“Approaching Architecture: Three Fields, One Discipline” by Miguel Guitart MArch ’03 published by Routledge
Miguel Guitart MArch ’03 has edited the book “Approaching Architecture: Three Fields, One Discipline” (Routledge/Taylor&Francis, 2023). The book explores the necessary and relevant overlaps and connections between three major fields of the architectural discipline – research, pedagogy, and professional practice. In so doing, this important text works as a collective reflection around the problematics of professional fragmentation existing between the learning and teaching of architecture and its impact in the built environment of our cities. The book sustains that the most comprehensive approach to the discipline is through the simultaneous exercise of the three field areas.
The book is particularly timely and generous in its cultural and geographic scope, and takes on the mission to represent a large group of academics, pedagogues, and practitioners from almost all continents – Antarctica is not represented. The United States, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, South Africa, China, Japan, are all represented in the 18 carefully edited contributions. They manifest a shared common ground: that of the critical interaction between the three fields in the everyday exercise of the profession, inside the classroom and out. With an introduction by former Cooper Union’s Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture Dean Nader Tehrani, the book is endorsed by prestigious scholars including Marc J. Neveu (Arizona State University), Beatriz Colomina (Princeton University), Ozayr Saloojee (Carleton University), and Alberto Campo Baeza (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid).
Follow Miguel Guitart on Instagram: @miguel.guitart
posted November, 2023
Seven GSD Alumni Elevated to AIA Fellows 2022
Nine GSD alumni and faculty have been elevated by the 2022 Jury of Fellows from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to its prestigious College of Fellows. The honor recognizes architects who have “achieved a standard of excellence in the profession and made a significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.”
The GSD congratulates:
- Prof. Ricardo A. Alvarez-Diaz AMDP ’20
- Mr. Hans-Ekkehard Butzer MArch ’99
- Kenneth Harold Luker MArch ’96
- Prof. Kiel K. Moe MDes ’03
- Mr. Anthony C. Poon MArch ’92
- Mr. Steven Rajninger MArch ’92
- Mr. Mark P. Schendel MArch ’89
The GSD also recognizes Associate Professor of Architecture Faculty member Mr. Eric Howeler was also selected as a fellow this year.
For the full list of 2022 Fellows, visit the AIA website.
posted April, 2022
Miguel Guitart MArch ’03 publishes book with Routledge
Miguel Guitart MArch ’03 has published the book ‘Behind Architectural Filters: Phenomena of Interference’ (New York/London: Routledge, 2022). The book explores the active role of architectural filters in generating physically and sensory charged spatial experiences. The book addresses how the material and the psychological strategies of permeable physical boundaries determine our perceptual experiences of the spaces we occupy.
Follow Miguel Guitart on Instagram: @miguel.guitart
posted March, 2022
Virtual Symposium Co-Organized by Katie MacDonald MArch ’16 Hosts Presentations from GSD Alumni
Projecting Fellows, a symposium which brings together fellows from American architecture schools to explore the emergent interests of a new generation of architects and academics, launches on Tuesday, January 5, 2021. Co-organized by Katie MacDonald MArch ‘16, the free, virtual, five-evening series ran on Tuesday evenings from January 5 to February 2, 2021 and included presentations by Zannah Matson MLA ‘15, Eduardo Mediero MArch ‘19, and Zahra Safaverdi MArch ’17. The events roster of moderators includes Sekou Cooke MArch ’14 and Felipe Correa MAUD ’03.
Videos of all of the symposium events can be viewed for free on demand from the Projecting Fellows website.
posted February, 2021
Derek Ham MArch ’03 Appointed as Head of Art and Design at North Carolina State University College of Design
As of May 2020, Derek Ham MArch ’03, PhD has been appointed as the Head of the Department of Art + Design at North Carolina State University’s College of Design.
In an article announcing the appointment, dean of the college Michael Hoversten said, “I am thrilled to announce that Derek Ham has been chosen as our next Art + Design Department Head. Derek’s background and approach to multi- and inter-disciplinary work makes him a strong candidate in an already competitive candidate pool. I am excited to see the direction he brings to the Art + Design program moving forward.”
In addition to his appointment, Derek has also been selected as a 2020 University Fauculty Scholar and serves as the principal investigator of the MX Reality Lab.
A full press release on Derek’s appointment is available on the NCU College of Design website.
posted September, 2020
Luciana Burdi DDes ’03 Receives BSA’s 2019 AIA Women in Design Award of Excellence
The Boston Society of Architects’ AIA Women In Design Awards Committee is pleased to announce the 2019 recipients of the Women in Design Award of Excellence: Luciana Burdi Intl. Assoc. AIA, CCM DDes ’03, Gina Ford FASLA, and Emily Grandstaff-Rice FAIA.
Luciana is an architect and planner with almost 20 years of experience working and managing design and construction projects. She is currently Deputy Director for Capital Programs and Environmental Affairs Massachusetts Port Authority In her role, Dr. Burdi is leading the shift of Capital Programs towards a more innovative, progressive, BIM and design technology-driven department. In addition Dr. Burdi co-chairs the BSA (Boston Society of Architects) BIM Roundtable and is one of the founding members of the Lean Construction Institute New England Community of Practice as well as part of the Leadership Committee for the AIA TAP (Technology in Architectural Practice). She is an active member of the NASFA (National Association of State Facilities Administrators), CURT (Construction Users Roundtable) and AGC of America.
The Women In Design award is presented in recognition of a person who has built one’s own life around design, whose work exemplifies the best of process and product, and who uses a position of achievement to give back to the world of design and to the community at large.
posted October, 2019
Flavio Sciaraffia MLA ’15, Sourav Kumar Biswas MLA ’16, Thomas Niderost MLA ’16, and Hannes Zander MLA ’15 Co-Edit “From the South: Global Perspectives on Landscape and Territory”
Four GSD graduates—Flavio Sciaraffia MLA ’15, Sourav Kumar Biswas MLA ’16, Thomas Niderost MLA ’16, and Hannes Zander MLA ’15—have co-edited the book From the South: Global Perspectives on Landscape and Territory, published by the Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD), Santiago in March. The volume of 18 essays includes a foreword from Pablo Allard MAUD ’99, DDes ’03, and features the writing of young practitioners and academics (many of whom are GSD alums) based in eight different nations and five continents. Their essays offer a diversity of perspectives on contemporary models of landscape planning, management, and design across scales
The book came about as part of the team’s effort to form a multi-disciplinary group called the International Landscape Collaborative. It began as a group of planners and designers at the GSD interested in developing a landscape approach to tackle socio-ecological issues at multiple scale. Rather than viewing the landscape through the lens of a singular discipline, the book promotes an interdisciplinary approach that uses the landscape as a medium to understand and create urban form, infrastructures, and territorial systems. Since its online release, the publication has been read in more than 100 countries.
Read the publication online.
posted June, 2019
Dr. Lauren Alexander Augustine PhD ’03 Named Executive Director of National Academies’ Gulf Research Program
Dr. Lauren Alexander Augustine PhD ’03 has been appointed to lead the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program. The $500 million Program—established in 2013 as part of the settlement against two companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill—works to enhance the safety, human health, and environmental resources of offshore systems in the Gulf of Mexico region. As executive director of the Program, Augustine will oversee management of its funds, which are set to continue until 2043.
“I look forward to building on the foundation of this program’s first five years and continuing its evolution into a flagship program that benefits the people of the Gulf,” said Augustine in a press release. “The region faces challenges that are wide-ranging, complex, and dynamic. This program provides an extraordinary opportunity for science to address these challenges in direct and collaborative ways.”
Augustine previously served as director of the National Academies’ Resilient America Program. She received her Harvard PhD in an interdisciplinary program that combined hydrology, geomorphology, and ecology.
Image courtesy of the National Academies.
posted January, 2019
GSD Alumni Involved in Resilent Home Challenge: Jaya Kader MArch ’88; Sameh Wahba MUP ’97, PhD ’02, KSGEE ’13; Ivan Shumkov MArch ’08; and Pablo Allard MAUD ’99, DDes ’03.
Over 23 million people lost their homes to natural disasters in the past 10 years. On December 14, the international Resilient Homes Design Challenge, a project organized by the World Bank, Build Academy, Airbnb, GFDRR and UN-Habitat, successfully concluded. Over 3,000 professionals from over 120 countries participated in the Challenge, resulting in over 300 team submissions. A jury of international experts selected three winning designs for each of the three scenarios.
Winning designs will be published and winners will be invited to exhibit at the World Bank, and flown into Washington DC, and other selected global venues. Winning designs could also eventually inform resilient housing or reconstruction work for World Bank-funded projects in places like the Caribbean, South and East Asia, etc. View the list of winners here and the press release here.
Several GSD alumni were involved with the Challenge. Head of Jury was GSD Alumni Council member Sameh Wahba MUP ’97, PhD ’02, KSGEE ’13, who serves as the Director for Urban Territorial Development and Disaster Risk Management for The World Bank Group. Pablo Allard MAUD ’99, DDes ’03, the Robert F. Kennedy Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies at the GSD, was also a member of the Jury. Additionally, Ivan Shumkov MArch ’08 is CEO and Founder of Build Academy.
GSD Alumni Council member Jaya Kader MArch ’88, founder and principal of KZ architecture, and her team at KZ architecture were named a winner. The proposed dwelling by KZ architecture is fabricated in its majority out of bamboo, a low cost, highly sustainable and renewable building material, widely available worldwide, lightweight, durable, flexible, easily cultivated and harvested. Its quick growth and easy handling make it an ideal material for beautiful low-cost housing. The criteria for selection included pragmatic designs that suited the local cultural context and whose construction process would use local materials and enable local employment rather than requiring significant external expertise and materials. Resilience and cost-effectiveness aside, sustainability, simplicity, cultural adequacy, and the creation of a sense of ownership through community involvement were accordingly major considerations and a common theme in the final selection process.
posted January, 2019
Alumni Honored by Exhibit Columbus with Research Fellowships, Miller Prize, Washington Street Civic Project Leaders
Alumni across disciplines are being honored by this year’s Exhibit Columbus, an annual exploration of Columbus, Indiana’s architecture, art, design, and community.
Marshall Prado MArch ’11, MDes ’12 and Etien Santiago MArch ’11, PhD ’19 each received 2018-19 University Design Research Fellowships, created to “showcase current research by leading professors of architecture and design and highlight innovative research exploring ways that architecture and design can improve people’s lives and make cities stronger.”
Of the five firms honored with a 2018-19 J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize, four are led by GSD alumni:
- MASS Design Group, co-founded by Alan Ricks MArch ’10 and Michael Murphy MArch ’11;
- Frida Escobedo Studio, founded by Frida Escobedo MDes ’12;
- SO-IL, led by Florian Idenburg, Jing Liu, and Ilias Papageorgiou MArch ’08; and
- Agency Landscape + Planning, led by Gina Ford MLA ’03 and Brie Hensold MUP ’07
Each firm was selected for “their commitment to the transformative power that architecture, art, and design have to improve people’s lives and make cities stronger.”
Two organizations led by GSD alumna, LA-Más and Borderless Studio, were selected as Washington Street Civic Project Leaders, an award provided to five mission-driven organizations that use “architecture, art, and design to improve people’s lives, connect communities, and catalyze efforts to make cities more equitable and sustainable.” LA-Más is co-directed by Elizabeth Timme MArch ’10, founder and Co-Executive Director, and Helen Leung MPP/UP ’11, Co-Executive Director, and Borderless Studio is led by Paola Aguirre MAUD ’11.
Photos courtesy of Exhibit Columbus.
posted September, 2018
Alumni Receive 2018 Graham Foundation Grants for Exhibitions, Publications, Research
Fifteen designers, artists, historians, and others from the GSD alumni community have been selected to receive 2018 Graham Foundation Grants. Announced on April 5, the Graham Foundation’s 2018 Grants to Individuals present $534,850 in new grants to support 74 projects by 111 individuals and collaborators who are “engaging original ideas that advance our understanding of the designed environment,” the Foundation writes.
Alumni projects include exhibitions, publications, and research. Among the winners are GSD faculty Zeina Koreitem MDes ’16 and John May MArch ’02, who received a grant for the exhibition “Under Present Conditions,” produced through their Los Angeles-based firm, MILLIØNS. (“Under Present Conditions” will be on view at the A+D Museum in Los Angeles from January 11 through April 26, 2019.)
The funded projects were selected from over 600 proposals and represent a diverse group of individuals and collectives, including architects, artists, choreographers, historians, and filmmakers who hail from around the world.
Other GSD alumni awardees include:
Eric Bunge MArch ’96
Mimi Hoang GSD ’98
Kenny Cupers PhD ’10
Rami El Samahy MArch ’00
Michael Kubo MArch ’06
Alexander Robinson MLA ’05
Neyran Turan DDes ’09
Bradley Cantrell MLA ’03
Marielsa Castro Vizcarra MDes ’17
Brian Goldstein PhD ’13
Ana Maria Leon Crespo MDes ’01
Sun-Young Park MArch ’08/PhD ’14
Sara Zewde MLA ’15
Read the full list of 2018 Graham Foundation Grants to Individuals via the Graham Foundation’s announcement.
Image: MILLIØNS (Zeina Koreitem & John May), Collectives II, 2016–. Courtesy of the artists.
posted April, 2018
Felipe Correa MAUD ’03 Interviewed with Ed Glaeser for HarvardX
In this interview, Associate Professor of Urban Design and Director of the Urban Design Degree Program Felipe Correa MAUD ’03 recently spoke with Ed Glaeser, economist and Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, for Harvard edX’s course CitiesX: The Past, Present and Future of Urban Life. In this CitiesX segment, entitled “Challenges Facing Brazil,” Correa speaks with Glaeser from atop São Paulo, Brazil’s iconic Martinelli Building, the first skyscraper in Brazil.
Correa and Glaeser discuss mobility and infrastructure in the Brazilian megacity—a city on which Correa is a world-renowned expert, and about which he is currently authoring a forthcoming book entitled São Paulo: A Graphic Biography, to be released this upcoming fall by the University of Texas Press.
posted March, 2018
Alumni Bring Solar Power to Puerto Rico; Featured in Architectural Record, Miami Herald
A team of GSD alumni are involved in Resilient Power Puerto Rico, a project launched after Hurricane Maria to bring solar generators to the most under-served areas of the island with the long-term goal of promoting solar electric energy for every household in Puerto Rico. Jonathan Marvel MArch ’86 (Project Co-founder and Director of Logistics and Installation), Walter Meyer MLAUD ’03 (Project Co-founder and Strategy Director), Jennifer Bolstad AB ’98, MLA ’02 (Project Co-founder and Director of Administration and Finances), and José Juan Terrasa-Soler MLA ’07 (Director at Marvel Architects San Juan, Puerto Rico) are members of the Resilient Power Puerto Rico team, which operates under the nonprofit Coastal Marine Resource Center. Their work has been featured in a number of news outlets, including Architectural Record, the Miami Herald, AIA blog (interview with Marvel), the Architect’s Newspaper, and the Huffington Post.
In October, Terrasa-Soler participated in the GSD event “Hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico: Lessons for Future Urban Disasters,” moderated by Jerold S. Kayden AB ’75, JD ’79, MCRP ’79, Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design, and organized by the Department of Urban Planning & Design, the MDes – Risk & Resilience concentration, and the course “Land Use and Environmental Law.”
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Marvel via AIA.
posted November, 2017
GSD Alumni Honored with Architectural League of New York’s 2017 Emerging Voices Award
Harvard University Graduate School of Design alumni were recently honored with Architectural League of New York 2017 Emerging Voices Award. The program spotlights North American individuals and firms with distinct design “voices” that have the potential to influence the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design. Winners will lecture in New York City in March 2017 as part of the award program (more information here).
GSD alumni winners include:
Brian Bell MArch ’97 and David Yocum MArch ’97, Principals, BLDGS, Atlanta, Georgia
Eduardo Cadaval Narezo MAUD ’03 and Clara Solà-Morales MArch ’97, Principals, Cadaval & Solà-Morales, Mexico City and Barcelona
Frida Escobedo MDes ’12, Principal, Frida Escobedo, Taller de Arquitectura, Mexico City
Thomas F. Robinson MArch ’00, Founding Principal, LEVER Architecture, Portland, Oregon
Jonathan Tate Mdes ’08, Principal, OJT, New Orleans, Louisiana
Photo courtesy of The Architectural League.
posted March, 2017
Annisia Cialone MAUD ’03 Named Director of City Planning for Jersey City
Annisia Cialone MAUD ’03 has been named the new Director of City Planning for Jersey City. Cialone, a longtime Jersey City resident, brings 16 years of experience to the job, including over a decade at Perkins Eastman, an international planning, design, and consulting firm. “We couldn’t be more excited to hire someone who has both the knowledge and experience that Annisia does, as well as the unique and personal understanding of our city, our community, our neighborhoods and our people,” Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop said in a press release.
posted February, 2017
Mazen Sakr MArch ’09 and Makoto Abe MArch ’03 Win $10,000 in Seed Money for MyChair
Mazen Sakr MArch ’09 and Makoto Abe MArch ’03 won $10,000 in seed money for their social enterprise, MyChair, formed with colleagues from the Harvard Business School. The duo’s patent-pending design of a portable chair/desk will be produced and delivered to children in third world countries, starting with Nepal. The chair is designed to be lightweight so children can carry them on their backs from home to school and back, giving them ownership of the chairs and the ability to study off of the home or school dirt floor.
April 2015
posted December, 2016
GSD Alumni Win Field Constructs Design Competition
Invivia, the research and technology research lab featuring Bradley Cantrell MLA ’03, Associate Professor of Landscape Architectural Technology and Director of MLA Degree Program at the GSD; Allen Sayegh MDes ’96, Associate Professor in Practice of Architectural Technology at the GSD; Stefano Andreani MDes ’13; Craig Reschke MLA ’15; and Ziyi Zhang MLA ’14, was one of four winners of the Field Constructs Design Competition (FCDC) for their project “99 White Balloons.” FCDC invited architects and designers worldwide to share their most inventive ideas for a temporary outdoor installation that will be exhibited at the Circle Acres Nature Preserve in Austin, Texas. Other GSD-affiliated winners included Jonathan A. Scelsa MAUD ’11, Jennifer Birkeland MLA ’11, and Erin Wythoff MLA ’14 for their conception of “Duck Blind in Plain Site.” Read more about the competition and the winning ideas here.
August 2015
posted December, 2016
Meg Graham MDes ’03 Named Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Meg Graham MDes ’03 has been named Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) bestows fellowships in recognition of achievements of excellence in architecture on the basis of: design excellence represented by past awards; outstanding scholarly contribution represented by research, publications, and education; or distinguished service to the profession or the community.
February 2016
posted December, 2016
Paris’s Place de la République completed by Pierre Alain Trévelo MDes ’04
Pierre Alain Trévelo MDes ’04 with his partner Antoine Viger-Kohler of TVK Architectes Urbanistes in Paris, France, completed in 2013 the redevelopment of Place de la République, now the largest pedestrian square in the city. The project team also composed of Christian Weier MLA ’04 and GSD Professor Martha Schwartz. The redevelopment of Place de la République is based on the concept of an open platform with infinite urban uses. To learn more about the completed project, click here.
March 2014
posted December, 2016
Anuraj D. Shah MArch ’03 appointed COO at Cutting Edge Home
Anuraj D. Shah MArch ’03 has been appointed Chief Operating Officer at Cutting Edge Home. Shah joined the firm in August 2014 and brought with him 15 years of experience as a studio artist, residential and institutional designer, and project manager. Shah had previously exercised his architectural training at Gilman Guidelli & Bellow Company, Marc Truant & Associates, Anmahian Winton Architects, and Hashim Sarkis Architecture & Urban Design as a project manager and project designer.
posted December, 2016
Patrick Daly MArch ’91, Riki Nishimura MAUD ’03, and James Lord MLA ’96 Compete to Design AZ City Center
Patrick Daly MArch ’91, Riki Nishimura MAUD ’03, and James Lord MLA ’96 worked on a paid competition for the design of the City of Mesa City Center in Arizona. They presented their work to the mayor, city council and the people of Mesa in August. Results will be announced later this month. Learn more about their concept for the project here.
October 2014
posted October, 2014
Patrick Daly MArch ’91 and Riki Nishimura MAUD ’03 Firm Honored with 2014 Merit Award for Urban Design
Woods Baget, the global design and consulting firm featuring two GSD alums, Patrick Daly MArch ’91, Director and Executive Chairman for the North American division, and Riki Nishimura MAUD ’03, Director of Urban Strategies, was honored with a 2014 Merit Award for Urban Design. The firm won for their project Shenzhen Hybrid City in Shenzhen, China.
October 2014
posted October, 2014
