School News

In this issue of e-SPAN, we talk to faculty and students about their recent work engaging artificial intelligence (AI). Thesis work from Vina Wei (PhD-CD ‘28) focuses on architectural fabrication and AI, and Manuel Rodríguez Ladrón de Guevara’s (PhD-CD '23) thesis addresses AI and creativity in AI-generated paintings. In the studios, Jared Abraham shares student work from his “Mobile Home” course where students incorporated Midjourney into their rendering process. And new faculty Vernelle A. A. Noel shares work on machine learning and raises questions about semiotics, semantics, syntax and society in text-to-image generator tools.

Carnegie Mellon Architecture is pleased to announce that Susie Kim (B.Arch ‘23) has been selected as the winner of the 2024 Delbert Highlands Travel Fellowship for her proposal “Hiroshima as Tabular Rasa: a new modern urban ethos in response to crisis and uncertainty.” The Highlands Fellowship supports Carnegie Mellon Architecture alumni in the study of collections belonging to locales to promote the professional development of awardees and contribute to the richness of our surroundings.

Following the passing of Professor Delbert Highlands this past July, Carnegie Mellon Architecture presents a collection of remembrances of Professor Highlands from members of the Delbert Highlands Travel Fellowship committee and Steve Lee, former School Head.

In this issue of e-SPAN, we talk to two alumni who are pioneers in sustainable design: Tanya Eagle (B.Arch ‘07) and Jensen Ying (B.Arch ‘13). They each share insights about how to nudge the architectural field towards more sustainable practices and how to find meaning in your work. We also highlight recent happenings at the school, including the new Carnegie Mellon Architecture brand identity and website, a residential project by associate professor Gerard Damiani that was featured in Architectural Record, and remembrances of Professor Delbert Highlands who passed away in July 2023.

Carnegie Mellon Architecture is proud to announce the 2024 awardees for the PJ Dick Innovation Fund Faculty Grants Program. A total of $100,000 has been awarded to 16 project and teaching grant proposals. The Faculty Grants Program will award a total of $400,000 over four years and is open to all full time faculty at the school.

Carnegie Mellon Architecture is pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Spring 2024 Awards. Applications are due on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 11:59pm ET. Over $44,000 of funding is available to support undergraduate and graduate students (Master’s and PhD). Awards recognize student work in public interest design, design and representation, sustainability and real estate, as well as professional promise.

Our Master of Architecture (M.Arch) degree program has received an eight year term of Continuing Accreditation with a Plan to Correct from the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). Congratulations to Track Chair Sarosh Anklesaria and former Track Chair Kai Gutschow and the Master of Architecture students, staff and faculty.

In our final e-SPAN newsletter of the year, we talk to two alumni who have dedicated their careers to working for justice in the built environment: Ashley Archie (MUD ‘15) and Lizzie MacWillie (B.Arch ‘07). We also take a look at photographs and sketches from Tommy CheeMou Yang’s Common Imaginaries studio, including the class’s trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand this past summer. Finally, we delve into the New Pedagogies courses, new to the school this fall semester.

In this edition of the e-SPAN newsletter, we introduce the Revolutions/Resolutions Public Programs theme and talk to Carnegie Mellon Architecture alumni about what revolution means in their careers. Stephen Wilder (Master of Science in Architecture ‘04) shares how he built his firm, Think Wilder, to be a point of architectural contact in his community. Elizabeth Monoian (MFA ‘00) and Robert Ferry (B.Arch ‘98), founders and principals of the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI), tell us how they’re taking a fresh approach to the renewable energy revolution.

We look forward to an already invigorating academic year in the latest edition of the e-SPAN newsletter. We talk to Erica Cochran Hameen, the director of the historically successful UDream program which re-launched this summer after a multi-year pause. We also share stories about student and faculty summer travel, photographs from the EX-CHANGE 2023 launch and a welcome to new faculty at the school.