The Tulane School of Architecture is pleased to announce the appointment of Christopher Calott, AIA as the Director of the Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development Program. Professor Calott will guide the program as it enters its third year, following its highly successful launch under the direction of Alexandra (Sandi) Stroud, AIA. He brings an unusual combination of excellence in his creative work as an architect and urban designer, dedication as a teacher at a number of institutions, and success as a real estate developer and entrepreneur. We are delighted that he is joining an already strong faculty at the Tulane School of Architecture teaching in the exciting area of “regenerative development.” The values associated with sustainability are central to the program’s mission, and Calott will add significant expertise in a number of areas as we develop the skills of the next generation of leaders in this dynamic and growing field.

Christopher Calott is an architect, urban designer, and real estate developer, most recently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His architectural firm, CALOTT + GIFFORD Architecture / Urban Design and his closely connected real estate development firm, INFILL SOLUTIONS: Innovative Urban Design and Development, have produced numerous projects that create urban design solutions and employ dense urban-building typologies using modern forms in mixed-use urban infill developments, and affordable housing in the Southwest. He has pursued significant research in the areas of urbanism, housing, and community-based design practices through published investigations tied to teaching appointments at numerous universities throughout the United States, Mexico, and Latin America. 

 In 2011, Fast Company magazine recognized CALOTT + GIFFORD’s award-winning design practice as one of the “50 brilliant urbanites helping to build the cities of American’s future.” By working as both the architect and developer, his practice has challenged conventional zoning, financing strategies, and modes of development. His innovative work has involved the introduction of new housing types, dense “infill” subdivisions, transit-oriented development, community supported agriculture, vibrant public plazas, and public art to his projects. Calott’s longstanding work and research on informal urbanization patterns and his commitment to design excellence has influenced non-profit affordable housing and publicly financed urban design projects involved with local populations in the Southwest. 

In 2011-2012, Calott received the prestigious Loeb Fellowship at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. He spent the year in residence investigating affordable housing delivery mechanisms, urban design theories, Landscape Urbanism, and Green Infrastructure design strategies, topics that coincided with the work he has pursued throughout his professional and academic career.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (with Honors) in Urban Theory and Design from Brown University, and also studied at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York and the Rhode Island School of Design. He received his Master of Architecture degree from Princeton University. 

In coming to Tulane and the MSRED program, Calott notes that, “Tulane’s MSRED Program is well integrated within the School of Architecture with significant recognition of the critical role that design plays in the development process of a sustainable urban future. The opportunity of living, learning and working on innovative development practices within the vibrant, resilient community of New Orleans at this powerful time is truly unique, an extraordinary experience I am looking forward to with students and faculty colleagues at Tulane.” Calott is uniquely qualified to join the Tulane School of Architecture faculty and students in connecting architecture, real estate development, and preservation in addressing issues of crucial importance to the future development of our nation’s cities. He believes, “that cities are our most sustainable resource, and hold the key to our social, economic, and culturally equitable future, as well as our planet’s environmental protection. Cities also sustain our cultures, as they are our most beautiful and important works of art.” Calott will begin his work with the MSRED program in July.