Archinect - Features

'As a Black Architecture Firm, We Cannot Ignore the Fact That We Are Rare': A Conversation with Think Wilder Architecture

2023-02-24T08:15:00-05:00

Architecture licensure and running a practice are topics widely discussed on Archinect. While everyone's path is different the experiences of firm leaders, regardless of their firm size, offer a look into the realities of being an architect, leader, and entrepreneur.

"Having my own practice has allowed me to use the business as a platform to create more than just architecture. I think architects have skill sets that transcend architecture." These are the words of Stephen Wilder, Principal of Think Wilder Architecture. The Howard University and Carnegie Mellon University graduate runs a New Jersey/New York-based architecture practice that's keen on balancing work expectations while showcasing the value architects provide to their communities.

For our latest installment of Archinect's Studio Snapshots, we chat with Wilder on his path to architecture, the obstacles of licensure, challenging the industry's work culture, and how he defines the role of an architect.

NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design Embodies Sustainability Practices From the Inside Out

2022-11-14T13:26:00-05:00

Implementing sustainability practices continues to be a priority among architecture firms, institutions, and organizations around the globe. This is the case for the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Hillier College of Architecture and Design. As one of the leading polytechnic universities in the Northeast for its academic programs, it has also earned global recognition as a top sustainable institution from the Times Higher Education's Impact Rankings.

Its efforts and commitment to being a sustainable campus continue beyond there. These initiatives are also echoed throughout Hillier College's pedagogy. In previously featured editorial coverage of the College, Archinect has had the chance to highlight important events that showcase the engagement and dedication to implementing sustainable design approaches, civic engagement, and climate action. For this unique editorial feature, we emphasize, in broad strokes, important topics explored at the College's research centers and labs, s...

NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design Fall 2021 Super Review Showcases Civic Engagement and Climate Action

2021-12-17T09:30:00-05:00

For the Fall 2021 school term, the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design (HCAD) welcomed its students back to in-person learning. The College is comprised of the School of Art and Design and the New Jersey School of Architecture, a vibrant community of undergraduate and graduate architecture and urban design students and faculty. As the academic year comes to a close for the winter holiday Archinect was invited to sit in on the Fall 2021 Super Review which took place virtually on December 9 to learn more about the pedagogy and studios at Hillier College.

The review focused on the Master of Urban Design Studio and Bachelor of Architecture Option Studios, featuring presentations from seven studios. The virtual review was moderated by Associate Professor and Director of the School of Architecture Kelly Hutzell, Senior University Lecturer and B.Arch/B.S. Arch Coordinator Mark Bess, and Associate Professor and M.Arch/M.S. Arch Coordinator Gernot ...

"I think of architecture as an act of writing in the city": Vishaan Chakrabarti discusses PAU's upcoming projects

2017-06-22T13:27:00-04:00

As the founder of PAU, Vishaan Chakrabarti is an architect and urban planner who considers every aspect of the city with foresight, but isn't as concerned with the culture of celebrity that has often dominated the profession. "Calling oneself a humanist over the last couple of decades was a real no-no," he explains via phone. "You're supposed to be a bad-boy, cape-wearing starchitect." He purposefully did not name the firm after himself in order to place emphasis on intelligent discussion, not hierarchy. Although he's excited about taking on more projects, he never wants PAU to grow beyond roughly 30 employees so that he will always know everyone in his office.

For Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th birthday, we interview Dan Nichols who has been living in and restoring Wright’s Sweeton House in New Jersey

2017-06-08T09:00:00-04:00

Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the few architects who needs little introduction regardless of to whom you are talking. With a career lasting over 60 years, and with over 400 homes scattered across the US, his enduring legacy and contribution to the field of architecture is unparalleled. The famed architect would have turned 150 this month.

Deans List: David Mohney of the Kean University's Michael Graves School of Architecture

2014-12-16T10:16:00-05:00

The Deans List is an interview series with the leaders of architecture schools, worldwide. The series profiles the school’s programming, as defined by the head honcho – giving an invaluable perspective into the institution’s unique curriculum, faculty and academic environment.

For this issue, we spoke with David Mohney, the Acting Dean at Kean University's upcoming Michael Graves School of Architecture.

D.I.R.T. Studio

2006-10-02T17:19:00-04:00

I like to think that Julie Bargmann fights the good fight. She grew up cruising through the New Jersey Turnpike, under powerlines, past the oil refineries and through America's dumping ground, The Meadowlands. Now she dedicates her research and practice, D.I.R.T. (Dump It Right There) Studio, to taking on abandoned railyards, closed quarries and landfills, disused factories and former coal mines. And with more than half a million contaminated sites in the US alone, there's a strong argument for remediating what's been used, rather than sprawling out and building new. Her practice is a critical one, which means there's no erasing the evidence. Instead, she works to transform the waste produced by a century of manufacturing and consumption into something culturally and ecologically productive. She's got a pink hard-hat and a quick wit, and a willingness to get her hands dirty and talk about things like "beauty," in a way that redefines it for us all.
-- Heather Ring