Ginger Krieg Dosier in Conversation with Lola Ben-Alon. In the final conversation of the Natural Materials mini-series, faculty Lola Ben-Alon and architectural researcher, Ginger Krieg Dosier, discuss the process of developing and manufacturing natural material products. Dosier is the founder and CEO of bioMASON, a natural material compound employing microorganisms and chemical processes to organically create cement-based materials for construction, with the aim of replacing traditional, more damaging cementitious materials. The Natural Materials mini-series consists of conversations with designers, builders, and product developers of clay, bamboo, fibers, and bacterial concrete. Natural Materials are defined as minimally processed, readily available, non-toxic, healthy, and engaging materials. They are critically needed to reduce carbon emissions and extractive, harmful impacts associated with conventional building materials. (This conversation was recorded remotely in December 2020.)

GSAPP Conversations

Natural Materials: Bacterial Concrete

Chris Magwood in Conversation with Lola Ben-Alon. In the next installment of the Natural Materials mini-series, faculty Lola Ben-Alon discusses building with natural fibers with researcher and builder, Chris Magwood. Magwood is currently a director at The Endeavour Centre, where he leads several initiatives in training building professionals in working with different natural fibers -- like hemp and plant husks -- in newer, more holistic ways, helping bring buildings to ‘net zero.’ The Natural Materials mini-series consists of conversations with designers, builders, and product developers of clay, bamboo, fibers, and bacterial concrete. Natural materials are defined as minimally processed, readily available, nontoxic, healthy, and engaging materials. They are critically needed to reduce carbon emissions and extractive harmful impact associated with conventional building materials. (This conversation was recorded remotely in November 2020.)

Natural Materials: Fibers

Elora Hardy in Conversation with Lola Ben-Alon. This week as part of the Natural Materials mini-series, Lola Ben-Alon speaks with architect, artist, and designer, Elora Hardy (IBUKU), about designing and building with bamboo in Indonesia. Hardy’s work, from her time as a designer at DKNY to her time as an architectural designer in Bali today, has garnered international attention. Her complex designs utilize natural materials, namely bamboo. The structures seem to defy nature, while at the same time following the natural properties of the materials used. The Natural Materials mini-series consists of conversations with designers, builders, and product developers of clay, bamboo, fibers, and bacterial concrete. Natural materials are defined as minimally processed, readily available, nontoxic, healthy, and engaging materials. They are critically needed to reduce carbon emissions and extractive harmful impact associated with conventional building materials. (This conversation was recorded remotely in November 2020.)

Natural Materials: Bamboo

Sigi Koko in Conversation with Lola Ben Alon. This fall, GSAPP Conversations and faculty host Lola Ben Alon created a mini series on natural and living building materials. The Natural Materials mini series consists of interviews of designers, builders, and product developers of clay, bamboo, fibers, and bacterial concrete. Natural materials are defined as minimally processed, readily available, nontoxic, healthy, and engaging materials. They are critically needed to reduce carbon emissions and extractive harmful impact associated with conventional building materials. In kicking off the Natural Materials mini series, Assistant Professor of Architectural Technology Lola Ben Alon, talks to east-coast-based architect Sigi Koko, about building naturally with earthen materials like clay, as part of an architectural practice. Sigi’s work displays amazing ways that earthen materials behave in the dramatically different climates of the United States, and how we could benefit from incorporating these earthen materials in our own work. This interview is the first of a four-part miniseries on how experimenting with and utilizing natural materials is changing the future of architecture and design pedagogy. Interview recorded remotely in November 2020.

Natural Materials: Clay

Joshua Jih Pan in Conversation with Johnny Chiu. In episode #94, founder of J.C. Architecture Johnny Chiu (‘06 MSAAD) speaks with Joshua Jih Pan ('67 MARCH), founder of J.J. Pan & Partners. Based in Taipei with additional offices in Shanghai, Beijing, and Xiamen, J.J. Pan & Partners is an architectural and planning firm dedicated to providing creative solutions in the design and planning of human environments. J.C. Architecture is a multidisciplinary design firm based in New York City and Taipei whose projects range from architecture to interior, industrial, visual, and jewelry design. During the conversation, they discuss Pan’s educational background (including his time at GSAPP) and the steps he took to establish his studio as one of the largest, and most successful firms in Taiwan. Pan stresses the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity to showcase quality and relevant design, regardless of project scale. He also encourages early career architects to recognize the value of their work and charge fair fees for their services. Finally, he shares his vision for the future of architecture in Taiwan which prioritizes sustainability and is inclusive of aging populations.

Learning From Alumni: Building a Successful Firm

This Spring, Untapped New York is collaborating with Columbia GSAPP to create a mini-series of podcasts designed to share architectural and historic highlights of Columbia University’s neighborhood and surrounding New York City communities for listeners who are unable to travel to the city in person at this time. In this second installment, Michelle Young and Justin Rivers of Untapped New York explore neighborhoods in Upper Manhattan. They head from Morningside Heights to Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, and Inwood. Along the way, they point out culinary and cultural highlights of each neighborhood, including NYC’s largest slice at Koronet Pizza in Morningside Heights, Harlem’s Apollo Theater, the Audubon Mural Project in Hamilton Heights, and the many parks and views of Washington Heights. We also hear from Columbia affiliated residents of Harlem and Washington Heights who tell us about why they love their neighborhoods. You can learn more about Untapped New York at www.untappedcities.com (http://www.untappedcities.com).

Untapped New York Explores Upper Manhattan

This Spring, Untapped New York collaborated with Columbia GSAPP to create a mini-series of podcast episodes designed to welcome incoming students to the GSAPP family. In case you missed this episode as part of GSAPP’s Virtual Open House, we wanted to re-share it with you here! Throughout the series, we explore architecturally interesting and historic New York City neighborhoods that house Columbia University’s campus and surrounding communities. This is our first of three conversations specifically produced for the School. In this episode, Michelle Young and Justin Rivers of Untapped New York discuss the neighborhood of Morningside Heights, which is home to Columbia University’s Morningside Campus and to GSAPP. Michelle Young is GSAPP faculty, alum ('12 MSUP), and founder of Untapped New York. Justin Rivers, Chief Experience Officer at Untapped New York, will share five hidden spots including Alma Mater, the Guastavino Dome at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Riverside Church’s Labyrinth, Ulysses S. Grant’s Tomb, and the meeting of 125th and 129th Streets. You can learn more about Untapped New York at www.untappedcities.com (http://www.untappedcities.com).

Untapped New York Explores Morningside Heights

Sophie Hochhäusl in Conversation with Emmanuel Olunkwa. In episode #91, CCCP student Emmanuel Olunkwa speaks with architectural historian Sophie Hochhäusl. Hochhäusl is an Assistant Professor for Architectural History and Theory at the University of Pennsylvania. Her scholarly work centers on modern architecture and urban culture in Austria, Germany, and the United States, with a focus on the history of social movements, gender studies, and environmental history. Today, Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky (1897-2000) has been widely recognized as one of the most significant female figures in modern design who worked in Austria, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Turkey in the 1920s and 1930s. These decades of professional work were marked by a drastic break between 1940 and 1945, when Schütte-Lihotzky was interned for her participation in the Communist resistance against the Nazi regime. Her recollections from the years of internment became the subject of the 1984 German-language book “Erinnerungen aus dem Widerstand (Memories of the Resistance).” In this episode, Sophie Hochhäusl discusses her book “Memories of the Resistance: Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky and the Architecture of Collective Dissidence, 1919-1989,” which explores the architect's book as a critical historical document that exemplifies the spatialization of organized dissent in the 1940s. It provides a glimpse into resistance as lived practice and how dissent became activated by solidarity and collective action. The episode was recorded following Sophie Hochhäusl’s Detlef Mertins Lecture on the Histories of Modernity at GSAPP on February 24, 2020.

Memories of the Resistance: A Spatial Investigation

Marc Norman in Conversation with Kate Ascher. In episode #90, faculty Kate Ascher speaks with Marc Norman, Associate Professor of Practice in Urban and Regional Planning at University of Michigan’s Taubman College, and founder of consulting firm Ideas and Actions. Teaching courses in real estate finance and economic development, Marc Norman also advises municipal, private, and non-profit clients on housing and development. Kate Ascher is the Milstein Professor of Urban Development at Columbia GSAPP, where she teaches real estate, infrastructure, and urban planning courses. During the conversation, they discuss land use and cost as it relates to housing and street real estate. Using New York City as an example, they also explore the need for a multifaceted strategy that involves development, innovative finance, and community engagement in the reimagination of public housing. Marc Norman makes the case for further experimentation on a city and state level that has the ability to scale up and lead us into the future. The episode was recorded prior to Marc Norman’s lecture at GSAPP on March 2nd, 2020.

Rethinking Equitable Development

Sophie Hochhäusl in Conversation with Emmanuel Olunkwa. In episode #90, CCCP student Emmanuel Olunkwa speaks with architectural historian Sophie Hochhäusl. Hochhäusl is an Assistant Professor for Architectural History and Theory at the University of Pennsylvania. Her scholarly work centers on modern architecture and urban culture in Austria, Germany, and the United States, with a focus on the history of social movements, gender studies, and environmental history. Hochhäusl discusses her book Memories of the Resistance: Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky and the Architecture of Collective Dissidence, 1918–1989, in which she analyzes the work of Austrian architect and activist Schütte-Lihotzky. She shares with us her strong interest in the social implications of architecture and discusses the ways in which it can be perceived as a form of radical resistance.

Kim Stanley Robinson in Conversation with Benjamin Eckersley and Issac Kim. In episode #89, Columbia GSAPP Master of Architecture student Issac Kim and Columbia School of the Arts MFA student Benjamin Eckersley speak with author Kim Stanley Robinson. Robinson is a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards. He is the author of more than twenty books, including the Mars trilogy and the critically acclaimed 2312, The Years of Rice and Salt, and New York 2140. During the conversation, Robinson embraces the proposal for a Green New Deal and connects his science fiction writing to the growing political movement. He discusses how imagined scenario building and alternative societies might empower communities to be more proactive in responding to the reality of climate change. He also shares with us his long-term interest in architecture and how the built environment provides contextual and historical details in his own fictional writing. The episode was recorded prior to Robinson’s participation at a Columbia event on February 18, 2020. The discussion was organized by the Earth Institute’s Initiative on Communication and Sustainability, the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, and the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture, where it forms part of the ongoing project, “Power: Infrastructure in America.” For more information, including an essay by Robinson on the Green New Deal, see power.buellcenter.columbia.edu.

The Green New Deal: Shaping a Public Imagination

Carme Pinós in Conversation with Maru Benavides. In this podcast episode, architect Carme Pinós speaks with MARCH student Maru Benavides. Through their bilingual conversation, Pinós shares with us her love of simplicity and natural materials. She gives us a glimpse into her design philosophy that prioritizes human relations, closely considers context, and is spatially and programmatically generous toward the people. She also talks about how she works with the current market-driven building culture as a contemporary architect. Pinós is the founder of Barcelona-based Estudio Carme Pinós. Her sharp approach to design, anchored by a constant focus on experimentation and research, has made her work garner worldwide recognition. This recording was conducted before Carme Pinós’ lecture at the school on February 10, 2020.

Spirit of Generosity: Designing for the People

Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto in Conversation with Jules Kleitman. In this podcast episode, architect Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto speak with M.Arch student Jules Kleitman. Reiser and Umemoto are founders and principles of Reiser + Umemoto (also known as RUR Architecture), a multidisciplinary design firm operating across various scales. Their work ranges from furniture design, to residential and commercial structures, up to the scale of landscape and infrastructure. Reiser and Umemoto reflect on a special time at Cooper Union when the architectural profession underwent a period of experimental exploration under the leadership of John Hejduk. They discuss the design process behind their O-14 Tower and how they arrived at its formal and hyper-structured expression. They also share with us how their projects in Dubai and Taipei function within local contexts around the globe. This recording was conducted before Jesse Reiser’s lecture at Columbia GSAPP on February 3, 2020.

Seeking Formal Expression: RUR Architecture

Peggy Deamer in Conversation with Abraham Murrell. In this podcast episode, graduate Abraham Murrell ('18 M.Arch) speaks with architect and educator Peggy Deamer. GSAPP recently commissioned a group of alumni to report on the current state of internships in the architecture profession. This is our third podcast to explore this theme in more depth, following conversations with Mabel O. Wilson and Violet Whitney. Deamer discusses in depth the problematic relationship between bad fees and bad wages in the architectural profession. She advocates for unionization within the field and presents key positions of the Architecture Lobby. The full text of the Internships and the Architectural Profession report can be read on GSAPP's website.

Unionization in the Architectural Profession

Emanuel Christ in Conversation with Amale Andraos. In episode #85, Dean Amale Andraos speaks with architect and educator Emanuel Christ. Emanuel Christ is founding partner of Christ & Gantenbein, a leading architectural practice based in Basel, Switzerland. The firm’s work applies bold form and versatile material uses. During their conversation, Christ discusses how he integrates his architectural approach into curriculum design while teaching at ETH Zurich and compares architectural education in Europe and the US. He also speaks about the social, environmental, formal, and technological problems and solutions that are being undertaken by the next generation of architects. This interview was conducted prior to his lecture at the school on November 18, 2019.

Between Ideal and Real: Architecture’s Next Generation

GSAPP Conversations offer a window onto the expanding field of contemporary architectural practice through discussions on the current projects, research, and obsessions of a diverse group of invited guests from emerging and well-established practices. Hosted by Columbia GSAPP’s Dean Amale Andraos, the conversations also feature the School’s influential faculty and alumni, and give students the opportunity to engage architects on issues of concern to the next generation.

hubhopper

GSAPP Conversations

hubhopper