Upjohn Research Initiative

Algae Foam: Prototype for Buildings
Principal Investigators: Martin Bechthold, DDes and Daniel Tish, DDes 

Algae Foam: Prototype for Buildings project aims to develop a thermal insulation material with a low-to-negative carbon footprint by using microalgae grown in nutrient recovery systems that treat effluents, sequester CO2, and generate biomass. It aligns with the AIA Framework for Design Excellence, focusing on 'Design for Resources,' 'Design for Ecosystems,' and 'Design for Water.' The project aligns with this year's "Zero-Carbon" initiative, as it offers an alternative to conventional insulation materials that help to reduce operational emissions primarily caused by heating and cooling. 

Integrated Carbon Dashboard for Residential Architecture  
Principal Investigators: Vikram Sami, AIA, LEED AP, BEMP, Teresa Moroseos AIA, Christopher Savage, PhD, LEED AP BD+C, Christopher Meek, FAIA, Heather Burpee, Assoc. AIA, Pawel Sapiecha

The Integrated Carbon Dashboard for Residential Architecture's goal is to develop a free, user-friendly tool that will guide smaller firms, comprising around 60% of AIA member firms, towards carbon neutrality in building projects. This tool targets residential architecture, which makes up 70% of the U.S. building stock. Although architects do not design many single-family homes, researchers believe this tool will help designers working on such housing stock achieve their goals. The project aligns with the "Zero-Carbon" initiative by promoting low-carbon design and educating small-firm architects and professionals. It also encourages "Practice Innovation" by integrating early design workflows and enhancing existing tools, such as connecting the "Materials" and "Energy" sections of the AIA Common App.  

Masonry Material Recovery: Building Disassembly and Remanufacture for the Circular Economy
Principal Investigator: Dillon Pranger, AIA (Illinois Institute of Technology)

Collaborators: Steve Filyo (BlueEarth Deconstruction), Matt Gombeda (Illinois Institute of Technology), Scott Conwell, FAIA, FCSI, CDT, LEED AP (International Masonry Institute) 

Masonry Material Recovery is a multi-disciplinary investigation aimed at reducing material and energy consumption in the built environment through the development of novel approaches to the reclamation of demolished masonry elements, specifically concrete masonry units (CMU), brick, and stone materials. The project team will use emerging technologies such as 3D scanning, digital twin modeling, and augmented reality to design and test new workflows that consider each phase of a material’s typical journey from recovery, to remanufacturing, design, and ‘new’ construction. The project seeks to reduce reliance on virgin resources, decrease energy and carbon emissions, and set new standards for sustainable construction practices.   

OPEN-GROUND: Public Space as Climate Infrastructure 
Principal Investigators: Daniel Jacobs RA (University of Houston), Brittany Utting RA (Rice University)

OPEN-GROUND is a design proposal and research experiment that studies how public architecture can operate as both climate infrastructure and a space for outdoor leisure. The project adapts Houston’s typologies of urban public space, such as the shaded sport court, into microclimatic engines, exploring the integration of water catchment reservoirs with passive cooling techniques. The grant will fund an integrated design process including physical models, digital simulations, and experimental mock-ups to study the thermodynamic and material properties of the proposal. Demonstration prototypes will be publicly exhibited and documented alongside a publication. 

Gregory S. Ibañez, FAIA, (chair), Ibañez Shaw Architecture 

Jeffrey E. Huber, FAIA, Brooks + Scarpa / Florida Atlantic University 

Laura F. Stagner, FAIA, DBIA, NAC

Hannah E. Evwaraye, AIA, NCARB Moody Nolan

Katherine (Kate) L. Schwennsen, FAIA, 2025 Chancellor, AIA College of Fellows  

Anne Marie Duvall Decker, FAIA, Duvall Decker

Suzanne Frasier, FAIA, Morgan State University

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.

Collective Comfort: Framing the Cooling Center as a Resiliency and Educational Hub for Communities in Desert Cities
Principal Investigators: Dalia Munenzon (University of Houston); Elizabeth Galvez (UC Berkeley)

Collective Comfort aims to develop a public program that re-thinks the cooling center as an educational resilience hub. It will explore how visualization and somatic practices of thermal comfort can reduce risk from urban heat, and how resilient hub co-design can create agency and stewardship for vulnerable populations affected by heat and cooling inequality. This research brings interdisciplinary partners from resiliency planning, engineering, and architecture into collaboration with community stakeholders and municipal government to develop design guidelines.

Forest-First Rural Housing
Principal Investigators: Kiel Moe, FAIA (Decentralized Design Lab / Auburn University Rural Studio); Jacob Mans, AIA (Decentralized Design Lab / University of Minnesota); Andrew Freear (Auburn University Rural Studio)

This fieldwork-based Forest-First approach to rural housing understands timber building components as a by-product of regenerative forestry practices. The research focuses on rural, local strategies that develop forest, material, thermal, ventilation, and practice techniques for the climatic, economic, and demographic changes in the decades ahead. Projected outcomes include a rural housing prototype and a dynamic carbon method and model of the synchronized forest-building method. Collaboration with forest ecologists will guide decisions to shape novel silvicultural and building prescriptions to engender healthier forests and healthier buildings.

Inattentiveness Reduction through Environmental Interventions: Workplace Designing for Inattentive Type ADHD
Principal Investigators: Jinoh Park, PhD (University of Arkansas), Melissa A. Hoelting (Corgan), Samantha S. Flores, AIA (Corgan), Michelle Huh (University of Arkansas), Marjan Miri (University of Arkansas)

This research asks, "How does strategic environmental intervention through workplace design quantitatively impact levels of attentiveness?" Through a mixed methods approach, this study seeks to understand how base design and tunable options can empower individuals to improve attentiveness in an office environment. As a partnership between a university and an architecture and design firm, this project will create a workplace design resource containing recommendations to benefit health and well-being.

A Research-Informed Guide to Circadian Lighting Design in Existing Buildings
Principal Investigators: Julia Siple, AIA (Quinn Evans); Denise Gravelle, AIA (Quinn Evans); Siobhan Rockcastle, PhD (University of Oregon)
Collaborators: Thalia Chrousos, AIA (Quinn Evans); Alen Mahić (University of Oregon)

The team of academic researchers and design professionals will evaluate parameters to compare eye-level light exposure potential for circadian health in existing buildings. This project will produce a visual design guide with a decision tree and case studies for professionals seeking to implement circadian health goals through daylighting design. Outcomes of the research will make circadian lighting design more accessible to a wide audience of architects and designers.
 

Nathaniel Hudson, AIA, (chair), FormGrey Studio

Stacey Crumbaker, Assoc. AIA, Mahlum

Kathleen Gordon, Assoc. AIA, AIA Louisiana

Gregory Ibañez, FAIA, Ibañez Shaw Architecture

Jeanne Jackson, FAIA, VCBO Architecture

Etty Padmodipoetro, AIA, Urban Idea Lab

Tim Schroeder, FAIA, Neumann Monson

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.

Age-Friendly University and Community Creative Spaces

Principal Investigator: D. S. Nicholas, AIA (Drexel University)

Collaborators: Ayana Allen-Handy, PhD (Drexel University); Rachel Wenrick (Drexel University)

Through case-study research, this project will study how nonprofits focused on creative placemaking and art for social justice can facilitate the implementation of age-friendly retrofits in their spaces to advance the creation of equitable, healthy, and resilient communities. This research project will connect Age-Friendly University (AFU) work to the larger professional and community voices in this space by creating a guide for architects, designers, and nonprofits who are undertaking age-friendly creative spaces.

Carbon Neutral Corridors

Principal Investigators: Jacob Davis, AIA, LEED AP (archimania); Matt Seltzer, AIA, LEED AP (archimania); Kayce Williford, AIA (archimania); Heather Koury, Hon. AIA, LEED Green Assoc. (archimania)

Collaborators: Barry Yoakum, FAIA, LEED AP (archimania); Todd Walker, FAIA (archimania)

Using a mixed method approach, this research will provide a Carbon Neutral Corridor model for reimagining aging commercial and residential corridors into locally authentic, resilient, equitable and inclusive solutions to rising energy use and carbon emissions. This will be a focused study of lower-carbon streetscapes, carbon neutral building strategies, and engagement with public/private partnerships. This study will create a path for a more resilient and healthy future in urban communities.

Early, Parametric Mass Timber Building Design Tool

Principal Investigator: Corey Gracie-Griffin, Assoc. AIA (Penn State)

Collaborators: Nathan Brown, PhD (Penn State); Samantha Leonard (Penn State); Chris Chatto, AIA (ZGF Architects); Ethan Martin, PE (DCI Engineers)

What early-stage decisions can designers make to improve environmental performance and justify mass timber structural systems for building projects? This industry-guided research will produce a dataset and data visualization tools to support architectural and engineering design of mass timber gravity systems across a range of geometries. The quantitative, simulation-driven tools will include a design guide and interactive interface for communicating design data, which architects and engineers can use to reduce embodied carbon while also considering other design and construction parameters.

Fungal Biomaterials for Sustainable Architectural Acoustics

Principal Investigators: Benay Gürsoy Toykoç, PhD (Penn State); Linnea Hesse, PhD (University of Hamburg); John Pecchia, PhD (Penn State); Nathan Brown, PhD (Penn State); Natalie Walter (Penn State)

Collaborators: Ali Ghazvinian (Penn State); Alale Mohseni (Penn State)

Mycelium-based composites are lightweight and biodegradable biomaterials. This research will explore this biomaterial’s acoustic and mechanical performance. Using adaptive digital fabrication, this interdisciplinary and international collaboration will cultivate novel mycelium-based composites on wastepaper-based substrates to be used as acoustic absorbers. The team, including architects, a materials scientist, a mushroom scientist, and an architectural engineer, will design, build, and exhibit a full-scale mycelium-based acoustic wall prototype.

SlimLam: Structurally Optimized Glulam Beams Made from Robotically Fabricated, EAB-Infested Ash Wood

Principal Investigator: Sasa Zivkovic (Cornell University)

Collaborators: Lawson Spencer (Cornell University); Matthew Reiter, PE (Cornell University); Craig Van Cott (Unalam); Peter Smallidge, PhD (Cornell University)

In collaboration with a glulam (glue laminated timber) manufacturer, the SlimLam interdisciplinary team in architecture, engineering, and forestry will create a new and integrated approach to low-carbon materials. The team will upcycle EAB-infested timber and will prototype light-weight, sustainable glulam beams using robotic fabrication methods. The research will quantify the embodied carbon and embodied energy savings developed through this method at the scale of an individual element (the glulam) and at the scale of a mass timber building.

Marlene Imirzian, FAIA, (chair), Marlene Imirzian & Associates Architects

Nathaniel Hudson, AIA, FormGrey Studio

Deborah Lucking, FAIA, Fentress Architects

Upali Nanda, PhD, Assoc. AIA, HKS

Kate Schwennsen, FAIA, Clemson University

Tate Walker, AIA, OPN Architects

Stas Zakrzewski, FAIA, ZH Architects

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.

Architects and GEBs: The Role of the Profession in the Emerging Field of Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings

Principal Investigator: Deane Evans, FAIA (New Jersey Institute of Technology)

A key goal of the Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs) initiative is to help buildings adapt to and, at the same time, reduce the impacts of climate change. As a collaborative effort between a university-based research center, a state energy-incentive program, and a state AIA component’s Committee on the Environment (COTE), this applied research project intends to demystify GEBs for architects. The results will be incorporated into an online educational toolkit designed to help architects understand the practical, real-world implications of GEBs on their practices.

From Waste to Biodegradable Structures with Local Fungi Species

Principal Investigators: Benay Gürsoy Toykoç, PhD (Penn State); John A. Pecchia, PhD (Penn State); Ali Ghazvinian (Penn State)

Collaborators: Alale Mohseni (Penn State); Natalie Walter (Penn State)

Interest from the architecture community in the sustainable features of mycelium-based materials is growing. As a collaboration among architecture, mushroom science, and computational design, this interdisciplinary research project aims to design and build two large-scale structures, MycoCreateII and MycoPrint, to study the use of mycelium-based composites as a load-bearing material. MycoCreateII will be a fully biodegradable funicular structure with load-bearing components made of mycelium-based composites. MycoPrint will be a shell structure with 3D-printed mycelium-based components cultivated on cardboard and paper waste.

The Future of Green Infrastructure: Measuring and Designing the Built Environment for Pedestrian and Bicycle Activities in Dallas-Fort Worth

Principal Investigators: Hyesun Jeong, PhD, Assoc. AIA (University of Texas at Arlington); Matthew Ables (Arup)

Collaborators: Brian Hammersley (Hammersley Architecture); Meghna Tare (University of Texas at Arlington); Lawrence Agu, Assoc. AIA (City of Dallas)

Using GIS-based data analysis and field study, this research project will investigate how the built environment is conducive to pedestrian and cycling activities in Dallas-Fort Worth. The project team will generate design prototypes and strategies that transform grey-infrastructure into permeable green-infrastructure to envision a more walkable, ecological, and healthier environment in community areas. The outcome of this research and design project may serve as a decision-making tool for stakeholders such as architects, planners, city officials, developers, and community organizations in pursuit of sustainable development, mobility infrastructure planning, stormwater management, and decarbonization efforts.

Priority Green for Community Benefit: A Framework for Tailoring Entitlement Benefits to Neighborhood-specific Priorities Around Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation, and Equity

Principal Investigator: Adele Houghton, AIA (Biositu)

Local permitting pathways may be more effective levers for mitigating and adapting to climate change, addressing chronic disease, and improving equity if they are tailored to neighborhood-level environmental and human health needs. Generated through a series of charettes, this research project will develop a Priority Green framework that architects can use with local officials to show how building and site design that is responsive to neighborhood environmental exposures, community health risk factors, and the social determinants of health can measurably contribute to advancing their community’s climate action plan and other local public health priorities.

Synergies between Ultra-Low-Energy Buildings, Microgrids, and Direct Current

Principal Investigators: Lisa White (Passive House Institute US (PHIUS)); Graham Wright, PhD (Passive House Institute US (PHIUS))

Collaborator: Walter Grondzik, PE (Ball State University)

This study will assess the feasibility and performance benefits of linking passive building design guidelines with a city-block microgrid, simulated in Milwaukee, WI, and composed of 20–30 residential buildings. It will develop an architect’s guide to analyzing and designing such blocks to manifest a resilient, low emissions future. The goal of this project is to create a template for architects and other design professionals to incorporate both passive building strategies and microgrid design strategies into their projects to achieve optimal carbon performance.

Susannah Drake, FAIA, (chair), DLANDstudio

Ron Blitch, FAIA, Blitch Knevel Architects

Lisa Cholmondeley, AIA, Gensler

Shannon Gathings, Assoc. AIA, Duvall Decker Architects

Marlene Imirzian, FAIA, Marlene Imirzian & Associates Architects

Gail Kubik, Assoc. AIA, Fused Studios

Vivian Loftness, FAIA, Carnegie Mellon University

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.

Adaptive Envelopes for a Changing Climate: Exploring Bistability for Building Envelope Design

Principal Investigators: José Pinto Duarte, PhD (Penn State); Elena Vazquez (Penn State); Zoubeida Ounaies, PhD (Penn State)

Collaborator: Neil Katz, AIA (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM))

Working with material scientists, engineers, and an architecture firm, this project will generate design guidelines for adaptive building envelopes using bistable laminates. As the first architectural application of these laminates, this research will develop a prototype for a bistable adaptive envelope actuated with a smart terpolymer material. This combination provides a novel approach for kinetic building envelopes. It serves as an energy-efficient solution for high-performing buildings able to adapt to changing environmental conditions.

Build Carbon Neutral v2.0: A Free Online Embodied Carbon Calculator for Approximate Building and Landscape Impacts

Principal Investigators: Sean Cryan (Mithun); Claire McConnell (Mithun); Chuck McDowell (Mithun)

Collaborators: Katie Stege, Assoc. AIA (Mithun)

This calculator tool expands on an existing carbon calculator used online since 2007. It will allow for more detailed conversations and better understanding of the elements that contribute most to the embodied carbon of a building. One of the steps in reducing carbon emissions associated with construction is understanding what those impacts may be. An easy, early assessment of those impacts will provide design teams with a baseline condition for further, more detailed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and the opportunity to educate clients as to those impacts based on specific elements of design that they can vary. This project intends to expand the calculator inputs to allow for estimates for the full building as well as expanding the site and landscape component of the tool to include the calculation of above-ground biomass and site materials.

Mix Design Standard and Strength Gain Correlations Testing for Stabilized Compressed Earth Block (SCEB) Units

Principal Investigators: Lauran Drown, AIA (Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates); Michael Donoghue, PE (Maritech Engineering)

Collaborators: Celia Mendoza (Earthen Construction Initiative); Ron Evans (De la Tierra Construction); Ryan Runge (Advanced Earthen Construction Technologies)

With a lack of tested standards for quality assurance and no commercially available mixes specific to earthen construction, wider adoption of earthen materials has not been realized. This research will outline the material proportions and mixing process requirements to reliably and repeatably fabricate SCEB units on a small-to-medium production scale. The Mix Design Standard will be geared toward streamlining unit fabrication to facilitate wider adoption of earthen construction, unlocking its potential to reduce embodied carbon in the building industry and providing data-driven storytelling to show how SCEBs contribute to climate solutions.

unPLANningMIAMI: A Transformative Design Framework for Strategic Decline and Resettlement of South Florida from the Effects of Sea-level Rise and Climate Change

Principal Investigator: Jeffrey E. Huber, FAIA (Brooks + Scarpa Architects; Florida Atlantic University School of Architecture)

This project builds upon current design solutions that link urban, architectural, and landscape architectural strategies for flood exceedance—designed to flood while solving for urban decommissioning (unplanning). The outcome will be a design and construction manual illustrating how to retrofit traditional planning and urban design to include addressing storm surge, sea-level rise, and changing rainfall and runoff patterns on the heavily developed coastal zone. Through diagrams and illustrations, this manual will describe how adaptation and transformation design approaches can be replicated and adopted in other densely developed coastal areas.

Laura Lesniewski, AIA (chair), BNIM

Susannah Drake, FAIA, DLANDstudio

David Greusel, FAIA, Convergence Design

Frances Halsband, FAIA, Kliment Halsband Architects

Vivian Lee, FAIA, Woods Bagot

Britt Lindberg, AIA, Gensler

Stephen Parker, AIA, SmithGroup

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.

Envelope Retrofit Guide: Net Zero Energy Ready Strategies for Existing Buildings

Principal Investigators: Nina M. Sharifi, PhD (Syracuse University), Gabrielle Brainard, AIA (Pratt Institute)

This research will produce an Envelope Retrofit Guide to assist architects in the early stages of net zero ready retrofit projects. Focused on the building envelope, the guide will provide technical guidance at a schematic level and will catalog retrofit strategies for mass-masonry and wood-frame buildings. The Envelope Retrofit Guide will serve professionals engaged in the design and construction of multi-family housing: architects and consultants; manufacturers and builders; building owners and developers; city and state agencies; energy and utility companies; and NGOs.

Evaluation of Thermal and Energy Generation Performance of Artificial Leaf-based Façade Cladding (ALFC) Systems

Principal Investigator: Rahman Azari, PhD (Penn State)

Collaborator: Mohammad Asadi, PhD (Illinois Institute of Technology)

This project, a collaboration between architecture and chemical engineering, proposes to use simulation-based methodology as well as experiments to evaluate and optimize the thermal performance, energy generation, and carbon removal capabilities of artificial leaf-based façade cladding (ALFC) systems. This research aims to develop AL catalysts that yield optimized efficiency in the reduction of carbon dioxide and to document ALFC’s thermal, energy, and carbon removal properties. The novelty of the optimized ALFC system will be in offering coupled energy generation and carbon removal capabilities in a building, improved efficiency in solar-chemical energy conversion, and integration with mechanical systems.

Games Occupants Play: A Serious Games Approach to Reducing Energy Use and Carbon Emissions in Buildings and Cities

Principal Investigator: Malini Srivastava, AIA (Dandelab / University of Minnesota)

This research proposes overcoming barriers to reaching zero CO2 emissions by implementing a pervasive energy game that imagines a university or school building as the game board and empowers building occupants to achieve substantive energy savings as they play the game. Game dashboards will allow gamers to visualize and locate energy waste, and leaderboards will publicly compare energy savings, providing incentives to make substantive behavior shifts and implement building interventions. A simultaneous study of occupants’ willingness to change behavior through gameplay will provide architects with methods to create momentum, empower occupants, and activate an informed, engaged, and aware citizenry.

Life Cycle Assessment: Integrating Environmental Impact Quantification in Design Process

Principal Investigator: Vikki Lew, AIA (Design Research)

The intent of this research is to establish a methodology to integrate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) into the architect’s design process, providing actionable feedback to improve building performance. The LCA of an office building will be analyzed in terms of carbon and energy impact related to materials and operations. Bridging design and data, this case study will address leveraging technology and quantitative analysis for sustainable design.

Using Chicago’s Architecture Legacy to Teach Practicing Architects the Design Patterns that Result in Lower Energy Use

Principal Investigators: Douglas Farr, FAIA (Farr Associates), Anne Evens (Elevate Energy)

Collaborators: Michael Wood (Chicago Architecture Center), Sachin Anand (Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT))

This research seeks to provide architects with readily-applicable energy-efficient design patterns rooted in Chicago’s architectural legacy. The project expands on the translation of publicly-available energy performance data on larger iconic commercial buildings into educational content for architecture tour docents and exhibitions. This research will include design attributes within an architect’s influence such as building massing and height, floorplate dimension, façade transparency, and thermal bridging. These non-public data will be collected from firms and analyzed from maps, building imagery, and infrared photography.

Jessica Sheridan, AIA (chair), Mancini Duffy

Lee Becker, FAIA, Hartman-Cox Architects

John J. Castellana, FAIA, TMP Architecture

Vincent Della Donna, AIA, ACHA, Vincent Della Donna Healthcare Consulting

Laura Lesniewski, AIA, BNIM

Andrea Love, AIA, Payette

RK Stewart, FAIA, RK Stewart Consultants

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.

Development of Artificial Leaf-based Façade Cladding (ALFC) Systems for Energy Production and Carbon Sequestration

Principal Investigators: Rahman Azari, PhD (Illinois Institute of Technology), Mohammad Asadi, PhD (Illinois Institute of Technology)

Collaborator: Farid Pour, PhD (HOK)

This research project aims to develop and test an artificial leaf-based façade cladding (ALFC) prototype that produces clean energy for the operation of buildings and removes CO2 from the air through chemical processes. This study proposes that the successful integration of artificial leaf technology can convert urban envelopes into large-scale sponge systems with massive carbon removal and sustainable energy production capabilities. A combination of field measurements and simulation techniques will be used to achieve the objectives of this study.

Nexus between Sustainable Buildings and Human Health: Quantifying EEG Responses to Virtual Environments to Inform Design

Principal Investigators: Ming Hu (University of Maryland), Madlen Simon, AIA (University of Maryland)

Collaborators: Justin Benjamin, Assoc. AIA (Perkins + Will), Tim Bakos, AIA (Perkins + Will), Edward Bernat, PhD (University of Maryland)

The goal of this research project is to develop, test, and validate a data-driven approach using virtual reality (VR) and electroencephalogram (EEG) technology to understand the potential physiological influences of sustainable design features. In collaboration with an architecture firm and a neuroscience laboratory, the researchers propose technology-enabled, repeatable measures for quantifying how sustainable building features affect occupants’ health and well-being.

Polycasting: Multi-material 3D Printed Formwork for Reinforced Concrete

Principal Investigators: Shelby Doyle, AIA (Iowa State University), Nicholas Senske (Iowa State University)

This research explores dual-extrusion 3D printed formworks for casting concrete, simultaneously printing a combination of water-soluble PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) containment as well as printing integrated reinforcement. The focus of this project is to design, construct, and test prototypes for a new generation of non-standard concrete formworks that are structurally efficient, reduce material and labor costs, and expand the expressive design potential of concrete.

Retooling Bamboo Tectonics: From Vernacular Aesthetics to Milled Material System

Principal Investigators: Jonas Hauptman (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), Katie MacDonald, Assoc. AIA (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), Kyle Schumann (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University)

This research project centers on an affordable, intelligent, digitally enhanced fabrication system for the evaluation, milling, and joining of structural bamboo at an architectural scale. The project will demonstrate how robotic fabrication can contribute to innovation in sustainable construction with novel, democratized joint machining technology that harnesses real-time data and feedback systems and parametric part selection to enhance the feasibility of the widespread use of structural bamboo. The researchers will produce a cohesive system of firmware, software, hardware, and user interface that is inexpensive and field deployable. The end result will be a structural bamboo construction fabricated with the generative system.

Illya Azaroff, AIA (chair), +LAB architect PLLC

Daniel S. Hart, FAIA, PE, Parkhill Smith & Cooper

Peter Kuttner, FAIA, CambridgeSeven

Paul Mankins, FAIA, LEED AP, Substance Architecture

Barbara A. Sestak, FAIA, Portland State University

Jessica Sheridan, AIA, Mancini Duffy

Jennifer Workman, AIA, GFF Architects

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.

Biodiverse Built Environments: High-Performance Passive Systems for Ecologic Resilience

Principal Investigator: Keith Van de Riet, PhD, Assoc. AIA (The University of Kansas)

Passive architectural systems are materials and geometries that capitalize on natural bioclimatic factors without the need for operational energy input. This project expands the category of high-performance passive systems to include biodiversity as a design criterion in the development of architectural and landscape structures. The objectives of this study include the design and production of a full-scale prototype of an engineered living wall panel derived from mangrove trees to be installed over an existing seawall in a tidal estuary. The method to test this approach relies on biomimetic designs built on parametric models of natural systems and manifested through novel fabrication techniques. This process of integrating living systems within urban environments will be a collaboration among design and scientific communities.

Biophilic Architecture: Sustainable Materialization of Microalgae Facades

Principal Investigator: Kyoung-Hee Kim, PhD (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

This project proposes to prototype and study a microalgae façade, a sustainable building system based on the synthesis of biophilic, bioclimatic, and biomimetic design approaches. This research is motivated by the need to better understand the technical design of microalgae facades and their impact on sustainable design excellence and innovative building technology. Projected outcomes are technical design principles and a database for building integrated microalgae facades including appropriate algae strains, system assembly, and user interaction potentials. Results will provide alternatives to sustainable building materials and broaden the biotechnological knowledgebase for integrated microalgae façades toward carbon-neutral building practices.

The Impact of Biophilic Learning Spaces on Student Success

Principal Investigators: James Determan, FAIA (Craig Gaulden Davis), Mary Anne Akers, PhD (Morgan State University)

Based on biophilic and neuroscience literature, this research studies how biophilic learning environments correlate with student stress reduction and enhanced cognitive performance toward improved learning outcomes for urban middle school students. A traditional classroom and an enriched classroom will be compared using data gathered from educators and students. The researchers, advised by neuroscientists at the Salk Institute and biophilic consultants from Terrapin Bright Green, will enhance the Biophilic Classroom with a visual connection to nature, dynamic and diffuse light, and biomorphic forms and patterns. The Traditional Classroom will remain without biophilic enrichment. This study aims to provide learning space designers, educators, and decision-makers with evidence of the link between biophilic classroom design and student success.

Print Tilt Lift – Concrete 3D Printing for Precast Assemblies

Principal Investigators: Tsz Yan Ng (University of Michigan), Wesley McGee (University of Michigan)

Print, Tilt, Lift seeks to develop 3D concrete printing technologies to produce prefabricated concrete panels for complex wall assemblies. The primary goal of this project is to develop a prototypical panelized wall system that takes advantage of the geometric variability possible through additive manufacturing. Developing a vocabulary of techniques for detailing and panel connections, this project will highlight new construction systems that are specific to 3D printing technology, shifting the focus to address design-oriented goals. Focusing on the advancement of the manufacturing process, construction logistics, and performance criteria in relation to precast assemblies, the investigation will explore unique and novel designs for architectural production.

John R. Sorrenti, FAIA (chair), JRS Architect, P.C.

Illya Azaroff, AIA, NYCCT CUNY; + LAB Architect PLLC

Thomas Fisher, Assoc. AIA, University of Minnesota

Brian J. Frickie, AIA, Kerns Group Architects, P.C.

Diane T. Georgopulos, FAIA

Edward A. Vance, FAIA, EV&A Architects

J. David Waggonner III, FAIA, Waggonner & Ball

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.

A Circadian Daylight Metric and Design Assist Tool for Improved Occupant Health and Well-Being

Principal Investigator: Kyle Konis, AIA, PhD (University of Southern California)

All zones within a building that do not regularly achieve the lighting conditions necessary for effective circadian stimulus can be labeled as biologically dark and considered as zones where regular occupancy may be problematic for health and well-being. The objective of this research is to develop a daylighting Metric and Design Assist Tool capable of assessing the circadian potential of architectural space. Procedures using annual, climate-based daylight analysis of eye-level light exposures will be developed to map the circadian effectiveness of a given space. The Design Assist Tool can be used to assess and differentiate the performance of various daylighting strategies during the design phases of a project or to quantify the circadian effectiveness of existing spaces.

Post Natural Material Assemblies

Principal Investigators: Meredith L. Miller (University of Michigan); Thomas Moran (University of Michigan)

Plastiglomerates, formed from the waste polymers of post-consumer plastic fusing with sand, rock, and other inorganic materials, suggest a new approach to sustainable building materials. This proposal builds on collaborative work of the research team to investigate the architectural potential of plastiglomerates with the intent to build a full-scale architectural assembly made from thermocast units. By combining the inherent properties of synthetic plastics and stone, these post-natural “masonry” units can be inexpensive, durable, insulating, and locally sourced. The proposed project aims to enhance the plastic-waste-to-building-element workflow and its adaptability to on-site production.

Smart Cities: Population Health and the Evolution of Housing

Principal Investigator: Joe Colistra, AIA (University of Kansas)

This project will develop a multifamily housing prototype that demonstrates best practices in aging-in-place strategies and telehealth technology. It will investigate prefabricated construction techniques that can be used to bring population health strategies to the affordable housing market. The research team will work with construction industry partners as well as health professionals to test various sensor-enabled assemblies. Some of the more advanced technologies will include motion sensors/fall detection, gait analysis, automated LED smart-spectrum lighting, smart mirrors, smart toilets, sleep sensors, and automated medicine dispensers.

SMART Tiles: Novel Application of Shape Memory Polymers for Adaptive Building Envelopes

Principal Investigator: Dale Clifford (California State Polytechnic University)

Collaborators: Kelle Brooks (California State Polytechnic University); John Brigham, PhD (Durham University); Richard Beblo, PhD (University of Dayton Research Institute)

This project addresses the challenges of designing adaptive façade systems with ‘dynamic’ or ‘smart’ materials. The team will design latitude-specific self-shading building tiles that apply the attributes of a class of polymers with shape memory characteristics. The SMART Tiles are intended to wrinkle and reposition themselves in response to incoming solar radiation to deliver self-shading and energy-harvesting performance. Stepping into the emergent field of building self-regulation with programmable matter, this project joins the shift towards a built environment that passively adapts to subtle environmental fluctuations of temperature, light, humidity, and pressure via material properties. Equally important to the team is that the dynamic aspects of the SMART Tiles appeal to the imagination and viscerally (re)connect a building occupant to the environment.

TrashWalls

Principal Investigators: Taiji Miyasaka (Washington State University); Robert Richards (Washington State University); Vikram Yadama (Washington State University)

Collaborators: Rex Hohlbein (Facing Homelessness; Rex Hohlbein Architects); David Drake (Washington State University)

TrashWalls, fabricated using materials harvested from the local solid waste stream, are designed to reduce heat loss from rented apartments, improve the comfort of those spaces during hot or cold weather, and save renters money on their utility bills while reducing pollution. The purpose of this project is to design, construct, and examine prototypes of interior insulating walls that are attractive, have an R-value of R-10 (US) or greater, cost less than ten cents per square foot, are built from recycled waste materials, are easily manufactured, fire safe, and can accommodate windows. The research team, a collaboration between architecture and engineering, seeks applications of TrashWalls to backyard transitional homes for people who are homeless in Seattle. Testing will occur in a lab setting and at an urban site.

Michael D. Lingerfelt, FAIA (chair), Lingerfelt International

Judith DiMaio, FAIA, RIBA, FAIA, RIBA, Dean Emeritus, School of Architecture and Design, NYIT

Timothy Hawk, FAIA, WSA Studio

Frederick Marks, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Eric O. Pempus, AIA, Esq., NCARB, LEED GA, Oswald Companies

Roger Schluntz, FAIA, University of New Mexico

John R. Sorrenti, FAIA, JRS Architect, P.C.

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.

Auto-Shading Windows: Smart Thermobimetal Solar Blinds

Principal Investigator: Doris Sung, AIA (DOSU Studio Architecture)

With pressure from the outdoor environment such as swells in temperature/humidity/precipitation and demands from the interior to achieve variable comfort standards and evolving uses, buildings need to adjust with an attitude of zero-energy use. By incorporating new, smart materials and creative assemblies, building skins now have the potential to modulate changes throughout the day. Smart materials, by definition, require no added energy or computer controls. Thermobimetal is one of those smart materials that automatically curls when heated and, when utilized strategically, can help liminal building surfaces automatically and optimally respond to temperature changes and direct sunlight. This proposal seeks funding to build a window prototype that will automatically block up to 90 percent of the sunlight entering a building while retaining a high level of visibility and view throughout the day. The net effect of this zero-energy system is energy and cost savings.

Building Resilience: A Tool for Planning & Decision-making

Principal Investigators: David Fannon, AIA, LEED-AP BD+C (Northeastern University); Michelle Laboy, PE (Northeastern University; Maryann Thompson Architects); Matthew Eckelman (Northeastern University)

Recent events show the urgency of designing resilient new buildings and upgrading existing ones. However, it is not clear which combinations of attributes make buildings more likely to maintain useful functions and adapt in the face of disturbances. Furthermore, buildings can be assessed based on the impacts and contributions they make to the robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapidity of recovery of surrounding urban ecological systems. These are critical questions for designers, communities, and businesses, and yet there is very little information to guide decision-making about resilient building attributes. To meet this need, this project will develop a Web-based tool to evaluate and compare multiple dimensions of resilience and sustainability in buildings, including technical and socio-ecological performance, energy use, and lifecycle impacts.

Clothesline Sunpower: PV Papeles

Principal Investigator: Kristina Yu, AIA (University of New Mexico; McCLAIN + YU Architecture & Design)

This proposal aims to demonstrate the design opportunities for the mobile installation of a new system of photovoltaics. This investigation will examine the energy capture difference between the separate but related test project of the microelectronic photovoltaic (MEPV) taut mechanical shade system vs. this proposal’s novel design for a mobile simple install of a Clothesline Sunpower: PV Papeles MEPV system. The Clothesline Sunpower: PV Papeles MEPV system aims to capture sufficient to abundant energy to supply a home without the cumbersome and panelized PV panels which require extensive installation and space requirements. The MEPV technology affords a higher level of energy capture while providing a new tactility and versatile flexibility uncommon to PV systems today. The researchers aim to simplify the component pieces of the current MEPV taut shade and to create a functional temporary MEPV system that has the duality of ‘ease of install’ and ‘ease of use.’ Much like placing clothes on a line to dry in limited vertical spaces, the panels, with visual and highly efficient variety, can be placed outside to collect the sun power to harness and store within the interior space.

Point-of-Decision Design (PODD) to Support Healthy Behaviors in the College Campuses

Principal Investigators: Upali Nanda, Assoc. AIA, and Michelle Eichinger (Center for Advanced Design Research and Evaluation–CADRE/HKS; Designing4Health)

This research study aims to address the obesogenic environment by answering the question: how can we make the healthy choice an easy choice through the design of critical point of decision prompts? The hypothesis is that well-designed point of decision prompts can promote healthier choices by students which can have a ripple effect on mental and physical health related to obesity. At each point of decision, design can help/hinder the healthier choice. There is a need to collate the vast information in planning and public health domains on a range of successful point of decision prompts and translate it into architectural guidelines that help define the edge condition for critical point of decision prompts. The researchers propose to develop a POD (point of decision) Design Guide and Analysis Tool.

Linda Searl, FAIA (chair), Searl Lamaster Howe Architects

Lawrence J. Leis, FAIA, AIA College of Fellows, Former Chancellor

Michael D. Lingerfelt, FAIA, Lingerfelt International

Nicole Martineau, AIA, independent consultant

Raymond 'Skipper' Post, FAIA, Post Architects

Michael J. Stransky, FAIA, GSBS Architects

Stephen Vogel, FAIA, University of Detroit Mercy

Jury panel affiliations and designations are listed at the time of the jury deliberations and may have changed.