Tulane Graduate Jacob Smiley Creates "Symbiotic Design Strategies" for Redwood Conservation

2020-07-09T13:23:00-04:00

After exploring Northern California's iconic redwood forests and their history with unsustainable logging, land, and real estate development practices, graduate student Jacob Smiley has proposed Restorative Forestry, a new way for people and the built environment to interact with forests. According to Smiley, "The thesis presents itself as a case study within the Muir Woods National Monument, a federal preserve located just 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge [...] this thesis primarily focuses on the study of redwood as a structural material as well as the incorporation of biomimetics to closely mirror the ecological niche of the redwood and support the ecology, all of which to be packaged under formal guise of a tower."

Archinect was able to connect with Smiley, a recent Tulane University School of Architecture graduate, to learn more about the semester's transition from in-person to digital presentations and to hear his perspective on the job market for graduates in 2020.

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Tulane Graduate Jacob Smiley Creates "Symbiotic Design Strategies" for Redwood Conservation