Archinect - News

Columbia GSAPP's floating 'Cloud' installation seeks to unite a fractious campus

2024-10-24T19:08:00-04:00

Columbia GSAPP has shared details of its new student-led, temporary inflatable Cloud structure in Avery Plaza.

The installation culminates a two-semester seminar led by GSAPP faculty members Laurie Hawkinson and Galia Solomonoff.

Photo: Nicholas Knight/Columbia GSAPP

The temporary pavilion structure, which is made out of metallic foam fabricated by a Spanish manufacturer called Àrea Cúbica, "envisions a participatory experience that emphasizes the interconnectedness of peoples’ actions in shared spaces."

Photo: Nicholas Knight/Columbia GSAPP

Inside, seating is anchored by a cascading series of nets. The pavilion is 66 feet wide and suspended by 25 cables, emerging from a fourth-floor classroom window. Columbia says its appearance works to reframe "the relationship between Avery Hall and Avery Plaza, questioning notions of connectivity between interior and exterior spaces" while also "challenging boundaries of conditioned space."

Photo: Nicholas Knight/Columbia GSAPP

Beyond this good ...

Get Lectured: Columbia University, Fall '23

2023-10-02T17:19:00-04:00

Our Get Lectured series offers a semesterly look at the on-campus public programming offered by different schools of architecture. Today, we continue with a look at the events taking place at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) this Fall.

This year’s theme is organized under the title ‘Affirmations.’ The school shares: “AFFIRMATIONS is an eight-month series of discussions with designers, researchers, planners, preservationists, and activists to affirm and interrogate how to think and redesign the built environment at the intersection of climate, ecological, societal, bodily, and technological crises and defiance. As a project convened to interrogate and affirm how to think and practice the reworlding of societies and ecosystems now, AFFIRMATIONS is intended to align evidence and aspirations.”

Lecture poster design by Nick Sheeran, courtesy of Columbia GSAPP.

September already saw a packed slate of discussions and lecture presenta...

The Architectural League of New York appoints Jacob R. Moore as its new Executive Director

2023-06-15T11:49:00-04:00

The Architectural League of New York has named Jacob R. Moore as its next Executive Director, following a thorough national search. Moore succeeds Rosalie Genevro, who announced her decision to step down last year after leading the organization for nearly 40 years.

“Jacob brings tremendous passion and a deep knowledge of the most important forces and issues impacting the built environment today,” said Mario Gooden, President of The League’s board of directors. “His vision for the future of The League and his commitment to equity, spatial justice, and the environment make him the ideal person to shape our next chapter.”

Moore will assume the position after most recently serving as the Associate Director of the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University’s GSAPP. While at the Buell Center, he led the design, development, and execution of a range of public programs with a focus on the built environment, climate change, and social justice. S...

Andrés Jaque appointed as new Dean of Columbia GSAPP

2022-08-18T19:05:00-04:00

Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) has appointed architect, curator, and artist Andrés Jaque as its next Dean. He replaces Amale Andraos, who stepped down from the role in May 2021.

Jaque received his Ph.D. and MArch from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid. He has been involved with GSAPP since 2013, where he began teaching advanced design studios. He directs the school's Master of Science program in Advanced Architectural Design, to which he was appointed in 2018.

Aside from his work at GSAPP, Jaque is the founder of Office for Political Innovation, an international architecture firm based in New York and Madrid. His practice has been recognized and part of collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, along with other exhibitions at institutions arou...

Columbia GSAPP appoints Weiping Wu and Mario Gooden to interim leadership roles as Dean Amale Andraos' tenure draws to a close

2021-11-10T18:07:00-05:00

A restructuring at the top of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning (GSAPP) has been announced to coincide with the end of outgoing dean Amale Andraos' tenure.

Weiping Wu will now serve as GSAPP’s interim dean, while Mario Gooden is the new interim M.Arch graduate program director, replacing Andraos.

Wu was previously the director of the M.S. and Ph.D. in Urban Planning programs and brings to her new position more than twenty years of academic and professional experience. Prior to joining the GSAPP faculty in 2016, Wu served as Chair of the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University.

Her research has been focused on the urbanization of developing countries and China in particular. She has published several books and is the current president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), which represents a consortium of educational institutions that offer credentials in urban and regional planning....

Amale Andraos steps down as Dean of Columbia GSAPP

2021-05-20T16:10:00-04:00

Today, academic and architectural practitioner Amale Andraos announces her decision to step down as Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. After succeeding Mark Wigley as Dean in 2014, Andraos has dedicated her time towards serving and improving the GSAPP community. During her seven-year tenure, she also ran her practice WORKac along with her husband, Dan Wood.

Keen on strengthening the institution's connectivity to the city and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations between GSAPP and other disciplines, Andraos' continued involvement with the university will continue. In her open letter to the community, she notes that she will continue to serve the GSAPP community as a Special Advisor to the President. "Climate Change is one of the main reasons I accepted to serve as Dean seven years ago [...] I will be able to continue to advocate for our disciplines' urgent transformations so that they may help address the challenges already...

GSAPP establishes $1 million Norma Merrick Sklarek Scholars Fund to support DEI in graduate study

2020-10-29T12:54:00-04:00

Dean Amale Andraos announced this month that GSAPP will commit $1 million to establish the Norma Merrick Sklarek '50 B.Arch Scholars Fund, intended to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity towards access for graduate study.

Sklarek was the first Black woman to become a registered architect in the State of New York. After graduating from Columbia University, she worked at the Department of Works for New York City and later accepted a position at SOM before moving to Los Angeles for a position at Gruen Associates.

While at Gruen, Sklarek was named the firm's Director in 1966 before transitioning to work at Welton Becket's firm as the organization's Vice President. Moreover, Sklarek became the first Black woman to receive a fellowship by the AIA in 1980 after which she founded Siegel, Sklarek, Diamond with Margot Siegal and Katherine Diamond.

According to Columbia University, "the Norma Merrick Sklarek ’50 B.Arch Scholars Fund will be used over the next three academic years to suppo...

Get Lectured: Columbia University, Fall '20

2020-10-26T14:59:00-04:00

Columbia GSAPP's public events and lecture series covers an array of topical issues that focus on architecture and its involvement in race, social justice, politics, and climate change.

Archinect's ongoing Get Lectured series features each school's lecture series and their graphic design prowess with graphic lecture posters.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Starting in September, GSAPP welcomed Stephen Burks, Bryan C. Lee Jr., Yasmeen Lari, and Lola Ben-Alon. Discussions on Site and History: On the Question of Repair and The Preservation of Disability dove into conversations moderated by Galia Solomonoff and David Gissen. Also during the month of September was GSAPP's symposium that focused on the recent book launch Race and Modern Architecture: A Critical History from the Enlightenment to the Present, published by the University Pittsburgh Press and edited by Mabel O. Wilson, Irene Cheg, and Charle...

Ladies in the room: With women at the helm of several architecture schools in the U.S., where does gender disparity go from here?

2019-07-16T10:50:00-04:00

People often ask me if that’s the reason women don’t go into architecture or leave architecture, but I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s one single reason. I think for decades it has been a combination of lots of little reasons - being the only woman in the room, not being respected on construction sites, and add into that working hours, balanced with wanting to be a parent, all those things together have discouraged women. But I do see it changing.

In 2019, the rise of female leadership and representation in architectural academia has become more apparent then ever. In practice and academia, women have risen to position themselves amongst a male-dominated profession. Yale has Deborah Berke, Cornell has Meejin Yoon, Columbia has Amale Andraos, Princeton has Mónica Ponce de León, Harvard has the newly appointed Sarah Whiting, and recently Pratt Institute has announced the deanship of Dr. Harriet Harriss.

With the following institutions showcasing women leading the charge, what exactly does this mean for increasing equity and representation to the profession? In a recent interview, Deborah Berke chats with Forbes about what needs to happen in order for gender disparity to dwindle.

During her interview with Heather Senison, Berke talks numbers and shares why women have turned away from the profession. When asked about architecture schools and if institutions need to do a better job at attracting female leadership and students, Be...

Get Lectured: Columbia GSAPP, Spring '17

2017-01-18T17:19:00-05:00

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session for Winter and Spring 2017. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss. Mark those calendars!

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

The Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation kicks off their Spring 2017 events with lectures, exhibitions, a symposium, book launches, and discussions — including a timely series called “The First 100 Days”. Starting January 20, the series will provide opportunities for students and faculty to discuss, organize, and plan for the changes to come during the Trump administration.

Unless noted*, lectures take place on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in Wood Auditorium, Avery Hall.

Jan 20*, 1 p.m. at Ware Lounge, Avery Hall
The First 100 Days: ...

GSAPP United: how student unions affect architectural labor, ft. A.L. Hu, GSAPP MArch student and organizer with Graduate Workers of Columbia, on Archinect Sessions #81

2016-09-15T18:50:00-04:00

In a landmark decision last month, Columbia University graduate students won the right to unionize in a case filed against the National Labor Relations Board. As a result, graduate students in private universities across the U.S. now have the right to collectively bargain. What effect does this have on architecture student labor, and the valuation of architecture overall?

We're joined this week by special guest A.L. Hu, a third-year GSAPP MArch student and key organizer with Graduate Workers of Columbia (GWC-UAW). Hu shared what's happening at the school after the landmark decision, and how these organizing efforts can affect the architecture profession overall.

Listen to episode 81 of Archinect Sessions, "GSAPP United":

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Get Lectured: Columbia GSAPP, Fall '16

2016-08-29T15:00:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2016

Gearing up for another eventful school year this fall? Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss. Mark those calendars!

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Next up is the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Kicking off next week, their Fall '16 Lecture Series includes lectures featuring Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, Design, Bitches, Caruso St John, and SHoP Architects' Gregg Pasquarelli; symposia like “The Museum Boom in China” and “Exhibition Models: Curating Architecture”; upcoming exhibitions such as “The Other Architect”, and more.

Here's a closer look at the lecture poster.

For more info...

Columbia GSAPP names Weiping Wu Director of Urban Planning Program

2016-07-06T17:30:00-04:00

Effective July 1, Wu became the new Director of the Master of Science in the Urban Planning program at Columbia's GSAPP, as announced by current dean, Amale Andraos. In a press release issued by GSAPP, Wu is referred to as one of the "top scholarly experts on Chinese urbanization", focusing on issues of migration, housing and infrastructure.

Andraos described Wu as "that rare scholar who has the ability to bridge theory and practice and is committed to advancing the field towards the bettering of our built environment.” Previously, Wu was the Chair of the Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Department at Tufts University, and editor of the Journal of Planning Education and Research. She will continue in her role as President and President-Elect of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).

Dismantled Models: Amale Andraos on Archinect Sessions One-to-One #21

2016-05-02T15:24:00-04:00

We last spoke with Amale Andraos for our Deans List series, a year after she succeeded Mark Wigley as dean of Columbia University's GSAPP. Since 2011 at GSAPP, before her deanship began, Andraos has led various research studios and seminars around "Architecture and Representation: The Arab City"—the results from which she has now edited, with Studio-X Amman director Nora Akawi, into a new book, The Arab City.

Andraos spoke with me about the perpetuated stereotypes and simplifications that plague discussions of Arab cities—the desert v. the oasis, the traditional v. the modern, etc.—and how her own experiences in Beirut inspired her research.

Listen to One-to-One #21 with Amale Andraos:

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Shownotes:

The Arab City: Architecture and R...

Get Lectured: Columbia GSAPP, Spring '16

2016-01-25T14:00:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2016

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Our next featured poster comes from the Columbia University GSAPP. Upcoming events are listed below.

Jan 25
Joshua Bolchover and John Lin / Rural Urban Framework
Response by Amale Andraos

Jan 29
Architecture in Print: New Approaches to Graphic Design
Yoonjai Choi, Glen Cummings, and Neil Donnelly
Response by Michael Rock and Susan Sellers

Feb 1
Zhu Pei / Studio Pei-Zhu
Response by Jeffrey Johnson

Feb 4
Les Levine: Bio-Tech Rehearsals 1965–1975
Les Levine with Michelle Kuo, Felicity Scott and Mark Wasiuta
Exhibition Opening and Discussion

Feb 8
Frank Barkow / Ba...

Easing from school into practice: GSAPP launches "Incubator"

2015-12-03T13:25:00-05:00

Being a fresh graduate in the lamentably real world is perhaps one of the steepest transitions an architect ever faces, which is part of the inspiration behind Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation's newly launched Incubator program. Billing itself as a kind of professional bridge building/idea lab initiative, Incubator helps alumni network with professionals in the technological industry in a dedicated interdisciplinary co-working space located in The Bowery in New York City. The first iteration of Incubator features eleven groups including FAMILY + PLAYLAB + POOL, IrisVR, and KOSMOS.

The groups are developing projects that encompass a swath of contemporary architectural concerns and territories, including public spaces, critical discourse and publishing, virtual reality, urban regeneration, and digital technology, with the goal of helping Incubator's members entrepreneurially explore ties between technology, culture, and architecture.

...

Nonscandinavia: an open-source, image collection for the rest of the world

2015-10-27T19:22:00-04:00

We believe that renderings reflect our aspirations as architects, and that our decisions about representation matter. Renderings should reflect the people in and around the site, and should project a future that values diversity and acceptance of all people. The goal of NONSCANDINAVIA is to give young architects and students access to a database of free, high-res, PNG images that reflect diversity in all its forms.

The world of architectural renders is a strange place. Here, the air is hazy yet skies are blue. Trees grow translucent and lawns are always green. Buildings are illuminated by perhaps two or three suns. Little girls roam cultural centers alone, clutching red balloons.

And just about everyone is a young, white, hipster from Northern Europe.

Thankfully, life in most cities isn't like this. And, while there's much to be said about the problematic overuse of architectural renders in general, it seems like they're here to stay (at least for the time being). A render can help sell a project, conveying a space much more eloquently to a lay person than a plan or axo – if not more factually. But that doesn't mean that these imaginary worlds have to be so homogenous.

Nonscandinavia, a project from the student group A-Frame at Columbia University GSAPP, comprises a open-source collection of hi-res PNG images, "dedicated to increasing diversity in architectural representation." As the name sugges...

Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA lectures at GSAPP

2014-09-22T16:47:00-04:00

This past Wednesday, Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA addressed an overflowing Wood Auditorium, giving the first GSAPP lecture of the semester. Recently appointed dean Amale Andraos gave a brief introduction of Sejima and returned at the end of the lecture to lead a discussion as well as the Q/A portion of the evening.

Sejima began her lecture by explaining her choice of “Canopy” as her theme, an idea that is central to her, both as a part of SANAA and independently. “I like to make a space like a park, because a park is a place where different kind of people can gather,” stated Sejima, describing her desire to create an architecture that allows diverse groups of people to come together to both share and create their own space. By developing the concept of a canopy, Sejima creates a direct connection with the building and the environment, in a similar way that parks connect people with each other and the environment.

Starting with the Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne, Switzerland and conc...

Weekly News Round-Up for August 11, 2014: Monumental politics, smart homes and GSAPP's new dean

2014-08-18T12:53:00-04:00

Friday, August 15

Farewell to the Old Okura: The famous Hotel Okura, built in the 1960s in a distinctive fusion of modern and traditional Japanese styles, is closing in response to prohibitive earthquake retrofits and larger, newer hotels in the area.
Samsung Acquires SmartThings, A Fast-Growing Home Automation Startup: SmartThings, an aggregator for all "smart" internet-connected devices in the home, cost Samsung an estimated $200 million —chump change in comparison to Google's $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest.

Thursday, August 14

One ridesharing app to rule them all: Ridescout moves into the competitive world of rideshare: Ridescout aggregates hundreds of ridesharing services to compare trips, and will now include "carpool" options that can help users share trips. The announcement comes after last week's news that Uber and Lyft are now both offering carpooling services.
Revisiting the American Folk Art Museum controversy, through comics: A thoughtful and diplomatic look at AFAM's his...

Amale Andraos to succeed Mark Wigley as GSAPP's new dean

2014-08-12T16:11:00-04:00

Andraos, an associate professor of architecture, planning and preservation at GSAPP since 2011 and a principal at WORKac., will succeed Mark Wigley, who announced he would retire at the end of the 2013-2014 academic year [...] “Columbia is already a leader in addressing the challenges of high-speed urbanization around the globe and I believe it can lead in recasting architecture in dialogue with our urban societies and the natural environment,” Andraos said in the release.

Just shy of the new academic year, Columbia's GSAPP has appointed Amale Andraos to succeed Mark Wigley as Dean, effective this fall. Andraos is a firm presence in New York architecture and beyond, as principal of WORKac alongside her husband, Dan Wood (both previously profiled in our UpStarts series). The Wall Street Journal named her one of Rem Koolhaas' protégés, and her writing has been featured in our Screen/Print series.

You can see what kind of post Andraos is inheriting in our Deans List interview with Mark Wigley, the prior GSAPP dean.

GSAPP Lecture Addresses Architecture's Role in New Democratic Systems

2014-03-31T18:31:00-04:00

GSAPP continued its spring lecture series last Thursday night with the Belgian political philosopher Chantal Mouffe. The talk provided a brief interlude away from pure architecture and explored Mouffe’s theories on counter-hegemonic radicalization of democracy by the multitude through agonistic pluralism. Considering the entire lecture was as dense as the previous statement, Mouffe began with a much-needed summary of post-modern political philosophers ranging from Negri to Virno. She pointed out how they all advocated a general strategy of withdrawal, using exodus from established hegemonies as a form of political action. While Mouffe didn’t directly address the architect’s role within this paradigm, she noted how artists with political intentions abandon traditional institutions (museums, galleries, etc) to instill their work with radical meaning.

Mouffe formulated her lecture to bring up two essential points to her theories of agonistic pluralism, the first elucidating how withdraw...