Teaching

 

At the University of Florida, my normal semester teaching load includes two scheduled courses in addition to serving on Master’s Research Project (MRP) and Master’s Thesis committees. I also serve as Honors Thesis Adviser for fourth-year undergraduate students, advise University Scholars, and serve on Capstone Project Review committees for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Sustainability and the Built Environment (B.S.S.B.E.) degree program.

Design studios are the core of the School of Architecture’s pedagogical structure at UF, and are heavily weighted in both credit hours (4-6 credits per course) and in contact hours (8 hours per week in the first year and 9 hours per week starting in the second year of undergraduate studios). Most non-studio courses are 3- or 4-credit hours and involve 3- to 4- contact hours per course. I have taught both courses in our Materials and Methods sequence, Educational Teaching Methods, and Analytic Drawing and Sketching.

My typical teaching assignment involves teaching two design studios in the fall and two studios in the spring. As an Assistant Professor from 2008-2015 (six academic years), my assigned teaching averaged 13.9 contact hours per semester and 9.3 credit hours per semester, excluding work on Masters Research Project (MRP) or Thesis committees. During that same period of time, I served as chair of 28 MRP/Thesis committees, as co-chair of 12 committees, and as a member on 1 committee. Since being promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2015, my teaching and advising work has continued at a similar pace.

In addition to my 9-month per year appointment, I teach the 6-credit Sustainable Planning and Design Studio that is a central component of the interdisciplinary Master of Science in Architectural Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Design (M.S.A.S.) degree program. This course involves weekly studio meetings, on-line web-based sessions with students working remotely, and field work in Singapore. I have taught or co-taught this course each year since 2011.

Building Bridges

As informational networks bind us ever more tightly together, they also introduce unseen gaps and fissures within fields of knowledge. While in some cases, these are the product of distraction or youthful naiveté, they are also symptomatic a field which is expanding both in breadth and depth through uneven specializations. The resulting disciplinary lacunae are extensive, with students asked to connect ever more remote points within unsettled and variable terrains. The impossibility of knowing and/or mapping these territories creates an ambiguous and amorphous field within which beginning design students are asked to find their way.

At a fundamental level, I believe that teaching is about building bridges with and for our students, bridges that operate between academic and professional worlds, between disciplines, between different modes of thinking and making, between scales (global/local and concept/detail), between hand and digital modes of working, and between and amongst a multiplicity of cultural/social/economic/sustainable motivators. To be an excellent, innovative, and effective teacher requires an understanding of how to make these bridges, and the ability to share that knowledge with others. It is equal parts knowledge and communication.

My work begins with our students, as complex, emergent people, each motivated in different ways and pursuing different trajectories, goals, and objectives. They are entering a design profession which is itself complex and at times contradictory, with no singular way of working within it or even describing it. The combination of these conditions establishes a variable field, within which there are many possible solutions to a given design problem.

Studio learning encourages dialogue, collaboration, risk-taking, innovation, learning-by-doing and the integration of knowledge. This model places a higher value on the search for constructive strategies of thought and action than on the direct transmission of knowledge and skills.

I believe it is important to teach our students an appreciation for open-ended, speculative thinking so that they are prepared for a lifetime of practice. And it is important for us to balance this with carefully-measured, analytic, problem-solving skills that will allow our students to appreciate the specificity required in their built work.

To the fullest extent possible, I teach by looking through my students’ eyes, seeking to always see their work both from the perspective of the site/context/discipline and from the perspective of the student/creator/thinker. I teach by asking questions, and I often draw while talking with and/or listening to my students. We swap pencils and pens, I navigate their digital projects on-screen, and together we work to clarify the project’s intent and the specifics of its realization. This bridging across scales within the work allows students to think about the detail and big idea simultaneously rather than compartmentalizing information.

In larger-format courses, I seek to understand concurrent curricular obligations and search for opportunities to cross-reference the subject matter between classes. I engage the students in the discussion with specific in-lecture examples, video shorts, and case-study images from my own built work and the work of others.

Courses Taught

Graduate

• ARC 6241 │ Advanced Graduate Architectural Design One
• ARC 6355 │ Advanced Graduate Architectural Design Two
• ARC 6393 │ Advanced Architectural Connections
• ARC 6911 │ Sustainable Planning and Design Studio (Singapore)
• ARC 6913 │ Architectural Research 3 (MRP/Thesis Preparation)
• ARC 6940 │ Supervised Teaching
• ARC 6971 │ Masters Research Thesis
• ARC 6979 │ Masters Research Project

Published Master’s Research Projects / Theses – Committee Chair: (35)

• Ayala, Jefrall Betancourt. 2015. Evoking the Feeling of Safety. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2015.
• Feng, Dominic. 2015. H21: Hospital for the 21st Century. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2015.
• Moreno, Cristina Eloisa. 2015. Camping with FEMA: Disaster Relief Housing ; A Study of Shelter and Housing Evolution in FEMA Camps. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2015.
• Paul, Nicole Marlee. 2015. Lands Marked: Understanding Place through Memory and Landscape. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2015.
• Poppell, Christian. 2015. Reflected Exchanges: Threshold, Reflection, and Horizon. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2015.
• Saso, Grant. 2015. Generative Unpacking of Florida Residential Architecture. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2015.
• Hyder, Matthew D. 2014. Affordability of Net Zero Housing in Different Climates. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2014.
• Orion, Adriane. 2014. Emergency Department Design. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2014.
• Neira, Pedro. 2014. Progressive School Design: A Cognitive Approach to Architectural Features. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0046820/00001.
• Wang, Hui. 2014. A Study of Low-Tech Way to Improve the Human Settlement Environment and Its Inspiration to the “Urban Fringe” Area Design. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2014.
• Dzura, Amy. 2013. Green Design for Pittsburgh: Better Building Codes. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2013.
• Tang, Dian Yu. 2013. Sustaining Culture: Vernacular Architecture and Place-Making in Southwest Hubei, China and North America. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2013.
• Tjindra, Djundi. 2013. Residential Land-Use Density and Building Energy Consumption: a Case Study of the City of Gainesville, Florida. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0046365/00001.
• Wu, Haoqi. 2013. Sustaining Vertical Communities: Strategies for the Design of Public Spaces in Tall Buildings. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2013.
• Flores, Matthew. 2013. Phenomenology of Natural Light: Processes of Shaping Space. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2013.
• Goldsmith, David. 2013. Spatial Plasticities. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2013.
• Hargrove, Darren. 2013. The Coalescence of Phenomenal and Appropriate Space: Making Place in the Florida Landscape. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2013.
• Isley, Grey. 2012. A Study of the Potential for the Integration of Sustainable Practices in Rural and Suburban Developments Through the Review of Two Conventional North Carolina Developments. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2012.
• Wang, Lu Wei. 2012. Places + Stories: Sustainable Design in Historical Places. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2012.
• Yu, Siyu. 2012. Shaping the Sustainable City Through Water-Oriented Urban Design. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0045075/00001.
• Mojica, Davie. 2012. Illumination: Interventions at Basilica Palladiana. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2012.
• Chen, Kexin. 2011. Sustaining Urban Culture: The Design and Operation of Public Art Planning Programs. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0043839.
• Hoffman, Margaret Starkweather. 2011. Between Rail and Bay: Guiding Architecture through Memory. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Peel, Jacob. 2011. Actuating Geometric Primitives. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Zhang, Yibo. 2011. The Role of Transit-Oriented Development in Urban Planning of Cities in China. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0043845.
• Azorin, Erica. 2011. Florida House: Vernacular Modernisms. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Liu, Yang. 2011. Swarm Architecture: A Liquid Journey Through the Fragmented World. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Milano, Gail. 2011. Contemplating the Unmeasurable: Designing Depth into Darkness Through Fractures of Light. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Princivil, Jennifer. 2011. Discussions on Architectural Permanence: Place and Place Making. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Rodriguez Casas, Vanessa. 2011. Colonizing Permanence: Intervening Courtyard Houses, La Habana Vieja, Cuba. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Seal, Shawmeron. 2011. Fabricating Space Through Weak Architecture: An Examination of the Process of Spatial and Material Fabrication Through the Parallel Practices of Architecture and Dress Design. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Tenzel, Steven. 2011. Florida Pavilion: Reciprocating Place, Ground, and Tectonics. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Aktuna, Bahar. 2010. Peace-Building in Cyprus: Reconnecting, Remembering and Memorializing, A Hypothetical Approach to the Roles of Architects and Urban Planners in Peace-Building Process. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2010.
• Yee, Jordan M. 2010. Main Street Reconsidered. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida.
• Fisher, Daniel Glenn. 2010. Transforming the Classroom Portable Literally: Employing Kinetic Systems to Maximize Pedagogical Effectiveness. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2010.

Published Master’s Research Projects / Theses – Committee Co-Chair: (18)

• Becker, Jillian S. 2015. Simulating the Implementation of Energy Efficiency Measures: Techniques and Technologies for Residential and Commercial Buildings. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00034607/00001.
• Connor, Robert Daniel. 2015. From Violence to Order: Creating Visual Narratives in Existing Spaces. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2015.
• Silva, Alyson. 2015. Translations of Place: Converging Place-Process[–ing] and Place-Part[a/the–ed]. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2015.
• Valle, Joshua. 2015. Suburban Florida’s Identity: A Vernacular-Inspired Template for Residential Design. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2015.
• Abdulraheem, Sahar. 2014. Sustainable Techniques for Public School in Florida: Application of the Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS). Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2014.
• Aquino-Otero, Ileana. 2014. Sustainable Design Strategies for Sport Stadia. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2014.
• Byars, Amanda. 2014. Marked Passages: Revealing a Community Portrait. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2014.
• Cortes, Melissa Andrea. 2014. The Ritual of Contemplation: Shifting Landscapes. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2014.
• Hammond, Rhonda S. 2013. BIM in Sustainable Design: Strategies for Renovation and Retrofit. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2013.
• Tabrizchi, Maryam. 2013. Environmental Quality Enhancement of Portable Classrooms: A Solution for Educational Improvement. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0046370/00001.
• Muñoz, Jonathan. 2013. A Nationalistic Modern: Featuring Anteriority and Interiority of Mexico’s Architecture. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2013.
• Rusch, Camille. 2013. Integrating Sports Facilities into the City: Sun Life Stadium Site Re-Design, Miami, FL. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2013.
• Guan, Ni. 2011. Memory and Place: Culture of Sustainability in Dalian, China. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2011.
• Dery, Amelia Ann. 2010. Fabrication: Constructing an Architectural Pattern. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2010.
• Ramos, Ruben M. 2010. Dynamic Expression: Building in Tension. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2010.
• Raucci, Rebecca Lynn. 2010. Possible Palladio: Fragmented Origins, A Composite of Invented Fragments. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2010.
• Scott, Sarah Lissa. 2010. Inclusive Dwelling: A Place of Ability, Mobility, and Play. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2010.
• Snyder, Matthew. 2009. Architecture of Sound: Experience and Space. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2009.

Published Master’s Research Project / Thesis – Committee Member: (1)

• Mak, Peter. 2012. The Evolution of Sustainable Design in Singapore Public Housing Projects: Precedents and Proposals. Master’s Research Project (M. Arch.)–University of Florida, 2012.

Undergraduate

• ARC 1301 │ Architectural Design 1
• ARC 1302 │ Architectural Design 2
• ARC 2303 │ Architectural Design 3
• ARC 2304 │ Architectural Design 4
• ARC 2461 │ Materials and Methods of Construction 1
• ARC 3291 │ Analytic Drawing and Sketching (Vicenza, Italy)
• ARC 3320 │ Architectural Design 5
• ARC 3321 │ Architectural Design 6
• ARC 3463 │ Materials and Methods of Construction 2 (Vicenza, Italy)
• ARC 4073 │ Graduate Core Studio Three
• ARC 4074 │ Graduate Core Studio Four
• DCP 4290 │ Capstone Project in Sustainability and the Built Environment
• ARC 4322 │ Architectural Design 7
• ARC 4323 │ Architectural Design 8 (Gainesville, Florida and Vicenza, Italy)
• ARC 4941 │ Educational Teaching Issues

Published B.S.S.B.E. Capstone Projects – Faculty Advisor: (2)

• White, Alyssa. 2015. Sustainable Materials: For Zero-Waste Design: Discovering Alternative Materials for the Future of Zero Waste Architecture. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00037475/00001.
• Huber, Katherine. 2010. A Path to Sustainable Construction: Modular Techniques and Environmental Drivers Behind Materiality. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.

Published Undergraduate Honors Theses – Faculty Advisor / Mentor: (22)

• Savignon, Ivy. 2016. Lack of Place: Urban Wastelands as Catalytic Opportunities for Urban Growth and Social Interaction. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00046792.
• Kokenge, Samantha. 2016. Designing Digitally: Ornament or Advancing Architecture. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00046794.
• Nichols, Graham Isaac. 2016. Produce to the People: Solutions for Manhattan’s Food Deserts. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00046871.
• Whitbeck, Emily. 2016. The New York City Grid: Impediment or Opportunity for Innovation in Architecture. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00046872.
• Tran, Anh. 2016. Habitable Station: Refocus on Spatial Qualities of Civic Nodes in Public Domain. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00046873.
• Benitez, Adiel Alexis. 2016. Drawing Out Suggestions of a Possible Architecture: Drawing and Speculation In Pursuit of Architectural Solutions. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00046876.
• Rutland, Sarah. 2016. Public Space: Architecture as a Library, Mirror, and Lighthouse. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00046878.
• Marblestone, Kevin. 2016. A New Infrastructure: Establishing a Culture of Resilience and Civic Engagement. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00046879/00001.
• Hiller, Anastasia. 2012. Architecture Representation: Abstraction and Symbol within Design. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Ho, Huynh. 2012. People as Context. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Jones, Abigail. 2012. The Layered City: Streetscape as Differing Layers of Engagement within the Metropolis and its Buildings. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Mudenda, Muchanga. 2012. Shaping Public Space: The Modern Day Courtyard. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Pace, Jessica. 2012. Technology and Digital Form: Obsolescence vs. Relevance. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Tao, Yifan. 2012. Redefining the Urban Condition: Relationships within the Built Environment. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Tracy, Matthew. 2012. The Puzzle of Architecture: The Network of Pieces: Joints, Journey, Parts. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Ala, Justine. 2011. The Phenomenology of Projection. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Bittner, Hana. 2011. Urban Kinematics: Interpreting Urban Scripts and Deconstructing Systems of Living. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Schafer, Challie. 2011. The Urban Palimpsest: Constructing a Sense of Place Through Experiential Layers. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Chu, Katherine. 2010. Urban Viewing: Rethinking Relationships through the Built Environment. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• de Solo, Enrique. 2010. The Design Process: A Search for Originality Amongst Existing Archetypes. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Hurcomb, Melissa. 2010. Redefinition of Urban Viewing and Interaction through an Architectural Framework. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.
• Levin, Danielle. 2010. New York City Block. [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida.

University Scholar Mentor + Faculty Advisor: (2)

• Kyesmu, Panquat. 2016. The Preservation of Memory: Germplasm Repository in the Tropics. Scholar Profile: http://www.scholars.ufl.edu/panquat-kyesmu.aspx.
• Clarke, Mitchell. 2014. Link between Spatial Design and Social Responses in Student Housing. Scholar Profile: http://www.scholars.ufl.edu/mitchell-clarke.aspx.
• Monroe, Marcy. 2010. The Economic and Political Influence on Natural Disaster Recovery: Rebuilding After the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake in China.