Archinect - News

A reading room dedicated to the late Michael Sorkin opens at CCNY's Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture

2022-10-27T11:21:00-04:00

The City College of New York (CCNY) is set to open the Sorkin Reading Room, dedicated to the late Michael Sorkin. The esteemed critic, and architect, who was also a Distinguished Professor of Architecture in the institute’s Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, passed away in March 2020 due to complications resulting from COVID-19.

image credit: Nilda Sanchez-Rodriguez

“The reading room will be used by researchers interested in Michael Sorkin’s criticism, pedagogy, and design practice,” said Joan Copjec, Sorkin’s wife and main proponent of the project. “The room itself, designed by Michael’s colleague Professor Elisabetta Terragni, is beautiful and calm.”

image credit: Nilda Sanchez-Rodriguez

Sorkin joined the school in 2000 as a Professor of Architecture and Director of the Graduate Program in Urban Design. He also established the annual Mumford Lectures during his tenure, whose speakers have included Theaster Gates (2015), Mike Davis (2005) who passed away this week, and J...

CCNY's Spitzer School of Architecture announces new dean and interim associate dean

2022-07-05T09:00:00-04:00

CCNY's Spitzer School of Architecture has appointed Dr. Marta Gutman as its new permanent dean. The search for a new school leader came after the former architecture dean, Lesley Lokko, announced her resignation in October 2020.

Dr. Gutman, who was appointed interim dean in August 2021, has taught architectural and urban history at CCNY since 2004. The school's provost, Tony Liss, shared in an announcement: "It has been my great pleasure to work closely with Dean Gutman this past year. She has shown extraordinary leadership in the School of Architecture, and it is gratifying to see the enthusiastic support of Architecture colleagues for her permanent deanship."

The licensed architect and historian is also an award-winning author. She received the Catherine W. Bishir Prize in 2021 for her scholarly work and contributions to the study of vernacular architecture and cultural landscapes. She has held several leadership positions within committees at the school, including the Committee ...

Lesley Lokko resigns as Dean of CCNY's Spitzer School of Architecture

2020-10-07T13:36:00-04:00

This week Lesley Lokko announces her resignation as Dean of Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York. After her appointment in June 2019, there was a lot of excitement about her plans and goals for the school under her leadership. We spoke with Lokko back in November to for an exclusive Archinect Deans List interview. She spoke of her journey towards architecture, her path as an educator, and her pedagogical approaches for the school.

The Spitzer school is New York City's only public school of architecture. Image courtesy of CCNY.

During Dean Lokko's appointment, the world was struck with a pandemic that impacted everyone around the globe. Academic institutions did their best to navigate these challenging times, however, visions for the 2020 academic year were dramatically altered. In a statement shared with the Architectural Record, Lokko explains, "My decision to leave Spitzer after less than a year is fairly straightforward: I was not able to...

Scottish-Ghanaian Architect, Lesley Lokko, Announced as the New Dean of CCNY's Spitzer School of Architecture

2019-06-07T13:13:00-04:00

UK-trained, Scottish-Ghanaian architect, academic, and best-selling novelist Lesley Lokko has been named as the dean of the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture (SSA) at The City College of New York (CCNY).

Lokko comes to CCNY with over a quarter-century of academic experience teaching in schools across the U.K., United States, and South Africa. Lokko was educated at the Bartlett School of Architecture and earned her doctorate in architecture from the University of London in 2007.

She is currently director of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, a 100-student program Lokko founded in 2015. Under Lokko's stewardship, the program has grown from an initial 11-student cohort to become the largest dedicated postgraduate school of architecture in Africa.

In a press release announcing her selection, Lokko said, “This is an incredible opportunity and such an honor. It’s an exciting and challenging time to be joining the school’s ...

CetraRuddy to sponsor a design studio at the City College of New York

2017-02-01T13:02:00-05:00

The architecture firm CetraRuddy has announced that it will sponsor a design studio course focusing on housing at the City College of New York. A five-semester long design and research project conceived in tandem with faculty, the program will be part of the school’s Master of Architecture program. According to the press release, this fight is the first of its kind for the City College.

“We are extremely excited about this collaboration,” says Gordon A. Gebert, interim dean at CCNY Spitzer School of Architecture. "The CetraRuddy Design Studio in Housing makes a direct impact by bridging academia and practice together in a meaningful way, and enhancing the education and professional development of students."

Landscape research project takes on Long Island's Jamaica Bay

2015-01-29T14:24:00-05:00

Landscape architect Catherine Seavitt, along with her team at the City College of New York, take those approaches to Jamaica Bay a step further as part of the larger Structures of Coastal Resilience study, which includes three other East Coast bays attended to by university-based teams. As Seavitt explains, her studio follows a growing trend in the field of landscape architecture toward experimental and science-based design processes and active participation in policy discussions.