Other ACSA Websites

Study Architecture ProPEL

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

/in /by

 

2016/2017 Hyde Lecture Series opens another exciting chapter for the design and planning disciplines as speakers take a fresh, in-depth look at the latest developments in their respective fields.

The College’s Hyde Lecture Series is a long-standing, endowed public program. Each year the College hosts compelling speakers in the fields of architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and planning that enrich the ongoing dialog around agendas which are paramount to the design disciplines and our graduates.

Learn More- http://architecture.unl.edu/deg…/2016-17-hyde-lecture-series

Committee Summit

/in /by

by Bruce Lindsey, ACSA President

Three years ago, ACSA embarked on governance restructuring that led to changes to the board and committees. We now have two presidents-elect, Francisco Javier Rodriguez and Branko Kolarevic, which gives the board greater institutional memory and development time. Rashida Ng is also our first combined secretary/treasurer, following best practices in non-profit organization.

As I write to you from the ACSA office, we are excited to launch the first Committee Summit, inaugurating three new committees with the goals of engaging more member faculty around their interests and expertise, focusing initiatives on issues that matter to our schools, and allowing the organization to be more nimble in addressing the goals and objectives of the new strategic plan. 

Thanks to David Hinson and to the members of the task force, who made these recommendations, and thanks to the members and chairs of the committees, who were nominated through a robust interest from our member faculty. The Research and Scholarship Committee is chaired by Shannon Criss, the Education Committee is chaired by Lynne Dearborn, and the Leadership Committee is chaired by Rebecca O’Neal Dagg.

The committees will be immediately working on specific issues such as diversity & community college partnerships, a white paper on tenure and promotion, and a service to support graduate applications. But they will also be discussing a broad range of issues setting the context for the next several years of work. We look forward to sharing our work with you and encourage you to participate in this important new phase for ACSA.

Revealing the Hidden Beauty of Artists' Books Through Events and a Virtual Catalog

/in /by

Barbara Opar and Lucy Campbell, column editors

Column by David Eifler and Molly Rose, University of California, Berkeley

Academic Arts and Architecture libraries have long collected artists’ books for their intellectual and artifactual value. Yet, many of these  works remain concealed in special collection vaults with  their beauty undiscoverable behind arcane bibliographic records.  Traditional exhibits put them on display, but only reveal at best a few facets of their meaning, visual and tactile elements.

UC Berkeley’s Environmental Design Library began collecting artists’ books in earnest 15 years ago under the direction of then head librarian Elizabeth Byrne.  Using endowment funds provided by faculty and other visionary donors, our librarians have selected 5-15 works each year to enhance  our collection on the built environment: architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning.  Now numbering nearly 250 works, the Environmental Design Library’s artist book collection is visually stunning and represents the work of a diverse array of artists from within and outside the United States.  Given that many artists books are created to entice viewers to touch, turn pages and interact with the pieces, we have tried a number of ways to make these more accessible to our faculty and student patrons.  Stored in our rare book vault for reasons of security and preservation, patrons can request individual titles from our reference desk Monday – Friday from 1-5.  However, requesting these materials requires that patrons  are able to identify the work based on the bibliographic information provided in our catalog, which often does not do justice to the visual aspects and content of each piece.

Therefore, to better publicize their existence, two exhibitions were organized: one in 2011 and another in 2014.  The Environmental Design Library’s  beautiful glass exhibit cases provided a perfect venue to view the works and pages we’d selected to display, but we frequently heard visitors talk about how they wished they could interact with the artists books in their entirety.


One of four display panels of artists’ books in our exhibit Design Book Art 2 in the winter of 2014.

 

Alex Selenitsch notes, “Typically, an artist’s book is a work that becomes evident as you hold it, open it up, go back and forth and then close it up again.  Often there is a controlled narrative built into the physicality of the book, so that size, weight, texture, stiffness and binding are foregrounded.  Nearly always a tangible experience of the book is necessary to absorb it totally.”  (Selenitsch, Alex, and National Gallery of Australia. Australian Artists Books. National Gallery of Australia, 2008.)

Our desire to provide that tangible experience led us and two university staff colleagues (Lauri Twitchell is a book artist working in the Landscape Architecture Department and Jennifer Osgood an artists’ book aficionado working in another campus library), to hold our first “Hands On: An Evening with Artists’ Books” event in August, 2015.  From 4-6 PM on a Friday we displayed 17 artists’ books on tables for guests to physically explore.  To foster a relaxed, convivial atmosphere we provided refreshments and encouraged students, faculty, community members, and library staff to come to the event as a way to start  their weekends.  The event was a success, mixing 35 artists’ book devotees and as well as interested faculty, students and library colleagues and administrators.

Visitors enjoying the tactile experience of our first Hands On artists’ book event, August 2015.

Two months later we held “Hands On-2” and publicized our artists’ book collection on our website with a LibGuide that included images of the works we would have at the event.  Incorporating static images of the artist’s books into an online guide made them more identifiable and memorable for library staff and patrons and we decided to expand the LibGuide to include images of the works being shown in our three subsequent events. We quickly realized we could unveil our entire artists’ book collection by providing images of each work in an “all artists books” tab and distribute it to faculty and interested patrons. In this way, we’ve created a comprehensive visual guide to our artists’ book collection supplemented by periodic in-house events that encourage  patrons to experience the works the way they were intended — first hand.

Current LibGuide of all artists’ books in UC Berkeley’s Environmental Design Library

We’ll continue to hold Friday afternoon “hands on” events twice a semester and will update our LibGuide as we’re able to expand our artists’ book collection.  Our hope is that faculty will find ways to incorporate artists’ books into their courses on design and structure, and that university and community patrons will increasingly request to handle the books at our reference desk based on what they’ve seen online.  These artistic works are too beautiful to hide behind glass cases or bland bibliographic records and we keep looking for new ways to share them.

* * * *

David Eifler is the Environmental Design Librarian and Molly Rose the Environmental Design Library Circulation Supervisor at the University of California, Berkeley.

 

Call for Nominations: NAAB Board of Directors

/in , /by

2017 ACSA Appointee to the NAAB Board of Directors
Deadline: October 19, 2016

The ACSA Nominations Committee invites nominations for one appointee to the NAAB Board of Directors. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) is comprised of thirteen members: three appointed by ACSA, three appointed by AIA, three appointed by NCARB, two appointed by AIAS, and two public members. Currently, Judith Kinnard, Tulane University; Jori Erdman, Louisiana State University; and David Hinson, Auburn University, are the ACSA appointees to the NAAB Board. With the expiration of Judith Kinnard’s term in October 2017, the ACSA Board of Directors is considering candidates for her successor.

The appointment is for a three-year term (Oct. 2017 – Oct. 2020) and calls for a person willing and able to make a commitment to NAAB. While previous experience as an ACSA board member or administrator is helpful, it is not essential for nomination. Some experience on NAAB visiting teams wil be considered necessary; otherwise the nominee might be unfamiliar with the highly complex series of deliberations involved in this position. Faculty and administrators are invited to nominate faculty from an ACSA full member school with some or all the following qualifications:

  1. Tenured faculty status at an ACSA full member school;
  2. Significant experience with and knowledge of the accreditation process;
  3. Significant acquaintance with and knowledge of ACSA, its history, policy programs, and administrative structure;
  4. Significant acquaintance with the range of school and program types across North America.
  5. Willingness to represent the constituency of ACSA on accreditation-related issues.
  6. Ability to work with the NAAB and ACSA boards to build consensus on accreditation-related issues.

For consideration, please submit a concise letter of nomination, a one-page CV indicating the nominee’s experience under the above headings, and a letter from the nominee indicating willingness to serve. Materials are due by October 19, 2016.

Nominations should be sent to:

     Email (preferred): eellis@acsa-arch.org
Eric Ellis, ACSA Director of Operations and Programs
ACSA, Board Nominations
1735 New York Avenue, NW 
Washington, DC 20006 

Influence the Future Architect Registration Examination Passing Threshold

/in /by

NCARB is seeking licensed architectural faculty to serve on the ARE Cut Score Task Force, which has been charged with establishing the passing threshold of each new division of ARE 5.0 launching November 1, 2016.

As a member of the Cut Score Task Force, you will work with other faculty and practicing architects on focused efforts to review candidate item data and influence the cut score. Task Force members will be offered the opportunity to participate in a series of 2-day or 3-day workshops that will take place between December and February. You will be able to participate in workshops based on your schedule and availability. All work will be completed at the workshop.

Scheduling of these workshops will be dependent upon a certain number of administrations for each division and NCARB is unable to provide specific details as to when the workshops will take place at this time. As they reach the desired number of administrations, they will establish dates for the review and reach out to you to determine your availability.

To volunteer to be part of this NCARB initiative, simply submit your interest HERE by Friday, September 23. If you have further questions about this activity, please contact Ryan Misner (rmisner@ncarb.org).

Virginia Tech

/in /by

Following architecture faculty was recognized with emeritus status:

Patrick and Nancy Lathrop Professor of Architecture Jaan Holt was recognized by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors with emeritus status for his distinguished service to the university. Holt served on the Virginia Tech faculty for 43 years, including as chair of the architecture program from 1976 to 1982 and as the director of the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC) from 1984 to 2016. 

Following architecture faculty have been appointed to administrative positions:

Associate Professor Hunter Pittman, R.A., has been appointed as Interim Director of the School of Architecture + Design. Pittman is the former chair of the Graduate Architecture Program and former chair of the Advanced Professional Bachelor of Architecture Program of the School of Architecture + Design.

Professor Kathryn Clarke Albright, A.I.A., has been appointed as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. Albright is the former chair of Foundation Studies of the School of Architecture + Design.

Associate Professor David Dugas has been appointed as chair of the Graduate Architecture Program.

Professor Susan Piedmont-Palladino, A.I.A., has been appointed as director of the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center.

Adjunct Professor Charles von Weise, A.I.A., has been appointed as director of the Chicago Studio.

Following new faculty have been hired to the architecture program:

Assistant Professor Edward Becker, S.A.F.A., has been appointed to a tenure-track position. Becker holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University. Prior to his arrival at Virginia Tech, Becker taught at the Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland.

Assistant Professor Joseph Bedford has been appointed to a tenure-track position. Bedford was trained in architecture at Cambridge University, The Cooper Union and Princeton University, and is the holder of the 2008-2009 Rome Prize at the British School in Rome.

Assistant Professor Dr. Sharóne Tomer, Ph.D., R.A., has been appointed to a tenure-track position. He holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, a M.Arch. from the University of Oregon, a M.Phil. from the University of Cape Town, and a Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley. She has taught architecture in the United States and In South Africa.

Visiting Professor Dr. Barbara Kenda, Ph.D., teaches at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center. She holds a PhD. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Adjunct Instructor Scott Archer, A.I.A., teaches at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center. He is a registered architect in the District of Columbia. He holds a Master of Science in Architecture & Urban Design from Columbia University.

The following faculty was awarded with an external academic appointment:

Professor Dr. Markus Breitschmid, Ph.D., S.I.A., was appointed to the diploma commission of the Accadmia di Architettura of the Universita della Svizzera Italiana for 2016.

Faculty Publications & Lectures:

Professor Dr. Mehdi Setareh, Ph.D., P.E., has following accomplishments: he published a book on Structural Systems in October 2015; the second edition of his Concrete Structures, which was published by Springer, appeared in August 2016; he received $10,000 from the NSF as part of research experience for undergraduates (REU); and in July 2016, Setareh published a paper entitled “Vibration Serviceability Issues of Slender Footbridges” in the journal of bridge engineering.

Professor Dr. Markus Breitschmid, Ph.D., S.I.A., had an interview with the Portuguese title “Mais Além!” published in ‘Indexnewspaper,” appearing in the Lisbon-based daily newspaper Público, on July 1, 2016.

Visiting Professor Dr. Barbara Kenda, Ph.D., was invited to lecture at the GSD, Harvard University, International Symposium On Atmospheres: Spaces of Embodiment. Her presentation was titled: Breathing Landscape, Tempering Architecture. 

— 

Check out Virginia Tech on StudyArchitecture.com! 

University of Southern California

/in /by

Geoffrey von Oeyen, Assistant Professor of Practice, is scheduled to lead the design and construction of a pavilion in Xi’an, China, and to participate in a symposium in Shenzhen, China.

Assistant Professor Alison Hirsch recently had an article released in Journal of Architectural Education (70/1) titled “Grounding Diaspora: negotiating between home and host” and another in Landscape Journal (34/2) titled ““Urban Barnraising: Activating Collective Ritual to Promote Communitas.” She contributed a chapter titled “Expanded ‘Thick Description’: The Landscape Architect as Critical Ethnographer,” to Innovations in Landscape Architecture (edited by Jonathon Anderson and Daniel Ortega), which will be released by Routledge next month. She presented “The Geography of Civil Unrest: Designing the Public Realm in the Insurgent Spaces of the City” at the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) annual conference in March and will be a Distinguished Speaker in the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s “The New Landscape Declaration: A Summit on Landscape Architecture and the Future” taking place in June in Philadelphia.

Patrick Tighe, Adjunct Professor, is proud to be exhibiting at the 2016 Venice Biennale. Tighe was a keynote speaker at the California Housing Coalition Conference in Santa Barbara. Tighe also recently presented lectures at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Louis Obispo and was a keynote speaker at WestWeek 2016. Tighe is proud to be exhibiting at the 2016 Venice Biennale. New York Magazine recently featured the work of Tighe Architecture in an article on New LA Architecture by Justin Davidson. Tighe was a keynote speaker at the California Housing Coalition Conference in Santa Barbara. Tighe also recently presented lectures at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Louis Obispo and was a keynote speaker at WestWeek 2016.

Lorcan O’Herlihy, FAIA will be accepting an AIA Housing Award in recognition of his multi-family complex Cloverdale749 at the national AIA Convention in Philadelphia. In the coming months, Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects will see the completion of several projects – including Sunset La Cienega, a significant new development in West Hollywood encompassing a mix of retail, residential and pedestrian spaces. In addition, LOHA has projects in Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York in various stages of development.

Mina Chow has launched an international social media campaign for FACE OF A NATION on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to provide a public platform for intelligent discussion about the role of architecture and design in cultural diplomacy and conflict resolution.  As a result of the film’s significance, Skywalker Sound (George Lucas/THX) has agreed to join our team, and they are exploring ways they will contribute.  A venture capitalist has invested further resources with another generous contribution.  Mina also has presented her works-in-progress at several symposiums at USC Annenberg’s Center for Public Diplomacy between 2014-2016.    (She is speaking again at a 1-day conference on Friday May 6, 2016.)  FACE OF A NATION has progressed to fine-cut with 34 animations-in-progress.

—

Check out USC on StudyArchitecture.com!

University of Texas at Austin

/in /by

 

UT AUSTIN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE ANNOUNCES FALL 2016
LECTURES & EXHIBITIONS SERIES
New Season Features Alberto Campo Baeza, Craig Dykers, and Exhibitions on Félix Candela, the U.S. Incarceration System, and More…

AUSTIN, TX—The School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin announces its Fall 2016 Lectures and Exhibitions Series. Featuring an international line-up of speakers, including Alberto Campo Baeza of Spain, Marc Barani of France, and Juan Igancio del Cueto of Mexico, the series will cover issues pertinent to the fields of architecture, design, and sustainability, with insights from leading practitioners in those areas.

Highlights include a talk entitled Intellectual Enjoyment by Alberto Campo Baeza; a lecture by celebrated architect and UT School of Architecture alum Craig Dykers; a discussion of Watershed Architectures and Opportunistic Ecologies by Brook Muller; a lecture by Margaret Griffin, who will serve as the school’s Eugene McDermott Centennial visiting Professor this fall; an investigation of 0 Km Architecture—a practice that uses local materials, techniques, and labor to minimize one’s carbon footprint while promoting the local economy—by Camilla Mileto & Fernando Vegas; and lectures exploring digital technology by Marc Fornes, Branko Kolarevic and Vera Parlac. Matthew Crawford, author of The World Beyond Your Head, will give a special lecture as part of The Secret Life of Buildings symposium, a collaboration with the school’s Center for American Architecture and Design.

Exhibitions slated for the fall include: Living Wall: Collaboration + Fabrication, a behind-the-scenes look at the five-year research project that resulted in the school’s innovative green wall installed on the UT Austin campus; States of Incarceration: A National Dialogue of Local Histories, an investigation of the history of incarceration in the United States—from the Angola slave plantation-turned-prison in Louisiana, to the legacies of the Dakota Wars for Native American incarceration in Minnesota; and Candela’s Shells, an exhibition celebrating the reinforced concrete shells of Spanish-Mexican architect Félix Candela, organized by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

All lectures and exhibitions are free and open to the public.

—

Lectures
Lectures begin at 5 pm.

Monday, August 29
Alberto Campo Baeza
Estudio Arquitectura Campo Baeza, Madrid
Jessen Auditorium

Monday, September 19
Caroline Bruzelius
Duke University
Goldsmith Hall 3.120  

Monday, September 26
Branko Kolarevic & Vera Parlac
University of Calgary
Goldsmith Hall 3.120

Wednesday, October 5
Marc Fornes
THEVERYMANY, New York
Goldsmith Hall 3.120

Monday, October 17
Craig Dykers
Snøhetta, Oslo
Jessen Auditorium

Wednesday, October 19
Matthew Crawford
Author, The World Beyond Your Head
Co-sponsored by the Center for American Architecture and Design
Jessen Auditorium

Monday, October 24
Marc Barani    
Atelier Marc Barani, Nice          
Goldsmith Hall 3.120

Monday, October 31
Juan Ignacio del Cueto 
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Goldsmith Hall 3.120

Friday, November 4
Camilla Mileto & Fernando Vegas
Mileto & Vegas Arquitectos, Valencia
Goldsmith Hall 3.120

Wednesday, November 9
Margaret Griffin
Griffin Enright Architects, Los Angeles
Eugene McDermott Centennial Visiting Professor
The University of Texas at Austin
Goldsmith Hall 3.120

Wednesday, November 16
Brook Muller  
University of Oregon
Goldsmith Hall 3.120

—

Exhibitions
Exhibitions are held in Mebane Gallery in Goldsmith Hall, and are open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Living Wall: Collaboration + Fabrication   
Curated by Danelle Briscoe, The University of Texas at Austin
Wednesday, August 31 – Friday, September 23
Opening reception on Wednesday, August 31 at 5:00 pm

In May 2016, the Living Wall project was installed along the façade of Goldsmith Hall, home to UT Austin’s School of Architecture. An investigation of the role of ecology in architecture, the 20 x 25 foot structure is comprised of a patent-pending honeycomb design and native flora specially selected to attract local fauna. Five years in the making, the project tests the limits of what’s possible with green walls through ongoing research and data analysis. Living Wall: Collaboration + Fabrication charts the progression of the project’s cross disciplinary collaboration and multiple fabrication efforts that assisted in its development and research. The exhibition is curated by Associate Professor Danelle Briscoe, one of the lead Project Investigators since its inception in 2010. The Living Wall is a collaboration with the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. 

States of Incarceration: A National Dialogue of Local Histories
A project of the Humanities Action Lab
Wednesday, October 5 – Friday, October 21
Opening reception on Monday, October 10 at 5:00 pm 

A traveling exhibition created by a national community of over 500 people in 20 cities, States of Incarceration investigates mass incarceration and immigrant detention in the United States, and encourages viewers to consider the implications of our country’s current system. With research contributions from university students— including several from the University of Texas at Austin— the exhibition features: interviews with formerly incarcerated people, corrections officers, and policy advocates_ images capturing the evolution of crime and punishment in different contexts_ and data demonstrating the explosive growth of incarceration and its impact on American society. States of Incarceration also includes a web platform, statesofincarceration.org and a podcast series. In a section of the presentation entitled Spatial Stories of Migration and Detention, students from UT’s School of Architecture mapped the physical locations, architectural forms, and building history of detention centers in Texas (and the stories of those who had been held in them) to create visual narratives of the migration journeys and experiences of detainees from the state. The exhibition is organized by the Humanities Action Lab, a collaboration of 20 universities led by The New School in New York, and including The University of Texas at Austin. 

Candela’s Shells
Curated by Juan Ignacio del Cueto 
Monday, October 31 – Monday, November 28
Opening reception on Monday, October 31 immediately following the lecture

Felix Candela (Madrid, 1910- North Carolina, 1997) reached worldwide fame with his concrete laminar structures, also known as ‘shells’, which he built in Mexico between the 1950s and 1960s, using a European construction technology that reached the peak of its development in Mexican soil. He created new pathways for this specific construction technology by using the hyperbolic paraboloid, and taking advantage of the structural and expressive advantages of this geometric form to create works that left an indelible mark on architecture of the 20th century. Candela’s Shells features stereolithographic models and 3D animations (all produced by School of Architecture, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), as well as reproductions of the original drawings and photographs of Candela’s most important works, from the Cosmic Rays Pavillion (Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, 1951) to the Sports Palace (Mexico City, 1968).

—

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kathleen Brady Stimpert, 512.471.0154, kathleenstimpert@utexas.edu
 

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

/in /by

Daniel Piatkowski, Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Planning at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, publishes his inaugural book chapter as a CRP faculty member. Piatkowski’s co-authored chapter “Advancing discussions of cycling interventions based on social justice” is the sixth chapter in Bicycle Justice and Urban Transportation published by Routledge.

Piatkowski’s chapter is about laying a groundwork for deciding if and when investing in bicycle infrastructure can forward social justice goals in a city’s transportation system.

Piatkowski and co-authors articulate how often times decisions to implement interventions to promote cycling are done without really examining or thinking about how these changes are realized differently across various populations and geographies and how the importance of one person being able to cycle, weighs against the sacrifices it requires from another. Piakowski’s piece encourages those who promote cycling to challenge and rethink assumptions about the cycling culture, the neighborhood transformation and the planning processes. The authors suggest justifications for advancing efforts should be examined closely as part of the planning process.

“Simply promoting cycling across the board for reasons of health, environment or ‘choice’ often leads to misplaced priorities that do little to address the plight of population groups who are often neglected in transportation planning and could best benefit from more bicycle-friendly neighborhoods and cities.” (Chapter 6)

The chapter was co-authored with Karel Martens (lead author), Kevin J. Krizek and Kara Luckey.

Piatkowski has done extensive research with transportation, particularly focusing on how land use and transportation planning can foster equitable and sustainable communities. He is principally interested in analyzing the effects and community transformations related to walking and bicycling planning. His research has been featured on National Public Radio, the Washington Post, the Atlantic and CityLab’s “Future of Transportation” series. Piatkowski’s work has been published in numerous places including seven peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at 17 national conferences.

Piatkowski explains, his career in community planning didn’t lead him to cycling transportation research but his passion for cycling led him toward a career in planning. One might say, it’s all about choosing the right path.

At UNL, Piatkowski teaches land use and transportation, urban design and research methods.

Southern California Institute of Architecture

/in /by

Left: David Ruy, SCI-Arc Postgraduate Programs Chair; Right: Hernan Diaz Alonso, SCI-Arc Director/CEO

SCI-Arc Director Hernan Diaz Alonso today announced the appointment of architect and educator David Ruy as the postgraduate programs chair for SCI-Arc EDGE, Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture. Beginning in fall 2016, the new center led by Ruy will offer four graduate degree programs in fields including architectural technologies, entertainment and fiction, design of cities, and design theory and pedagogy.

“We’re thrilled to have David join us at SCI-Arc this fall,” says Director Hernan Diaz Alonso. “As one of the most prominent and innovative thinkers of his generation, David has been focusing on research and theoretical concepts in relation to design and new platforms throughout his entire career. We look forward to his contribution to taking SCI-Arc to new frontiers.”

SCI-Arc EDGE is a new platform for advanced studies in architecture. Its innovative postgraduate degree programs are designed to test the theoretical and practical limits of architectural innovation in order to launch new architectural careers for the twenty-first century. Each program identifies a distinct territory in the emerging milieus of the contemporary world and empowers students to become active stakeholders in the construction of the future.

“The scope of what an architect can do is expanding like never before,” says newly appointed Chair Ruy. “Everything is potentially an architectural problem. This requires training. It requires research. It requires speculation. Today, architecture is simultaneously becoming more specialized in its expertise and more diverse in its applications. It requires programs of advanced study that can be more targeted, more focused, and more innovative. Given the complexities of the contemporary world and the intense demands being made on the abilities of architects to meet problems, these programs are carefully designed to develop advanced expertise that a general professional degree cannot address.”

Two of the four postgraduate programs offered are built on the success of existing SCI-Arc programs that will be incorporated into SCI-Arc EDGE, Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture. These include the Master of Science in Architectural Technologies led by Marcelo Spina, a program driven by a consideration of technology’s relationship to architecture, and the Master of Science in the Design of Cities led by Peter Trummer, which tackles the complexities of contemporary urban design. The two new postgraduate programs offered by SCI-Arc EDGE include a unique Master of Arts in Fiction and Entertainment led by Liam Young for those that want to leverage their architectural training for the entertainment and media industries, and a Master of Science in Design Theory and Pedagogy led by Chair David Ruy aimed as a platform for training the next generation of studio instructors.

Newly appointed postgraduate programs chair David Ruy is an architect, theorist and educator with an extensive background in academia, who has served as an important voice in conversations regarding the future of architectural education. Most recently, he was co-chair of the 103rd ACSA Annual Meeting where he led a national discussion of architectural educators addressing the future of the core curriculum and its relationship to research and experimentation. He has previously been on the faculties of Columbia University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Pratt Institute and has been a visiting professor at numerous universities in the United States and Europe. He has served as an external examiner of the DRL at the Architectural Association and is an advisor to numerous international organizations examining contemporary problems in architecture.

In parallel to his academic appointments, Ruy is co-director of Ruy Klein with Karel Klein. The practice examines contemporary problems at the intersection of architecture, nature, and technology, encompassing a wide array of influential projects that have migrated across the boundaries of architecture, art and design. The firm studies the mutual imbrications of artificial and natural regimes that are shaping an ever more synthetic world. The work of Ruy Klein has been widely published and exhibited and has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2011 Emerging Voices Award of the Architectural League, recognizing the firm as one of the leading experimental practices in architecture today. The work is part of the permanent collection of the Frac Centre in Orléans, France. David Ruy received his Master of Architecture from Columbia University and his Bachelor of Arts from St. John’s College where he studied philosophy and mathematics.

—
Visit USC’s School Profile page on StudyArchitecture.com!

Stay in Touch

Enter your name and email below, and we’ll send you the latest ACSA news and events.

Fill out my online form.

© Copyright 2025 ACSA

We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. ACSA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.

OKLearn more