Archinect - Features

Embracing New Pathways for Architectural Expertise: A Conversation With Heather Flood, Woodbury School of Architecture Interim Dean

2022-04-21T09:12:00-04:00

Academic leaders have the demanding task of steering and shaping a school's educational culture and pedagogy. Not only are they responsible for overseeing an institution's administrative affairs, but they are also charged with shaping both learning and teaching environments for students and faculty. While prerequisites for a Dean or Department Chair may differ from institution to institution, their goals are to provide a place that will nurture a student's architectural curiosities by providing an environment where they can gain skills and expand their design knowledge.

For Heather Flood, the path to architecture and academia may not resemble the typical 'academic dean.' Her commitment to education and attitude towards building more robust pathways for students pursuing a career in AEC and design industries sets her apart.

For Archinect's latest Deans List conversation, I connected with Heather as she embarks on her role as Interim Dean at Woodbury University School of Architectur...

Barbara Bestor Reflects on the Julius Shulman Institute and Woodbury University's Commitment to Celebrating Architectural Photography Through Exhibition

2021-10-29T10:13:00-04:00

Architecture and photography are two disciplines whose relationship has blossomed into visual documentation used repeatedly for reference, inspiration, and research. While there are many architectural photographers whose work has been exemplary in presenting the public with a glimpse into the world of architecture, Julius Shulman remains an industry icon and pioneer in the field. Since 2005, the Julius Shulman Institute (JSI) has acted as an important bridge for Woodbury University to connect the public with the disciplines of architecture and photography. To learn more about the JSI, its history, and its mission, I spoke with Woodbury University's Julius Shulman Distinguished Professor of Practice and Executive Director of the JSI, Barbara Bestor.

"Our goal is to change the way Architecture and photography of the built environment are understood and presented in our culture and museums," shared Bestor. "It's rare for there to be an architecture department in any given museum. On t...

Woodbury Graduate Addresses the Importance of Water Infrastructure for California Droughts in Their Thesis WATER INFRA-CULTURE

2021-08-04T17:42:00-04:00

The Summer of 2021 has proven to be another challenging season. However, during this time, architecture students have continued to persevere. By adjusting, exploring, prototyping, and expanding their architectural perspectives, students have used the events taking place in their daily lives to push and challenge the issues facing the industry today. To learn more about these students and the work produced, we continue with our ever-so-popular Archinect Thesis Review series.

We begin our Summer 2021 iteration by connecting with Woodbury School of Architecture B.Arch graduate Khun Hein where he discusses his thesis, WATER INFRA-CULTURE. "Droughts are a significant concern in the present and future, which is exacerbated by ongoing climate change," shares Hein. "Extracting underground water from aquifers in desert conditions is necessary for humans to adapt to the changes we are experiencing in our climate [...] My thesis raises ethical questions and challenges our assumptions about it...

Woodbury Graduate Isabel Rodriguez Explores Hybrid Housing Options for Los Angeles

2020-10-13T13:20:00-04:00

B.Arch graduate Isabel Rodriguez of Woodbury University explored alternative housing possibilities for Los Angeles in her thesis, E-Hauze. Rodriguez explains her project "explores the positive effects of hybridizing housing and an industrialized facility [...] The typical way we live in Los Angeles needs to change. The way we design our build environment should reflect our intention to integrate."

Students across the globe have persisted during a year filled with challenges due to the pandemic. To highlight their work, we connected with students like Rodriquez to learn about her thesis project and how it responds to Los Angeles's housing crisis, her perspectives on the industry, and her experience with hunting for a job after graduating.

Archinect's Spotlight on 2020 Thesis Projects: 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year for architecture graduates. Students were displaced as schools shut down, academic communities had to adapt to a new virtual format, end-of-year celebra...

Woodbury Graduate Jesus Montes-Herrera Uses Interactive Layering and AI to Create a Tower Responsive to a Pandemic

2020-09-25T13:41:00-04:00

B.Arch graduate Jesus Montes-Herrera of Woodbury University explored the possibilities of designing a tower resilient enough to withstand a global pandemic at a structural and performative level. In his thesis, The Xenophilactic Tower, Herrera explains the structure "introduces the topic of interactive layering as a protective skin. Concentrating on the manipulation of a variety of scientific experiments as the technical processes for form-finding." The result, Herrera tells Archinect, is that "in the event of a worldwide pandemic the tower may become the genesis of civilization. The intent is "to find the relationship between Hypertrophy and entropic spaces" using techniques such 3D printing, layering, and casting.

Despite a turbulent year with many challenges facing students across the globe, Archinect connected with the recent grad to learn about his thesis project, job prospects, the misconceptions he had about the industry as it faced a global pandemic.

Archinect's Spotlight on...