Carnegie Mellon Architecture Announces 2025 PJ Dick Innovation Fund Faculty Grants Program Recipients

This project addresses the challenge of transitioning stormwater infrastructure to a more resilient and socially integrated urban system. It contributes to Carnegie Mellon Architecture's priorities of addressing climate change, advancing social equity and leveraging AI to inform innovative design practices. By focusing on the concept of infrastructural regime change, the project explores the shift from centralized “grey” systems to decentralized green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) that integrates ecological health, social equity and long-term resilience into urban environments. This approach reframes infrastructure as a dynamic part of urban design, emphasizing human well-being, co-production and quality of place.

This grant will expand data-driven research with a creative inquiry into social factors and develop a publication structure to contextualize the work. The first section will present the empirical research establishing the distributed infrastructure regime change concept, providing a foundation for understanding this critical evolution. The second section will map the spatial geographies of infrastructural social dynamics, uncovering the relationships between physical systems and the social and ecological forces that influence their adoption and adaptation. The third section will explore visual geographies, using photographic and collage methods to investigate how infrastructure shapes – and is shaped by – environmental beliefs and behaviors. These visuals will engage ecological semiotics and the framing of engineered systems as natural or inevitable that influence public acceptance of ecological infrastructures.

By integrating quantitative, spatial and visual approaches, this project acknowledges the many intelligences needed to address complex, wicked problems. It positions architects as key contributors in rethinking infrastructure, bridging insights from social systems, public policy and ecological design, and can advance regime change toward more integrated and adaptive infrastructure systems.

South Asian Urban Climates (SAUC) is a scholarly community and research platform dedicated to critical understandings of the structural, experiential and more-than-human dimensions of changing climates across South Asian cities. South Asia is an important site to examine the impacts of catastrophic climate events such as flooding, heat and drought on social and ecological well-being across the living spectrum. While dominant responses focus on large-scale mitigation and adaptation, there is limited attention to ongoing colonial histories, uneven development and caste, class and gender politics that shape the ability of individuals and communities to adapt, live with or rework urban environments. Established by Nida Rehman and Aparna Parikh in 2019, SAUC has provided an interdisciplinary space amongst urban scholars, architects, planners and artists to facilitate dialogue on these challenges and the possibilities of urban climates in the region. We have done so through workshops, collaborative writing, case study development and public events which are curated on our digital platform. In the next stage of the project, we aim to build on these initiatives to advance collaborative research and dialogue, establish mentorship networks, and set up partnerships with research centers and other collectives in South Asia and the global North. The need to foster solidarities across fraught geopolitical boundaries in South Asia is crucial given the shared histories of climate, urbanization and uneven development, to understand and counter the effects of the climate present – and to do so by also working against the uneven geographies of knowledge building.

This project explores adaptive reuse in architecture through growth processes and the bioremediation of construction waste utilizing mycelium-inoculated invasive species to create Mycelium-Based Composites (MBCs). This approach emphasizes hyper-local resilience by integrating construction debris with MBCs, enabling circular ecological restoration, addressing environmental toxicity, and ensuring access to healthy materials through non-extractive methods.

By leveraging local invasive plant species such as Japanese knotweed in combination with mycelium, the project transforms construction rubble into structurally viable architectural components while embracing the aesthetics of bio-spolia. These components are envisioned for adaptive reconstruction, particularly in contexts where ecological restoration and material reuse are interlinked, enabling the creation of ecologically vibrant architecture. The project aims to evaluate the bioremediation capacities of mycelium, which can detoxify and stabilize contaminated rubble, while exploring the structural and performative capabilities of varied MBC aggregates shaped with lightweight, reusable formwork. By combining bioremediation with material research, MycoRubble demonstrates the potential for radical regenerative materiality to mitigate the environmental harm caused by extractive practices. This approach positions architecture as an active agent of ecological and communal stewardship. It advances principles of material circularity, reduces embodied energy in construction, and supports regenerative labor frameworks. Furthermore, it fosters co-authorship between human and non-human systems, contributing to a more resilient and regenerative future.

This research and design project transforms a 1920s humanitarian shelter, originally built as part of the League of Nations' resettlement efforts following the 1923 population exchange between Türkiye and Greece, into a platform for exploring the intersections of architecture, displacement and ecology. Designed by Bauhaus architect Fred Forbát and contractor Adolf Sommerfeld, the project intends to document and open to the public a domestic space of the earlier 20th century to contend with the architecture of displacement. The humanitarian operations led by the League of Nations consisted of a major rural resettlement project of land redistribution and self-help shelter provision for more than 300,000 refugees in the geopolitically volatile territory of southern Macedonia. By reactivating one of the few remaining shelters, the research initiative serves as a catalyst to recognize a material heritage and a complicated legacy of modern architecture within humanitarianism. Over the run of the project, the space will become a public platform for residents, activist organizations, students and visitors to engage in an intergenerational exchange in urgent challenges of migration and depopulation across this drought-stricken region of the Balkans’ southeastern border.

The intention of this research is to bridge the fault lines of academic scholarship, design, advocacy and teaching to reimagine the role of architecture during the current crises of displacement due to conflict and ecological breakdown. Central to the initiative is the rewilding of former wheat smallholdings and the restoration of ecosystems, addressing the long-term environmental consequences of monoculture farming introduced during the humanitarian resettlement. Computational methods, such as modeling and digital mapping, will enhance understanding of the site’s historical evolution and ecological potential.

The indigenous knowledge of Chiang Mai, Thailand, is made of rhythms of human rituals – planting, harvesting and practices that have centered matrilocal beliefs for centuries with the intimate association of climatic, topographic and fluid knowledge of land as they meandered the alluvial plain nestled between two mountains. Matrilineal Spirits guide the craft of the villages as the goddess Mae Posop, “Mother of Rice,” blesses the start of cultivation season, welcoming rain as the crops are nurtured by the Mae Kuang, “Mother River Kuang.” Here, farmers gather and direct the annual monsoon waters through an intricate muang fai pattern of weirs and canals to fill rice paddies in which the land Mae Thorani, “Mother Land,” helps sustain agriculture. This proposal expands a community empowered design research that has been rooted between Carnegie Mellon University, Parsons and Chiang Mai University – to trace the landscape and spatial matrices built from the hands of mothers spatializing macro-level systems of natural resources, architecture, agriculture and care. This spatial pattern includes Mae Nam, the word for river translated as “Mother Waters,” where Nak, or dragons, are associated. The research will consist of additional fieldwork, translating stories into architectural grammars, design build work and a workshop in Thailand and at Carnegie Mellon University. This project hopes to recalibrate the imperial language of “social justice, climate change and AI” through the wisdom of local people in modifying and constructing physical landscapes through care, myths and being.

This project conducts inquiry into acts of building, their builders, and built-things to repair – restore, remediate and reconfigure – cultures of making and computation. By extending the concept of repair, theory-building in the art of building, and computational regionalism, this project will answer new questions about computation and repair. Building on “Craft Practices and Computation in Three Cultures” (3CCD) from 2023-24, the “Building, Builders, and Built-Things” (BBBT) cross-cultural study digs deeper with three main components: 1) archival research, 2) ethnographic fieldwork, and 3) computational design inquiry to investigate acts of building in craft and architecture, builders and built-things through craft histories and practices in Pittsburgh; artisanal training and crafts in South Carolina; and vernacular tectonics in Thailand. By employing these methods, we will better understand different cultures of building, their values in relation to computation, their conceptualizations and outcomes of skill, how computational modes might repair their practices, and how their practices might repair computational frameworks and methods. The outcomes of this project will include a digital archive, papers, presentations, control models, and a workshop to disseminate work. 

This grant will support the ongoing development of a book manuscript by funding essential research trips for the fieldwork and archival investigations which are critical to two chapters. The manuscript explores the emerging concept of Commons-Public Partnerships (CPPs) as a transformational alternative to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), which typically privatize profit while socializing risk. Through four detailed case studies from the United States, Latin America and Europe, the book illustrates how community groups and municipalities collaborate to create and scale housing cooperatives, thereby driving systemic change. Distilled from an archive of over 70 case studies, the selected initiatives offer insights from the struggles and successes of tackling the wicked problem of housing affordability.

Grounded in the belief that decommodification is central to addressing the global housing crisis, the manuscript draws on the lived experiences of thousands of households in New York City, Montevideo, Vienna and Zurich. Against the odds of accelerating neoliberalization and the decline of the public sector, the unique case studies demonstrate how residents became agents of change by pooling resources, forming cooperatives, and in some cases collectively constructing homes through mutual aid. Beyond singular projects, the book also examines how these cooperatives established networks, advocated for their rights and secured government support in legal, financial, governance and technical domains.

CPPs provide a powerful framework for scaling these efforts up, out and deep. Although the term “Commons-Public Partnerships” is relatively new, organizations like the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) in New York City, the Uruguayan Federation of Housing Cooperatives through Mutual Aid (FUCVAM), the Viennese Settler Movements and the Association of Zurich’s Housing Cooperatives (Wohnbaugenossenschaften Zürich) have long pioneered models that embody its principles. By bridging the public and commons, they transcend the binary of public versus private and chart a pathway for achieving a Just Transition in cities. The research positions CPPs as pivotal for addressing housing inequities and enhancing climate resilience.

In this epoch of the Anthropocene, both the practice and education of architecture demand bold experimentation, new directions and tangible demonstrations. In these tumultuous times, our communities require our intervention more than ever – particularly in the wake of social unrest and the lingering consequences of the pandemic. Current modes of architectural practice, driven by the relentless use of carbon-intensive materials and solitary work environments, are proving not only unsustainable but perilous. The present moment urgently compels us to cultivate resilient communities, forge alternative local economies, and challenge architectural education to embrace circularity and upcycling.

This innovative project emerges as a beacon of hope in the face of the climate crisis, repurposing bamboo from the previous NOMAS Spring Carnival Pavilion. It seeks to present a compelling case for low-carbon practices through a full-scale intervention within an underserved neighborhood, thus supporting the community while fostering sustainable development. The creation of a bamboo greenhouse/classroom addresses food apartheid, simultaneously providing a vital resource to locals and immersing students in the nuances of participatory design-build and community engagement. In this unorthodox classroom, students are afforded a profound understanding of the site’s subtleties, the inherent properties of materials, and the intricacies of the design-build process.

The project seeks to promote and catalyze environmentally conscious design practices by showcasing the immense potential of the waste economy and low-carbon materials. By harnessing bamboo's natural porosity, flexibility and acoustic absorption properties, the research aims to reduce waste and promote sustainable solutions. At its core, the initiative directly addresses pressing issues of climate change and social justice, fostering a proactive and impactful approach to these global challenges.

The multifaceted process of designing, prototyping, acoustic and load testing, securing permits, detailing systems, and responding to a live brief on-site is a meticulous endeavor that broadens the scope of architectural education. This hands-on engagement with bamboo, repurposing materials, direct community collaboration, and an emphasis on a more intuitive, responsive form of architectural pedagogy aligns seamlessly with the evolving goals of Carnegie Mellon Architecture. In doing so, it redefines architectural education as more impactful, experiential and intimately connected to the societal needs of our time.

Bamboo, a material endowed with vast, yet largely untapped, potential – especially within the domain of architecture – serves as a testament to nature’s ingenuity. Despite its remarkable attributes, bamboo remains an underutilized resource in architectural practice, often relegated to peripheral applications such as scaffolding, and occasionally used in a more substantive capacity. As a rapidly growing, low-cost, carbon-sequestering natural resource, it offers tremendous promise that has yet to be fully realized. It is time to reassess our approach and unlock the full potential of this multifaceted material in the 21st century.

Predominantly cultivated in the developing regions of the Global South, bamboo has traditionally been processed using conventional methods. This versatile material is characterized by its exceptional combination of flexibility, stiffness and efficiency in material distribution, resulting in lightweight yet robust structural systems. Bamboo's inherent ability to withstand tensile stresses, buckling and bending, coupled with its remarkable elastic properties, makes it an ideal candidate for innovative architectural applications. Through material research, this course seeks to harness these attributes of bamboo to create spanning and spatial systems that leverage its intrinsic qualities.

Traditional uses of bamboo, such as whole culms, impose limitations on its spanning and bending capabilities and render it more susceptible to splitting. When properly bent, however, bamboo activates its tensile capacity, enabling more efficient distribution of material across structural systems. The integration of bamboo with digital fabrication techniques offers the opportunity to explore radically innovative and spatially adaptable configurations. While working with this irregular material presents challenges, it also holds the potential for groundbreaking outcomes. CNC routing provides a means for precise sectioning of bamboo culms, while the use of robotic arms for bending eliminates the need for custom jigs for each new bending profile.

This research endeavors to explore material systems that utilize variable cross-sections of bamboo culms along their length, allowing for more efficient spanning capabilities. The variation in cross-sectional profiles responds dynamically to specific positions, bending forces, loading conditions and the diverse roles of members within a broader spanning system. Through these innovative approaches, the research aims to unlock new possibilities for the application of bamboo in modern architectural design.

This Options Studio course aims to build a body of knowledge surrounding the widely unexplored hybrid-typology of office-to-residential conversion. The studio treats the conversion of Pittsburgh's vacated office buildings as a design research project, the outcome of which will directly contribute to the emerging dialogue surrounding this new building type. Through a series of speculative design inquiries, this studio will explore the potential for this project type to produce innovative solutions for affordable housing while leveraging the unique potentials afforded by the act of typological hybridization (i.e. home / office).

Recognizing the uncanny nature of the hybrid, we ask the question(s): How might the deserted core-and-shell office building lay the groundwork for new forms of domesticity? What design opportunities or potentialities exist in this new milieu? Is Pittsburgh truly a “[C]ity of misfits and hybrids... consisting of renegade assemblies and odd kinships” as Ferda Kolatan would suggest? If so, how might these odd kinships manifest in this new architectural assemblage?

This studio aims to directly address climate change by engaging the subjects of sustainable design and adaptive reuse, leveraging the embodied energy of existing infrastructure for new uses. Furthermore, this studio will address issues of social justice by developing affordable housing typologies that aim to provide rights and resources, regardless of background, identity or socio-economic status. 

The support for this elective course will provide support for research exploring the transformative potential of extended reality (XR) technology in revolutionizing the interactive design and teaching process of three-dimensional (3D) architectural structures. The project aims to bridge the gap between traditional digital design methodologies that are constrained to two-dimensional (2D) interfaces and the fully immersive spatial capabilities offered by XR.

Traditional 2D sketching of structures that rely on pencil and paper have limitations when transitioning to complex 3D design spaces. Even in a digital environment, sketching in 3D is still confined to flat computer screens, where the user’s ability to navigate and control the complex spatial design environment is limited by keyboard inputs and mouse clicks.

Through XR technology, this project proposes to enable users to physically step into their design environments and interact with digital objects that respond to gravity in real time and scale. By using physical movement of the eyes and the body as spatial design tools, this immersive experience enables architects to design complex 3D structures, experiment with various materials, and manipulate structures with instant feedback and visualization.

The expected outcome of this project is an applet that has the potential to revolutionize how 3D structures are conceived, visualized and understood in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Beyond practical applications, the applet also opens avenues for further research on experimental ways of teaching and learning structures in academia, promising a gradual paradigm shift in how 3D structures and spaces are envisioned, designed and realized. This applet will be used as one of the primary design and teaching tools for this course.

This elective course tackles climate change by examining extractive material systems and exploring innovative construction methods and tectonics grounded in ethical and ecological principles. Students will investigate both the geopolitical and sociocultural implications of material crises in the built environment and engage with technological solutions that offer sustainable options for future architectural practice.

The course aims to significantly reconfigure the curriculum to complement existing core courses and respond to students’ strong interests in sustainable construction. The new curriculum is organized around two primary themes in circular construction techniques: 1) Unstack: stereotomy using reclaimed bricks and stones, and 2) Reframe: design for disassembly using timber.

The funds will be allocated primarily to procure student materials and documentation for 1-to-1 scale mockups, which will serve as tangible proof of concept for students’ research. With students from six different programs enrolled in the Spring 2025 offering, including students on the waitlist, this funding will enhance access to hands-on learning experiences and increase the visibility of student work within the School and the wider community in Pittsburgh.