Joseph Godlewski is an accomplished scholar and educator known for his innovative contributions to architectural history, theory, and cultural landscape studies. At Syracuse he is an Associate Professor of Architecture and Senior Research Associate at the Maxwell African Scholars Union. His research employs close readings of textual and material culture to reveal the lived experiences of historically marginalized communities. Through archival and ethnographic fieldwork, his monograph The Architecture of the Bight of Biafra: Spatial Entanglements (Routledge, 2024) examines the intersection of race and the built environment in southeastern Nigeria from the early modern period to today. As an urban history of the region’s fragmented riverine geography, it sheds light on the ways a spatial culture marked by self-determination and exchange productively crafted sites of Black identity. His textbook, Introduction to Architecture: Global Disciplinary Knowledge (Cognella, 2019) expands the repertoire of conventional architectural theory anthologies by including texts written by a range of authors globally emphasizing the process of co-creation and circulation of ideas across cultures. He is a recipient of both the Meredith Teaching Recognition Award and the ACSA/AIAS New Faculty Teaching Award.
Joseph received his undergraduate professional degree in Architecture (B. Arch with Honors) from Syracuse University and his Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley where he was part of the Global Metropolitan Studies Program examining emerging patterns in urban development.
His writing is featured in various forums including The Plan Journal, Architecture Research Quarterly, CLOG, MONU, e-flux, ArchDaily.com, Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review, and the books Theory’s Curriculum (Architecture Exchange, 2020) and The Dissertation: An Architecture Student’s Handbook (Routledge, 2014). He is a contributing member of the Global Architectural History Teaching Collaborative (GAHTC).
Before arriving in Syracuse, Godlewski worked professionally as a designer in a number of contexts. He collaborated with Marc Kocher Architekt in Zurich on one of the development projects transforming Berlin’s urban landscape. In Boston, he participated in the city’s “Big Dig” development and was part of an international team of designers working on MIT’s Brain and Cognitive Sciences Building. At Eisenman Architects in New York City, he worked on the Santiago de Compostela City of Culture project in Galicia, Spain. He has also collaborated on numerous multi-use residential and resort projects with KMA Architecture and Engineering in San Diego and SB Architects in San Francisco.
