Fellow Fellows is a series that focuses on the current eruption of fellowships in academia today. Within this realm, these positions produce a fantastic blend of practice, research, and design influence, traditionally done within a tight time-frame. Fellow Fellows sits down with these fellows and attempts to understand what these positions offer to both the participants and the discipline at large. It is about bringing attention and inquiry to the otherwise maddening pace of revolving academics while giving a broad view of the breakthrough work being done by those who exist in-between the newly minted graduate and the licensed associate. 

This week we speak to Zahra Safaverdi who served as the Harvard GSD's Irving innovation fellow in architecture in 2017. 

1. The conversation, focus, and applications to fellowships, in general, has exploded over the past decade. They have become the go-to means of exposure, legitimization within the academia and in some respect the HOV lane of historically Ph.D. owned territories of research and publication. What are your views on the current standing of fellowships as a vehicle of conceptual exploration?

Although they share some similar aspects, being involved with school's pedagogy and the aspiration to contribute to the disciple one way or another, I think a design fellowship is fundamentally different from a Ph.D. Given the longer duration of a Ph.D. program, a dissertation might take a lot of turns and evolve throughout the years, whereas the research aspect of a design fellowship progresses very quickly and has a faster turn around. Due to its setup, the scholarly weight of a design fellowship is lighter, and The outcome is often much more experimental. Although the historical and theoretical commitment of a fellow to architecture discourse is not completely lifted by any means, I think a designer has more freedom to take risks and meander in the world of creativity with less restriction. I see a design fellowship as a liminal zone between architecture discipline and architecture discourse. 

2. What fellowship where you in and what brought you to that fellowship?

Harvard GSD's Irving innovation fellowship in architecture. This fellowship is intended for a recent graduate or a junior faculty to advance and expand upon a current research topic of their choosing. The purpose of this fellowship is to help build constructive integration between the design studio pedagogy and materiality, and fabrication and assembly technologies; to work closely with students through workshops; and to explore emergent development in a digital representation. Potential candidates are nominated by Architecture department before the final selection.

Due to its setup, the scholarly weight of a design fellowship is lighter, and The outcome is often much more experimental. 

3. What was the focus of the fellowship research?

In recent history, the distinction between the product of imagination, the physical manifestation of the image, and that which belongs to the reality of quotidian life is clear. This clarity and emphasis on keeping the realm of the real discernible from the realm of the imagery is the product of modernity. With the progression of digital technology, however, the boundaries between real and imagery is once again blurred in the world at large. With the virtual world bleeding into our daily life and an ambiguous definition of what is considered real and what is not, the current definition of space, with an emphasis on separating reality from imagery, needs a revision.

Given that our current spaces of inhabitation are rarely compatible with the rapid progression of virtual reality, from the gaming and entertainment industry to scientific studies, we are in need of mediating spaces that would connect our places to the virtual and imagery world. Under this umbrella project, I have been testing out new modes of spatial construction to respond to this new condition, bringing up issues of physical atmosphere and materiality integral to the project. To avoid falling into the realm of arbitrary speculation and being self-referential, I have grounded my design moves in the historical precedents from the late Baroque and contemporary art domain. I have been seeking to take these proposals further and test out / fabricate new possibilities for spaces and forms that could embody the notion of "occupy-able thresholds". These mediating spaces could connect our physical reality to image-based universes surrounding us.

The image-based representation that would lead to the production of objects with spatial qualities and orientational attributions have been my sole process throughout this fellowship. I've combined my visualization and computation skills with fabrication experiences, to perfect series of techniques. These techniques have helped to me create a new genealogy of spaces that is conscious of the current contemporary design landscape and is methodical about its creation. By focusing on issues of materiality and a need for a new soft tectonic, I've tried to push these experimentations beyond formal manipulations and shift the focus to issues deeper than smooth surfaces.

I have been seeking to take these proposals further and test out / fabricate new possibilities for spaces and forms that could embody the notion of "occupy-able thresholds". These mediating spaces could connect our physical reality to image-based universes surrounding us.

4. What did you produce? Teach? And or exhibit during that time?

I was the teaching associate for the Agha Khan's visiting professor of the year 2017-2018. My research materials ( Physical prototypes of mediating thresholds, choreographed series of videos, two books of space visualization / actual space corresponding those visualization, and supplemental large-scale drawings ) will be exhibited at Harvard GSD.

Doing this fellowship, also gave me opportunities to curate a few exhibitions, assist with an advanced seminar, be involved with GSD's master of architecture core program and edit the MASKS journal for the year 2017-2018.

5. How has the fellowship advanced or become a platform for your academic and professional career?

This fellowship helped me develop a curated fabricated track elaborating a thought process which was briefly touched upon during my graduate thesis work. I had a chance of testing out and executing certain spatial conditions that I previously speculated about in my thesis. As my design researched progressed, my thought process shifted forms and slowly evolved into a precise trajectory that not only excites me but is also conscious of its placement in the realm of architecture. Coming together of the track is a slow process; however, the further I go the more solid it becomes. 

6. What negative sides to a fellowship do you see? (if any)

Nothing I can think of in my specific case; however, on a more general note, newer fellowships in their early years often need some time to pave the bumps on the road. But again this is something non-specific to fellowships, and any new implementation does have that initial phase.

7. What is the pedagogical role of the fellowship and how does it find its way into the focus and vision of the institution that you worked with?

Giving the fellows the opportunity to share their design interest and their unique way of pursuing that interest is a productive way of generating new conversations in architecture discipline, and it certainly opens up new modes of interacting with the design process. Having the obligation to be involved with the design studios/seminar / workshops could also help fellows to articulate their agenda for a broader audience and use the feedback to fine-tune the design research.

8. Where do you see the role of the fellowship becoming in the future and how does it fit within the current discipline of architecture?

The exposure aspect of a fellowship is a two-way road. It would not just affect the fellow; it would also contribute to the institution's design culture as well. The work produced during this time span is often time exhibited after effect, and the exhibition would bring light and attention to the current design atmosphere of the institution on top of influencing student work. The influence might be major, or it might be insignificant; however, undeniably, a good portion of architecture is based on presentation and representation, and it is impossible to showcase something and not expect any impact on the immediate surrounding. 

9. There is some criticism that a fellowship is a cost-effective way for institutions to appropriate potent ideas while leaving the fellow with little compensation besides the year of residence and no guarantee of a permanent position? What is your position on this?

I could only talk about the Irving fellowship, and I don't think the criticism applies to my experience. I had complete freedom in my research and full access to all fabrication resources. The non-restrictive nature of the fellowship enabled me to take the project far by creating proto-architectural objects which reflected my initial scheme and gave me the opportunity to engage issues such as materiality and tectonic with the representational based design process. This, added an extra layer of complexity to my speculation and opened up alternative ways of interacting with architecture. I did not consider this fellowship as the first step to a more permanent position but as an opportunity to take advantage of resources/time given to me to build up a foundation for my practice in future and figure out my next step. As part of my fellowship, I had the commitment to be involved with GSD's design studio pedagogy in the areas relevant to my research / expertise. This proved to be a great opportunity for me to hone my skills as a design critic, situate myself in the context of architecture academia, and articulate eloquent architectural thought processes about works outside my domain. 

The work produced during this time span is often time exhibited after effect, and the exhibition would bring light and attention to the current design atmosphere of the institution on top of influencing student work. 

10. What support, and or resources does a fellowship supply that would be hard to come by in any other position? Why would you pursue a fellowship instead of a full-time position?

Fellowships are a chance for many young designers and emerging practitioners to have access to resources and fundings to expand upon proposals that would be left unrealized otherwise. They're great first steps for recent graduates who are planning a future involving academia. A fellowship would put the fellow in a caliber of scholarly environment that access to it might be very difficult otherwise. A short duration of it could also be seen as a trial period for one to test out a path before fully diving in. 

11. What advice would you have for prospective fellowship applicants?

Given that design fellowships are short (often only a year), Keep the research focused on a precise subject. This is a unique chance as you have enough time and resources to test out your speculations and take it really far.