD | PhD-CD The Master of Urban Design (MUD) degree is a post-professional, two-­ knowledge—or “r year program that prepares graduates for careers using urban design to design.”

The Computational Design program takes computer science view critically address environmental, economic, social, political, anda cultural of design, urbanization. applying bothThe thestudio-­ sciencebased and art of computing to design NOTES issues affecting contemporary curriculum The goal is consci problems, in relation to creation, presentation, analysis, evaluation, allows students to explore design strategies in a variety of scales and enmeshed with so interaction aesthetic expression; in realfrom and imagined applications, settings, from the post-­ industrialor city to the dense metropolis, humanistic and cu both perceived and conceived. sprawling suburbia to informal settlements.

Doctor of Design The faculty seek a DDes as future thought Our CD graduate program started in the late 1960’s — among the first advanced fabricat and best known in the country. From the beginning, the program has or academia. benefitted from close cooperation with other units of the university,The Doctor of Design (DDes) (formerly Docto particularly the School of Computer Science and the Department of is a three-year program for mid-career profe CMU’s emphasis o Civil & Environmental Engineering. Computing has become increasingly advanced problems in the world-class fields of architect robot important in nearly all areas of design: simulation, analysis, synthesis, construction. Modes of study include faculty offerconfer uniq tangible interaction and people-centered as well as building-centered based learning, field work,speculation professionalinprac the design algorithms. Students, then, are urged to utilize the wide-ranging exchange and institutionaland meetings and co university. expertise, facilities and personnel available throughout the School of Architecture and the university.

Unlike academically founded graduate prog

the assumption that mid-career professiona Our research-based degree programs are intended for practitioners, research, building on their tacit knowledge educators and researchers in architecture, computer science, engineering professional practice. The cohorts in this pro and those interested in design. Our graduates go on to successful careers (Architecture–Engineering–Construction) fi in government, industry, academia and software development. states in the U.S. and nations of the world. T

effort with Université Paul Sabatier in Toulo

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NOTES

Building Performance & Diagnostics MSBPD | PhD-BPD

The SoA’s graduate programs in Building Performance & Diagnostics (BPD) have long led the world in advanced building technologies that sustainably reshape the built environment.

NOTES

The Master of Science in Building Performance & Diagnostics (MSBPD) degree program is intended for practitioners, researchers, and educators in architecture and the building industry who wish to be Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management leaders in advanced building technologies and building performance MSAECM | PhD-AECM outcomes. The program is based on the premise that the integrated design of building and community systems is critical for environmental d building sustainability and human health and productivity. The MSBPD is a onment. It critically NOTES The Master of Science PhD ofdepth Architecture Engineering and building science and research-oriented program, withand technical d to architecture Construction Management (AECM) programs are jointly offered by the for careers in sustainability-focused professional practice, environmental nce, design, and School of Architecture and the Department of Civil & Environmental research and consulting, the building industry, or pursuing a PhD in dnced multicultural Architectural Design Engineering.

Building Science. ble expertise in

s a post-professional g deep expertise, inable strategies for

y of sustainability gram investigates vanced Architectural Design (MAAD) is a post-graduate, sgram students excel in that to engages emerging methods of design and ve thinking ghdesign architectural design to speculate upon future modes practice, enhanced construction methods and material e built environment.

The AECM programs prepare building-delivery professionals for careers in capital project delivery dealing with the entire life cycle of capital projects, from predesign to design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance stages. It focuses on the integration of design and technology, particularly advanced information systems, as a means of both improving building performance and enhancing environmental sustainability.

uses on the creation of new insights and new research”—through the design process, or “research by 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 iously speculative and experimental work that is deeply management strategies. Our graduates have successful careers in ocial and environmental concerns, with explicit ties to government, industry, business, real estate and nongovernmental ultural discourses, industry and contemporary practice. organization (NGO) sectors, prospering in positions where design advanced-level projects that will position graduates professionals continuously make large-scale capital project design, t leaders in architecture and allied fields relating to construction and operations decisions. Graduates of the program have tion, material performance, construction methodologies,specific position titles including Real Estate Developer, Project Manager, Construction Manager, Facility Manager, Code Inspector and Plan or of Professional Practice) Reviewer. essionals aspiring to learning, solve on interdisciplinary its computational culture, ture, engineering, or tic fabrication facilities and a dedicated group of rence and videoopportunities calls, web- for experimentation and que “hands-on” ctice work, international e context of a small-scale, yet globally focused, school onferences.

grams, the DDes is based on als can develop doctoral-level acquired through years of ogram come from various AEC fields, as well as from various The program is a collaborative ouse.

NOTES

Graduate Research GRADUATE | 147

CMU SoA

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Master of Architecture M.Arch

Carnegie Mellon University’s Master of Architecture (M.Arch) is a NAABaccredited, studio-based, first professional degree program to educate tomorrow’s leaders in architecture-related careers.

Our M.Arch program is built on CMU’s 115-year tradition of training architects in the practice of design and technical fundamentals, as well as the SoA’s long legacy of leading-edge research. Students and faculty from around the world engage both the core of the discipline and tackle the great challenges of our built environment in focus areas of sustainable design (MSSD/MSBPD), computational design (MSCD), urban design (MUD) or construction management (MSAECM). Our M.Arch program’s strategically small size allows our self-motivated students to shape their individual educational agendas and career paths as they interact directly with a broad array of vertically integrated studios and advanced research projects in the school, the university, the local community and around the world.

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Track Chair

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Kai Gutschow

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Names

Program

Thesis?

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Kyle Bancroft

M.Arch ’20

M.Arch Thesis

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Zuoming Chen

M.Arch ’20

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Ever Clinton

M.Arch ’20

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Deepthi Ganesh

M.Arch ’20

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Srinjoy Hazra

M.Arch ’20

10

Lana Kozlovskaya

M.Arch ’20

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Yashwitha Maram Reddy

M.Arch ’20

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Fernanda Mazzilli Toscano De Oliveira

M.Arch ’20

13

Joao Guilherme Nobrega De Castro

M.Arch ’20

14

Juliane O’Day

M.Arch ’20

15

Shailaja Patel

M.Arch ’20

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Tye Silverthorne

M.Arch ’20

17

Ryan Smerker

M.Arch ’20

M.Arch Thesis

18

Lan Wei

M.Arch ’20

M.Arch Thesis

20

Aprameya Pandit

M.Arch ’21

21

Bingjie Sheng

M.Arch ’21

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Cheng Zhou

M.Arch ’21

23

Lu Liu

M.Arch ’21

24

Qijia Li

M.Arch ’21

25

Rin Namkoong

M.Arch ’21

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Schuyler McAuliffe

M.Arch ’21

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Sharleen Devjani

M.Arch ’21

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Sean O’Connor

M.Arch ’21

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Twisha Harnish Raja

M.Arch ’21

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Varun Dilip Shah

M.Arch ’21

31

Vishal Vaidhyanathan

M.Arch ’21

32

Zehui Li

M.Arch ’21

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Zhecui Zhang

M.Arch ’21

M.Arch Thesis Commoning

M.Arch Thesis

M.Arch Thesis

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diagrammatic sections

land stratification

tunnel access to Sharpsburg

connection to future riverfront trail

cti se

undisturbed forest

1 on

managed forest

run-off control

2

sect

ion sect

views to Pittsburgh

water flow simulation

ion 3

4 ion sect

n5 sectio

sectio n6

access to new marina

before

after

aerial perspective

section 1

01

section 2

section 3

section 4

section 5

section 6

Environment, Form and Feedback is an M.Arch I core design studio focused on architectures for extreme urban environments. Considering projections of rising waters and extreme weather events, the Six Mile Island in Pittburgh’s Allegheny River becomes a testing ground for new forms and infrastructures within a landscape ecology of perpetual flooding and experience of weather, while focused on embracing biodiversity. By engaging social and environmental patterns and identifying microclimatic behaviors using modeling, simulation and drawing as a tool for discovery, students move toward the design of architectures that translate across scales to give new shape to the contemporary city within the Anthropocene Era.

02

Environment, Form and Feedback WHEN

Fall 2019

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Museum of Weather

PROFESSOR(S)

Dana Cupkova, Eddy Man Kim

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STUDENTS

Sharleen Devjani, Qijia Li, Zehui Li, Lu Liu, Schuyler McAuliffe, Rin Namkoong, Sean O’Connor, Twisha Raja, Varun Shah, Bingjie Sheng, Doris (Zhecui) Zhang, Cheng Zhou

displacement matrix texture driving water flow

texture driving accessibility

inverted displacement

inverted displacement

03

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

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A W

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A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

A W

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A W

A W

A W

inverted displacement

or people biodiversity and

ndary water channeling river at certain points to

sibility and waterflow

b

c

d

inverted displacement

h - 24

h - 24

04

05

axonometric view of inital design

gradient analysis

research

museum / galleries

01 Doris Zhang + Sean O’Connor 02 Schuyler Mcauliffe + Sharleen Devjani 03 Cheng Zhou + Bingjie Sheng 04 Schuyler Mcauliffe + Sharleen Devjani 05 Cheng Zhou + Bingjie Sheng 06 Cheng Zhou + Bingjie Sheng

living

water flow analysis

auxillary spaces

museum / galleries

CURATING THE FLOOD

Museum of Weather in Six Mile Island

06

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FALL

RAINFALL DATA

FILTER

4”

4”

DRAINAGE

3”

3”

GEOTEXTILE FABRIC

1”

BUILDING STRUCTURE

SPRING

RAINFALL DATA

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

2” 1” SEPTEMBER

WINTER

RAINFALL DATA

JULY

WATERPROOFING

GEOTEXTILE FABRIC

VEGETATION

FILTER

2”

WATERPROOFING WALL IRRIGATION

AUGUST

DRAIN

GROWTH NUTRIENT

GRAVEL BED

PIPE TO STORMWATER

REIMAGINED

FILTER

WATERPROOFING PUMP

WATER TANK

1” JUNE

MAY

APRIL

MARCH

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

1”

2”

2”

3”

3”

4”

4”

WATER COLLECTOR

07

CONVENTIONAL

RAINFALL DATA

SUMMER

VEGETATION

ECO MACHINE RESEARCH PROGRAMMATIC CLUSTERS EXPERIENCING WEATHER WORKING WITH WEATHER MAINTAINING WEATHER LIVING WITH WEATHER

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ZONES PUBLIC SEMI-PUBLIC PRIVATE

WATER FLOW

SLOPE / ACCESSIBILITY SLOPED SLOPED FLAT

09 WETLAND WATER LEVELS 1’

07 Doris Zhang + Sean O’Connor 08 Doris Zhang + Sean O’Connor 09 Cheng Zhou + Bingjie Sheng 10 Doris Zhang + Sean O’Connor 11 Doris Zhang + Sean O’Connor 12 Cheng Zhou + Bingjie Sheng 13 Doris Zhang + Sean O’Connor 14 Twisha Raja + Rin Namkoong

2.5’ 4’

FORM AND SIMULATION 10

152 | EX–CHANGE

08

texture driving water flow

mitigation of river water & ground temperatures (shading)

water filtration

- nutrients from plant litter and insect / animal droppings

stream flow dissipation

3

nantly tracks onnect g site. c

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figure 1a

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the gentle gradient from a-d makes these forms accessible for people biodiversity and encourages movement towards the river.

series 2 -

the dramatic dip in form from a-b allows formation of a secondary water channeling route which can be strategically positioned to enter the main river at certain points to dissipate the stream energy.

series 3 -

the form changes gently a-b and c-d allowing for both accessibility and waterflow functions to be implemented.

c

h - 12

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waterflow

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WATER FLOW

access

inverted displacement

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biodiversity & land use 1. land / water legend

A W

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SECTION SERIES figure 2a

2018

- for urban development

corri dor sl ope / gradi ent sect i on

b

MARCH 11

soil stabilization

landscape irrigation

- lowers nitrate contamination from surface run-off (i.e. agricultural fertilizers etc.)

inverted displacement

- helps biodiversity to flourish - keeps temperatures from significant fluctuation

texture driving accessibility

engineered

inverted displacement

area of study

- forage for livestock

n

inverted displacement

supports biodiversity/ wildlife habitats

vegetation and root systems lead to stream flow dissipation - reduction in soil erosion - reduction in flood damage

getatio

riparian zones

natural

a

JUNE 24

displacement matrix ve

he adds the ng the zone.

1996

MARCH 7

eco-machine 11

JULY 2

FLOODPLANE RISK

JANURARY 20

EROSION RISK

eather museum by schuyler mcauliffe & sharleen devjani

MARCH 11

MARCH 19

1936

1964

FLOODPLANE RISK

MARCH 19

1936

1964

1972

1945

1907 MARCH 15

EROSION RISK

2. biodiversity legend

local parks / protected lands forested areas designated streams per chapter 93 for live fish cultivation

n a larger

residential land use commercial land use transportation land use N

axonometric view of inital design

zone 1: PBFC threatened / endangered species (fish / amphibians / reptiles / aquatic organisms) zone 2: DCNR threatened / endangered species (plants) zone 3: PGC threatened / endangered species (wild birds / mammals)

gradient analysis

zone 4: PGC species of special concern (wild birds / mammals)

map scale 1:35

controlled studies within each subset

- sharleen devjani -

research

museum / galleries

living

slope variations water flow analysis

controlled study (1)

controlled study (2)

legend

auxillary spaces

museum / galleries

most change in slope gradient least change in slope

controlled study (3)

ZONE 1

14 GRADUATE | 153

01

The Advanced Construction Studio concerns the detailed development and refinement of an architectural design as it integrates systems of structure, enclosure, materiality, construction, environmental performance, function and context. These systems are summarized by Kenneth Frampton’s tripartite vectors: techne, topo and typos. Students engage in tectonics through the form-giving logic of structure, the craft and culture of material practices and the capacity for details to carry and express meaning and ontology. This intimacy with construction is synthesized with an intensive feedback process that uses a variety of energy and daylighting simulation tools to tune building performance to architectural expression.

02

Advanced Construction Studio WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Pittsburgh, PA

WHAT

Environmental Learning Center

PROFESSORS

Stephen Lee, Jeff Davis, Matt Huber, Azadeh Sawyer

154 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Sharleen Devjani, Qijia Li, Zehui Li, Lu Liu, Schuyler McAuliffe, Rin Namkoong, Sean O’Connor, Twisha Raja, Varun Shah, Bingjie Sheng, Doris (Zhecui) Zhang, Cheng Zhou

03

04

05 01 Varun Shah 02 Lu Liu 03 Zehui Li 04 Zecui Zhang 05 Lu Liu 06 Zehui Li

06 GRADUATE | 155

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

156 | EX–CHANGE

15

16

17

18 07 Sean O’Connor 08 Sean O’Connor 09 Sean O’Connor 10 Zhecui Zhang 11 Zhecui Zhang 12 Zehui Li 13 Zehui Li 14 Zehui Li 15 Varun Shah 16 Sharleen Devjani 17 Sean O’Connor 18 Sharleen Devjani 19 Sharleen Devjani 20 Zehui Li

19

20 GRADUATE | 157

CMU SoA

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Master of Urban Design MUD

The Master of Urban Design (MUD) is a studio-based program 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 CMU’s departments and colleges; and by its location in Pittsburgh — a thriving postindustrial laboratory.

The MUD degree is a post-professional, two-year program that prepares graduates for careers using urban design to critically address environmental, economic, social, political and cultural issues affecting contemporary urbanization. The studio-based curriculum allows students to explore design strategies in a variety of scales and settings, from the postindustrial city to the dense metropolis, from sprawling suburbia to informal settlements.

158 | EX–CHANGE

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SHEETS A 1

Track Chair

2

Stefan Gruber

B

C

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Names

Program

5

Yilun Hong

MUD ’20

Commoning the City

6

Suprima Joshi

MUD ’20

Commoning the City

7

Jinhan Liang

MUD ’20

Commoning the City

8

Ryann McMahon

MUD ’20

Commoning the City

9

Abhinavv Singh

MUD ’20

Commoning the City

10

Xianfu Sun

MUD ’20

Commoning the City

11

Wenzheng Wu

MUD ’20

Commoning the City

13

He Su

MUD ’21

14

Xiaojun Ge

MUD ’21

15

Sameedha Mahajan

MUD ’21

16

Xiaoran Zhang

MUD ’21

17

Yiya Wang

MUD ’21

18

Yashasvi Tulchiya

MUD ’21

4

12

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

*See Commoning the City, p. 139

GRADUATE | 159

01

02

NEVILLE ISLAND

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE Brownfield remediation Farming and aquaculture Ecosystem and habitat restoration Trails, parks, and tree management

LAWRENCEVILLE

TRANSIT AND MOBILITY Bus and BRT networks Bike trails RENEWABLE ENERGY

HAZELWOOD

Hydro power Solar energy COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURES Affordable housing Local food provision and distribution

BRADDOCK

Healthy living Local business activation Public space Recreation and local tourism Citizen science and place-based learning

CLAIRTON

03

MUD Urban Systems Studio WHEN

Spring 2020

WHERE

Allegheny County, PA

WHAT

Community Infrastructures for Health

PROFESSOR(S)

Nida Rehman

160 | EX–CHANGE

STUDENTS

Sameedha Mahajan, He (Harvest) Su, Yashasvi Tulchiya, Yiya Wang, Xiaoran Zhang

04

This studio asks how urban design can engage with the issue of contaminated air, considering how the materiality, form and development of the built environment unevenly shape the effects of toxic atmospheres. Optimistic assessments about Pittsbugh’s livability stand in contrast to the region’s consistently low position in national air quality rankings and mask more complicated sociopolitical realities.

Despite the city’s reputation as a “postindustrial” city, the pollution sources remain distinctively industrial, with the coal, steel and petrochemical industries as the biggest contributors.

Students first worked collaboratively to explore the geography of atmospheric contamination in the city; how health effects are distributed unevenly; the implications of air pollution on the formal and aesthetic character of the city; and existing design approaches to urban air across a range of scales and contexts.

Urban air configures a challenge that spans scales and defies design frameworks.

Rather than focus on air quality as a standalone issue, student projects thus considered how urban air is constituted within the matrix of socio-environmental concerns in the region. The studio’s collective thinking was shaped by the policy framework of the Green New Deal, which argues for systemic, rather than individual and piecemeal, transformations, and social equity as a key “lever for decarbonizing.” Student projects aimed to expand on ongoing community efforts related to air pollution, urban health and environmental injustice in five different sites: Neville Island, Lawrenceville, Hazelwood, Braddock and Clairton.

The proposals explored a range of urban environmental and social interventions, including green infrastructure, renewable energy, urban farming, housing, mobility and job creation — to think broadly about what a postindustrial regional economy might start to look like.

05

01 He Su, Asthma Rates/Median Income 02 He Su, Pollution Sources 03 Group Work, Sites 04 He Su, Neville Island Sustainable Manufactuing and Renewable Energy 05 Xiaoran Zhang, Hazelwood 2nd Ave Local Economic Corridor GRADUATE | 161

06

07

08 162 | EX–CHANGE

09

06 Yashasvi Tulchiya, Mon Valley Section 07 Yashasvi Tulchiya, Rethinking Ecological Networks and Nodes in Clairton 08 Sameedha Mahajan, Urban Farming Network in Braddock 09 Yiya Wang, Healthy Lawrenceville GRADUATE | 163

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Master of Science in Sustainable Design MSSD

The Master of Science in Sustainable Design (MSSD) is a post-professional, research-based graduate program focused on enabling deep expertise, critical thinking and investigation of innovative sustainable strategies for the design of the built environment.

The MSSD program has long led the world in advanced building technologies that sustainably reshape the built environment. It critically engages and investigates environmental issues related to architecture and urban systems at the intersection of building science, design and technology. The MSSD program explores technical and multicultural aspects of ecological thinking, while enabling actionable expertise in sustainable design methodologies. Based in the legacy of sustainability teaching at CMU, the MSSD program investigates research-based design innovation strategies, prepares students to excel in research methods and to become experts in integrative design thinking for the future of the built environment.

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SHEETS A 1

Track Chair

2

Dana Cupkova

B

C

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Names

Program

5

Komal Ganoo

MSSD ’19

6

Siddharth Haresh Ghoghari

MSSD ’19

7

Pragya Gupta

MSSD ’19

8

Yi-Jia Liao

MSSD ’19

9

Nihar Nitin Pathak

MSSD ’19

10

Ruiji Su

MSSD ’19

12

Afshan Rehman

MSSD ’21

13

Aprameya Pandit

MSSD ’21

14

Amulya Surapaneni

MSSD ’21

15

Siqing Ge

MSSD ’21

16

Sreya Tolety

MSSD ’21

17

Vishal Vaidhyanathan

MSSD ’21

18

Christina Brown

MSSD ’21

11

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

GRADUATE | 165

SD-01 DETAIL OF LARGE-SCALE BIODEGRADABLE MATERIAL PROTOTYPE

SD-01 STRUCTRAL PROPERTIES TESTING: COMPRESSION STRENGTH OF VARIABLE SHAPE FACTOR IN BIOPLASTICS

SD-01 ARCHITECTURE OF BIOPLASTICS

SD-02 GEOMETRIC APPROACH TO CLIMATE

Nihar Pathak, Yijia Liao Committee: Dana Cupkova, Stephen Lee, Robert Heard Renewable material sources, biodegradability and reuse of waste are opportunities that can close the unsustainable open loop of productionto-waste cycle in architecture. This research project examines the potential of bioplastics while identifying specific waste-streams (waste-toresource pathways) to tackle the issue of dependency on fossil fuels as an alternative to our current petrochemical reality of material formations, and consequentially overburdening of the landfills.

This research investigates new material processes for bioplastic mixtures to determine their usability within architectural production. The focus is on material compressive strength relative to various formation and shaping strategies that can be achieved using digital fabrication. Material mixtures are sourced from Tapioca Starch-based Bioplastic (TSB). Testing of the TSB mixtures is conducted in the material research laboratory setting, with a goal to identify a specific shapefactor that effects overall strength of the bio-material. Biodegradability tests are conducted to understand the rate of biodegradability and shrinkage. The life cycle assessment is developed to evaluate comparative environmental impact and embodied energy of different TBS mixtures.

166 | EX–CHANGE

Siddharth Ghoghari Committee: Dana Cupkova, Stephen Lee, Marantha Dawkins The population of Mumbai is expected to increase by 250% and reach a total of 42 million by the end of the year 2050. Land is a sacred resource for Mumbai as the city limits are surrounded by water and another exponentially growing city. Since the available land area for construction cannot be increased, the only plausible way to support the growing population is building vertically. High-rise multifamily housing schemes are already a status quo; however the types of these developments rely heavily on homogeneous typology and construction with high dependency on mechanical systems, primarily for cooling. With Mumbai estimated to be the most populated city in the

world at the end of the year 2050, the demand for high-rise multifamily housing is only destined to grow. Thus the incorporation of climate specific passive-centered design techniques is imperative to help reduce the projected massive increase of energy footprint.

My intent is to focus on designdevelopment phase of a project planing, by using environmental performance simulations and parametric optimization. This research project is focused on expanding a design potential of passive solar strategies, such as orientation to solar exposure, site specific zoning constraints and natural ventilation, to shape the overall building geometry. The goal to minimize need for mechanical systems in buildings and thus reduce overall urban energy consumption. Planning is the most inexpensive stage of the design and construction phase and interventions at this level would make a vast impact in the future design and energy consumption within Mumbai’s residential development.

SD-02 DESIGN DEVELOPMENT WORKFLOW COUPLING URBAN ZONING CONSTRAINTS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL SIMULATIONS TO MINIMIZE ENERGY USE IN HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

SD-03 INTEGRATING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR URBAN ECO-INNOVATION Komal Ganoo Committee: Dana Cupkova, Stephen Lee, Nicolas Azel Green infrastructure is one of the most commonly adopted strategies by leading cities in the U.S., primarily for reducing the urban runoff and providing social and ecological benefits to the community. Despite being promoted for their multifunctionality, green infrastructure strategies are typically implemented based on their economic benefits and stormwater abatement. Hence, there is a need to develop a design framework to integrate the social and ecological benefits of green infrastructure in the planning process of urban districts.

This research demonstrates a scenariobased workflow to implement green infrastructure strategies in the Uptown neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

The GIS-based assessment aims to identify the key equity indicators based on the environmental, urban and social attributes specific to the city and the neighborhood and implement strategies for maximizing the multifunctional benefits of green infrastructure. The workflow further

SD-04 ADAPTIVE RECONFIGURABLE FORMWORK FOR PERFORMANCE BASED RAMMED EARTH WALL PANEL GEOMETRIES

identifies variable ecological impact relative to choices of stakeholders and property owners in the planning process. The assessment of sites, stakeholder opinions and green infrastructure technologies are jointly weighted to identify the synergies and trade-offs. This research prioritizes benefits of green infrastructure and provides a tool for a unified design framework to support the decision-making process. Green infrastructure implemented using this methodology allows a data-informed and stakeholder-informed planning design process and would enhance socio-environmental equity at a neighborhood scale.

SD-03 INTEGRATING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE PLANING OF URBAN DISTRICT WITH FOCUS ON SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY AT A NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE.

SD-04 ARCHITECTURE OF RAMMED EARTH Pragya Gupta Committee: Dana Cupkova, Stephen Lee, Lola Ben-Alon Buildings contribute to approximately one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. With such a high impact on global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, it is imperative to find solutions that would minimize the carbon footprint of new construction over the entire life cycle of the building — construction, operation and demolition.

Rammed earth construction is an environmentally benign alternative to current construction materials.

The use of rammed earth as a thermal storage device has the potential to reduce the energy associated with heating and cooling a building while reconnecting with vernacular practices of making architecture. Utilizing locally sourced materials, rammed earth requires minimal processing and is a healthy, nontoxic material. This study explores the effectiveness of rammed earth wall panels for hot and arid climates. Developing digital simulation process it identifies shape parameters for reconfigurable formwork that introduces greater design variability coupled with thermal performance.

Performance criteria related to geometric constraints are tested in production of physical prototypes, while introducing an innovative method for design of adaptive reconfigurable formwork.

GRADUATE | 167

CMU SoA

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Computational Design MSCD | PhD-CD

The Computational Design (CD) program takes a computer science view of design, applying both the science and art of computing to design problems, in relation to creation, presentation, analysis, evaluation, interaction or aesthetic expression; in real and imagined applications, both perceived and conceived.

Our CD graduate program started in the late 1960s — among the first and best known in the country. From the beginning, the program has benefitted from close cooperation with other units of the university, particularly the School of Computer Science and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Computing has become increasingly important in nearly all areas of design: simulation, analysis, synthesis, tangible interaction and people-centered as well as building-centered design algorithms. Students, then, are urged to utilize the wide-ranging expertise, facilities and personnel available throughout the SoA and the university.

Our research-based degree programs are intended for practitioners, educators and researchers in architecture, computer science, engineering and those interested in design. Our graduates go on to successful careers in government, industry, academia and software development.

168 | EX–CHANGE

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SHEETS A

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1

Track Chair

2

Daniel Cardoso Llach

MSCD

3

Ramesh Krishnamurti

PhD-CD

C

D

4

Names

Program

6

Names

Program

Yufei Cheng

7

Zhihao Fang

MSCD ’20

Kexin Lu

MSCD ’21

MSCD ’20

Katherine Giesa

MSCD ’21

8

Ian Friedman

MSCD ’20

Lydia Schweitzer

MSCD ’21

9

Yixiao Fu

MSCD ’20

Michael Stesney

MSCD ’21

10

Siyu Guo

MSCD ’20

Maria Vlachostergiou

MSCD ’21

11

Yun Hao

MSCD ’20

Policarpo Del Canto Baquera

MSCD ’21

12

Yaxin Hu

MSCD ’20

Qiao Zhang

MSCD ’21

13

Yi-Chin Lee

MSCD ’20

Qiqin Le

MSCD ’21

14

Hongtao Ma

MSCD ’20

Ruoqi Bai

MSCD ’21

15

Jiawei Mai

MSCD ’20

Shuyi Shao

MSCD ’21

16

Weixin Qiu

MSCD ’20

17

Erik Ulberg

MSCD ’20

5

PhD Stage

18 19

Ardavan Bidgoli

PhD-CD

Proposal

20

Pedro Veloso

PhD-CD

Proposal

21

Noreen Saeed

PhD-CD

Proposal

22

Varvara Toulkeridou

PhD-CD

Qualifier

23

Kelly Lyons

PhD-CD

Qualifier

24

Emek Erdolu

PhD-CD

Pre-Qualifier

25

Pre-Qualifier

Jingyang Liu

PhD-CD

26

Jinmo Rhee

PhD-CD

Pre-Qualifier

27

N. Miya Sylvester

PhD-CD

Pre-Qualifier

28

Manuel Rodriguez Ladron De Guevara

PhD-CD

Pre-Qualifier

29

Yuning Wu

PhD-CD

Pre-Qualifier

30

Eddy Man Kim

PhD-CD

Pre-Qualifier

GRADUATE | 169

CD-01 CRAFTING THE WEIGHTS OF CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK TO MAKE A LINE DRAWING Eric Ulberg Committee: Daniel Cardoso Llach, Daragh Byrne, Golan Levin A growing number of visual artists use convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in their practice. While CNNs show promise as a form of representation in art, the lack of interpretability limits creative control to highlevel decisions around datasets, algorithms and hyperparameters. As an alternative, the field of computer vision presents a more immediate paradigm of control through the handcrafting of convolutional kernels.

This thesis investigates the handcrafted approach as an additional creative lever for artists working with CNNs. It reimagines network weights as a continuous, spatial and computational material supporting direct human interaction. Two experimental tools are proposed: one for parametrically generating first layer kernels and the other for editing multiple layers. These tools attempt to transform the handcrafting of features into “crafting” in a truer sense by bringing CNNs and visual materials into a close feedback loop. The author serves as a case study to examine the affordances and artistic use cases of handcrafted CNNs. The results suggest that handcrafted CNNs can be a viable form of representation for artists seeking to build simple, bespoke feature detectors, but that more complex CNNs would likely require a hybrid approach integrating data-driven methods.

CD-01 LINE DRAWING GENERATED WITH SYSTEM AND HAND PAINTED

170 | EX–CHANGE

CD-02 SAMPLE RESULTS FROM PARAMETRIC LINE DRAWING MODE

CD-02 HYBRID EMBROIDERY: EXPLORING INTERACTIVE FABRICATION IN HAND CRAFTS Yi-Chin Lee Committee: Daniel Cardoso Llach, Joshua Bard, Eunsu Kang This research presents “Hybrid Embroidery,” a system for interactive fabrication that leverages the potential of computation to broaden the possibilities of the embroidery craft.

Combining traditional crafting techniques of embroidery, computational design methods, computer vision and computer numerical control (CNC), the research shows how this framework elicits a variety of innovative fabrication experiences that emphasize open-ended exploration, improvisation and play.

Interacting with the system’s algorithms in a conversational, turnbased fashion, users create generative embroidery stitching paths that result in unique embroidery pieces. Each embroidered piece acts as a module of the bigger picture in the game of exquisite corpse based on the inherent communal nature in textile crafting.

Hybrid Embroidery thus offers an example of how computational methods may enrich crafts and other creative practices. Further, the research highlights implications for supporting creative exploration through real-time and direct manipulation of materials and close human-machine interaction.

Through “Hybrid Embroidery”, this thesis documents results and challenges to reflect on how to reposition embroidery with a tradition of collectivity in traditional crafting.

Publications Lee, Y. & Cardoso Llach, D. (2020).

Hybrid Embroidery: Exploring Interactive Fabrication in Hand Crafts.

In ACM SIGGRAPH Art Papers Talks 2019 ACM Symposium on Computational Fabrication Layer-Based Fabrication of Sewn 3-D Objects, Lea Albaugh and Yi-Chin Lee Grants Frank-Ratchye Fund for Art @ the Frontier

CD-02 COLLABORATIVE EXQUISITE CORPSE

CD-03 TOWARDS MULTI-DRONE AUTONOMOUS CONSTRUCTION VIA DEEP REINFORCEMENT LEARNING Zhihao Fang Committee: Daniel Cardoso Llach A distributed integrated media space system is a solution to the lack of public spaces in high-density architecture. The research adheres the concept of designing experience in spaces, aiming to create diverse experience of spaces and interpersonal connections by using a distributed space system and integrated media environments (IME). An IME is a space where the physical environment and the virtual environment coexist. By applying IMEs in a distributed public system, traditional spatial concepts will be changed, including distance, neighborhood, accessibility, designer and user. In this thesis, Kowloon Walled City (KWC) is selected to be the test case of the hypothesis, although it no longer exists. KWC will be reexamined and redesigned in a future context through integrations with IMEs. By placing IMEs as a distributed public system in high-density building clusters like KWC, negative effects of the lack of public spaces will be offset, traditional architectural boundaries defined by walls will be challenged and novel spatial experience will emerge.

CD-03 BRICKLAYING

CD-04 SOUND LOCATION DIAGRAM

CD-04 ON-SITE TESTING

CD-04 EVOKING THE POSTINDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE MEMORIES THROUGH MIXED REALITY SOUNDSCAPE Yixiao Fu Committee: Daragh Byrne, Daniel Cardoso Llach, Larry Shea Located at the intersections between the landscape, spectral memory, sound and contemporary media technology, this thesis explores how spatialized soundscapes may serve as media to evoke the spectral memories of physical landscape. An audio walk, “Inner Memory of the Post-Industry,” was prepared to engage Carrie Furnace—a Pittsburgh historical landmark—as a proof of concept to understand the design of spatialized soundscape.

Through the development of mixedreality audio walk, the experience design challenges the linear narrative structure that is commonly found in traditional audio walks and proposes a space-driven auditory wandering.

Mobile mixed reality is utilized to support sound localization and spatialization, and this offers a more flexible and immersive way of exploring the landscape. The spectral memories of the landscape are realized through a virtual soundscape combing environment sound effects with oral history recordings. Taking advantage of the postindustrial landscape’s distinctive aesthetics and it’s spatial complexity as the stage for soundscape design, this thesis explores the juxtaposition between a multisensory visual and sonic experience and how it allows people to empathize with historical events to reinterpret the landscape identity. Building upon the proposed technical infrastructure for audio-based mixed reality, this thesis also introduces a workflow of visualizing and designing spatialized soundscapes.

GRADUATE | 171

CD-06 DEVELOPING SELF-LEARNING AGENTS TO SATISFY CUSTOM DESIGN GOALS

172 | EX–CHANGE

CD-05 A CONTEXT-AWARE APPROACH TO TOOLMAKING IN CREATIVE COMPUTING Ardavan Bidgoli, Proposal Committee: Daniel Cardoso Llach, Eunsu Kang, Golan Levin, Barnabás Póczos This research proposes an alternative approach to the creative computing toolmaking process. It identifies that in the current state of creative machine learning, there is a gap between the tools, creative users and the sociophysical context. It is expected that the direct involvement of creative users in all stages of developing a machine learning-based creative computing tool can bridge this gap by allowing users to introduce various contextual and personal data — i.e., personal preferences, subjective assessments, material behavior, tool characteristics — to the toolmaking process.

This research proposes a simplified and accessible approach for domain experts with limited knowledge of computer programming to train and deploy machine learning models. The proposed approach can potentially improve expert users’ ability to build their creative computing tools and introduce contextual data into it without engaging with the complexities of the back-end machine learning systems.

The hypothesis of this research asserts that the employment of humancentered machine learning techniques such as interactive machine learning (iML), learning from demonstration (LfD) and generative models helps expert users to 1) enhance their ability to interface and interact with a learning system, 2) integrate social and physical registers of their creative practices in the process of training and to deploy a learning system that forms a situated approach to creative computing toolmaking and 3) use it towards generating new instances of their practice.

CD-05 RESEARCH SCOPE AND ACTION PLAN

CD-06 SELF-LEARNING AGENTS FOR INTERACTIVE SPATIAL DESIGN Pedro Veloso, Proposal Committee: Ramesh Krishnamurti, Reinhard Koenig, Gianni di Caro Agent-based models rely on decentralized decision-making instantiated in the interactions between agents and the environment.

In the context of generative models for design, agent-based models can enable decentralized geometric modeling, provide partial information about the generative process and enable fine-grained interaction. However, the existing agent-based models originate from nonarchitectural problems, and it is not straightforward to adapt them for spatial design. This thesis introduces a method to create custom spatial agents that can satisfy architectural requirements and support fine-grained interaction using multiagent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL). We focus on agents that control spatial partitions and interact in an environment to satisfy custom goals (shape, area, adjacency, etc.). By promoting the conversation between computational agents and the designer, we expect to support improvisation and cyclic reasoning in generative design.

Publications Veloso P, Krishnamurti R (2019) From Black Box to Generative System. In: BLACK BOX: Articulating Architecture’s Core in the Post-Digital Era. ACSA, Pittsburgh

Veloso P, Rhee J, Krishnamurti R (2019) Multi-Agent Space Planning: a Literature Review (2008-17). In: Lee J-H (ed) Hello, Culture!: Proceedings of 18th CAAD Futures conference. Daejeon, Korea, p. 52–74 Veloso P, Krishnamurti R (2020) Computational design: mapping generative systems for design space exploration. In: As I, Basu P (eds) Veloso P, Krishnamurti R (in press) Self-Learning Agents for Spatial Synthesis. In: Eloy S, Viana DL, Morais F, Vaz JV (eds) Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Formal Methods in Architecture (5FMA).

Springer Veloso P, Krishnamurti R (to be published) An Academy of Spatal Agents. In: Anthropologic - Architecture and Fabrication in the Cognitive Age. Proceedings of the 38th eCAADe Conference. eCAADe, Berlin Research talks Innovation With Impact 2020 Research grants CMU Graduate Student Conference Funding (2019) SoA Conference Funding (2019) Carnegie Mellon University FrankRatchye Fund for Art @ the Frontier (2020)

GRADUATE | 173

CD-07 GENERATING A BUILDING MASSING THAT INTEGRATES CONTEXTUAL AND PROGRAMMATIC DATA

CD-07 INTEGRATING BUILDING FOOTPRINT PREDICTION AND BUILDING MASSING Jinmo Rhee, Pre-Qualifier Committee: Ramesh Krishnamurti, Daniel Cardoso Llach We present a novel method for generating building geometry using deep learning techniques based on contextual geometry in urban context and explore its potential to support building massing. For contextual geometry, we opted to investigate the building footprint, a main interface between urban and architectural forms.

For training, we collected GIS data of building footprints and geometries of parcels from Pittsburgh and created a large dataset of Diagrammatic Image Dataset (DID). We employed a modified version of a VGG neural network to model the relationship between (c) a diagrammatic image of a building parcel and context without the footprint, and (q) a quadrilateral 174 | EX–CHANGE

representing the original footprint. The option for simple geometrical output enables direct integration with custom design workflows because it obviates image processing and increases training speed. After training the neural network with a curated dataset, we explore a generative workflow for building massing that integrates contextual and programmatic data. As trained model can suggest a contextual boundary for a new site, we used Massigner to recommend massing alternatives based on the subtraction of voids inside the contextual boundary that satisfy design constraints and programmatic requirements. This new method suggests the potential that learning-based method can be an alternative of rule-based design methods to grasp the complex relationships between design elements.

Awards Young CAADRIA Award 2020, The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia

Grand Prize in Digital Architecture & Architecture Startup Competition 2019 (DAAS 2019), Architectural Institute of Korea and Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Best Paper in Annual Conference of Architectural Institute of Korea, 2019 Publications Jinmo Rhee, Pedro Veloso, Ramesh Krishnamurti, “The Potential of Learning-Based System in Space Planning” in 25th International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia, (CAADRIA, Bangkok, 2020) Jinmo Rhee, Jae-won Chung, “A Study of Automation of Housing Design Method Using Artificial Intelligence” in Annual Conference of Architectural Institute of Korea, 2019 (Best Paper Awarded) Jinmo Rhee, Jae-won Chung, “Applicability of Artificial Intelligence in Apartment Complex Design” in Annual Conference of Architectural Institute of Korea, 2019

CD-08 AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO CAD INTERACTION

CD-08 D+G_D:A DATA VISUALIZATION TOOL FOR CAD COORDINATION

CD-08 SOFTWARE RECONFIGURATIONS OF COLLABORATIVE WORK IN ARCHITECTURE Emek Erdolu, Pre-Qualifier Committee: Daniel Cardoso Llach This study engages computer-aided design (CAD) software to investigate the relations between collaboration and this everyday artifact in architecture.

Drawing from the approaches in computational design and computersupported cooperative work (CSCW) foregrounding critical histories of technology practices and sociomaterial dimensions of CAD, the study frames CAD software in two ways: first, as a designed artifact shaped by interdisciplinary influences, and second, as a design artifact

conditioning collaborative work. Based on this framing, the study combines software reconstruction, emulation and prototyping as a set of methods to explore and intervene into software reconfigurations of collaborative work in history and in the more recent era.

I developed two speculative prototypes that offer alternative ways and design space for CAD interactions.: -D+G_D, a data visualization tool for CAD that combines the potential of layering operations, the graphic interface and the computer display as coordinative artifacts. The prototype presents a way of using the object data stored and organized by layers in CAD as a source of information for design coordination and discussions.

-4O, an alternative input device that concerns with the bodily ways drawing is performed with CAD software and with the issue of barriers in participation. By reconsidering the relations between the language of commands, the input and the input devices; the prototype unfolds a new set of affordances to be further explored for expanding the CAD use for people with hand abnormalities.

Publications Erdolu, E. (2019). Lines, Triangles, and Nets: A Framework for Designing Input Technologies and Interaction Techniques for Computer-Aided Design. In International Journal of Architectural Computing, Special Issue: Intelligent and Informed, 17(4), p.357–381 GRADUATE | 175

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Building Performance & Diagnostics

MSBPD | PhD-BPD

The SoA’s graduate programs in Building Performance & Diagnostics (BPD) have long led the world in advanced building technologies that sustainably reshape the built environment.

The Master of Science in Building Performance & Diagnostics (MSBPD) degree program is intended for practitioners, researchers and educators in architecture and the building industry who wish to be leaders in advanced building technologies and building performance outcomes. The program is based on the premise that the integrated design of building and community systems is critical for environmental sustainability and human health and productivity. The MSBPD is a building science and research-oriented program, with technical depth for careers in sustainability-focused professional practice, environmental research and consulting, the building industry, or pursuing a PhD in Building Science.

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Qingyang Liu

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Siliang Lu

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Hetal Parekh

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Chenlu Zhang

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Zhiang Zhang

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Surekha Tetali

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Annie Ranttila

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Chris Leininger

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Flore Marion

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Jiarong Xie

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James Katungyi

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Youngjoo Son

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Yujie Xu

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Zekun (Suzi) Li

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Wei Liang

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Bokyung Yun

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Tiancheng Zhao

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GRADUATE | 177

BPD-04 INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN RESIDENCES: AN ANALYSIS OF PARTICULATE MATTER Leila Sai Srinivasan Thesis Advisors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Azizan Aziz

BPD-01 HOURLY AVERAGE PREDICTION RESULT BEFORE COMMISSION

BPD-01 UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS OF ELECTRICITY LOAD PREDICTION BASED ON BAYESIAN DEEP LEARNING Kevin Zhizhang Hu Thesis Advisors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Azizan Aziz With the penetration of local energy generation, electricity load has become more volatile. The traditional load forecasting algorithms are facing the challenge of high uncertainties. In this study, a Bayesian Deep Learning model is proposed to predict the electricity load and quantify uncertainties simultaneously. With the power of artificial intelligence, the model can not only forecast the load but also tells the end users how confident the model is with the prediction.

BPD-02 AN INTERACTIVE ENERGY DASHBOARD SYSTEM AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL Sen Hong Thesis Advisors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Azizan Aziz Display of energy consumption data is made possible because of the extensive use of smart meters and building control systems. To better utilize the data, a directive and interactive energy dashboard system can raise awareness, foster sustainable attitudes and potentially promote energy-conscious behavior for the public. For this thesis, an energy dashboard and survey are designed to quantify the change in awareness and proenvironmental behavior. The results reveal potential tendency for improved environmental awareness and sustainable behaviors from the use of interactive energy dashboard.

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BPD-03 COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT ENERGY SIMULATION SOFTWARE Wenrei Guo Thesis Advisors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Azizan Aziz This thesis intends to compare the performance of different energy simulation software by using the quantifiedresultsfromenergymodels.

The choices of energy simulation software are eQUEST and IES-VE. Models are developed from Exhibit Staging Center building in Phipps Conservatory and Phipps Garden Center. The comparisons are conducted from three aspects: ease of use, accuracy and cost. The results provide a guideline and references on how to select the appropriate energy simulation software.

Tighter building envelopes, high pollution levels and increasing time spend indoors by occupants shines the spotlight on the air we breathe — what is the quality of air that we are breathing and how do building characteristics impact it? In order to understand more about Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), ROCIS, an organization interested in air pollution, has gathered air quality data from the residential sector in Pennsylvania. This study analyzed the data using data visualization and statistical methods in order to understand the relationship of various factors on IAQ. BPD-05 A METHODOLOGY OF STUDYING OCCUPANTS’ INTERACTIONS WITH SHADING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS Claire Qinyang Liu Thesis Advisors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Azizan Aziz This research study aims to develop a framework for studying occupants’ interactions with shading and lighting systems as well as occupants’ preference of visual condition with real-time fieldmeasurements.For this study, tecniques used include wireless sensor network, real-time data collection, integration of real-time data and web control interface, occupant behavior modeling through machine learning techniques, as well as evaluation of lighting condition through computational simulation and occupancy survey. Key outcomes of this research study include the improvement of the current shading and lighting system towards energy effi ciency and occupants’ visual comfort.

BPD-06 MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING ENERGY AND COMFORT MANAGEMENT Xidai Yang Thesis Advisors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Azizan Aziz This study creates a multi-objective optimization (MOO) framework to achieve optimal building design solution to minimize energy consumption, maximize occupants’ thermal comfort and minimize life cycle cost. The proposed framework utilized data-driven computational methods including NSGA-II and physicsbased building simulation software EnergyPlus as well as parametric simulation tool JEPlus and JEPlus+EA. The Pareto-optimal solutions space obtained from the proposed MOO framework demonstrates potential in optimizing energy consumption, thermal comfort and life cycle cost based on client’s objectives.

BPD-08 TEMPERATURE PICTURE

BPD-07 AUTOCODER-BASED DATA-DRIVEN FDD MODEL FOR BUILDING HVAC SYSTEMS Zhou Yu Thesis Advisors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Azizan Aziz The thesis proposes a workflowto solve the problem of lack of labeled training data when developing datadriven HVAC system Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) methods for new buildings. The building simulation model is used to generate a massive amount of labeled data. The proposed model includes an AutoEncoder (AE) to extract features from high-dimensional data and a customized classifierto diagnose the faults. The whole network is firstpretrainedonthesimulation data and then the AE is fine-tuned using the unlabelled data from the real building. The test is done using two simulation models that represent the simulation model and the real building respectively, and the performance is satisfactory.

BPD-08 DATA-DRIVEN ENERGY DEMAND PREDICTION Rashmi Baliga Thesis Advisors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Azizan Aziz Predicting electric demand is invaluable to building operation management and facility maintenance. With the advent of smart metering and data availability, data-driven prediction would allow facility managers to anticipate demand and identify anomalies. This study aims to predict future electric demand for the Centre for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) using CSL’s metered historic demand and weather data and four commonly used regression-based algorithms.

Demand prediction is segregated by end use, increasing interpretability. The performance of these models for different end uses is compared, followed by a feature reduction analysis. A recommended method of evaluating CSL’s electric load is then provided.

BPD-06 MOO COUPLED E+ JEPLUS FRAMEWORK

BPD-07 DATA DRIVEN FDD MODEL FOR BUILDING HVAC SYSTEMS

GRADUATE | 179

BPD-09 EXAMPLE OF A SPATIAL PATTERN

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BPD-09 SMART SURFACE ANALYTICS FOR SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT CITIES Eleni Katrini, Defense Committee: Vivian Loftness, Cameron Tonkinwise, Matthew Mehalik Communities of sharing and collaborative practices emerge within urban environments as a response to environmental and socioeconomic crises and as part of everyday life.

These pockets of sharing culture have the main goal to coproduce, manage and share resources, time, services, knowledge, information and support based on solidarity rather than economic profit. They aim to create an alternative pathway for citizens to serve everyday needs in a more sustainable, resourceful and socially engaging manner by tapping into resources within their region. As part of everyday life, sharing practices are tightly related to the locale and influenced by their physical context.

They are shaping and being shaped by space.

The dissertation contributes to the field of sharing, collaborative communities and the urban commons by developing a taxonomy of sharing culture practices based on everyday life and examining their transitions over time. It proposes an interdisciplinary methodological approach for investigating spatial patterns of sharing culture and applies it on four in-depth ethnographic case studies. Finally, and most importantly, the thesis develops a series of spatial patterns as an actionable tool for commoners and designers alike to use space as a catalyst for sharing culture.

Publications Katrini, Eleni. 2020. “Spatial manifestations of collective refugee housing – The case of City Plaza.”

Radical Housing Journal. Issue 2.1 Harrison, M. Katrini, E. 2019.

“Commoning and Transition.” Transient Spaces, CCNY Spitzer, School of Architecture, New York, U.S. Editors: Tsafoulia, Wines, Ong Katrini, Eleni. (Under Review). “Spatial Patterns of Sharing Culture Practices in Transition.” Design Commons: Practices, Processes and Crossovers, Springer, Design Research Foundations Achievements 2020: Engagement at Distance: How is COVID-19 changing the ways councils engage with communities?, Public Practice Virtual Talk, London, UK 2019: The City as a Commons Conference, University of Pavia, Italy — “Creating the Everyday Commons: Spatial Patterns of Sharing Culture” Eleni Katrini BPD-10 AN INTERACTIVE TASK-AMBIENT COOLING CONTROL FEATURING PERSONAL THERMAL COMFORT AND NONINTRUSIVE SENSING TECHNIQUES Siliang Lu, Defense Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen, Omer Karaguzel, Berangere Lartigue The Heating, Ventilation and AirConditioning (HVAC) system plays a key role in shaping building performances.

Effective and efficient HVAC operations not only achieve energy savings but also create a more comfortable indoor environment for occupants. Moreover, compared to the private office environment, the open-plan office environment has become a trend in most office buildings since it not only creates opportunities for employees to communicate with one another and improves productivity but also reduces construction cost. However, the openplan office building layout is also faced

with problems such as interruptions from other people and unsatisfactory shared indoor temperature and humidity levels. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop a new paradigm for the HVAC system framework so that everyone can work under their preferred thermal environment while also achieving improved energy performance. But how can we achieve personal thermal comfort and energy efficiency without being intrusive? This dissertation proposes a new integrative task-ambient cooling control featuring personal comfort models with nonintrusive sensing techniques for open-plan office spaces. Overall, the proposed task-ambient cooling system featuring personal thermal comfort and nonintrusive sensing techniques not only optimizes energy performance, but also provides a more comfortable thermal environment in open plan office spaces.

Publications and Talks Lu, S., Wang, W., Lin, C., & Cochran Hameen, E. (2019). Data-driven simulation of a thermal comfortbased temperature set-point control with ASHRAE RP884. Building and Environment, 156, 137–146 Lu, S., Wang, W., Wang, S., & Cochran Hameen, E. (2019). Thermal ComfortBased Personalized Models With NonIntrusive Sensing Technique in Office Buildings. Applied Sciences, 9(9), 1768 Lu, S., Wang, S., Cochran Hameen, E., Shi, J., & Zou, Y. Comfort-based integrative HVAC system with nonintrusive sensing in office buildings.

Computer-aided Architectural design research in Asia, CAADRIA 2019, Wellington, New Zealand, April 2019 Lu, S., Cochran Hameen, E., Zou, Y. An interactive building control for the integrative HVAC system featuring personalized cooling in office buildings.

ASHRAE Annual Conference, Kansas City, Missouri, June 2019 Lu, S., Cochran Hameen, E. Simulation Study of Individual Thermal Comfort with the Integrated Personalized Fan and VAV System. Building simulation, Rome, Italy, September 2019 GRADUATE | 181

BPD-11 BARRIERS, APPROACH AND POTENTIAL STRATEGIES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES

BPD-11 POLICY INTERVENTIONS TO CATALYZE UPTAKE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES IN THE UNITED STATES Hetal Parekh, Defense Committee: Erica CochranHameen, Nora Wang, Auroroa Sharrard, Deborah Stine Retrofitting commercial buildings predating 1980 can reduce their energy use by 30%, resulting in $280 billion in energy savings over 10 years. Despite this, the overall uptake of energy efficiency projects remains low due to multiple unaddressed barriers. This thesis is an extensive tripartite research into these concerns, leading to inaction by many commercial building decision makers and policy interventions to overcome it.

This research has three major contributions to the overall literature on energy efficiency in commercial buildings — 1. Detailed insights into the barriers inhibiting commercial building decision makers from investing in energy retrofits.

2. An evaluation of the impact of different policy efforts to address the barriers.

3. A policy framework to provide holistic decision support through the entire process — from understanding and identifying available project financing options to assessing qualification and obtaining it.

BPD-12 A REINFORCEMENT LEARNING APPROACH FOR WHOLE BUILDING ENERGY MODEL ASSISTED HVAC SUPERVISORY CONTROL

conditions. Multiple “perturbed” simulators are created for this purpose, with varying weather conditions, occupancy and plug-load schedules, and indoor air temperature setpoint schedules.

Zhiang Zhang, Defense Committee: Khee Poh Lam, Mario Berges, Gianni Di Caro, Adrian Chong

The control framework has achieved better-then-baseline control performance in a variable air volume (VAV) system and a slow-response radiant heating system. Also, the RL-trained strategies can tolerate the variations in weather conditions and occupancy/plug-load schedules.

However, control performance may be poor if the reward function is over-complicated as shown in the experiments related to a multi-chiller chilled water system. In future work, the control framework should be evaluated in more scenarios, such as more types of HVAC systems and more climate zones. It is also necessary to conduct a more comprehensive versatility analysis for a trained RL control policy.

This study develops a BEM-assisted reinforcement learning framework for HVAC supervisory control for energy efficiency. The control framework uses a design-stage BEM to “learn” a control strategy via model-free reinforcement learning (RL). Through computer simulations, the control framework is evaluated in different scenarios covering four typical commercial HVAC systems, four climates and two building thermal mass levels. The RL-trained control strategies are also evaluated for “versatility,” i.e., the tolerance for the variations of HVAC operational

BPD-12 THE STUDY METHODOLOGY FOR A REINFORCEMENT LEARNING ENERGY MODELING

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BPD-14 INTERPLAY BETWEEN BUILT ENVIRONMENT FACTORS AND URBAN HEAT ISLAND PHENOMENON IN INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES Surekha Tetali, Qualifiers Committee: Volker Hartkopf, Nina Baird, Kelly Kima

BPD-13 FOOD-PRODUCING LIVING FACADE

BPD-13 FOOD-PRODUCING FACADES KEY TO SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Christopher Leininger, Proposal Committee: Volker Hartkopf, Vivian Loftness, Patricia DeMarco The built environment uses an increasing amount of energy, contributing to the Urban Heat Island effect. Simultaneously, population growth and urban development have outpaced food production globally. In response, there has been a growing trend to further develop the tradition of incorporating plants into the built environment. This project investigates the role of growing food-producing plants on a living facade, in terms of building systems integration, as part of a bioclimatic facade implementation design strategy, to verify that a living facade can produce food, while improving overall building performance.

The system has been installed on portions of the south and west facade of the Robert L. Preger Intelligent Workplace at Carnegie Mellon University. Rainwater is collected and pumped to drip irrigation hoses using photovoltaic solar energy, creating a system that requires no fossil fuel energy for operation. Preliminary results indicate that a maximum production of 0.46 lbs. of vegetables/ sq.ft. of facade panel can be produced annually (2.25 Kg/m2), while reducing the façade temperature 20ºF to 50ºF (11ºC to 27.5ºC), utilizing rainwater capture for primary irrigation, an average of 10–12 gallons per day (38–45 liters), and showing mixed results in reducing PM2.5 particulate levels.

Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon is defined as higher urban temperatures compared to the rural surroundings.

UHI impacts building energy consumption, thermal comfort, air quality and the overall human wellbeing in urban areas. Increased heat due to urbanization is a key cause of UHI phenomenon. While the impact of UHI on building energy consumption has been well studied, a comprehensive understanding of the role of buildings and urban built environment in formation of the UHI has not reached the same level of maturity. Research on if and how the built environment interacts with UHI phenomenon at different spatial and temporal scales is scant, especially in a building scientist’s perspective. Further, research on UHI is predominantly focused on temperate countries of North America and Europe. However, in hot and dense (sub) tropical country like India, UHI research is still in its infancy. Increasing temperatures and rapid urbanization in India show the immediate need for UHI research in India. This research proposes to analyze the interplay between the natural and built environmental factors influencing the UHI phenomenon across some of the highly populated Indian urban regions and compare it with urban regions of the United States.

Publications Surekha Tetali, Kelly Klima, Nina Baird, Daytime Summer Urban Heat Island Magnitudes Across Cities in India and United States: A Remote Sensing Approach., 5th International Conference on Countermeasures to Urban Heat Islands (IC2UHI), Hyderabad, India, December 02–04, 2019

BPD-14 URBAN HOT SPOTS

GRADUATE | 183

BPD-15 THE IMPACT OF DYNAMIC THERMAL CONDITIONS ON THE HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY OF BUILDING OCCUPANTS James Katungyi, Proposal Committee: Vivian Loftness, Evyatar Erell, Erica CochranHameen, Anne Garmain The thermal environment inside buildings may have long-term impacts on the physiological, psychological and emotional wellbeing of building occupants, not least because occupants spend most of the day indoors. Conventionally, the thermal environment is tuned to be “comfortable” — where comfortable is subjectively determined by the occupant. Thermal comfort surveys are commonly used to establish whether the thermal environment meets occupants’ comfort needs.

Evaluating thermal conditioning using thermal comfort surveys misses out on any long-term impacts on building occupants. Such surveys ought to be complemented by additional metrics that measure the long-term objective impacts of thermal environments. This research employs a combination of both thermal comfort surveys and the objective long-term measurements of sleep quality, sedentary behavior, resting heart rate and reaction speed at tasks, to more comprehensively investigate the impact of thermal environments on building occupants.

The research uses these measurements to compare dynamic to static thermal environments. Dynamic conditioning allows variability of thermal conditions in accord with outdoors while static conditioning attempts to maintain a constant “optimal” set of thermal conditions.

Achievements: CMU Energy Week - 2019; Engineering Sustainability Conference - 2019; Impact with Innovation - CMU - April 2020; 5th Residential and Building Design Conference, Penn State - 2020 Graduate Small Project Help Research Grant - 2019 & 2020

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BPD-16 UTILIZING SAFE AND HEALTHY SCHOOL GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATORS AND DESIGNERS

BPD-16 SAFE AND HEALTHY SCHOOLS: SYNERGISTIC DESIGN ACTIONS TO IMPROVE SCHOOL BUILDINGS FOR THE WHOLE CHILD Annie Ranttila, Proposal Committee: Vivian Loftness, Erica Cochran-Hameen, Sharon Carver Fifty-five million kindergarten through 12th-grade students attend school in the United States. Each day, they face risks to their health and safety.

Some of these risks are more severe, but rare, like school shootings, and some risks are more common, like bullying, asthma, attention deficient hyperactivity disorder and obesity.

Educators and administrators are tasked with balancing these risks along with budgets, performance standards and academic outcomes. There are resources and guidelines that currently exist to promote health or safety in schools, such as security guidelines to keep students safe, or sustainability guidelines to promote energy, resource and material efficiency. However, these resources often promote health and safety with a singular focus without identifying multifocal strategies for student well-being. Also, these guidelines are typically targeted at design professionals rather than the educators and administrators directly responsible for implementation. This dissertation proposes that through the understanding of relative risks and their linkages to the built environment, integrated design and retrofit actions can be developed to address the health and safety of every child in school buildings.

BPD-17 USING MACHINE LEARNING TO TARGET RETROFITS IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS UNDER ALTERNATIVE CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS Yujie Xu, Proposal Committee: Vivian Loftness, Omer Karaguzel, Edson Severnini Energy retrofits of existing buildings are recognized as an effective means to reduce building consumption and carbon footprint. A key component is to project the retrofit effect by using simulation-based tools to allow for detailed assessments of a much larger range of actions. However, they usually require detailed data inputs, high expertise and extensive computation power, rendering it challenging to implement in largescale policy evaluations. Existing data-driven methods are generally easier to implement, faster to run and require less expertise, and could have more realistic estimates due to the use of real-world data. However, they are almost solely used in evaluating past retrofits, reporting effects either too specifically or too generally. This thesis proposes a data-driven approach that generalizes heterogenous effect of past retrofits to future savings potentials, assisting targeted retrofit planning. This method will also have the capability to estimate retrofit effects under alternative climate scenarios, providing valuable information for long-term retrofit planning in the face of climate change, which affects many aspects of human life.

BPD-18 IMPACT OF BENCHMARKING AND TRANSPARENCY ORDINANCES ON STAKEHOLDER INTERACTIONS AND BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY Flore Marion, Proposal Committee: Erica CochranHameen, Vivian Loftness, Berangere Lartigue In the past decade, U.S. cities have been taking an increasingly important role in addressing climate change through the form of a climate action plan. Climate action plans vary in their level of details of implementation, however they all set aggressive targets for carbon emission reduction at the local level by 2030 or 2050, through changes in energy, transportation, food and waste management. This research evaluates the effectiveness of benchmarking ordinances in 26 U.S. cities and their ability to meet the recommendations of the International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC). The urban building stock has an active role to play in preventing global warming, as buildings use 40% of the U.S. total energy and are responsible for the vast majority of carbon emissions, reaching 70% in New York City and 80% in Pittsburgh. Implementing building efficiency retrofit and design solutions is a major step to reduce carbon emissions and have a significant impact. To evaluate the effectiveness of benchmarking and transparency ordinances, the research hypotheses that benchmarking ordinances increase communication among stakeholders, lead to more energy efficiency initiatives and programs, and facilitate reduced energy consumption in commercial buildings.

Publications & Events F. Marion, Pittsburgh First Municipal Benchmarking Report, July 2019 F. Marion, Energy Efficiency, what is Pittsburgh doing? PAEE conference, September 2019 F. Marion, Pennsylvania Pathways to Decarbonization – what is on the horizon for one of the most prolific production basins and the region?, Energy Dialogue, December 2019

BPD-19 DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A SIMULATION-BASED SHADING CONTROL METHOD IN OPENPLAN OFFICES Jiarong Xie, Proposal Committee: Azadeh Sawyer, Khee Poh Lam, Omer Karaguzel, Youtao Zhang Automated shading control in buildings can contribute to occupants’ visual comfort and reduce energy use for heating, cooling and/or lighting. To effectively prevent glare and optimize daylight harvesting, a variety of dynamic shading control strategies have been developed that depend on real-time data collected by sensors or online glare simulations at an individual workstation. Local control can lead to chaotic oscillation in the networked shading devices, and most studies assume a fixed occupant’s sitting position, which might not be sufficient to represent the glare conditions experienced by occupants.

Hence, this study aims to develop a shading control framework that can work effectively in open-plan offices.

The proposed shading control method is based on off-line glare simulations.

Glare simulation of the office will be conducted by placing virtual sensors throughout the space. Based on the data of these virtual sensors, a neural network model will be developed to control all networked shading devices simultaneously, and the model will be continuously updated with real-world data. The proposed control method will be implemented in an existing openplan office. The neural network model developed from the simulation data can be responsive to real-time conditions with commissioning, leading to considerable energy savings without causing glare.

BPD-20 SMART SURFACE ANALYTICS FOR SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT CITIES Zekun (Suzi) Li, Qualifiers Committee: Vivian Loftness, Erica Cochran-Hameen, Kristen Kurland, Matthew M. Mehalik As rapid urban development is going on, many soils on earth have been sealed by pavements. On average, 66% of U.S. cities’ land cover is impervious.

The ongoing paving of the U.S. and world cities lead to significantly higher carbon generation, energy costs, stormwater damage and concerns for human and species’ survival and health. Decisions on streets, sidewalks, parking lots and roofs are critical to addressing two major problems in cities: urban heat and stormwater flooding. Typical urban surfaces are dark, impervious, unshaded and inert.

The dark surfaces have traditionally meant low solar reflectivity and high solar absorption resulting in measurable increases in city temperatures. The impervious surfaces leads to flooding and stormwater overflow issues, especially in combined sewer systems. Most research has focused on either one type of city surface or one aspect of this problem when city decision makers should consider both simultaneously. To fill this gap, a smart surface taxonomy has been developed with 50 types of surfaces ranging from traditional black impervious to light or green surfaces with various levels of permeability.

To increase the adoption rate of smart surfaces, statistical correlation studies are still needed to quantify all the potential benefits. Cities could use GIS as the platform to visualize choices and use a Smart Surface Analytic Engine to help them make informed decisions for a resilient and sustainable city.

Achievements Graduate Small project Help (GuSH) Award, Carnegie Mellon University Isabel Sophia Liceaga Discretionary Fund (with Prof. Azadeh Sawyer)

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Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management MSAECM | PhD-AECM

The Master of Science and PhD of Architecture–Engineering– Construction Management (AECM) programs are jointly offered by the SoA and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

The AECM programs prepare building-delivery professionals for careers in capital project delivery dealing with the entire life cycle of capital projects, from predesign to design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance stages. It focuses 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 nongovernmental organization (NGO) 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.

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AECM STUDENTS A

B

C

1

Track Chair

2

Erica Cochran Hameen

MSAECM / PhD-AECM

3

Joshua Lee

MSAECM

4

Susan Finger

Engineering Chair

6

Names

Program

PhD Stage

7

Lola Ben-Alon

PhD-AECM

Defense

8

Lipika Swarup

PhD-AECM

Proposal

9

Alejandra Munoz

PhD-AECM

Proposal

10

Shalini Priyadarshini

PhD-AECM

Qualifier

11

Bobuchi Ken-Opurum

PhD-AECM

Qualifier

12

Saadatifar Sanaz

PhD-AECM

Pre-Qualifier

D

E

5

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

GRADUATE | 187

AECM-02 SCHOOL BUILDING CONDITIONS CHECKLIST: A TOOL TO HELP STAKEHOLDERS BETTER UNDERSTAND THE REQUIREMENTS OF SCHOOL BUILDING DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE Mounica Guturu Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen, Joshua Lee

AECM-01 SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES DIAGRAMS

AECM-01 SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES: SOCIAL, FINANCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN PITTSBURGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS Sandhya Balasubramanian Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen, Joshua Lee Systematic racial segregation via racial zoning and school district attendance boundaries has had a detrimental impact on the educational outcomes of historically marginalized students.

Where a child goes to school has a considerable influence on their educational outcomes. Consequently, parents need a range of resources to make informed decisions when evaluating their school of preference.

Specifically, in the city of Pittsburgh, there is a lack of publicly available resources or data on school attendance boundaries. To bridge the gap in knowledge, school attendance boundary maps for elementary, middle and high schools within the school district of Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) were created using publicly available data. Further, a multivariate analysis was conducted using ArcGIS to study the correlation between ethnicity, median household income and school performance in 188 | EX–CHANGE

the mapped high school zones. The results of the analysis show that as history and published literature have indicated, schools in high-poverty and predominantly minority zones are comparatively lower achieving within a school district. This study provides recommendations to address the existing knowledge gaps and the lack of easily accessible data — data that is necessary for parents who need to be fully informed before making important decisions on school choices.

The classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress by as much as 25%. This brings the design and maintenance of school buildings into the foreground. This checklist, the Holistic Health Performance in Schools (H2PS), acts as a directory that lists over 100 building conditions and health metrics in a concise yet comprehensible manner. It aims to enhance the experience of a school administrator by providing them with a convenient tool that would allow them to make a priority list in a quick and easy manner based on internal criteria.

The checklist incorporates metrics from four different building rating systems (LEED, WELL, LBC and CHPS). The checklist covers a wide spectrum of building categories such as air quality, water quality, thermal quality, lighting, acoustics, site conditions, energy performance, material quality, fitness or active design, mind and educational aspects.

ICF

Zoning officials

PA State Health & Safety Codes

Energyrelated Agencies

IMT

Non-Profits

WELL

National Laboratories

USGBC Websites

Newspa per

Public Health Offices

Media Journals

Superintendent of Schools

Information Transfer

EPA

Building Code Officials Big money Organizations

PPS Chief of Design and Planning

CHPS

School Building Researchers

Universities New Building & Renovation

School Alumni

School Admin

Building Architects Engineers

Interest

Commercial Neighbors

Parks & Recreation

Community Engagement Centers

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

Wealthy, well educated parents

Facilities Division of the PPS

Community Fitness Centers

Facility Managers Environmental Specialists

Teachers Residential Neighbors Parents with no or inferior education/ circumstances

Users/ Facilities Personnel Client

Custodians

Designers/Engineers/Contractors

Students

Government officials Community Members Other

Maintenance Crews

Power

AECM-02 STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS FOR UNDERSTANDING SCHOOL DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS

AECM-03 SUBSET OF FLOOD MALADAPTATION MATRIX USING TREES IN NIGERIAN CONTEXT

AECM-03 RE-HOUSED: A MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION SUPPORT TOOL FOR FLOOD AND HEAT STRESS RESILIENT SELF-BUILD HOUSING IN NIGERIA Bobuchi Ken-Opurum, Qualifier Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen, Joshua Lee, Jared Cohen Adapting to climate vulnerabilities is paramount in saving lives and reducing significant redevelopment costs from climate disaster. It is especially important as a large part of the populace develop their own homes in a widely practiced process called selfbuilding. Self-builders require insight on these factors during the early design stage to ensure viability of a resilient design solution.

Using the city of Port-Harcourt in Nigeria as a case study, this research aims to develop a gratis decisionmaking tool using illustrations and visual descriptors to break down technical jargon and building processes for the city’s self-builders. The tool will use a step-by-step process and MCDM algorithm for diagnosing viable design options to fit a self-builder’s project scope and individual context, which includes their subclimate, site conditions and decision-making variables.

This decision support tool will alleviate the financial constraints and help promote safer design and construction strategies to a wider community of people. The findings will also generate an improved understanding of flood and heat risk management in different housing contexts in tropical wet and dry urban cities. In a complex and changing world, increasing resilience capacity at the household level provides a footstool for the development of effective resilient policy in Global South cities and will help to improve the lives of people in some of the most vulnerable dwellings in the world.

Publications Cochran E., Ken-Opurum B., Priyadarshini S., Lartigue B., Pisipati S. Effects of School Facilities Mechanical and Plumbing Characteristics and Conditions on Student Attendance, Academic Performance and Health, International Conference on Green Building, 2020

Cochran E., Ken-Opurum B., Son Y. Protocol for Post Occupancy Evaluation in Schools to Improve Indoor Environmental Quality and Energy Efficiency, Sustainability Journal, 2020 Conferences and Talks Conference Talk: “Resilient Design Solutions for Megathermal Climates of the Global South” at the International Conference on Building Resilience, Risks and Sustainability (ICBRRS), August 2020 in Vancouver, Canada Poster Session: “Meta-Analysis of Current Environmental and Health Quality Metrics for Construction Contractors During Pre-Occupancy Stages of Construction” at the Mascaro Engineering Sustainability, April 2019, Pittsburgh Awards Graduate Small project Help (GuSH) Research Grant by CMU 2020 Climate Corps Fellowship by the Environmental Defense Fund GRADUATE | 189

AECM-04 THE LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS (LCA) INVENTORY FOR NATURAL BUILDING MATERIALS

AECM-04 NATURAL BUILDINGS: INTEGRATING EARTHEN BUILDING MATERIALS AND METHODS INTO MAINSTREAM CONSTRUCTION Lola Ben-Alon, Defense Committee: Vivian Loftness, Erica Cochran Hameen, Kent A. Harries Earthen materials are critically needed for modern building to dramatically reduce carbon-intensive and extractive construction practices and to improve comfort, health and community engagement. Light straw clay, rammed earth and cob assemblies provide high thermal inertia and high hygrothermal performance, resulting in optimal indoor environment for occupants’ comfort and health.

Despite their advantages, earthen materials are not widespread. For some, there is a perception that earthen materials are “poor-mans materials” and low-tech. For others, the technical data is inadequate to quantify their true performance for different climates. Lastly, earthen materials are not comprehensively represented in building codes and standards.

This research contributes to the development of environmental and policy measures used by policy makers and earthen construction advocates in their endeavors to catalyze the use of earthen building materials in 190 | EX–CHANGE

mainstream construction projects. The long-term implications this research hopes to achieve are the catalysis of earthen construction in mainstream projects through the development of a complete, safe and user-friendly earthen building representations in building codes worldwide.

Ben-Alon, L., Johndrow L., Magill A. (2019). Providing Building Skills While Respecting Culture, Community, and Tradition – Overview of the TERRA Collaborative, Inc. and The Pueblo Project Organization’s mission and activities. Earth USA 2019. Santa Fe, New Mexico

Recent Publications Ben-Alon, L., Loftness, V., Harries, K. A., & Hameen, E. C. (2020). Integrating Earthen Building Materials and Methods into Mainstream Construction.

Journal of Green Building, 15(1), 87–106

Ben-Alon, L. (2020). Down to Earth: Design Build Methodology for Academic and Community Connections Community Built Association: Fostering Human Connection. San-Gregorio, California

Ben-Alon, L., Loftness, V., Harries, K. A., Hameen, E. C., & Di-Pierto G. (2019).

Cradle to Site Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Natural vs. Conventional Building Materials: A Case Study on Cob Earthen Construction. Journal of Building and Environment, 160, 106150

Book Chapters Harries, K. A., Ben-Alon, L., & Sharma, B. (2019). Chapter 4: Codes and Standards Development for Nonconventional and Vernacular Materials. In K. A. Harries & B. Sharma (Eds.), Nonconventional and Vernacular Construction Materials: Characterization, Properties and Applications, (2nd ed.). Woodhead (Elsevier) Publishing Series in Civil and Structural Engineering

Gupta P., Cupkova D., Ben-Alon L., Hameen. E. C., (2020). Evaluation of Rammed Earth Assemblies as Thermal Mass Through Whole-Building Simulations. Forthcoming at the Building Performance Analysis & SimBuild Conference by ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA, Chicago IL, USA

Achievements Graduate Small project Help (GuSH) Award, Carnegie Mellon University

AECM-05 WORKER SAFETY IN EXCAVATION AND TRENCHING OPERATIONS IN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR Shalini Priyadarshini, Qualifier Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen, Burcu Akinci, John Mendeloff, Shailendra Singh Worker deaths during excavation and trenching works continue to occur despite awareness in the industry, research efforts from the academic community and interventions from regulatory agencies. I investigate the reasons behind these deaths by firstly developing a database of fatalities.

Findings from statistical tests reveal patterns. I argue that the persistence of a set of limitations in the approach to safety may potentially be addressed by developing a novel way for making worker training more accessible. I propose to develop a smartphonebased, multilingual, peer-to-peer knowledge and information sharing platform — SETU (Safety in Excavation and Trenching & You). The design of SETU will be informed by secondary data analysis, expert interviews and focus groups.

Publications and Talks Priyadarshini, S., Hameen, E. C., & Singh, S. (2020) “Worker Education for Safety in Excavation and Trenching Operations” Conference proceedings EduLearn2020, July 6–7, 2020, Spain

AECM-06 ORGANIZATIONAL WORKLOAD DISTRIBUTION

AECM-06 EXPLORING THE ROLE OF PROJECT PRIORITY ON THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT DELIVERY PRACTICES IN A GROUP OF MULTIPLE PROJECTS Lipika Swarup, Proposal Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen, Peerasit Patanakul, Sinem Korkmaz, Mathew Mehalik The primary aim of this study is to explore the influence of project priority on the application of project delivery practices and to further the effects of those adopted practices on the performances of lower prioritized projects and overall GrMP. Both academia and industry recognize that projects are rarely delivered in isolation and are generally part of a set of projects under one project manager. This understanding leads to

the premise of this study that projects by virtue of being within the same set must influence the delivery of each other; and the extent of the influence would be dependent upon the priority of the project.

In this pursuit, the first step is to recognize the project organization hierarchy, i.e. multiple projects under one project manager. For the remaining objectives, the study will adopt a mixed-methods (QUAN-QUAL) methodology for data collection and analysis. Data will be collected via structured interviews and analyzed via pattern matching, cross-case synthesis and analytic induction. The expected deliverables and contributions of this thesis research are: 1) the standardization of nomenclature within project portfolio management; 2) a framework to identify the effects of project level changes on the overall GrMP; and 3) a list of critical project delivery characteristics at the GrMP level.

AECM-05 PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM DATA ANALYSIS

GRADUATE | 191

CMU SoA

File

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NOTES

Doctor of Design DDes

The Doctor of Design (DDes) (formerly Doctor of Professional Practice) is a three-year program for mid-career professionals aspiring to solve advanced problems in the fields of architecture, engineering or construction. 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, France.

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SHEETS A 1

Track Chair

2

Erica Cochran Hameen

B

C

D

E

3 4

Names

Program

Stage

Victor Okhoya

DDes

Defense

Malini Srivastava

DDes

Defense

5 6 7

Eric Kumar

DDes

Proposal

8

Mahmoud Zalloum

DDes

Proposal

9

John Barton

DDes

Proposal

10

Naim Jabbour

DDes

Qualifier

11

Yunseok (Oscar) Kang

DDes

Qualifier

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

GRADUATE | 193

DES-02 OPTIMIZATION OF BUILDING DESIGN FOR NET-ZERO ENERGY BUILDINGS IN LEBANON: A PARAMETRIC PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A RESIDENTIAL CASE STUDY Naim Jabbour, Qualifier Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen, Rob Cooley

DES-01 IMPLEMENTING DESIGN SPACE REDUCTION EXPOSES DATA ANALYTICAL CHALLENGES

DES-01 MACHINE LEARNING FOR MULTIDISCIPLINE PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS IN ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE Victor Okhoya, Defense Committee: Ramesh Krishnamurti, John Haymaker, Daniel Cardoso Llach, Aarti Singh Parametric analysis performs building performance analysis by simulating multiple design alternatives compared to the single design alternative analysis of conventional methods. It is an emergent, data-driven approach to architectural design. It has the benefits of enabling the optimization of design spaces, reducing uncertainty in design decision-making, and establishing the most sensitive input parameters of the design space. However, it also faces data analytical challenges in practical application. These challenges include the size of design spaces, the speed and accuracy of simulation and the presence of complex design space conditions. This study investigates machine learning algorithms as a design space reduction strategy for overcoming these data analytical challenges and thereby facilitating the implementation of parametric analysis in architectural practice.

A methodological framework referred to as Design Space Construction is used for defining the design spaces, integrating the multidisciplinary simulation infrastructure and evaluating the analysis outcomes.

Machine learning experiments are performed to assess the effectiveness of the algorithms and the influence of performance impact factors (sample size, sensitivity analysis, feature selection and hyperparameter tuning).

The study finds that machine learning algorithms can indeed be effective for multidiscipline parametric analysis. In particular, artificial neural networks are the most effective algorithm. Likewise, hyperparameter tuning is the most influential impact factor affecting algorithm performance. Lastly, machine learning algorithms can be robust under complex design space conditions.

Publications Bernal, M.; Marshall, T.; Okhoya, V.; Chen, C.; Haymaker, J. (2019).

Parametric Analysis versus Intuition. eCAADe 37, SIGraDI 23. 103–110

Air pollution in Lebanon persists as a major concern to citizens and has become a major source of concern to public health. The Lebanese building sector is a major consumer of energy and one of the primary drivers of air pollution in the country, and the residential building sector constitutes a significant driver of energy use and electricity patterns. Nonetheless, energy conservation and efficiency measures (ECM) have not been widely adopted due to weak legislative frameworks and the absence of a national energy strategy. This thesis will examine the impacts of various ECM and building upgrades on energy consumption in a standard baseline Lebanese home, utilizing Net-Zero Energy (NZE) metrics and guidelines as a primary road map. The study aims to develop and generate optimal architectural guidelines for the design of high-performance NZE detached single-family homes in Lebanon. The study will provide comprehensive guidelines to affect new sustainable residential building paradigms and policies. Ultimately, the research aims to promote and advance sustainable residential building practices that may reduce energy use, GHG emissions and air pollution.

Recent Publications Jabbour, N. (2020). A comparative metaanalysis of residential green building policies and their impact on overall energy consumption patterns. Material Science and Engineering, 5(10) Jabbour, N. (2020). A comparative meta-analysis of residential green building policies and their impact on overall energy consumption patterns.

Journal of Architecture Design and Construction Technology, 1(1), 20–27

194 | EX–CHANGE

DES-03 THE EFARGO COMMUNITY GAME FOR HOMES

DES-03 PURPOSEFUL PLAY: SERIOUS, PERVASIVE ENERGY GAMES BRIDGE THE ENERGY-EFFICIENCY GAP Malini Srivastava, Defense Committee: Vivan Loftness, Azizan Aziz, Tom Fisher, Casper Harteveld, Joel Ross Climate change creates an urgent context for addressing the energy waste in existing buildings. This dissertation contends that serious games have the potential to address the energy-efficiency gap — the failure of owners and occupants to adopt energy — efficiency measures in spite of their cost benefits. The thesis incorporates the design, implementation, data collection and analysis of innovative serious pervasive energy games for homeowners and schools. The thesis was undertaken with the efargo team from North Dakota State University (NDSU), the City of Fargo, North Dakota, and the Fargo Utilities to participate in the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a nationwide competition for cities to reduce energy use. Based on data collected from 2015 to 2018, the dissertation revealed that playing serious pervasive energy games (a) leads to significant awareness and learning about energy waste and energy savings; (b) engenders a willingness to engage in energysaving behavior in certain conditions; (c) engenders a willingness to make energy-saving investments; and (d) achieves energy savings. The icing on the cake: Fargo won the Georgetown Prize.

Publications Bok Chapters: Srivastava, M. (2019). Architecture as a gaming board: Pervasive energy games, The Routledge Companion to Games in Architecture and Urban Planning: Tools for Design, Teaching, and Research Srivastava, M. (2019). The World of Energy Games, The Routledge Companion to Games in Architecture and Urban Planning: Tools for Design, Teaching, and Research Abstract: Srivastava, M., & Neururer, D. (2019).

Barriers to Zero-H: A Project for NET-Zero Homes on Tribal Reservations.

EDRA50 Conference: Sustainable Urban Environments: Research, Design and Planning for the Next 50 Years, Brooklyn, NY Conference Proceedings Srivastava, M., Absenting Authorship, Resurrecting Readership. (2019 ACSA Fall Conference: LESS TALK | MORE ACTION: Conscious Shifts in Architectural Education) Accepted Research Posters Keynote: Srivastava, M. “efargo,” Advancing Energy Efficiency in Small Cities Workshop Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia. (2019). Invited

Conference Proceedings Srivastava, M., Absenting Authorship, Resurrecting Readership. (2019 ACSA Fall Conference: LESS TALK | MORE ACTION: Conscious Shifts in Architectural Education) Accepted Conference Paper Presentations: Srivastava, M. “Absenting Authorship, Resurrecting Readership,” 2019 Fall Conference LESS TALK | MORE ACTION: Conscious Shifts in Architectural Education Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), Palo Alto, California. (2019) Grants and Awards AIA: Upjohn Research Grant Games occupants play: A serious games approach to reducing energy use and carbon emissions in buildings and cities North Dakota Department of Commerce (with Department of Energy funds) Award: efargo Energy Education Campaign 2019–2020 with Serious Pervasive Energy Games TeachingSupport@UMN Institution: University of Minnesota Award: Teaching Innovation Grant

GRADUATE | 195

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Electives ELECTIVES | 197

Fabrication_Customization_Jeremy_Ficca

Daniel Noh

Daniel Noh

Ryu Kondrup

Ryan Smerker 198 | EX–CHANGE

Ryu Kondrup

cont’

Introduction_to_Architectural_Robotics_Ardavan_Bidgoli

robotic fabrication

(4) S. LOSI, N. COPPULA

RODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURAL ROBOTICS

Final fabrication Circling back to the project statement, the product is imagined at pavilion scale. This requires a different implementaion of robotic fabrication, but the robotic communication and collaboration method remains the same. The inner robot serving as master and the outer as slave(s).

10

Jihoon Park + David Perry, Robotically Manufactured Interlocking Modules

Sam Losi + Nicholas Coppula, Inverted Weaving Simulation & Video

Workflow II * Final

S. LOSI, N. COPPULA

RODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURAL ROBOTICS

PANEL

PANEL II

PANEL I (BACK)

PANEL I (FRONT)

SWITCH PANEL

PANEL II

Final Design

https://youtu.be/TRjHL2D-jQY

Grace Ji + Denise Jiang FINAL REPORT

FINAL REP

vimeo.com/378980300

ed mill20

Xin Chen + Yugyeong Lee, Robotically Fabricated Furniture

6DoF Projection ELECTIVES | 199

Exploring_Pattern_Through_Lamination_Scott_Smith

Edward Fischer

Lee Chu

Edward Fischer

Nelly Setchei-Tchato

Lee Chu

Edward Fischer

Edward Fischer

Hand_and_Machine_Joinery_New_Directions_Scott_Smith

19 83 "

16 41"

2"

1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1" 1"

6 15 16"

36 81"

11 81"

2"

16 43 "

9 16 16 "

15 16"

7 81"

20"

15"

SIDE ELEVATION

FRONT ELEVATION

24 83 " 11 83 "

6 81"

3 8"

5 8"

3 4"

5 8"

1" 1"

3 8"

1 2"

1" 1" 1"

1"

15"

2"

1" 1" 1"

1" 1" 1" 1"

6 83 "

1 2"

1 2"

1 2"

1"

CHAIR ARCH DETAIL

TOP ELEVATION

Ryan Smerker

Christine Zhu 6 x 1’10”W x 8’1/2”L x 1/8”D

left elevation perspective

right elevation perspective

joinery detail

2’

2.1’

1’10” 1/2” x 1” tenon

1’10”

1’10”

1/2” x 1” tenon

6’1/2”

right elevation

left elevation

1.25” x 1” tenon

top elevation

1.25” x 1” tenon

bottom support mortise and tenon joinery all pieces 1.25”L x 1.25”W

12.25”

2.1’ 2’

2’ 3/4”

3.75”

1.3”

16” 6”

6”

7” 1.25”

front elevation

6’1/2”

6”

6”

6”

back elevation

6”

6”

6”

6”

6”

6” 6”

15”

6”

6”

6”

6”

back attachment to seat with 2” long screws + glue the back to the seat solid wood dowels cover the screw marks 6 layers of 1/8” baltic birch plywood for seating

2 x 18”W x 4.6’L x 7/8”D

front axonometric view 1

front axonometric view 2

back axonometric view 1

back axonometric view 2

8”

2 x 30”W x 7’L x 7/8”D

axonometric view

exploded axonometric view

6” 4”

2”2” 2”2”2”2”

styrofoam molding for the curved seating with 4” wide spacers in between

7”W x 7’L x 1.25”D

*additional bracing may be supported during construction if necessary

Yoo Jin Kim

200 | EX–CHANGE

Yoo Jin Kim

Down_To_Earth_Lola_Ben_Alon Fall_2019_Bench_Construction

Spring_2020_Earthen_Building_Design

Yoon Kee Lee, Jihee Kim, Haocheng You, Kitchen

Fernanda Mazzilli, Emily Albergo, Eric Chen, Classroom

Juhi, Tony, Simon, Community Center

ELECTIVES | 201

Design_Fabrication_Jose_Pertierra

Thomas Chen

Nicholas Coppula

Meghan Pisarcik

Carson Michaelis

Nicholas Coppula

Meghan Pisarcik

Thomas Chen

Nicholas Coppula

Meghan Pisarcik

202 | EX–CHANGE

Generative_Systems_for_Design_Pedro_Veloso Samples

Fitness Value 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 -200 -400 -600 -800 1 Dimension Feature

Type 1 Illuminance: 1826 Uniformity: -487

ANALYSIS Fitness Value 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 -200 -400 -600 -800 1 Dimension Feature

Type 3 Illuminance: 1827 Uniformity: -440

ANALYSIS

Fitness Value 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 -200 -400 -600 -800 1 Dimension Feature

Type 4 Illuminance: 1568 Uniformity: -356

Jinmo Rhee, Generative Font Maker for Korean Alphabet, Hangul

Jichen Wang + Vishal Vaidhyanathan, Facade Geometry ANALYSIS Optimization With Real-time Agent-based Light Simulation

HUNT

BAKER

Toilet

CFA

Cafeteria

EV Cafeteria

Auditorium Lobby

Auditorium

TENNIS

Toilet

GATES

UC

p: 0.03 o: 0.01 t: 200

p: 0.10 o: 0.10 t: 200

p: 0.45 o: 0.45 t: 200

p: 0.90 o: 0.90 t: 200

p: 1.00 o: 1.00 t: 200

p: 0.59 o: 0.67 t: 200

Entrance Path

WTS

Furniture Stairs

Cafeteria

Formal Explorations with Genetic Programming

Jinmo Rhee + Yifei Wang, Underground Plaza Design Using Diffusion Limited Aggregation

Michael Stesney, Formal Explorations With Genetic Programming

Michael Stesney | Generative Systems for Design | Final Presentation | Fall 2019

ELECTIVES | 203

204 | EX–CHANGE

From_Black_Squares_to_Black_Reason_Cruz_Garcia_Nathalie_Frankowski

Kirman Hanson

Georgia Saxelby

Zhi Tao Chen

Emily Edlich

Tye Silverthorne

Olivia Werner

Ilona Altman

Paul Greenway ELECTIVES | 205

Aesthetics_&_Multiple_Mediums_Heather_Bizon

Minghao Yang

Jessica Kusten

Emmanuel Nwandu

Joon Young Choi

206 | EX–CHANGE

Emmanuel Nwandu

Anatomy_and_Organic_Forms_Douglas_Cooper

Eric Li

Eric Li

Daniel Noh

Katherine Sharpless

Binghan Nguyen

ELECTIVES | 207

Revisiting_the_Postwar_Kai_Gutschow

c o m p o s i t i o n

i d e n t ic o t my p o s i t i o n

i d e n t i t y

preservation and control in the face of contagion The post-war era was a preemptive act of preservation of institutional identity against the contagion of a bastardized modernism, operating in the shadow of two devastating consecutive world wars.

Architects of the post-war period reacted to these circumstances in two distinct ways: first, with intense reassertion of cultural, historical, and/or material identity through memory, and second, with an assertive implementation of geometric, structural, and/or operative order. The overlaps in these strategies present new parallels independent of the canonical post-war chronology of ideas.

2.6 2.1

3.3

3.1 1.3

1.6

8.0

8.1

1.9

7.2

4.0

1.0

7.4

4.2

1.4

7.3

3.0 1.5

of new architectural ideas came out during the Post War. Some 5.4 focused on a radical departure from traditional architecture discipline by creating an aesthetic and working in a medium that was unconventional, while some architects had a more historical stance and developed a new 5.0 6.3 lense of looking into history and reforming the mistakes of Modernist Architects through disciplinary ideas. My interest in this timestructural period is the latter group of architects. The revisionist attitude by architects like Rossi, 5.1 Van Eyck, Herztberger, Shinohara, Kahn, Smithosons, Lewerentz, etc are 3.2 inspiring as they created their own sense of proportion, composition, and scale to better suit the people of their generation. Through a series of diagrams I will like to demonstrate their ideas.

The diagrams shown on the left represent nine buildings by nine archi6.1 tects. Each building scheme is derived through an aggregation or distor7.0 tion of a square geometry. The square in each project is experienced in a completely different scale - a room, a house, a pavilion, an office building, a church, and a bathhouse.6.2The square composition in its plan is not intended for any visual or aesthetic appeal through its drawing but rather 6.0 to achieve greater collective experience within the square space. The particular program of the space is not important as the feeling of the space 7.0 operativethe primary concern for the architects. becomes

7.5

historical

Mapping the Post-War

8

Mapping the Post-War Mapping the Post-War

the c

o

l

l

a

g

e

c

House in White (1966), Kazuo Shinohara

Central Beheer (1972), Herman Hertzberger

The Economist Building (1964), Alison and Peter Smithson

House without Qualities (1995), OM Ungers

St. Peter’s Church (1966), Sigurd Lewerentz

Gallaratese Quarter (1972), Aldo Rossi

IIT Campus Crown Hall (1956), Mies van der Rohe

RK

Mapping the Post-War

grid o

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“The grid’s mythic power is that it makes us able to think we are dealing with materialism while at the same time it provides us with a with a release into belief.“ Rosalind Krauss in “Grids”

utopianism

Trenton Bathhouse (1955), Louis. I. Kahn

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Sonsbeek Pavilion (1966), Aldo Van Eyck

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In the Post-War era (approximately 1945-1970), several years have passed since the birth of Modernism and its movement was no longer in its infancy. Modernism has developed its own history and the Post-War architects began to radically reassess its legacy and orthodoxy to challenge/ reform its lessons to continue the redeemable qualities of the movement.

As many Modernist Architects put forth the agenda of rejecting the hisgeometric tory of architecture previous to Modernism, the Post-War architects rejected the anti-historical attitude of Modernism and were comfortable in referencing not 8.2 only the history prior to Modernism but also the history of Modernism as well. The coexistence of the aesthetic of Modernism and histories before it was the primary concern for the Post War architects and through their work they achieved a lineage in creating work that was fundamentally modern 5.3 in its aesthetic but grounded in the realities of its context.

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new scale for a changing society

The Postwar architects utilized and manipulated the grid as formal and social spatial strategy to create order amidst a world of disorder. The grid becomes autonomous structure, tethering architecture to notions of composition, history, and experience. The grid becomes didactic language, embodying temporal and spatial notions, offering insight into the architect’s interpretations of program, sequence, and form. It forms spaces, walls, furniture, enclosure, roof, imparting each with nuance and articulation.

The grid, while being a regulating strategy, is never anonymous nor borrowed. The grid is manifested in each project as responsive to a variety of contexts, agendas, precedents. The grid becomes field, entangling, generating, distorting objects and spaces. Diagramming the grid informs the reader of the material and intellectual identity of each project. The grid is specific, revealing ephemeral qualities of the spatial experience.

herman hertzberger a field of objects

kazuo shinohara distorting the center object

arata isozaki new objects overlaid on old fields

aldo van eyck shifting centers forming fields

oswald ungers objects emerging from field

louis kahn objects becoming field

sverre fehn field constraining object

mies van der rohe field extending object

sverre fehn field responding to objects

atelier 5 field embodying objects

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louis kahn wrapping the center object

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mies van der rohe objects embedded in field

As a drawing exercise to illustrate parallelism between the various post-war utopianists and perhaps spark inspiration for the future I’ve collaged various projects from the period into a singular image.

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Mapping the Post-War

Mapping the Post-War

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The desire for this course came from an observation of the remarkable frequency to which architects and works from this time period are referenced in contemporary discourse today.

In order to gainfully participate in this, we need a deeper understanding than that provided to us in previous courses and hope that this course can satisfy that desire while allowing enough freedom to be adaptable to changing interests.

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Mapping the Post-War

Mapping the Post-War

We considered numerous different lenses through which we can study this time period but ultimately reconciled ourselves with the fact that we simply didn’t possess enough breadth of knowledge to distinguish a precise area into which we wanted to dive. The resultant curriculum and reflections are a broad survey of the postwar period, unrestricted by country, style or typology — and has served to give us a comprehensive look at the trends and narratives that run throughout.

Throughout the course of the semester, we read numerous readings each week and wrote short reflections on the ones we chose. Some weeks we each read the same readings, some weeks they were almost all different. We drew from a pool of readings selected and found by the group, but ultimately read and wrote about the ones with which we felt the strongest affinity.

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Spatial_Concepts_For_Non-Majors_Nina Barbuto

Julia Scherb, Space to Play

Samantha Carney, Space to Play

CJ Walsh, 500 Lines

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News: • AIAS CMU attended the national Grassroots Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., in July 2019.

• CMU NOMAS participated in the NOMA Student Design Competition at the 2019 NOMA National Conference in Brooklyn, New York, in October.

• AIAS CMU student advocates participated in the first ever Student Capitol Hill Day, the Northeast Quad Conference in Philadelphia in October 2019.

• AIAS CMU attended the AIAS Forum in Toronto in December 2019 and was awarded two AIAS National Honors: the Special Accomplishment Award for the SoA Pavilion and the FBD Special Designation.

• CMU’s 24th annual Lunar Gala highlighted the theme “Yesterday,” on March 2, 2020 with 16 lines of fashion designs.

• Beaux Arts Ball 2020: Fantastical Delights was to be hosted in the College of Fine Arts on April 25, 2020, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Unfortunately, the Beaux Arts Ball was canceled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• School of Architecture Students featured in TribLive, local news coverage of Lunar Gala

X Name Default Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Layer 4 Layer 5

Beyond the Studio

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AIAS

The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) is an independent, nonprofit, student-run, national organization that aims to empower students to advance leadership, design and service in architecture and related disciplines. The AIAS aims to promote excellence in architectural education, training and practice; to foster an appreciation of architecture and related disciplines; to enrich communities in a spirit of collaboration; and to organize students and combine their efforts to advance the art and science of architecture.

AIAS CMU is a highly decorated chapter of the AIAS and promotes its wider mission by facilitating opportunities for professional development with events such as portfolio reviews and “Crit Night” with the Young Architects Forum as well as firm tours at local architecture offices, including IKM Architecture and Perkins Eastman. The chapter also offers opportunities for social engagement and mentorship through events such as Incoming Student Meet n’ Greets and Mentor-Mentee Socials (in collaboration with the Architecture Peer Mentorship program).

2019–2020 Board

Chicken N Waffles (01/20)

Toronto Forum (12/19–01/20)

Toronto Forum (12/19–01/20)

Events: Grassroots Leadership Conference (07/19) First Year Meet N’ Greet (08/19) Grad Student Meet N’ Greet (08/19)

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Mentorship Ice Cream Social (09/19) Firm Tours (09/19–10/19) Philly Quad (10/19)

Crit Night (10/19) Toronto Forum (12/19–01/20) Chicken N Waffles (01/20)

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X AIAS CMU heavily prioritizes our role in the community. The Executive Board annually reviews SoA’s Studio Culture Policy, regularly collaborates with other student and professional groups within and outside the School and participates in larger social events, both in Pittsburgh and with other AIAS chapters across the country. Over the past year, AIAS CMU has attended the national Grassroots Leadership Conference (Washington, D.C., July 2019), where our student advocates participated in the first-ever Student Capitol Hill Day, the Northeast Quad Conference (Philadelphia, October 2019), as well as the organization’s annual national conference, AIAS Forum (Toronto, December 2019), where the chapter was awarded two AIAS National Honors: the Special Accomplishment Award for the SoA Pavilion (Spring Carnival 2019) and the FBD Special Designation (to the chapter’s FBD program).

Name Default V E-BOARD Chitika Vasudeva Jai Sawkar Mohammed Rahman Susie Kim Lake Lewis Joao Castro Selena Zhen Daniel Noh Carly Sacco Deepthi Ganesh V MEMBERS Ghalya Alsanea Gabrielle Benson Christina Brown Joanne Chui Sharleen Devjani Edward Fischer Srinjoy Hazra Anjali Kanodia Alison Katz

Grassroots Leadership Conference (07/19)

Crit Night (10/19)

Clara Lee Alex Lin Samuel Losi Taisei Manheim Joao de Castro Juliane O’Day Nicole Postnikov Michael Powell Brenna Robinson Tye Silverthorne Sydney Sun

Mentorship Ice Cream Social (09/19)

Philly Quad (10/19)

Melissa Thomas Esme Williams

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FBD

Freedom by Design (FBD) is the service branch of AIAS. We strive to use our design skills to give back to those in need in our Pittsburgh community. This year in the fall we continued our Weatherization Kit project, in which we assembled and distributed the Kits to low-income families in Pittsburgh. The Kits contained socket insulators, door sweeps, window plastic and weatherstripping, which help families add insulation to their homes and save money on heating in the winter months.

Additionally, we began a partnership with the Build-a-Bridge Foundation (BAB) this year, which aims to assist refugees (mostly Middle Eastern) in Pittsburgh by connecting them with locals to help become independent members of our society while changing Americans’ perception of refugees. Through this partnership we were able to give some of our remaining Kits to the refugees, and we held a second distribution event with Arabic speakers from BAB to translate our installation demonstrations. Finally, we worked with BAB to translate our booklet into Arabic, so that we can provide a more useful resource to the refugees in the future. We look forward to continuing this partnership and can’t wait to see what fruitful projects it may bring in the spring of 2021!

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X Name Default V BOARD V Director Alex Lin V Project Manager Edward Fischer V Development Managers Angela Castellano August Fox V Public Relations Managers Shanice Lam Christina Brown V MEMBERS Alison Katz Anthony Wu Brenna Robinson Chitika Vasudeva Clover Chau Colin Walters Cotey Anderegg Dickson Yau Esme Williams Gabrielle Benson Giulia Giampapa Graana Khan Hannah Haytko-DeSalvo Howie Li Isabel Xu Jason Garwood John Fang Lydia Randall Ricky Chen Takumi Davis Vishesh Pagarani Winston Kim Yingying Yan

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NOMAS

The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) mission, rooted in a rich legacy of activism, is to empower our local chapters and membership to foster justice and equity in communities of color through outreach, community advocacy, professional development and design excellence. CMU NOMAS was founded with the goal of enhancing student education, networking with professionals and beginning to deďŹ ne solutions that will ensure a healthy living and working environment for the total community. Through the endeavors of NOMAS, they foster communication, cooperation, solidarity and fellowship among minority students of architecture.

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1. Started a NOMAS Library/Bank During the fall semester, we collected unused supplies from students and alumni to store in the architecture studios. Supplies such as paint, Olfa blades, drafting pencils and protractors were made available to NOMAS members. We also cultivated a small collection of textbooks that can be signed out by NOMAS members.

2. Annual trip to Duquesne Incline and frozen yogurt at Razzy Fresh 3. Participated in the NOMA Student Design Competition at the 2019 NOMA National Conference in Brooklyn, New York, in October 4. Started an initiative to improve the underrepresented minority experience The executive board collected surveys across the school and discussed the struggles encountered by underrepresented minority students. Through this initiative, we were able to give a voice to the students that would otherwise feel like their concerns would go unheard.

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X Name Default V E-BOARD V President Taylor Latimer

V Vice President Lydia Randall

V Secretary Veronica Hernandez

V Treasurer Tanvi Harkare

V Publicist Isabel Xu

V 5th Year Rep Takumi Davis

V MEMBERS Jason Garwood Abiola Morakinyo Giulia Giampapa 3

5. Professional Panel We collaborated with the NOMA Pgh to have a panel where the professionals answered questions about their career path and the ins and outs of architecture.

6. Mock Interviews We again collaborated with the NOMA professional Pittsburgh chapter to host mock interviews and portfolio reviews with students.

7. Motivational Mondays To increase social media presence, we decided to post start “Motivational Mondays” where we post something inspirational on our Instagram account (@cmu.nomas) every Monday. We want to encourage students in any way that we can.

8. Care Packages Students need to feel like someone has their back. Since we call ourselves a family, we want to make sure students know that they have a support system. During finals week we sent out small care packages to each of the NOMAS members with a personalized message.

Anishwar Tirupathur Yael Cannan Samuel Losi Graana Khan Esme Williams Brenna Robinson Alyssa Mayorga Ever Clinton Juhi Dhanesha Rebecca Cunningham Vanshika Gandotra

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NOMAS

Goals for Race and Inclusion Short term goals - September 30, 2020 Medium term goals - June 2021 Long term goals - 2025

Pedagogy 1. Minority Critics

Diversify student reviews by including minority professionals within the panel of guest critics

2. Diversifying Lecturers

Commit to securing 50% women and 4 URM lecturers (minimum) annually

3. Inclusive Syllabus

Create individualized syllabus statements acknowledging professors’ efforts to combat racism

4. Visiting Professors

Dedicate an annual visiting professorship opportunity to minority academics

5. Adjunct Professors

Recruit and hire diverse adjunct faculty

6 Critical Analysis of Arhitects

8. Inclusive ASOS

Provide students with a comprehensive overview and critical analysis acknowledging precedent architect’s political and historical associations Expand historical studies to include precedents in Asia, Africa, Indigenous America, Latin America, etc…

One ASOS per academic year addressing anti-racist agenda

9. Teach-In

Engage in recurring ‘teach-ins’ discussing racial and social challenges in architecture

10. Full Time & Tenure Track Hires

Recruit and hire diverse full time and tenure track faculty who will be involved in curriculum development, bring in grant money for research projects and diversity programs

7. Inclusive Precedents

Academic 11. Frequent Performance Reviews

Administer quarterly performance reviews of all students in written or meeting format

12. Faculty Mentors

Implement a mentorship program comprised of interested faculty volunteers

13. Connect with the Center

Commit to a school-wide connection with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion

14. Retention Program

Establish a student retention program

Social Equity 15. Display Case

Display case dedicated to NOMAS and the Minority Architects Project

16. Statement of SOA’s commitment Release a short-term through long-term plan of the school’s specific actions outlining 17. Policy on Race and Inclusion 18. SOA DICE committee 19. Faculty Training 20. NOMAS Space 21. SoA Award

commitment to prospective changes and acknowledgment of NOMAS’ contributions Create a robust policy and infrastructure on Diversity and Inclusion to be published within the SoA website and handbook Establish a Diversity, Inclusion, Community Engagement, and Equity (DICE) committee for the SoA with student-elected representatives Incorporate annual minority issues and microaggression awareness sessions into faculty training Ensure a safe workspace to students by dedicating one room in CFA/MM to NOMAS Implement an award dedicated to a student displaying values of social justice, community service, and leadership in architecture

4 Economic Justice 22. Peer Mentors & TAs

Create paid positions for upperclassmen URM students to mentor younger URM students

23. Scholarships

Award scholarships to two current and two incoming URM (minimum)

24. Local Outreach

Provide funding to establish and maintain NOMAS school outreach programming All initiatives set forth by NOMAS members | Designed by Angela Castellano

NOMAS

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SoA Race and Inclusion Town Hall No. 2 took place June 29, 2020. It was a NOMAS-led town hall, introducing students to the call to action, which steps have already been taken, how we plan to move forward, and action items.

SoA Race and Inclusion Town Hall In response to the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and injustices perpetrated on the Black American community, the Carnegie Mellon University student chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) issued its “Goals for Race and Inclusion” document accompanied by the following statement: “We, NOMAS and allying students of Carnegie Mellon University, call upon the Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture to not only take a stance on race and inclusion within the school, but to actively work on bettering the experience of our students and faculty. This shall be done by implementing the following goals, broken down into four categories: Pedagogy, Academia, Social Equity and Economic Justice. We are so grateful to all who have supported us as we have initiated this call to action. This is only the beginning and we look forward to continuing to work with the [SoA] to make these goals a reality.”

In the summer of 2020, the SoA community gathered for town hall meetings and formed committees of students, faculty and staff to move forward on the items identified in the NOMAS call to action.

SoA Head Stephen Lee and Incoming Head Omar Khan each issued statements of solidarity on behalf of the school. Khan said, “As I take up my tenure as Head of School this academic year, I make a commitment to our students, alumni, faculty and staff that issues of social justice, inclusivity and diversity will continue to be a foundation for the School’s pedagogy and outlook.”

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i•p

inter·punct is a platform for ideas, theory and discourse — sometimes about architecture and sometimes at its periphery.

The group was founded by students at Carnegie Mellon University in 2011.

The group has released two issues — para·meter (2013) and inter·view (2016) — and plans to release its third issue next year: pre·fix (2021).

This year we collaborated with WAI Architecture Think Tank in the LOUDREADERS sessions to create inter·face and platforms, an online group discussion about current events. inter·punct released three inter·missions, collections of student writing, titled: Divide, Ecology, Influence and a bonus: Post·Novis.

Last but not least, inter·punct started a studio library, intended to create a space for everyone to read more without worrying about their wallets, carbon footprints or luggage allowances. inter·punct is a journal about architecture. inter·punct is a dot jostling for space; it disrupts, agitates, demystifies. inter·punct champions free print. Ideas should not be exclusive. inter·punct is run by students who don’t hide from their naïveté. inter·punct is not a journal about architecture.

inter·mission, Influence

View more at www.interpunct.pub

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inter·mission, Divide

X Name Default V EDITORS IN CHIEF Christoph Eckrich Gil Jang

V EDITORIAL BOARD A UTOPIA WITHOUT QUALITIES

WAI: We think Architecture has a responsibility. Architecture is responsible for dealing with humans, and ecosystems, and society at the end of the day, whether it directly involves buildings or not. Even if you write a text, there’s that connection to the possibility of living together or altering the world, or dealing with limited space and resources, or responding to power structures while we dream about transforming the world and reflect on the transformations that have already taken place. Architecture has to carry the historical weight of responsibility—or it should, at least that’s how we see it.

We feel it may be comforting, as a student, to have somebody telling you that at least you could try a different method, take a different path. You don’t have to go to work or sell your time for a big corporation, you can strategize your own way to make, think, produce architecture. You can choose the media you’ll use. You can decide the types of questions you’d like to ask. It’s a risky thing, but so is ending up trapped in a nine-to-five so you could just pay back the money you owe to get the degree that put you in that trap initially.

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Imagine that everybody can come up with a different way of making architecture? We’re sure that if we bring more diverse voices to the process of making architecture, we’ll end up with something better Architecture has that extremely important social component. Since than what we have. Not just bringing them in the sense of ‘listenart can be anything “Laziness it also hasisthe ofmovement being nothing. to them.’ thepossibility absence of and thought, ing dumb time—No. We mean kids of diverse backgrounds, upbringHaving the possibility of responding nothing, of being nothing ings,nonand origins, becoming architects and using their unique ways total amnesia. It to is also indifference, staring at nothing, gives you a type of freedom that you may not find anywhere else. of dreaming activity, impotence. It is sheer stupidity, a time of pain, of futile new worlds to be part of the collective worldmaking The goal is to be happy and free, right? course, there areare many of factors architecture.

Schools don’t operate in this way. What we can do concentration.

ThoseOf virtues of laziness important in constraints that prevent us from about gettinglaziness ‘there’, is to not be happy and forpracticed our students is to show them that there are different ways of art. Knowing enough, it must be free, and we must challenge those restraints. critical worldmaking, and perfected.”

You have toArchitecture, be completely useless and it is very and that critical questions have been asked before d Architecture shoulddifficult be a tool allowsomething us to look(anything!) for that freetothat imagine like that. using different media. The pen is as mighty as Photoshop, as anec dom, for that emancipation. Once camp is for Architecture as a tool artist book, as their rhetoric, as a performance. So, in a way, it’s all for emancipation. The allows you to trycannot something elsefor profit Weother can’t camp think of anything that be used gain or history—a critical history of media, of strategies, so aboutorteaching without worrying and in that search for nothingness a littlecan, feelings, exchange.

Ideas can, even cosmicfind particles emothat we all can see how to address our anxieties and discomfort. utopia. tions, everything can be absorbed by the black hole We of capitalism. cannot enter a room and tell people “so, what it is important in And that’s the trick. How can we imagine an ‘outside’life of is…” it? We The real pedagogy happens when you can find the tools to So “art” could potentially liberate you—through imagine an architecture that that can non-responsive embody that anti-value system, tell us what makes you uncomfortable. Tell us how you don’t feel nothingness. Architecture is destined to be an instrument to fight we can write about it. Make landscapes. But at the end of the represented.

Tell us what things we should change in society. Tell us what oppresses us, day, which makes it byordefault, not free.

Art couldofbe they’re more less symbolic allegories that how possibility or the world a better, more diverse, more inclusive place to make irresponsible. Architecture is all about response. impossibility of nothingness. for all of us. After being able to ask these questions, then, maybe we INTER·PUNCT SAT DOWN WITH NATHALIE would be able to address something meaningful. We’re sure that in i·p: I think the cross-over of the two mentalities is atoo, crucial cornerAND CRUZ TO DISCUSS THEIR TAKE ON We have mentioned this before but it’s tough tohigh get past theor in primary school all of us were already asking “why school, stone of your pedagogy.

Could elaborate someinofand your MEDIA, PEDAGOGY, AND THE PROFESSION image.

So inyou order for art on to exist ofteachitself it would tolike this?” You don’t need to go to the university to is thehave world ing philosophies? suspend any value system and become nothing. That’s the case learn that. You shouldn’t go to the university to learn that. We can’t with our collages too, in the same way as it was withteach the theory of you how to think critically but we can show you, for example, WAI: We believe in anon-objectivity pedagogy of empowerment.

WeSuprematist believe in stuInstallation of Malevich and painting, andinin1968-69 a way a bunch of female college students took their shirts inter·punct: One thing we’ve noticed about your practice which we how dent engagement inwith the learning process.

Understanding thetheory powerof Object On October 7 Kresge Theatre was transformed into a total installation on the occasion of the 4th its opposite, the hyper-objectifying Oriented feel makes the work much stronger is the intersection of different off and threw rose petals at Theodor W. Adorno freaking him out Worldmaking Session of Post-Novis. On the stage Architectons displayed historicist optimism, of the tools and skills we canoracquire fundamental foryou us. We Ontology OOO. Ifisyou look at OOO can see how the conmedia towards the service of one idea. As an example, in some proj- potted plants washed by full spectrum LED lights posed as symbols of tropical fetishism, ceenough so that he never returned to teach. We can render for you try to make clear that the ultimate goal of education should be icons, a neon sign read the Utopian ‘THIS MUST BE THE PLACE’. cept has been co-opted and aesthetized andtoturnedthat intoclash images ects there is a progression from text to form to architecture, and we ramic modeled Post-Colonial Poem between critical theory and ‘critical praxis’. We can show of Icons control our means of production, andmeaning. to be able to create platforms this way, is a for critical practice bridges realm devoid or critical There’s no way that such parapherThe Poem of Icons is ideological, utopian, kynical, Hardcorist, Post-Colonial, Camp, Aviary, Big are curious about ifIn the desire all pieces to exist onthe their own of theory and exhow Adorno, the critical theorist was after all bringing the police that Boris bring diverse voices forlooking the development, and diffu- you ecution. If, according to the Horkheimer, a theory is critical inasmuch as Black Switch, Architecton, Globe, Floating Fortress, El Lisstizky, Vladimir Tatlin, Iofan, nalia is for any formproduction, of human emancipation.

Youthe findlecture an or if it is about the commonalities.

How do art and architecture into rooms and even trying to calm down the displeased Kazimir to Malevich, Lazar Khidekel, Twombly,that Superstudio, Orwell, sionGeorge of positions and discourses transform the world. them, an gravitas There’s a strong Malevich’s BlackCySquare is notPavel onlyPepperstein, aesthetic andable you to sprinkle some OOO jargon to justify it. So often, practices coexist? it seeks to liberate humans from the forces that oppress students by painting the walls in grey tones (with the hope that Michaël Borremans, Piranesi, Ivan Leonidov, Rene Magritte, Man Ray, Le Corbusier, Kara Walker, architectural practice can only be critical when it serves a tool in aboutasthe seriousness of its non-objectivity, but also in the humour all architecture has to offer are nice images. Can wethe challenge Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, Diogenes of Sinope, Madelon Vriesendorp, Ilia & Emilia Kabakov, students will stop protesting). We can show you a photograph We’re very interested in the role of media in this. We often create this search for human emancipation.

In aconvenclimate in of which capitalSolagainst Lewitt, Marcel Salvador Georgii Krutikov.with making something theBroodthaers, status quo.

We Dali, could identify WAI: It really depends…

We studied architecture, and in the this? If we cannot achieve the freedom we have been oflooking Herbertfor, Marcuse meeting Angela Davis and start a conversation curatorial and publishing platforms like this one (Inter.Punct), and ism and its oppresses us, a critical architectural practice these forces as theyworld were around (like us)him trying figure out to where make everyone tional sense we were trained astentacles architects, but literature, philosocan we at least motivate or provoke somebody to think about hasto changed to aways world is an enabout the it? differences and commonalities between the Frankfurt we teach image-making intensely because that’s a tool that has will have to find ways to at least question the ideology behind a things ‘right’ (or left, would be a better word for complete change or phy, and film played a major role in our studies. While practicing as And that’s the biggest question. How can emancipation become gineer or a doctor or is defined by their profession and by the School and the Black Power movement, the Che-Lumumba Club helped us ways to communicate ideas that otherwise would have pass with we a problematic with power.

A criticalSo, like Malevich overhaul). reached desert of meaning, so father, architects for most discipline of our careers have alwaysrelationship been interested a reality, if not now, in the future? We’re not saying that they livewe their lives inthat a specific manner.

Ulrich’s a university and we thehave all black faction of the Communist Party in LA. All we can unnoticed.

The history of Architecture is about communication and architectural practice have theory and media to question one day we started professor painting responding to an utter sense of disap- families of his area in different media and the potential each will media hastoinuse addressing the answers, but we’re hoping that at least by talking and and legal adviser to the old aristocratic dotoisyou hope that the learning experience will show you that it is not power. And you’re often either creating critical images or just prothe institutions, forces, thequote infrastructure, processes pointment with the proved state ofthat architecture. certain questions. Following Ludwig the Wittgenstein ‘the limits and the all these critical questions with all the students, maybe ‘Even a Man without Qualities has a father with propaganda Qualities.’ sharing enough to have critical theory on one side, and that there’s a history ducing for the status quo. Learning the power of image that power. of my language mean theconsolidate limits of my world’, we seek diverse tools somebody at some point will manage to devise the vehicle that of emancipation that we all can learn from. of strategies making should instill a power to communicate concepts in ways That was a really important transition us thattoopened endless that would allow us to ask different questions and communicate will take humanity there, or design the building from where we all We’ve brought thisfor question architecture many times, offering beyond the reach of the professionals of today. Sometimes dealthis case, and to‘the paraphrase again, the limits of our possibilities when itacomes media.

Before, we had a relatively different ideas, and In therefore expand limits of Wittgenstein our world’. Film stand together to watch the end of capitalism and stare into the studio to and producing several projects that deal with idea i·p: As a follow-up to the dichotomy of critical theory vs critical ingthe with thisofis very simple. Issues like: how can you make an image architectural will since expand far as ourwhile critical diverse language al- of media palate we couldwithout choosequalities. from, butWhat it was all still to architectures · and writing have been part of ourworld practice theasbeginning, architecture happens thatbasicnothingness practice, what is the distinction between theory and practice in arpowerful with compositional knowledge and with tools easily low us.

That’s whyon. it However, is so important to China understand the veryrelationship ‘architectural.’ We made lots of research other media like painting came later living in for were designed forcollages—pieces certain systemsof once they become obsolete? chitecture, for you? How does this manifest in your work and as you available to you? How can the images we produce render the worlds between critical ideas and ideology.

We can question everything we that became part of the contemporary vocabulary; images that seven years brought challenges and opportunities that undeniably What are those grain silos in the middle of the landscapes once the see it in the profession at large? www.waithinktank.com want to create, not just the worlds we know already exist and doWhile as architects thatwe includes our relationship buildings. often peopleThe would economies look at andthat evensupported copy. Butthem even have if some of these we affected our practice. living in and Beijing would often produce to disappeared?

Whatfailed does us? the We feel like, all of our students that learned these have more malleable the definition of architecture the have morebeen replicated, images the What content behindwhen themahas been loses its WAI: We’re living in an aberration of Architecture. If we look at the magazines, or curate alternative architectural exhibitions without becomes, silo become? happens building qualities?

Is in it their studies have transformed their education skills early on we need our critical theories.

Power structures permeoverlooked.

And that’s the annoying part about copying just the history of Architecture, precisely during the period of the avanthaving a special audience forto it.redefine At the same time we would lecture possible to design such a condition?

Do buildings without qualities because they don’t rely on their teachers to show them the old ways everything that surround us, frominthe ideologiesform that while shapeoverlooking our critique it. You see people doing garde or during Modernism, there was no distinction between in Europe, invited byate students at the Bauhaus University Weimar, havethe a past withbehind qualities?

Propaganda No. 1 & No. 2 anymore. We hope that in the future we will see more and more ways of thinking to the social, political, and economic forces or that projects images that look alike but that are totally missing the The first propaganda action consisted of hacking the official lecture poster and turning it into aand making a building—thinking about architecture, making a book or TU Munich, or professors interested in Narrative Architecture in revolutions toPost-Novis a meaningful change. in buildings.

And because the definition so Poster of with a reading list and schedule of upcoming worldmaking events. At the point. Theispotential subversion point We’ve come is toaesthetized realize thatto in the a way thiswhere may be the little ultimate utopianleading painting, making sculpture, designing furniture, writing a play, stage Graz, and find thereresult a much broader audience for these positions of architecture door four different posters with a syllabus and a reading list were handed to the first 100 people broad,Chinese it implies that thesewere forces canadamant affect architecture in endless the critical edge of the project is watered andanlost in transla-without qualities it project.

If you manage down to make architecture design or writing a poem was all one practice. And then, once neoand strategies. But while institutions quite to enter Kresge Theatre.

Each of the posters extends an invitation to join Post-Novis.

Paulo Freire talks about how these traditional models of educaways,the notexception just in theofact of building.

Youstudents can deal with architecture tion.

You’re not provoking Not challenging status quo meansanything. that it doesn’t respond tothe anything, which means thatlike there’s liberalism took over, architecture went through this hyper-specific to interact with us (with some interested Greyscapes tion are a banking systems where students are treated like (anditwith power structures related paintto it) without making because everything nothing is ‘too beautiful’.

It to, becomes meaningless, just to respond therefore setting architecture free since ev-where professionalization, which is where all those gigantic multinational A projection displayed Greyscapes, a kynical critique to the current architectural paraor young practitioners), wasall in the Beijing where we discovered empty vessels the professors just deposit a specific form of state of In the quest to recruit worldmakers, this issue of inter·mission inand the as same way that youwith canits build responding phernalia. Evidently fictional, Greyscapes seize through the juxtaposition of previously unrelated erything has been ‘solved’. In order to be able to do so-called nothing, invaluable the corporations like SOM, KPF, HOK cameinto from. some reason it’s ing and installation buildings, as medium research.

Even lackbuildings of an image. knowledge, in this deposit the same has been turned an For inter·prop: a propaganda leaflet for Postideal projects anreplicating architectural divorce from the commercial character of the corporate renderto these structures without making architecture. responsible framework of architecture, there must be no problem to ing, always three letters that stand for three white men.between All of theinter·punct and WAI infrastructure or spaces for this type of open intellectual exchange, anesthetizing imitation of the romantic painting. By not showing any ‘real’ physical hierarchical system.

So,andinthe this framework, education becomes this Novis.

Opening withdead a discussion Returning to the question regarding artwant practice versus architectural as address.

We don’t to refer to post-humanism a framework process these suffixes like, Tank “Hello, I’m aGarcia L-E-E-D-Athe city allowed us And to goanother beyondaspect the perceived limits of architecture context, the Greyscapes the ethics architectural simulacra its spell ofeveryone faux real- hasArchitecture Think (Cruz & Nathalie Frankowski) on one-directional where you goconfront to class, the of teacher tells you: andsudden of having a critical practice is that you will practice, we found out that with anaarchitectural practice we had ism. Greyscapes are an alternative to photorealistic images that avoid depictions of class and because it was weird connotation aesthetically speaking, but you P+A-I-A-F-with-a-specialization-in-hospitals.”

What that? How as a “profession”. Itsbe condition as a developing metropolis Utopias Without Qualities, the isinter.prop outlines the contents this is what is right—and so it struggle is undeniably right.as It’s a very as simple able to continuously question what provided an architect is, or what an more responsibility.

We had to always address issue that environmental and other issues architectural facades, space and structure, and as could imagine designing foran a future that dealt doesn’t include us.‘This It’s alcan meaningful architecture be produced performance/ under such circumstancus with a unique historical opportunity towant bypass quo cubicle and of the installation/ lecture ‘In Post-Novis All the as the physical site of the project. system. is howcontextual architecture is done.’

This is how images are architect does. If you to the sit instatus an office and architecture draw bath- and with its the social, environmental, historical, materialmost most radically selfless thing you can do because it implies es? When did life getStudents compartmentalized in such a form? at We’re liv- Theatre on October exchange with artists working across fields. are the Teacher’ presented Kresge made. These are the people represented in the images. And so on, room details, fine,different as long as it is an option. But not ist if it’s because Withnot imperatives. literature could write anymore. a text thatUnder is comthinkingyou about yourself these circumstances ing in the nightmare of capitalism where you are reduced to a title 7, 2019. This inter·prop is part of a series of propagandistic and so forth. We end up with the same bland architectural arguyou think it is the only thing you can do.

The goal ispletely to find meaningless. freeYou cannot won’t (or should that as an archiWe were researching about the origins of the avant-garde in the architecture have not) to bedocritical anymore sincements there’sabout nothing that describes a vague action that renders in whichwith you the aim of spreading paraphernalia createdthe andways distributed the frivolous aesthetics of utomation, big DATA and dom andFevralism, happiness, and we believe truelike liberation only be you’re tect.can Otherwise, just a pretentious, douchebag, Suprematism andthat groups early 20th century including oppressing us. It wouldirresponsible be the ultimate victory of universalism the life) mission of Post-Novis reinforcing that the only purpose of exchange your time (and for money.

In this climate architecture other formswhen of crapstraction (as Hito Steyerl will put it quoting Jerry achieved critical based on is critical theories.

We So switching intodon’t painting just oneto step towards a potenUNOVIS not only because wethrough liked what theypractices were doing, which of right? we havewas to respond specific needs anymoreSaltz) because we education is to with make new worlds collectively. is reduced to a frivolous commodity a specific criteria and set This requires the accelerating the capitalist takeover, this or that cool new aeslookbecause at the Modernist ideal Modernists) in the same way we tial nothingness.

Painting usany. wasGood emancipating.

All of the sudden course, subjective, but we could (true identify with their strugexercise ofadignified purposeful Other worlds won’t for have luck! of values that go in the form of scheduleand checklist, excelrebelliousness. sheets, thetic for Instagram. In this educational model there’s no exchange. look at the avant-garde.

Theyofall wanted toand change the youworld, can doand whatever you want. If you’re not constrained by the are Possible! gle. They were operating during a crushing shift modernity, and PPT presentations with bullet points. Under these circumstancThere’s no knowledge that is coming from below. At the end it is a so do we.

In order to be truly weforces must understand that weframework architectural you change your name andwe cannot That’sand why wecan caneven ask the question now, but provide an we felt that the forces they were confronting are critical the same es even publishing a book that is not an act of commercial propadevised to perpetuate the current system. To consolidate the could pressing questions buildings,still but have that there’s INTER·MISSION valid arguments then what’s stopping answer.about How architecture, does an architecture without qualities model look? How does we’re struggling with now,address that is, the struggle againstthrough the accumuganda will be looked at with suspicious looks from the other side.

We read the news on our phone (if we read it at all), draw on our tablets, and write love hegemonic powers and solidify the status quo. a possibility where we won’t even need to build.you from doing anything? are thedeal limits of it artistic exploration? it feel?What We cannot with because there’s still so much to be lation of wealth andalso capital in a changing world. letters on our computers. What happened to paper? Surely, we can’t all care about trees dealt with here and now. In order to be completely free, you have that much. This isn’t about the quantity of content; it’s a question of the streamlining of i·p: Malevich writes that art can exist in and of itself, divorced from information into 140 characters that illuminate our faces, the information stuck somewhere to be nothing. And in order to be nothing, you have to be somethe outside world, and still hold onto its relevance. Do you think in our optical nerves. thing that cannot be consumed, or exploited, or used. Architecture there is an architecture that can do that as well?

We provide you with a new format: a piece of paper, tabloid, duplex printed. Each issue without qualities can exist only when capitalism has disappeared. explores a new topic, through words and images. In a sense, we hope this new format will Because nothing can escape the alchemistic grip of capitalism. help you turn on, tune in, and drop out. Today, it is more important than ever to slow down, WAI: This is a really difficult question we always end up discussEverything can be turned into a commodity—under the current capipause, process, and think. And what better way to do this than receiving more content? ing—we just can’t quite get it to make total sense. There is a book Take a break, and sit down with us. talist system everything can be exchanged. If you want to think that

by Robert Musil titled The Man Without Qualities that explains the there’s a possibility of serving no purpose and not being exploited, This is INTER·MISSION. transition between the old system and the new, moving from the you really have to be nothing. Kazimir Malevich in his futile search end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Modernity. The subject, a INTER·PUNCT is a platform for ideas, theory and discourse sometimes about architecture.

Laziness as the truth of mankind , for nothingness wrote about it in Brought to you in part by CMU SoA’s lecture series, curated by Spike Wolff. Shout out to character named Ulrich likes to lose himself in the act of thinking. as he affirms that laziness should be “that towards what all huMary-Lou and Kai. He doesn’t want to be an engineer or be as useful as the rest of the manity should strive”, which later was affirmed by Mladen Stilinovic people. He doesn’t have qualities or characteristics (the true definiwww.interpunct.pub when he says in reference to Malevich and Marcel Duchamp that tion from the German is a bit hard to find in English) because the em

inter·prop with WAI think tank, Post-Novis

i·p: What is that particularity about architecture that creates a more restrictive framework?

novis t-

Tai Manheim Daniel Noh Michael Powell Mohammed Rahman Robert Rice Chitika Vasudeva Alex Wang Olivia Werner

interpunct.arch@gmail.com

inter·mission, Ecology

y

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Models: Melinda Santiago R

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Lunar Gala was originally created in 1997 to ring in the Chinese New Year, more generally referred to as the Lunar New Year. As a part of the celebration, it is customary to wear new clothes, which inspired our fashion show. Since its inception, Lunar Gala has transformed into a highly anticipated event that hundreds hope to be part of and thousands hope to come see.

Now, Lunar Gala is arguably one of the largest fashion events in Pittsburgh, having sold out nearly 1,100 seats each year with 150+ students involved in producing, designing, modeling and dancing in the show. Students across all majors and cultures create original and creative lines, infusing technology and complex materials with wearable fashion. This year, 16 design teams created nearly 140 looks that incorporated audio-sensing Intel chips, organically dyed fabrics, handmade fringe and much more reflecting culture, technology and reactions to current events in society.

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In recent years, Lunar Gala has been able to branch out into the greater Pittsburgh community and collaborate with local creatives.

Although Lunar Gala has developed into a much larger production, it stays true to its original intent. Every year, the theme of the show is centered around the Zodiac animal of the lunar calendar.

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Yesterday - This year’s production titled “Yesterday” was spearheaded by fifth-year Michael Powell alongside Ugnė Žiaušytė, a senior studying biology. Together, the pair oversaw 150+ members as they worked collaboratively with their cross-disciplinary team, local creative organizations, production companies and the University to craft the one-of-a-kind production put on by college students. While the clothing designs and dances are independently imagined and created by organization members, Powell and Žiaušytė worked with their teams to reestablish the organization’s 24-year-old brand, craft this year’s visual identity and produce the environment that consumed Wiegand Gymnasium.

Inspired by the Year of the Rat, “Yesterday” defines our current moment as a liminal space constantly in tension between the past and the future. Alongside our many members, we sought to craft a production that acknowledged our presence within the city of Pittsburgh and comment on its turbulent past and continued resiliency as an ever-evolving city. In the 1980s Pittsburgh experienced a dramatic transition out of its identity as an industrial city as it was forced to adapt, rebuild and rebrand.

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a Looney, Korey Henderson, Janet Lee, Bill Gao, Alyssa Song, Roa, Emmi Dolph, Mathew Zweibel, Jessica Timczyk, Sean Ji

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Michael Powell Vincent DeRienzo Emily Wein Ellen Zhu

V COATED (03, 09) Michael Powell, Designer Selena Zhen, Designer Douglas Gearheart, Model John Han, Model

V EFFERVESCENT (04, 11) Cotey Anderegg, Designer Christina Brown, Designer

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Scarlet Tong, Designer Wilford Liu, Model Melinda Looney, Model Ruoming Xin, Model

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V FLORA (06) Rachel Park, Designer Leah Ettensohn, Model

V LIFELINE (05) Xiaoying Meng, Designer Taylor Campbell, Model

V REPARTUS (08) Han Meng, Designer

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Jessica Timczyk, Model

V VEIL (01, 10) Vincent DeRienzo, Designer Leah Kendrick, Designer Esther Kim, Model Taylor Campbell, Model Helen Chang, Model

V QUINTA ESSENTIA (02, 07) Seyoung Choo, Designer Melinda Looney, Model

V PHOTOGRAPHERS David Domalik (All but 08)

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Meijie Hu (06, 07, 10, 11) Kevin Lorenzi (08) BEYOND THE STUDIO | 223

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The Beaux Arts Ball is an avant garde costume ball hosted by the students from the College of Fine Arts (CFA) that fosters a sense of community, collaboration and pride through the celebration of all artistic disciplines.

Once a yearly tradition founded by Henry Hornbostel, architect for Carnegie Mellon (known then as Carnegie Tech), founder of Carnegie Tech Department of Architecture, and later Dean of CFA, the Beaux Arts Ball has since been discontinued, with the last event being hosted in 2006. This year the Ball was set to return with Fantastical Delights and would have welcomed all students, faculty, staff and alumni of CMU.

Theme Cover

Hieronymus Bosch’s 1515 painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights.”

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The 2020 theme, Fantastical Delights, is based on Hieronymus Bosch’s 1515 painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights”. Originating from the Dutch Northern Renaissance period, the mysterious triptych alludes to Heaven, Hell and a garden of humankind’s dedication to worldly pleasures and sin.

The program was set to showcase the talents of artists across CFA and even locally within Pittsburgh — from immersive experimental art and sculpture to wondrous music and shows.

Beaux Arts Ball 2020: Fantastical Delights was to be hosted in the College of Fine Arts on April 25, 2020, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

All were welcomed to partake in this historic event.

Unfortunately, the Beaux Arts Ball was canceled in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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V COMMITTEE CHAIRS Emmi Dolph Selena Zhen Nana Cheon Youie Cho Liz Maday Sophia Masterson Alexander Chen Sam Locraft

V MEMBERS & STUDENT ARTISTS Holly Liu Connor McGaffin Charmaine Qiu Vishaka Nayak Joel Neely Proud Taranat Jenny Lee Jeena Yin Jessie Kusten Stephen Michaels Montana Thomas Bianca Sforza Matthew Komar Sunday Manisto-Saari Elle Norman Sara Frankel Aerin Kim Melinda Looney Yuri Lim Helen Reynolds Jenny Lee Sammie Kim Patricia Yu

Scrunchie Fundraiser BEYOND THE STUDIO | 225

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CAE

Center for Architecture Explorations Cultivating lifelong learning at the intersection of arts and technology.

The Center for Architecture Explorations (CAE) develops programs that serve unique kindergarten to professional architectural education paths.

The CAE builds on our school’s experience with youth education, university service learning projects, engagement with the architectural practice and academic research to explore ways we can support architectural education pedagogy and foster equity and diversity in building industry professions.

The mission of the CAE is: 1) to facilitate links between building industry organizations, K-12 educators and K-12 students, particularly in underserved neighborhoods; 2) 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 3) to conduct research into STEM and design pedagogy to develop innovative educational materials and curricula for an entire architecture education pathway.

The CAE oversees Pittsburgh’s Architecture Learning Network (ALN), a collaboration among more than 10 nonprofits in the region. The annual ALN Architecture Day featured speakers from the profession, hands-on activities for all ages, and work from CAE students and instructors. Throughout the year, CAE instructors lead K-12 Saturday Sequence workshops on a variety of topics, showcasing the work of the School of Architecture and sharing their passions with local students and their families.

Fall 2019 Saturday Sequence: Influential Architecture

Form and Color (K-2), Material Exploration (3-5), Site Sensitivity (6-8),Social Justice (9-12)

Spring 2020 Saturday Sequence: Changemakers

Biophilia (K-2), Landscapes in Time (3-5), Temporary/Temporal Architecture (6-8), Workshops on Architctural Topics (9-12)

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V DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH Jenna Wizzard Kappelt

V COORDINATORS Taylor Latimer Vincent DeRienzo

V INSTRUCTORS Alina Kramkova Aditi Dhabalia Anjali Kanodia Chitika Vasudeva Jasmine Lee Kevin Jiang Lydia Randall Meghan Pisarcik Nicole Kubas Shanice Lam

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228 | EX–CHANGE Top Lecture

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V CURATOR & DIRECTOR Spike Wolff

V FALL 2019 LECTURERS Kathryn Anthony Teddy Cruz Fonna Forman James Garrett Nathalie Frankowski Cruz Garcia Kathryn Gustafson Luis Vidal Rami el Samahy Chris Grimley Ray Gastil

V SPRING 2020 LECTURERS Philip Beesley Liz Ogbu Craig Dykers Paul Lewis Emmanuel Pratt Philip Yuan

SoA 2019-20 Lecture Series As the world, its technologies and our cultures are rapidly and progressively evolving, so is the practice of architecture. The interests, influences and investigations in current architectural practice are broad and unrestrained; there coexists both a rich tradition of the discipline and a provocation towards a future yet to be invented.

These series of lectures are strategically unstrategic and intentionally eclectic, reflecting the expansive diversity of the field. The lecture series provides both a measure of what is out there and a challenge to the divergent potentials of where architecture can go. https://soa.cmu.edu/lecture BEYOND THE STUDIO | 229

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Portugal Trip With Gerard Damiani’s Fall 2019 ASOS Trip to Portugal, visiting the cities of Lisbon, Belem, Cascais, Evora and Porto, with Mark Shapiro. Students were asked to observe and analyze housing and urban precedents. They visited buildings by Alvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Aires Mateus and more.

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X Name Default V ASOS STUDIO TRAVEL V PORTUGAL 2019 Gerard Damiani Mark Shapiro V NYC 2020 Hal Hayes

NYC Trip With Hal Hayes’ Spring 2020 ASOS See p. 114 Bottom three images taken by Daniel Noh BEYOND THE STUDIO | 231

SoA News 2019-2020 News N’at

Where We’ve Been

Awards & Honors

Alumni in the News

In Memoriam

News N’at This past year was full of milestones, as School of Architecture students, faculty and alumni continued to make a positive impact on the world around us.

08/21/2019

11/04/2019

PhD Candidate Flore Marion Co-Wrote First Annual Pittsburgh Municipal Building Benchmarking Report

CMU Selected Freedom by Design Home Weatherization Kit Project for Annual Crowdfunding Campaign

The first annual Pittsburgh Municipal Building Benchmarking Report, released in August 2019, was written

by PhD in Building Performance & Diagnostics (PhD-BPD) candidate Flore Marion and the Sustainability and Resilience Division of the Department of City Planning. The Benchmarking Report is part of Pittsburgh’s goal to eliminate water and energy waste. It was based on Marion’s dissertation, “The Impact of Benchmarking and Transparency Ordinances on Stakeholder Interactions and Building Energy Efficiency,” which evaluated the effectiveness of benchmarking legislation in Pittsburgh and other major cities throughout the United States.

08/21/2019

Vivian Loftness Appointed to Two National Boards for 2020 University Professor Vivian Loftness, FAIA, LEED AP, CPHC, was named to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Board by 2020 President Jane Frederick, and to the International Living Futures Institute (ILFI) Board

by CEO Amanda Sturgeon. Both organizations have made visionary commitments to addressing climate change through design innovation in the built environment. Loftness is an internationally renowned awardwinning researcher, author and educator focused on environmental design and sustainability, climate and regionalism in architecture and the integration of advanced building systems for health and productivity.

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Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) selected Freedom by Design’s (FBD) Home Weatherization Kits as one of 12 projects to be included in the annual CMU Crowdfunding Campaign. The campaign highlights student projects that contribute to the University’s innovative and entrepreneurial climate, enhance students’ professional development, create opportunities for hands-on learning and impact the local and global community. FBD, affiliated with the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), is a community service-based group of interdisciplinary students that focus on giving back to the Pittsburgh community through design-build projects. The comprehensive winter weatherization kits offer both the knowledge and materials (including for installation) needed to help local families save money on heating during the winter months so that they have more funds to allocate to other necessities. The students held a distribution event to hand out kits and hosted workshops to teach area residents how to install the products.

03/24/2020

04/01/2020

Vivian Loftness Appointed to the National Academies Committee for Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States

Vivian Loftness and Andrea Love Appointed to AIA 2020 COTE Top Ten Awards Jury

University Professor Vivian Loftness, FAIA, LEED AP, CPHC, was appointed to the National Academies Committee for Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States: Technology, Policy and Societal Dimensions. The twoyear committee is focused on the technologies and policies needed today for full decarbonization by 2050.

University Professor Vivian Loftness, FAIA, LEED AP, CPHC, and School of Architecture alumna Andrea Love, AIA, LEED Fellow (B.Arch ’02), Principal and Director of Building Science at Payette, were selected as two of six jury members for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2020 COTE® Top Ten Awards. The COTE® Top Ten Awards is the industry’s best-known award program for sustainable design excellence. Each year, 10 innovative projects are recognized for their integration of design excellence with environmental performance.

05/06/2020

04/01/2020

Student Christina Brown Contributes to Studio Informing $650 Million Plan to Redevelop Singapore’s Sungei Kadut Industrial Estate into an EcoDistrict

School of Architecture Ranked No. 11 in DesignIntelligence Survey

In spring 2019, Christina Brown (B.Arch ’20) participated in a study abroad studio course as a visiting student at the National University of Singapore.

The studio developed a master plan proposal for the redevelopment of Singapore’s Sungei Kadut industrial estate, a site equivalent to about 1% of Singapore’s total area, into an eco-district. Brown co-led the presentation of the final proposal to government officials from JTC Corporation (a statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry), the Singapore Food Authority (SFA) and the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The JTC Corporation based their $650 million development proposal on the studio’s work, which was exhibited at the URA. 05/06/2020

Omar Khan Appointed New Head of the School of Architecture Following a yearlong search, the School of Architecture (SoA) announced the appointment of Omar Khan as the next head of the SoA effective Aug 1, 2020. Khan joined the SoA from the Department of Architecture at the University at Buffalo (UB), State University of New York, where he previously served as department chair for seven years. Khan’s research and creative activities span architecture, installation/performance art and digital design and fabrication. At UB, he co-directed the Center for Architecture and Situated Technologies (CAST) and was an editor of the Situated Technologies Pamphlet Series. Through CAST, he worked on the legacy of cybernetics and, more recently, artificial intelligence as they apply to the area of responsive architecture. He also was a co-director of the Sustainable Manufacturing and Advanced Robotics Technology (SMART) Community of Excellence, where researchers across architecture, engineering, computing and management collaborate with industry to explore robotic technologies for manufacturing. Through SMART, he worked with Boston Valley Terra Cotta, the largest architectural terra cotta manufacturer in North America, on developing digital workflows in the manufacturing process. Since 2017, as part of his research with the company, he organized the annual Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop (ACAW) that invites architects and artists to develop innovative applications for terra cotta.

Khan received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University and a Master in Design and Computation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was a member of the Aesthetics and Computation Group at the MIT Media Lab. He is the co-principal, with Laura Garófalo, of Liminal Projects, an architectural research office, and partner with Jordan Geiger in Gekh, a design consultancy.

The School of Architecture’s (SoA) NAAB-accredited Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program achieved a ranking of No. 11 overall in the 2019–20 DesignIntelligence Ranking of Most Admired Architecture Schools, holding its spot from 2018–19.

The rankings, conducted annually by DesignIntelligence on behalf of the Design Futures Council, survey the design industry to compile rankings for architecture schools across the United States. In addition to the overall rankings, DesignIntelligence also ranks the strongest architecture programs in each of 12 focus areas.

For the second year in a row, the SoA’s B.Arch program placed top-10 in nine of 12 focus areas: No. 9 in Design Technologies No. 6 in Engineering Fundamentals No. 8 in Healthy Built Environments No. 7 in Interdisciplinary Studies No. 8 in Practice Management No. 9 in Project Planning and Management No. 8 in Research No. 5 in Sustainable Built Environments/Adaptive Design/ Resilient Design No. 5 in Transdisciplinary Collaboration Across A/E/C No. 12 overall in the focus area of Design Theory and Practice.

DesignIntelligence also compiled rankings for the most-hired-from architecture schools. For schools with 20-49 graduates, the SoA ranked No. 9 overall in most-hired-from architecture schools, up from No. 14 in 2018–19.

For the second year in a row, SoA Professor and Head Stephen Lee, AIA, LEED AP, was named one of the Most Admired Educators in Architecture. Lee most recently received the honor in 2018 and in 2015.

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News N’at 07/01/2020

06/09/2020

NOMAS Issued “Goals for Race and Inclusion” Call to Action

Art Installation at the Home of Matthew Plecity Brought Joy During Pandemic

In response to the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and injustices perpetrated on the Black American community, the Carnegie Mellon University student chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) issued its “Goals for Race and Inclusion” document accompanied by the following statement: “We, NOMAS and allying students of Carnegie Mellon University, call upon the Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture to not only take a stance on race and inclusion within the school, but to actively work on bettering the experience of our students and faculty. This shall be done by implementing the following goals, broken down into four categories: Pedagogy, Academia, Social Equity and Economic Justice. We are so grateful to all who have supported us as we have initiated this call to action. This is only the beginning and we look forward to continuing to work with the [SoA] to make these goals a reality.”

SoA Head Stephen Lee and Incoming Head Omar Khan each issued statements of solidarity on behalf of the school. Khan said, “As I take up my tenure as Head of School this academic year, I make a commitment to our students, alumni, faculty and staff that issues of social justice, inclusivity and diversity will continue to be a foundation for the School’s pedagogy and outlook.”

In the summer of 2020, the SoA community gathered for town hall meetings and formed committees of students, alumni, faculty and staff to move forward on the items identified in the NOMAS call to action.

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The family of adjunct faculty member Matthew Plecity made the news in a feature on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s website. His wife Natalie, a landscape architect, and their children transformed the front yard of their Squirrel Hill home into a public art installation using survey flagging tape. What began as a way to engage in a family activity during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders transformed into an engaging public art display that brought joy at a time when museums and galleries were closed to the public. Similar installations began popping up on neighboring streets, including at the home of School of Architecture professor Irving Oppenheim a few doors down.

05/14/2020

05/17/2020

M.Arch Program Received Initial Accreditation From NAAB

School of Architecture Hosted First-Ever Virtual Graduation Celebration

The School of Architecture’s (SoA) Master of Architecture (M.Arch) program was granted Initial Accreditation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The accreditation is effective Jan. 1, 2019, which means that past degrees awarded by the SoA, including the inaugural M.Arch graduating class of 2019, are considered accredited. The M.Arch degree program, reintroduced to the SoA in 2017, was granted Initial Candidacy in 2018. NAAB is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions within the United States. In the U.S., most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure.

The School of Architecture (SoA) hosted its first-ever virtual Graduation Celebration on May 17, 2020, as inperson events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The livestream event honored graduates and featured video messages of congratulations to the students from faculty and staff.

SoA Head Stephen Lee presented the opening and closing remarks, and Associate Head Mary-Lou Arscott presented the 2020 graduation award winners. The Undergraduate Student Speaker was Ghalya Alsanea (B.Arch ’20) and the Graduate Student Speaker was Leila Srinivasan (MSBPD ’20). That same day, Carnegie Mellon University hosted a Virtual Conferral of Degrees and gathered the community together to recognize the achievements of the Class of 2020.

Alumni in the News School of Architecture alumni work around the globe, in design firms and industry, government and startups, challenging their communities and the world toward more sustainable, beautiful, fascinating and meaningful built environments.

08/22/2019

11/14/2019

Alumnus Robert Zacharias Collaborates With Slowdanger to Create a Dance You Can Feel

Alumna Patricia Culley Named Pittsburgh Magazine 40 Under 40 Honoree

Multidisciplinary duo slowdanger. Photo: Audrey Gatewood

Robert Zacharias, a 2017 graduate of the Master of Tangible Interaction Design (MTID) program, collaborated with the local dance duo slowdanger to develop a multisensory dance experience that can be seen, heard and even felt.

Slowdanger’s Anna Thompson and Taylor Knight enlisted Zacharias to help turn their movements into vibrations. The performance, titled “Resonant Body,” debuted Aug. 22, 2019, in the Carnegie Museum of Art’s (CMoA) Heinz Galleries as part of the CMoA’s inaugural artist in residence program “Performers at Play.”

02/03/2020

Alumnus Tom Sterling of MODU Architecture Collaborates With Eric Forman Studio on “Heart Squared” Installation in Times Square Tom Sterling (B.Arch ’16), Architectural Designer at MODU Architecture, was a member of the project team that developed the installation “Heart Squared,” a cloud of steel and mirrors that interacts with viewers. The project, a collaboration between MODU and Eric Forman Studio, was the 2020 winner of New York City’s annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition.

03/04/2020

05/07/2020

Alumnus Gabriel Cuellar Awarded ACSA 2020 Course Development Prize

Alumnus David Eskenazi Wins 2020 Architectural League Prize

Gabriel Cuellar (B.Arch ’08) received a 2020 Course Development Prize in Architecture, Climate Change and Society presented by the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).

David Eskenazi (B.Arch ’09) won a 2020 Architectural League Prize from the Architectural League of New York. The prize recognizes exemplary and provocative work by young practitioners and is an annual competition, lecture series and exhibition organized by The Architectural League and its Young Architects + Designers Committee.

Patricia Culley, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP (B.Arch ’03) was named by Pittsburgh Magazine and PUMP to the 2019 class of 40 Under 40 Honorees for demonstrating creativity, vision and passion to enrich the Pittsburgh region.

Culley is a senior associate at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in Pittsburgh, where she works to advance sustainable design in the city. Honorees were recognized during the annual 40 Under 40 Celebration on Nov. 14, 2019.

01/27/2020

Alumnus Michael Baker Awarded 2020 Delbert Highlands Travel Fellowship Michael Baker (B.Arch ’05) was awarded the 2020 Delbert Highlands Travel Fellowship for his proposal “The Churches of Chiloé and the Jesuit Circular Mission.” The fellowship supports School of Architecture alumni in the study of collections belonging to locales to promote their professional development and contribute to the richness of our surroundings. Baker will explore how the Jesuit “Circular Mission” system impacted the siting and design of a series of wooden churches constructed throughout the Chiloé archipelago of Chile in the 17th century. The goal of this research is to share these buildings with a wider audience in order to aid in their preservation, create rich documentation of the buildings’ relationship to their physical and cultural context, and encourage a discussion about the nature of the local and the particular in an increasingly interconnected world.

BEYOND THE STUDIO | 235

Awards & Honors School of Architecture students and faculty brought home a number of prestigious awards and honors this year, a testament to the innovative spirit of the school community.

09/12/2019

10/18/2019

05/16/2020

Vivian Loftness Honored With Legacy Award During GBA’s 2019 Emerald Evening Gala

Community Forge Playscape Wins ULI Pittsburgh’s 2019 Placemaking Award for Community Place

PhD Candidate Jinmo Rhee Awarded Two Prizes at Architectural Design Conference Hosted

by Korea’s Architectural Institute

University Professor Vivian Loftness, FAIA, LEED AP, CPHC, received a Legacy Award from Pittsburgh’s Green Building Alliance (GBA) during the annual Emerald Evening Gala on Sept.

12, 2019. GBA honored five people and projects that have transformed communities across the region and demonstrated boldness of leadership and ingenuity of spirit.

09/25/2019

Dana Cupkova’s Practice EPIPHYTE Lab Received Honorable Mention in Architecture MasterPrize’s Firm of the Year Award Associate Professor Dana Cupkova’s design practice EPIPHYTE Lab received Honorable Mention in Architecture MasterPrize’s (AMP) 2019 Firm of the Year Award in the Interior Design / Residential Interior Design category.

The award recognizes architecture firms’ total body of work on the basis of Design Excellence, Innovation and Contribution, and Expertise.

The School of Architecture is proud to announce that “Acupuncture for Community Forge” playscape is ULI Pittsburgh’s 2019 Placemaking Award Winner in the category of Community Places. The winner was announced at the Seventh Annual Placemaking Awards for Excellence ceremony hosted by the Urban Land Institute on Oct. 18, 2019. Jackie Cameron from Community Forge, Associate Professor Stefan Gruber and student representative Mounica Guturu accepted the award on behalf of the studio team.

04/01/2020

Gerard Damiani and Andrew Moss Win Pittsburgh Magazine Best of Design Awards

Studio d’ARC transformed a separate kitchen and formal dining room into a spacious, Scandinavian-inspired space. Photo by Ed Massery.

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The respective firms of Associate Professor Gerard Damiani and adjunct Andrew Moss won awards in Pittsburgh Magazine’s 2020 Best of Design awards program. The annual program showcases the best examples of innovative or creative design and construction in the Pittsburgh region. Damiani’s firm Studio d’ARC received the award for Best Renovated Kitchen for a project in Fox Chapel that transformed a kitchen and formal dining room into a spacious Scandinavian-inspired space. Moss’ mossArchitects won the award for Best Room by taking advantage of sloping topography to design a two-story great room with a stunning view.

PhD in Computational Design (PhDCD) candidate Jinmo Rhee (MSCD ’19) was awarded two prizes at the 2019 Architectural Design Conference hosted by Korea’s Architectural Institute. Rhee’s MSCD thesis, “Context-rich Urban Analysis and Generation Using Artificial Intelligence: A Case Study in Pittsburgh, PA,” was selected for the “Korean Student in the United States Special Exhibition 2019.”

With a focus on Pittsburgh’s urban fabric, Rhee’s MSCD thesis explored how computational methods may enable a new approach to analyzing a city’s morphology. Additionally, Rhee’s research, “A Study of Automation of Housing Design Method Using Artificial Intelligence: Optimal Space Exploration With Genetic Algorithm Based on Building Codes,” won the conference’s Best Paper Prize.

05/16/2020

PhD Candidate Jinmo Rhee Receives Young CAADRIA Award 2020 PhD in Computational Design (PhDCD) candidate Jinmo Rhee (MSCD ’19) received the 2020 Young CAADRIA Award from the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) for his promising research exploring artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques in architecture.

He presented his paper during the 25th International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia, held as a virtual conference from Aug. 5 to 8, 2020. His paper “The Potential of Learning-Based Systems in Space Planning: A Sample Experiment of Building Footprint Prediction by Deep Learning,” was co-authored with Pedro Veloso (PhD-CD ’20) and School of Architecture Professor Ramesh Krishnamurti.

02/05/2020

Jeremy Ficca and Stefan Gruber Awarded ACSA 2020 Architectural Education Awards

11/14/2019

12/30/2019

School of Architecture Faculty, Students and Alumnus Recognized at 2019 AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Awards

Student Selena Zhen and Professor John Folan Recognized at 2019 AIAS Honor Awards

School of Architecture (SoA) faculty, students and an alumnus were recognized during the annual AIA Pennsylvania (AIA PA) Architectural Excellence Awards on Nov. 14, 2019. The awards honor firms and individuals from across Pennsylvania for excellence in design, contributions to the profession of architecture and commitment to the quality of the built environment.

Associate Professor Gerard Damiani and his firm studio d’ARC architects received an Honor Award for the South Side Courtyard House Pool Pavilion and Landscape.

The SoA’s Urban Design Build Studio (UDBS) won a Bronze Award for the HOME INCUBATOR project and an Honor Award for the SECOND COURSE: Millvale Moose project.

SoA student Selena Zhen (B.Arch ’20) received an AIA PA Student Award.

AIA PA also awarded SoA alumnus Sylvester Damianos, FAIA, from the class of 1956 with the Medal of Distinction, the highest award bestowed upon a living AIA PA member.

The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) announced the winners of the AIAS Honor Awards during the annual FORUM event hosted in Toronto on Dec. 30, 2019.

The awards program was developed to publicly recognize outstanding achievements by students, educators and practitioners who demonstrated exemplary work in areas such as leadership, collaboration, scholarship and service. School of Architecture student Selena Zhen (B.Arch ’20) received the Special Accomplishment Honor Award and former faculty member John Folan received the Educator Honor Award.

Associate Professors Jeremy Ficca and Stefan Gruber received 2020 Architectural Education Awards presented by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Each year, ACSA honors architectural educators for inspiring and challenging students, contributing to the profession’s knowledge base and extending their work beyond the borders of the academy into practice and the public sector. Ficca was recognized in the Creative Achievement category for his course Fabricating Customization, which received support from Centria and provided an interdisciplinary group of students with the opportunity to conduct hands-on research into novel methods of freeform metal fabrication. Gruber was recognized in the Collaborative Practice category for the project Urban Acupuncture for Community Forge, a citizenled initiative that is transforming a former vacant school in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, into a community center.

05/13/2020

Student Ghalya Alsanea Receives 2020 Carnegie Mellon Women’s Association Award Ghalya Alsanea (B.Arch ’20) received a $1,500 scholarship as one of seven 2020 CMWA Awards recipients. The Carnegie Mellon Women’s Association (CMWA) award program recognized trailblazers and pioneers in CMU’s Class of 2020 from each of the university’s seven schools and colleges. CMWA recognizes graduating students who have excelled in the classroom and demonstrated a commitment to the advancement of women in their academic pursuits.

05/01/2020

School of Architecture Announces Winners of 2020 SoA Awards Program The School of Architecture announced the winners of the 2020 SoA Awards Program on May 1, 2020. Since the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the conferral of awards during an in-person ceremony, each winner received a phone call from the awards committee to personally congratulate them ahead of the public announcement. The winning students were also recognized in a video feature on the SoA website in July 2020. The 2020 Award Committee chairs were Associate Professors Stefan Gruber and Joshua Bard.

See the winners on our website at: soa.cmu.edu/awards BEYOND THE STUDIO | 237

Where We’ve Been School of Architecture students, faculty and alumni hit the road this year to present their research and projects to the global design community.

10/03/2019

09/17/2019

Don Carter Featured in WQED House-Flipping Special

Jeremy Ficca Co-Curated “Drawing Attention” Exhibition at Roca London Gallery

Don Carter, School of Architecture faculty member and Senior Research Fellow at the Remaking Cities Institute, was featured in a special on Pittsburgh public television station WQED on Oct. 3, 2019. The program, titled “The Pittsburgh Flip,” showcased the work of house flippers in Pittsburgh.

10/03/2019

Vivian Loftness Spoke at Eighth VELUX Daylight Symposium in Paris University Professor Vivian Loftness, FAIA, LEED AP, CPHC, spoke at the Eighth VELUX Daylight Symposium in Paris, which took place from Oct. 9 to 10, 2019. Loftness’ talk outlined how environmental surfing for health and productivity can promote a more resilient future. The theme of the symposium was “Exploring The Role of Daylight in Architecture: Designing With Nature in Mind, Shaping Buildings That Make People Thrive.”

The goal of the event is to create stronger synergies across the building value chain in order to accelerate best practices towards making healthier buildings.

Detail from Shimmer House by Adam Dayem

Associate Professor Jeremy Ficca co-curated the exhibition “Drawing Attention: The Digital Culture of Contemporary Architectural Drawings” at the Roca London Gallery in coordination with Amy Kulper from the Rhode Island School of Design and Grace La from Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

The exhibition, which opened Sept. 17, 2019, examined the state of contemporary architectural drawing in the “postdigital era.” The event was subsequently reviewed by The Architect’s Newspaper and the RIBA Journal.

09/19/2019

Designing for a Commons Transition Symposium Accompanies International Premier of An Atlas of Commoning Exhibition at Miller ICA

10/31/2019

Don Carter Spoke in Germany About Latest Book Remaking Post-Industrial Cities: Lessons From North America and Europe Don Carter, School of Architecture faculty member and Senior Research Fellow at the Remaking Cities Institute, gave two talks in Germany in October 2019 about his latest book Remaking Post-Industrial Cities: Lessons from North America and Europe. He delivered a keynote address at the Gambrinus Forum in Dortmund on Oct. 28, 2019, and spoke at the Technical University of Berlin on Oct. 31, 2019.

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Atlas of Commoning exhibit at Miller ICA. Photo by Smokey H. Dyar.

The three-day symposium “Designing for a Commons Transition” took place from Sept. 19 to 21, 2019 at the Miller Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) at Carnegie Mellon University. The symposium, the first of its kind in the United States, brought together diverse perspectives exploring the role and responsibility of architecture and urban design in the struggle for more pluralistic, radically democratic and just cities. The event accompanied the international premier of the exhibition “An Atlas of Commoning” curated by Associate Professor Stefan Gruber together with German architecture journal ARCH+ and ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen). The event was made possible through the generous support of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry and the Sylvia and David Steiner Lecture Series.

10/30/2019

10/20/2019

Daniel Cardoso Llach Announced as Lead Curator of “Vers une imaginaire numérique” Exhibition in Montreal

Erica Cochran Hameen Helped to Make 47th Annual NOMA National Convention in Brooklyn a Success

Associate Professor Daniel Cardoso Llach was announced as the lead curator of “Vers une imaginaire numérique,” an exhibition examining the nexus of architecture, design and computation in North America.

The show took place in the Centre de design de l’UQAM in Montreal from Jan. 21 to Feb. 28, 2021, and was supported by a prestigious $50,000 CAD Connection Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The exhibition specifically addressed the Montreal context by showcasing Canadian expressions of architectural and design computing and new interactive software reconstructions of early CAD software systems developed by students at Carnegie Mellon University and McGill University.

Assistant Professor and School of Architecture alumna Erica Cochran Hameen, PhD, co-chaired the 47th annual National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Conference and Exposition, the premier assembly of minority design professionals in the country. Held in Brooklyn from Oct. 16 to 20, 2019, the conference had the largest attendance in NOMA history, bringing together 1,300 building industry thought leaders, future architects and luminous designers. At the event, Cochran was awarded the Presidential Leadership Award in recognition of her dedication and leadership in architecture-related social justice work.

11/01/2019

Faculty and Alumni Participated in SAY IT LOUD Pennsylvania Exhibition

Among the conference participants were eight students from Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) NOMA student chapter (NOMAS), who presented their work in the 2019 Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition. The CMU NOMAS chapter was formed in 2014 to foster communication, cooperation, solidarity and fellowship among minority students in the School of Architecture at CMU. Cochran serves as the chapter’s faculty advisor.

11/04/2019

Assistant Professor and School of Architecture alumna Erica Cochran Hameen, PhD, and adjunct faculty member Bill Bates, FAIA, together with alumni Ernest Bellamy (MUD ’18), Chase Kea (MUD ’19) and nine UDream Alumni, participated in the event SAY IT LOUD Pennsylvania on Nov. 1, 2019. The exhibition, titled “Representation Matters: Changing the Face of Architecture,” featured projects by diverse design professionals from Pennsylvania, as well as quotes and video interviews about their experiences in the architecture and design professions. SAY IT LOUD is the activation of an international movement of sharing, protecting and celebrating the journey of the underrepresented to inspire the next generation.

SAY IT LOUD engages diverse audiences through programming organized at the time of the exhibition to elevate the identities and contributions of minority architects and designers with curated lectures and documentaries that testify to the provided value of their built work and its spatial impact. The SAY IT LOUD exhibit in Pittsburgh was presented by the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Pittsburgh and Beyond the Built Environment.

Daniel Cardoso Llach Lectured at the University of Michigan Associate Professor Daniel Cardoso Llach lectured at the Fall 2019 Science, Technology and Society (STS) Speaker Series at the University of Michigan’s STS Department on Nov. 4, 2019.

The event was co-hosted by the Department of Architecture. Cardoso Llach discussed ways to put sociotechnical perspectives at the center of computational design research and learning.

BEYOND THE STUDIO | 239

Where We’ve Been 11/06/2019

11/05/2019

Erica Cochran Hameen Presented at Biophilia: Pittsburgh

Stefan Gruber and Christine Mondor Presented at 10th Anniversary of the EcoDistricts Summit in Pittsburgh

Assistant Professor and School of Architecture alumna Erica Cochran Hameen, PhD, presented at Biophilia: Pittsburgh on the topic of “Dynamic and Responsive Systems to Promote Thermal Comfort” on Nov. 6, 2019.

The talk discussed building design solutions and new technical advancements that provide individual thermal comfort, as well as the health and productivity benefits of thermal comfort and connection with nature.

Associate Professor Stefan Gruber and Christine Mondor, adjunct and strategic principal of evolveEA, spoke at the 10th Anniversary of the EcoDistricts Summit in Pittsburgh Nov. 4–5, 2019. Mondor’s firm evolveEA has done extensive work with EcoDistricts in the Pittsburgh region, including in the Borough of Etna, which was named the world’s first certified EcoDistrict during the event. Ray Gastil, director of the Remaking Cities Institute, was the special guest during the summit’s opening reception.

11/15/2020

Sarah Rafson Presented at Transformations: Action on Equity at the University of Melbourne in Australia

11/21/2019 11/15/2019

Adjunct Professor Sarah Rafson presented at “Transformations : Action on Equity” at the University of Melbourne in Australia on Nov 15, 2019. The symposium featured two days of exchange on gender equity and the built environment professions.

Rafson participated in the session “Challenging the Canon – Rewriting History” and shared her work from the “Now What?!” exhibition and ArchiteXX.

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Ray Gastil Featured on Podcast “A is for Anthropocene” Ray Gastil, director of the Remaking Cities Institute, spoke on the podcast “A is for Anthropocene” in “Episode 4: A New Hope?” He discussed sustainable cities and species that are no longer extinct. The podcast, produced by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, discusses topics including cities, the future, the region and research work being done at Carnegie Mellon University and the City of Pittsburgh.

Doug Cooper Released Latest Book “Knowing and Seeing: Reflections on Fifty Years of Drawing Cities” at Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Event Doug Cooper, Andrew Mellon professor of architecture, presented his latest book “Knowing and Seeing: Reflections on Fifty Years of Drawing Cities” as part of a Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures event Nov. 21, 2019. In “Knowing and Seeing,” Cooper reflects on his long career as a muralist in various cities around the world. Part memoir and part examination of his art, the book features personal essays and more than 240 color images, including illustrations of Cooper’s unique work.

11/07/2019

11/21/2019

2019 wats:ON? Festival NOW. Took on the Spirit of Activism

Kristen Kurland Delivered GIS Keynotes in Harrisburg and Kigali, Rwanda Teaching Professor Kristen Kurland delivered a keynote talk on her GIS work Nov. 13, 2019, at the Central Pennsylvania GIS Day Conference in Harrisburg. On Nov. 21, 2019, Kurland delivered a talk at Africa GIS 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda about her 3-D work with the Remaking Cities Institute and her Health GIS work.

11/21/2019

The 2019 wats:ON? Festival NOW., which took place Nov. 7–9, 2019, took on the spirit of activism with artists and work tapping into the zeitgeist of the current climate to redirect culture. The festival was organized by School of Architecture special faculty Spike Wolff, artistic and executive Director of the wats:ON? Festival and curator and administrative Director of the school’s Lecture Series.

In the fall 2019 semester, the wats:ON? Festival offered a companion course for students to work directly with festival artists Jasiri X and Blak Rapp M.A.D.U.S.A. Students collaborated with the artists to produce a music video for the artists’ song “Speak No Evil,” which premiered at the festival’s opening night. The wats:ON? course allowed students to work across artistic disciplines — behind and in front of the camera. The festival also featured: an artist talk and music performance from Jasiri X; the sound and light performance “Book of Light” on the facade of the College of Fine Arts (CFA) building, the sound installation “Anyanwu” in the CFA Great Hall and an artists talk by Mendi and Keith Obadike; the onewomxn play “Memoirs of an Artivist” by Blak Rapp M.A.D.U.S.A.; and music performances by Jasiri X, Blak Rapp M.A.D.U.S.A. and artists from 1Hood Media.

The festival’s artists used light, music, sound, architecture, art, spoken word and performance to evoke deep social and political questions.

Inaugurated in 1997, the wats:ON? Festival aimed to celebrate the arts, architecture and design in honor of the late Jill Watson, a professor in the School of Architecture who was pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree when she perished in the crash of TWA Flight 800 in July 1996. The wats:ON? Festival was made possible through the love, generosity and support of Jill’s family.

11/21/2019

Stefan Gruber Presented “Commoning the City — Notes From Assembling an Atlas” at the Graham Foundation

The travelling ifa-exhibition “An Atlas of Commoning” on display at the Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethaninen in Berlin.

Photo: © Sebastian Schels

Associate Professor Stefan Gruber presented “Commoning the City — Notes From assembling an Atlas” at the Graham Foundation in Chicago on Nov. 21, 2019. The talk took place in conjunction with the exhibition “Unraveling Modern Living” by Tatiana Bilbao Estudio, for which Gruber provided a library on the commons.

Don Carter Spoke at Transportation Engineering and Safety Conference at Penn State University Don Carter, School of Architecture faculty member and senior research fellow at the Remaking Cities Institute, presented his talk “Smart Cities & The Built Environment” at the Transportation Engineering and Safety Conference (TESC) at Penn State University on Dec. 11, 2019. Celebrating 25 years in 2019, this annual gathering of professionals from throughout Pennsylvania, the mid-Atlantic region and the country delivers authoritative information on pressing issues from some of the foremost experts in transportation today.

11/21/2019

Dana Cupkova Spoke at the Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning in Prague Associate Professor Dana Cupkova spoke Jan. 27, 2020 at the Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP) in Prague. Cupkova’s talk focused on new models for integrating teaching, research and practice, and was part of the discussion series “Expati” with Adam Gebrian. The event was organized in collaboration with school of architecture ARCHIP, the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, and the Atelier of Imro Vasko.

BEYOND THE STUDIO | 241

Where We’ve Been 11/27/2019

02/20/2020

Student Monica Toren Competed on Winning Team at the Ryerson Invitational Thrill Design Competition at Universal Studios

Daniel Cardoso Llach Spoke at CMU Department of History on the Experimental Archaeology of CAD Project

CMU’s team at the Ryerson Invitational Thrill Design Competition at Universal Studios. From left are Monica Toren, James Blitz, Nidhi Ramanathan, Conor Triplett and Carolyn Youstra.

Monica Toren (B.Arch ’19) was part of Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) winning team at the Ryerson Invitational Thrill Design Competition at Universal Studios.

The four-day competition, which took place in mid-November 2019, tasked 120 students from 16 invited universities with tackling design challenges at the amusement park.

CMU’s interdisciplinary team, which included undergraduate and graduate students, won an overall team award for Engineering Design Challenges as well as awards for Accommodation Design, Safety and User Experience. In their first outing at the competition, the CMU team wowed judges with a creative approach to adapting an existing amusement park ride.

Following the completion of her B.Arch degree in December 2019, Toren began a hotel design internship with Disney World’s Facility Asset Management Team in Florida.

02/25/2020

Ray Gastil Presented “Health By Design: Challenges for Urban Transformation” at Georgetown University 02/28/2020

Ray Gastil Spoke at The Climate of Urban Design Symposium at UT Austin School of Architecture 242 | EX–CHANGE

Associate Professor Daniel Cardoso Llach presented progress on the “Experimental Archaeology of CAD Project” on Feb. 20, 2020, to students and faculty in the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Department of History. The project examines the development of computer-aided design (CAD) systems through a combination of historical, ethnographic and creative technology prototyping methods. The project was developed in parallel with Cardoso Llach’s seminar 48-749 Experimental Archaeology of CAD. The project team included PhD in Computational Design (PhD-CD) candidates Emek Erdolu and Jinmo Rhee (MSCD ’19), as well as Erik Ulberg (MSCD ’20) and CMU fellow in software curation Zachary Furste. The project’s outputs will be showcased in forthcoming exhibitions in Montreal, Berlin and Los Angeles.

05/16/2020

Stephen Lee Hosted “Get Baked With Slee: A Bread Baking Masterclass” School of Architecture Head Stephen Lee has been ahead of the curve in research, design and bread-making trends. While many have just started on their bread-making journey during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, Lee has been innovating for years. He invited attendees to tune in live to his kitchen May 16, 2020, to see the master at work on that day’s work of art: sourdough.

04/30/2020

04/01/2020

Francesca Torello Presented at First Virtual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians

Dana Cupkova Presented at USC School of Architecture Virtual Lecture Series event “Technology is the answer ... but what was the question?”

Professor Francesca Torello presented her paper “Experiencing Architecture: Augmented Reality From the Museum to the Classroom” during the “Digital Pedagogies for Architectural History” session at the first virtual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians on Apr. 30, 2020. The session examined the long-term consequences of the use of digital technologies in museums and architectural exhibitions and their impact on the teaching of architectural history.

05/25/2020

Dana Cupkova Invited to Serve as a Scientific Chair for Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design

In Memoriam 07/28/2020

Daniel Cardoso Llach Co-Edits Other Computations: Digital Technologies for Architecture from the Global South

The School of Architecture mourns the passing of the following members of our community this year.

09/20/2019

In Memory of Raymond J. Sinagra The School of Architecture (SoA) mourns the passing of architect Raymond J. Sinagra, AIA, on Sept. 20, 2019, at the age of 56. Ray graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in 1988 and a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) in 1994. He was a principal at Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc., served on the board of AIA Pittsburgh and was a former SoA faculty member.

03/13/2020

In Memory of Ömer Akin

Associate Professor Daniel Cardoso Llach co-edited a new special issue of the architecture journal Dearq that explores computational design practices in architecture outside of the “global North.” The issue, titled “Other Computations,” aims at expanding the geographical and analytical scopes of architectural scholarship on the digital. The printed version of the journal, available in the fall, will be accompanied by a virtual symposium featuring a series of conversations between the authors, editors and special guests.

The School of Architecture (SoA) mourns the passing of professor Ömer Akin, PhD, AIA, ACSA , on March 13, 2020. Akin joined the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in 1977 and earned his PhD in 1979 from the Department of Architecture, now SoA. During his time with the school, he taught design studios and graduate courses, advised graduate students and lectured both nationally and internationally. Akin developed the SoA’s Architecture–Engineering– Construction Management (AECM) Master’s and PhD degree programs, as well as the Doctor of Professional Practice (DPP), now the Doctor of Design (DDes) degree program. With William Mitchell, he co-authored the professional Master of Architecture degree program and taught in it from 1980 to 1985. He also served in many administrative positions, including as head of the Department of Architecture from 1981 to 1987. Akin was named professor emeritus in 2017.

SoA Head Stephen Lee reflected with admiration on Akin’s legacy at the school.

“This loss is especially personal for me, as the first assignment of my academic career was teaching first year studio with Ömer,” Lee said. “This interaction had a lasting and profound impact on my attitude towards the studio and classroom.

Over the years we went on to become good friends, and through him I learned the importance of teaching how we design, not just what we design. Upon becoming head of the school in 2008, I relied upon Ömer for leadership in the AECM program and for the creation of the DDes program. He had a positive and lasting impact on the SoA community — by my count there are over 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students that had him as teacher, mentor and/or agent provocateur.”

The SoA extends our sincerest gratitude and thanks to Akin for his many decades of service and dedication to the school.

BEYOND THE STUDIO | 243

CFA ceiling

MM rotunda

MM 203 table

CFA great hall walls

CFA entrance

MM studio floor

spraybooth

wall

CFA 214 projector

MM studio ceiling

broken plotter

statue in CFA great hall

MM water fountain

MM rotunda

CFA studio

Zebra Lounge

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base of CFA

Joel’s table

homasote 4x8’ pin up boards

paper

MM studio desk

ink on paper

someone’s desk

newsprint

metal 8x8’ pin up board

Rachel’s sketchbook

ground outside CFA

spinning wood bench

Miro board

CFA lawn

Rhino 6

EX-CHANGE squad

Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture