Archinect - News

Maria Villalobos Hernandez to lead IIT’s Master of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism

2023-09-26T11:37:00-04:00

The Illinois Institute of Technology has appointed Maria A. Villalobos Hernandez as director of its Master of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism program. “Villalobos is the first woman of color and first Latinx person to be a director of a College of Architecture program, and she will bring a deep-rooted sense of equity and justice to the program,” the institute said announcing the news.

Originally hailing from Venezuela, Villalobos Hernandez has “witnessed first-hand the impacts of the oil industry on local communities,” bringing her to cultivate “an approach to landscape architecture that prioritizes environmental and social justice.” Having exercised this ethos through her practice, Botanical City, Villalobos Hernandez now hopes to infuse the MLA+U program with the same spirit.

“The weight of this appointment holds resonance beyond personal achievement, as it is a great responsibility to be the inaugural Latin American Director of a program in the College,” said Villalobos Herna...

David Sharpe, IIT professor of 50 years, has passed away

2020-07-13T11:54:00-04:00

David Sharpe, an influential educator and architect, has passed away on June 20, 2020 at age 91.

Born on September 4, 1928 in Decaturville, Tennessee, Sharpe was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Tuskegee Institute after displaying great skill in architecture and engineering, according to Docomomo. He graduated from Tuskegee in 1950 and soon enlisted in the Air Force, where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant during the Korean War. After completing his military service, Sharpe spent time in Chicago, where he became inspired to apply to the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Sharpe ultimately earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1960 and Master of Science in Architecture in 1962 from IIT.

After studying under notable architects Mies van der Rohe and Myron Goldsmith, Sharpe was hired at the Chicago Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM) office in 1964, where he worked for over 20 years, ultimately rising to the position of associate partner. While at SOM, Sharpe w...

AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grant winners focus on NZE, performance, and life cycle assessment

2020-06-29T18:37:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has chosen the winners of the latest round of AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grants.

The grants offer $15,000 to $30,000 in research support for "applied research projects that enhance the value of design and professional practice knowledge," according to the AIA website. This year's winners aim to tackle a variety of performance and sustainability-related topics, including Net Zero Energy (NZE) standards and building life cycle assessment metrics.

A research team headed by Nina M. Sharifi, PhD of Syracuse University and Gabrielle Brainard, AIA of Pratt Institute aims to develop research titled Envelope Retrofit Guide: Net Zero Energy Ready Strategies for Existing Buildings. This project, according to the researchers, "will produce an Envelope Retrofit Guide to assist architects in the early stages of net zero ready retrofit projects." The guide will provide "technical guidance at a schematic level and will catalog retrofit strategies for...

Students from Illinois Institute of Technology and HafenCity University explore Chicago and Hamburg's similarities

2019-09-26T18:00:00-04:00

A joint exhibition two years in-the-making brings together architecture students from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and HafenCity University of Hamburg to investigate the "analogous nature" of each school's host city. Stemming from a study abroad research project led by Adjunct Professor Martin Kläschen, the students from both institutions focus on the parallels of both locations and the unique history of these "sister cities."

Chicago's special bond with the city of Hamburg was inaugurated in 1994. Through these regional affiliations, the U.S metropolis has become an even more prominent global city rich with global education, cultural exchange, tourism, and international business opportunities.

Doppelgänger. Image courtesy of IIT via @ittarchitecture/Instagram

Research uncovered by both institutions led to naming the exhibition, Doppelgänger, a German term referring to an individual's "identical lookalike" fe...

SANAA's Grace Farms “River” building wins latest MCHAP

2016-10-19T23:00:00-04:00

The verdict is out! SANAA's meandering Grace Farms “River” project has won the second Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, as announced by IIT College of Architecture Dean Wiel Arets and MCHAP Director Dirk Denison during a ceremony tonight at the S.R. Crown Hall in Chicago. First awarded in 2014, the biennial MCHAP is IIT's way of illuminating the most distinguished architectural projects built in the Americas. Projects for the second edition had to be completed between January 2014 and December 2015.

As part of their prize package, SANAA founders Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa will be appointed as MCHAP Chair at IIT Architecture Chicago for the following academic year and will receive up to $50,000 to fund research and a collaborative publication with the school.

SANAA won over an international group of finalists that included Michael Maltzan, Grafton Architects, and Patkau Architects + Kearns Mancini Architects, to name a few (projects pictured in photo gallery below).

The River has co...

50 Designers, 50 Ideas, 50 Wards

2016-08-16T00:08:00-04:00

At the very least, these projects propose efficiencies and aesthetics that run counter to the institutional momentum within the city’s many departments, a daunting prospect in itself. None of this is necessarily inappropriate for such an exhibition, but it does ignore the question of where much of the aesthetic and spatial expression in our built environment comes from, and how we might change it.

Get Lectured: Illinois Institute of Technology, Fall '14

2014-09-16T13:41:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2014

Say hello to another edition of Archinect's Get Lectured! As a refresher, we'll be featuring a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. If you're not doing so already, be sure to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Designed by Amsterdam-based graphic design studio mainstudio, today's poster comes from the Illinois Institute of Technology, College of Architecture.

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

Note each lecture's location. Events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise stated.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 17
6:30 pm
"Naïve Intention"
Mauricio Pezo & Sofia von Ellrichshausen / Principals - Pezo von Ellrichshausen; MCHAP. emerge Winner
at S. R. Crown Hall

OCTOBER

Oct. 8
6:30 pm
"Grand Projets: Creating Centralities"
Kees Christiaanse / Principal - KCAP Architects & Planners
at S.R. Crown Hall

Oct. ...