The Department of Architecture welcomes Robert Alexander to join the faculty as an Assistant Professor Design and Digital Instruction. Robert Alexander, principal of BobCat Studio received his bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Cal Poly Pomona in 2001. In 2005 he received his Masters in Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. In addition to his professional experience on a wide variety of projects with the architecture firms Rafael Vinoly Architects, Behnisch Architekten, and Daly Genik. In 2008, Mr. Alexander won the Cavin Fellowship and received the Boston Society of Architect’s Rotch Scholarship in 2013, which started his current research on the urban effects of large-scale incomplete building projects in Europe.

Associate Professor and Chair, Sarah Lorenzen recently co-curated the widely acclaimed Competing Utopias exhibit at the Neutra VDL House

Professors Lauren Weiss Bricker and Luis Hoyos have contributed articles to the forthcoming catalog Barton Myers: Works of Architecture and Urbanism, which accompanies an exhibition of the same name on view at the Art, Architecture & Design Museum, UCSB from September 12-December 12, 2014. Professor Bricker has also written “Civic and Educational ‘Architecture As Environmental Expression,’” which will be included in the catalog accompanying the exhibition An Eloquent Modernist: E. Stewart Williams, Architect, the inaugural exhibition of the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion; the exhibition November 9, 2014-February 22, 2015.

Professor Hofu Wu, recently presented  “Outside Forces – Academic Perspective” to showcase the status of the Cal Poly Pomona Healthcare Initiative from the students innovative researches and designs at the American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA) California Health facility Forum in Oakland, CA.

Associate Professor Pablo La Roche recently published an article in the journal Energy and Buildings entitled Comfort and Energy in Smart Green Roofs.  He also presented papers at three recent conferences including the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference, and two papers the World Sustainable Building Conference SB14.  He has presented eight recent lectures including, the American Solar Energy Society National Conference ASES 2014, the Society of Building Science Educators Annual Retreat, the Instituto de Ciencias de la Construcción Eduardo Torroja, Madrid, the Practica y Enseñanza de la Arquitectura en California International Workshop Sustainability in the Built Environment, Seville, Spain, and the Façade Tectonics Conference at the University of Southern California.  He is the current President of SBSE, the Society of Building Science Educators.

Associate Professor Michael Fox recently presented a paper at the 2014 ACADIA, (Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture) conference on the Eco-29 project which is a fully interactive kinetic event Hall in Israel. He also wrote the preface to the conference proceedings and is the current president of the Organization.   He recently authored a chapter in the book  “Building Dynamics”, by Routledge Press, edited by Branko Kolarevic and Vera Parlac.  He also contributed to the book, “Space Architecture: The New Frontier for Design Research” edited by Neil Leach,by AD. He authored a chapter in the journal PAJ 109 on Performance and Architecture, edited by Chris Perry and Catheryn Dwyre.

Associate Professor Juintow Lin recently led an attempt to revitalize the California State Parks system, where 12 Cal Poly Pomona graduate architecture students took on the challenge of redesigning a modern cabin and succeeded. The California Parks Forward Commission is making an effort to reach out to students for creative and innovative ideas, as younger generations are not visiting state parks. The students began their project in spring 2014. The timing was just right for the project because of available funding. The Resources Legacy Fund, a consortium of major foundations in California, funded the project. The 150-square-foot cabin is made from recycled and prefabricated elements. It includes a full-sized bed, a bunk bed, and a bench that can accommodate four people.  High triangular windows, French doors, and a sloped roof allows for maximum light to enter the cabin.  The first prototype was constructed in 4 days in a factory in Phoenix AZ, by CAVCO.

Lecturer Barry Milofsky was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to the  Cultural Heritage Commission of the City of Los Angeles,  the five-member commission that considers nominations of sites as City Historic-Cultural Monuments (designated City landmarks) and reviews proposed project work affecting more than 1000 existing Historic-Cultural Monuments. The Commission also serves as the city’s primary forum for the discussion of historic preservation policy. Recommendations of the Cultural Heritage Commission are forwarded to the City Council for their final action. The Cultural Heritage Ordinance also gives the Commission the authority to temporarily delay alteration or demolition of historically significant structures until a proper review can be completed.

Lecturer Katrin Terstegen is a Designer and Project Manager with Johnston Marklee & Associates in Los Angeles, where she recently completed “Various Small Fires”, an art gallery in Hollywood, as well as the “Vault House” in Oxnard.

Lecturer Jose Herrasti’s firm MUTUO is currently working on a 5 acre park in the Coachella Valley in collaboration with KDI, a nonprofit dedicated to the creation of low cost, high impact environments that improve the physical, economic, and social quality of life of under-served communities. MUTUO has also been working with a developer in El Paso, TX to transform an area of dilapidated buildings into a thriving community. They are also beginning construction of a three single family development in the Hollywood Hills and a residence in Cordoba, Mexico.