Archinect - News

Pratt SoA Dean Quilian Riano outlines plan to address space challenges with proposed new building

2024-05-30T14:43:00-04:00

In a new letter to faculty members at the Pratt School of Architecture, second-year Dean Quilian Riano has outlined the need for some $71 million worth of deferred maintenance and other upgrades to the 155-year-old Higgins Hall in keeping with the new Local Law 97 mandate for net zero operating capacity by 2050. This includes $57 million for maintenance and upgrades, plus an additional $14 million to increase the electrical capacity.

Local Law 97 requires new energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions limits, with a goal of a 40% reduction by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050. Additionally, Higgins Hall has maxed out its Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and electrical capacity.

As a result, Riano said, the school must expand into a new building to accommodate its growing student body. A Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) will now be issued to developers. This process will explore leveraging Pratt Institute’s air rights to build housing, including affordable housing, and deliver ...

Quilian Riano named dean of Pratt School of Architecture

2023-05-08T20:47:00-04:00

The Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture has just announced the appointment of urban designer and academic Quilian Riano as its new Dean.

Riano, who has been serving as the school’s Interim Dean since last August, will officially step into the role on May 8th. He joined Pratt’s faculty as an Assistant Dean in 2021 after previous teaching positions at Kent State University, Columbia, Syracuse, and Boston’s Wentworth Institute of Technology, among other campuses. Riano is also a board member of the Architectural League of New York, and holds degrees in architecture from both the Harvard GSD and University of Florida.

An advocate for design equity, social justice, and fair labor practices within the architecture industry, Riano was an active writer, collaborator, and former senior editor for Archinect in its early days. Some of his writings include his popular blog post "Design and Agency" and his 2016 feature "Gaming the System: role-playing spatial and political change," among ...

Pratt School of Architecture announces Quilian Riano as its new Assistant Dean

2021-07-07T19:12:00-04:00

Pratt Institute has announced the appointment of its new Assistant Dean Quilian Riano. As an architect, urban designer, researcher, and writer, his work explores architecture's relationship to design justice, anti-racist pedagogy, and urban design strategies that address socio-political issues. Riano’s decade in academia as a teacher in graduate and undergraduate studies in architecture, urban design, and interdisciplinary design has aided in the development of leading studios and design collectives that interrogate architecture and its current pedagogy.

Architecture Lobby members Quilian Riano and Peggy Deamer stage a performance of the organization’s 10-point manifesto at the 2014 AIA National Convention. Courtesy Quilian Riano 2016.

As the Assistant Dean, Riano will be working closely with Pratt School of Architecture Dean Dr. Harriet Harriss. His focus will be on "all four of the school's departments to help develop and amplify the research-driven, spatial outcomes with real-wor...

Online events today feature Odile Decq, public space & the tiny house movement

2020-05-05T07:35:00-04:00

Looking for some inspiration? Today's list of featured online events from our recently launched Virtual Event Guide include a lecture by French architect, urban planner and academic Odile Decq; a conversation on public space, hosted by Indy Design Week, and featuring Donna Sink and Quilian Riano; and an AIA-NY-hosted webinar on the tiny house movement.

Are you hosting a virtual lecture? Presentation? Tour? Interview? Happy Hour? Submit it for consideration by clicking here.

Are you an expert in an arena that's especially important right now? Let us know if you would like to work with Archinect to host an online event.

Odile Decq Guest Lecture at Athabasca University RAIC Centre for Architecture
Tuesday, May 5, 2020 | 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM MDT
Athabasca University, in Athabasca, Alberta, Canada, is hosting an online lecture with Odile Decq, French architect, urban planner and academic.
Click here to attend and/or register

Homeworks: Public Space
Tuesday, May 5, 2020 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM E...

Quilian Riano named associate director of Kent State's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative

2019-08-12T18:35:00-04:00

Quilian Riano, currently a senior strategic design initiatives specialist for New York City’s Department of Design and Construction, Office of the Chief Architect, has been selected as the new associate director of the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) at Kent State University in Ohio.

The announcement of Riano's hire was made in May of 2019.

Riano holds a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard's Graduate School of Design as well as a Bachelor of Design from the University of Florida. Riano is the founder of DSGN AGNC, a group that "experiments with new forms of space, policy, and process creation through political engagement," according to the studio's website.

I am very exciteed to announce that I’m the new Associate Director of Kent State’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (@ksuCUDC) https://t.co/AIPiZqr39a
— Quilian Riano (@quilian) August 12, 2019

As part of his work with the Design Trust for Public Space, Riano led the design of a new public space pilot p...

Better than SimCity: how architects benefit from games, ft. special guest Quilian Riano on Archinect Sessions #79

2016-09-01T18:35:00-04:00

Closing out August's special theme of Games, we're joined this week by Quilian Riano to talk through all the ways games can help architects reimagine not only their designs and design processes, but also their own role in the system and structures of city building. We discuss Quilian's recent piece for Archinect on his own work with games in pedagogy, practice and protest, and share our other experiences at the intersection of games and architecture.

Listen to episode 79 of Archinect Sessions, "Better than SimCity":

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Download: this episode

Shownotes:

Gaming the System: role-playing spatial and political change, Quilian's piece on his work with games

Game designer Jane McGonigal's T...

Hot Work in the Summertime: From Helsinki to London to NYC, Archinect Sessions #35

2015-06-25T17:20:00-04:00

Lots of summer blockbuster news to discuss on this week's podcast. The winner of the Helsinki Guggenheim competition was announced (a young husband-wife firm from Paris took the cake), SelgasCano's "psychedelic chrysalis" Serpentine Pavilion opened, and Andres Jaque's COSMO for MoMA PS1's "Warm Up" began its water cycle. And while not quite blockbusting, in what could easily be the premise for a Vincent Price flick, residents of the blighted Robin Hood Gardens dared Lord Rogers to spend a night in their quarters.

Special guests Quilian Riano and Peggy Deamer of The Architecture Lobby join our news discussion this week, dropping their excellent and incisive commentary on ethical practice into every topic. We are collaborating with the Lobby to measure satisfaction with work-life balance in architecture – take the 3-question survey here.

Listen to episode thirty-five of Archinect Sessions, "Hot Work in the Summertime":

iTunes: Click here to listen, and click the "Subscribe" button bel...

Editor's Picks #353

2014-02-05T14:37:00-05:00

For the latest edition of Working out of the Box, Archinect talked with Miguel McKelvey, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at WeWork. He just so happened to study architecture at University of Oregon with Paul Petrunia, Archinect's founder!

Mr. McKelvey explains "I have applied what I learned in architecture to pretty much every aspect of building a business - and for the right person, I would make the argument that architecture is a better preparation for being an entrepreneur than business school is".

Meanwhile edition #6 of Screen/Print an experiment in translation across media, highlights MONU's 19th issue, Greater Urbanism.

News

Archinect contributors / Parsons MArch students Ayesha Ghosh and Alex Stewart attended a panel discussion regarding MoMA expansion and Folk Museum demolition. The event was hosted jointly by the Architectural League, the Municipal Art Society, and the AIA's New York chapter and everyone in the audience missed the State of the Union address.

Ayesha and Alex...

Quilian Riano of DSGN AGNC awarded a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise

2014-01-29T13:41:00-05:00

Announcing good news is a splendid way to kick off a Wednesday morning: our respected friend, long-time Archinect contributor and founder of DSGN AGNC, Quilian Riano, has been named today as one of three winners of the 2014 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in the Arts, this year focusing on design. Paired with a $35,000 cash prize, the annual awards recognize young immigrants who have had a significant impact on the American arts early in their career.

"We are delighted to recognize Quilian with a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise," said Marica Vilcek, vice president of the Foundation. "His philosophical approach to urban planning and design addresses social justice needs and brings cohesion to the communities he works with."

In addition to Riano, Israeli-born material designer Neri Oxman was awarded the $100,000 Vilcek Prize. The other two Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise for Design were awarded to Iranian-born game designer Yasaman Hashemian and Togolese-born product designer Ma...

Peripheral Porosity

2011-06-06T18:06:43-04:00

For this brief phase in international relations, then, the U.S./Mexico border formally included a strange, pop-up entry/exit point. A kind of embassy of the porous. Passport stamps from the experience must surely stand as some of the most unique in the world, like some variation on philatelic collecting.

"Architect and designer Quilian Riano was on hand for the crossing, and these are his photographs reproduced here. By way of email, Riano described the physical terrain where they crossed beneath and through the border, remarking that the hydrological status of the land there 'really makes you think about how arbitrary borders are.'"