Spring 2023 Research Studios

Studio

Metamorphosis: Forest to Fiber, Translation to Transformation

Spring 2023. Open to undergraduate and graduate students.

Lead Instructor: Judith Kinnard, Professor of Architecture

This research studio pedagogy engages the cultural history of materials, their technical qualities and their formal expression in the design studio. The studio is focused on Mass Timber and is organized in three components: it begins with a cultural and geographic introduction to southern forests, then introduces silviculture and traditional and advanced forest products before initiating detailed design inquiry through the theme of translation and transformation.

Studio

Addis Ababa River City, the Upper Kebena River Project

Spring 2023. Open to undergraduate and graduate students.

Lead Instructor: Ruben Garcia Rubio, Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urbanism

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city, has rapidly evolved doubling its population in recent years. This unprecedented demographic boom has brought uncontrolled urbanization, lack of basic services, and eventually challenges brought by climate change. The "Addis Ababa River City" research project was created to address the aforementioned challenges through urban and architectural design, specifically a holistic urban strategy for Addis Ababa, where its main elements are the more than 60km of rivers and streams that weave through the city.

Studio

Sustainability in the Tropics, FCAT Ecuador

Spring 2023. Open to undergraduate and graduate students.

Lead Instructor: Small Center

What is sustainable design? This Research Studio aims to consider this question in the context of the tropical Andes in partnership with FCAT (Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales), a non-profit based in Ecuador dedicated to the conservation of tropical biodiversity. Through investigating materiality and building function, community input, and the environmental importance of the region, the studio aims to create a site-specific sustainable design framework and toolkit as well as offer insight into sustainability in the region.

This Mintz Global Research Studio includes travel to Ecuador.

Studio

Heritage at Risk Studio - Barbados

Spring 2023. Open to undergraduate and graduate students.

Lead Instructor: Brent Fortenberry, Director of Historic Preservation and Christovich Associate Professor of Historic Preservation

From long-term climate change, short-term disasters, and growing developmental pressures, throughout the globe heritage resources are under increasing external threats. The Heritage at Risk Studio seeks to identify threatened built heritage resources and develop sustainable strategies to create more resilient heritage resources. The Heritage at Risk Studio will undertake conservation management plans for Bridgetown, Barbados, a World Heritage Site.

Studio

Urban Conservation Studio II

Spring 2023. Open to undergraduate and graduate students.

Lead Instructor: Toni DiMaggio, Adjunct Lectuter in Historic Preservation

The Urban Conservation Studio is a Preservation studio with a concentration on documenting, analyzing, and planning for the preservation of groups of buildings and their settings as a basis for understanding the technical, theoretical, and procedural aspects of urban heritage conservation. The course includes intensive study of representative historic residential and commercial districts in the region. Students will work both independently and in teams to learn professional preservation planning concepts and methods.