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A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Reconsidering Our Foundations - A New Beginning
Posted Wednesday, September 2
Welcome to the fall semester of 2020! And a special welcome to the Class of 2025; after just one day of classes, they have already made history by being our first group of students to enter the halls of The Cooper Union online. Ironically, they are also the first to be inhabiting our new studio spaces for what I hope will the entire academic year, but removed from the very faculty and catalytic studio culture those spaces elicit. Instead, the Class of 2025 will form a new culture with upper-level students, stemming from the hybrid learning environment set in motion this year.
Some months ago, at the height of the spring semester, the sheer urgency of the pandemic, the novelty of engaging with each other remotely, and our insistence on overcoming isolation was all fresh. It is fair to say now that the new normal “though one that changes seemingly daily“has set in, and it has shown its limits. The coming year will require patience, resilience, and care, along with new ways of learning, teaching, and interacting with each other.
We launched the summer to the news of the murder of George Floyd, and we have ended it with the Kenosha shootings that are a testament to the divisiveness within our country, and the need for discourse and intellectual mediation. We knew we were living through historic times five months ago, but now we are reminded that we must confront this evolving history on a daily basis. I refuse to naturalize the state of affairs as we see them, and I ask you to join me to imagine all the ways in which this moment requires radical reform.
Nader Tehrani, Dean
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MANIFESTO AND CALL TO ACTION
To Build a Cooper Union Free of Racial and Social Injustice
Posted Wednesday, September 2
SUBMITTED BY THE ANTI-RACISM TASK FORCE OF THE IRWIN S. CHANIN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
In July 2020, students, faculty and alumni of the School of Architecture of The Cooper Union formed an ad hoc task force to propose positive actions to dismantle structures of racism and injustice in our institution. We were inspired by the “Collective Student Letter on Fostering an Actively Anti-Racist Institution” and the Zoom Town Hall following the collective grief and outrage over the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. Taking into consideration the distinct authority and spheres of influence of four tiers of institutional power at The Cooper Union, this Task Force presents a Framework for Partnership and action items at each of those levels: 1. Individuals and Small Groups; 2. Formal Committees and other Institutional Entities; 3. Deans; and 4. The Administration and Board of Trustees.
To view the full document—A Manifesto and Call to Action to Build a Cooper Union Free of Racial and Social Injustice—please click here.
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VISITING LECTURE
Fronts: Military Urbanism and the Developing World
Tuesday, September 15
Zoom | 6:30PM EST
Kripa and Mueller direct AGENCY, a design and research practice which leverages spatial design and spatial information to counteract nascent forms of global and urban insecurity. From the practice’s position on the US–Mexico border, AGENCY’s work reveals and enacts emerging publics. Working in protracted, conflictual contexts, the practice consistently shifts the narrative, developing targeted methods to identify, appropriate, and subvert subperceptual urban and atmospheric events that violate human rights. AGENCY’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Hong Kong–Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale for Architecture and Urbanism, the Venice Biennale, the Berlin Biennale, Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York, and the Richmond Art Center.
The talk will discuss excerpts from Kripa and Mueller's recent book, FRONTS: Military Urbanisms and the Developing World (AR+D, 2020). The book compiles original urban research and analysis, revealing a growing geography of codependence between the global security complex and the urban morphologies of the developing world which it increasingly incriminates. Military doctrine has dramatically shifted its position, viewing the world’s cities as suspect sites of potential aggression. As military training sites simulate physical replicas of urban environments, they provide a lens through which we can understand the shape of the city to come.
The lecture will be followed by a public live discussion moderated by Nora Akawi.
Kripa and Mueller's lecture will be conducted through Zoom. Please register in advance here. Zoom account registration is required.
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ONLINE RESOURCES
The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture Online Resources
Posted Friday, April 3
The School of Architecture has posted a list of online Resources for its students, faculty, and staff on The Cooper Union’s website. This content includes messages from Dean Tehrani, registration instructions, IT resources, upcoming online lectures, media and relevant links from architecture and other cultural institutions.
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ARCHLOG
Two Dogs on a Leash: Work by Ezekiel Binns, AR'23 & Juan Cardona, AR'21
Posted Thursday, April 6
Architecture students Ezekiel Binns and Juan Cardona recently spoke with Maya Kotomori of Serving the People™ (stp)—an online platform for creative inquiry and experimentation—about their collaborative practice, and their 2020 BFA Show submission titled Two Dogs on a Leash.
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ANNOUNCEMENT
COVID-19 Updates
For campus-wide COVID-19 updates, please visit The Cooper Union's website.
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Lydia Kallipoliti, Arch fac | Article | “Lydia Kallipoliti and Areti Markopoulou will curate the 2022 Tallinn Architecture Biennale,” THE ARCHITECTS’ NEWSPAPER, August 25, 2020 | Article | “Lydia Kallipoliti and Areti Markopoulou Appointed Head Curators of Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2022,” ArchDaily, August 25, 2020
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RUR (Jesse Reiser, AR ’81 | Article | Nanako Umemoto, AR 83, principals), “RUR Architecture’s Taipei Music Center Performance Hall prepares to open,” THE ARCHITECTS’ NEWSPAPER, August 28, 2020
Shigeru Ban, AR ’84 | Article | “Tokyo's latest attraction: Transparent public toilets,” CNN TRAVEL, August 18, 2020
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Jeff Hou, AR ’90 | Lecture | Weitzman School of Design UPenn, September 8, 2020, virtual
Noah Garcia, AR ’10 | Article | “Re-imagining Brooklyn Bridge,” VAN ALEN INSTITUTE, August 21, 2020
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Open Calls & Opportunities |
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NEW
CALL FOR ALLIES
DESIGN COMPETITION
DEADLINES APPROACHING
CALL FOR ENTRIES
MICROHOME 2020 invites participants to submit their designs for a micro home - an off-grid modular structure that would accommodate a hypothetical young professional coupe. Deadline: September 9
ONGOING
CALL FOR APPLICANTS
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Shifting Ground The Architectural League of New York invites you to submit photographs, videos, or drawings accompanied by short written observations about the spaces around you. Deadline: Rolling
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Gaudi Architecture Prize is the first annual international Design Awards celebrating the unbuilt projects of students and recent graduates all over the world. Registration Deadline: October 30
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CALL FOR ENTRIES
The HOME competition 2020 What do you believe will be the future of home? This competition invites all designers to explore ideas of domestic architecture for the future. Deadline: October 25
STUDENT COMPETITION
2021 HUD Innovation in Affordable Housing invites students to form a team, create a plan and make a real-world impact tackling the need for affordable housing. Attend the competition information webinar on September 3. Competition Registration Deadline: November 2
CALL FOR ESSAYS
What is Sustainable Architecture? Do you have something to say about sustainable architecture? ARCHHIVE BOOKS is calling for essay submissions for their next print publication. Deadline: November 11
CALL FOR PAPERS
TAD 5:2 Intelligence invites submissions of original research from scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students focusing on building automation, smart systems, user-driven design optimization, deep learning and fields related to human-machine interaction. Deadline: January 15, 2021
DISTANCE LEARNING DISCUSSIONS
FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Lilly Reich Grant for Equality in Architecture launched by the Fundació Mies van der Rose aims to generate research in relation to identity, social inclusion, and all elements of sustainability. Multiyear Deadlines: July 16, 2020 / April 8, 2021
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