Carnegie Mellon Architecture faculty and alumni on project teams at Pittsburgh-based design firms were recognized for outstanding design at the 2023 Design Pittsburgh Awards. A signature program of AIA Pittsburgh, the annual event highlights outstanding architecture and design in the Pittsburgh region.

The School of Architecture is pleased to announce that Carter Nelson (B.Arch '17) has been selected as the winner of the 2022 Delbert Highlands Travel Fellowship for his proposal Dovecotes of Tinos. With this award, Nelson will fully document a selection of dovecotes on the Greek island of Tinos in order to help support their preservation.

The School of Architecture is proud to announce that 14 of this year’s graduating students have been awarded CMU Senior Leadership Recognition (SLR). This recognition is reserved for those students who have made an unparalleled impact on the university community, leaving CMU a better place as a result of their leadership, vision, and initiative.

School of Architecture alumna Lea Albaugh ('09), now a doctoral student in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, oversaw CMU senior David Perry’s work for a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) exploring the form and motion possible in robotized garments.

School of Architecture faculty and alumni are contributing their expertise on carbon management strategies during the 2020 AIA/ACSA Intersections Research Conference: CARBON taking place 30 Sep – 02 Oct 2020. Assistant Professor Erica Cochran Hameen, PhD is co-chairing the conference. Professors Bill Bates, Vivian Loftness, and Joshua Lee, and alumni Leila Srinivasan and Zoe Kaufman, are moderating and presenting.

Carolyn Caranante, AIA (B.Arch ‘09, MSAECM ‘10) transitioned her CMU education into a New York City construction career—including working as a Project Manager in core architectural trades for Skidmore, Owings & Merill’s One World Trade Center.

David Eskenazi (B.Arch ’09), of the Los Angeles-based d.esk, has won a 2020 League Prize from the Architectural League of New York. Eskenazi is part of the design studio and visual studies faculty at SCI-Arc, and has contributed written research to a number of outlets.

The SoA congratulates alumnus Gabriel Cuellar (B.Arch ‘08) for receiving a 2020 Course Development Prize presented by ACSA and The Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University. Cuellar’s course proposal “Exist, Flourish, Evolve” — Territorial Care and the Upper Misi-ziibi explores how architecture can uphold and promote the Rights of Nature in the context of the Mississippi headwaters watershed.

Heart Squared, an interactive cloud of steel and mirrors dedicated to love and diversity, is open to the public in Times Square through the end of February. It is this year’s winner of New York City’s annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition. Alumnus Tom Sterling (B.Arch ‘16), Architectural Designer at MODU Architecture, is a member of the project team that developed the installation.

The School of Architecture is pleased to announce that Michael Baker (B.Arch ‘05) has been selected as the winner of the 2020 Delbert Highlands Travel Fellowship for his proposal The Churches of Chiloé and the Jesuit “Circular Mission.”

The SoA congratulates Associate Professor Gerard Damiani, the Urban Design Building Studio (UDBS), B.Arch student Selena Zhen, and alumnus Sylvester Damianos (Class of ’56) for being recognized in the 2019 AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Awards.

Erica Cochran Hameen, PhD and Bill Bates, FAIA, together with alumni Ernest Bellamy and Chase Kea and nine UDream Alumni, will participate in SAY IT LOUD Pennsylvania, Representation Matters: Changing the Face of Architecture. The exhibit will run through the month of November and showcases the work of minority architects and designers. The opening reception is Friday 01 November from 6:00-10:00pm at GBBN Architects.

The School of Architecture mourns the recent passing of architect Raymond J. Sinagra, AIA. Ray was a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, graduating with a BFA in 1988 and a B.Arch in 1994. He was also a former faculty member at the university.

Patricia Culley (B.Arch ’03) has been named to the class of 2019 40 Under 40 Honorees. Each year, Pittsburgh Magazine and PUMP recognize 40 outstanding individuals under the age of 40 whose creativity, vision, and passion enrich the Pittsburgh region.

MTID Alumnus Robert Zacharias collaborated with the local dance duo slowdanger to help develop a multisensory dance at the Carnegie Museum or Art’s inaugural artist in residence program, “Performers at Play.” Presentations of “Resonant Body” take place throughout August and September.

The School of Architecture congratulates recent graduates Gautam Jagdish Thakkar (M.Arch ’19) for winning one of two first place prizes, and Sai Prateek Narayan Ramachandran (MUD ‘19) for receiving honorable mention, in The Future of My City German/US graduate student competition.

The School of Architecture mourns the recent passing of alumnus Richard F. "Rich" Bamburak, AIA. Rich attended Carnegie Mellon, where he began his lifelong love and passion for architecture. He was a talented and creative architect designing numerous award-winning projects during his career at WTW Architects, where he was a Senior Principal.

Jacob Russo (B.Arch ’14), and his startup NexLoop, has been invited to join a collaborative Circular Economy demonstration project on Governors Island, NYC. NexLoop will clad the exterior of a shipping container with its AquaWeb system, enabling the farm’s irrigation to be supplemented with atmospheric water.

The international premiere of An Atlas of Commoning opens Saturday 29 June at the Miller ICA at CMU. Curated by Associate Professor Stefan Gruber and fueled by the collaborative research and thesis projects of Master of Urban Design students, the exhibition explores how citizen-led initiatives can transform cities into more just and resilient places.

Recent alumna Kelly Li (B.Arch ’19) traveled to Princeton University this past April to participate in their Environmental Institute’s second annual Environmental Ideathon, a 36-hour workshop to brainstorm environmental strategies for cities around the world.

The School of Architecture congratulates alumnus Michael Hinchcliffe (B.Arch ’94) on the recent announcement of his promotion as one of five new Principals at Payette.

Payette's New Science Center at Amherst College and the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex at Northeastern University have been named to the 2019 AIA COTE® Top Ten recognizing excellence in sustainable architecture and ecological design.

David Bott (B.Arch ’97, BS CEE ’98) is featured in a recent CEE article titled “Beyond the Surface: Bringing Beauty and Structure to Light.” Professors Delbert Highlands and Irving Oppenheim supported Bott in blending the study of architecture and engineering during his time at CMU.

The SoA congratulates alumna Carolina Tamayo (B.Arch ‘17), winner of the 2019 John Stewardson Memorial Fellowship in Architecture, and Elizabeth Levy (B.Arch ‘19), a top ten finalist. The Stewardson Fellowship is the oldest and most prestigious award for architecture students and graduates in Pennsylvania.

The SoA is proud to share that seven of the ten women featured in AIA Pittsburgh’s Emerging Leaders and Advocates in Pittsburgh Architecture are affiliated with the school. Congratulations to this next generation of emerging women designers who are already changing the face of Pittsburgh’s design scene.

SoA alumnus Ben Saks co-wrote and co-produced the documentary FLOAT, which is to World Premiere at the 43rd edition of the Cleveland International Film Festival April 5-6, 2019. FLOAT explores the ultra-competitive sport of elite, stunningly-designed indoor model airplanes, as a wild-card newcomer threatens to knock a teammate off his world champion throne.

SoA PhD student Lola Ben-Alon won first place, and a $1,000 prize, in the annual CMU Energy Week Student Poster Competition on Tuesday 26 March. Ben-Alon’s poster presented her doctoral research work, entitled Integrating Earthen Building Materials and Methods Into Mainstream Construction.

The 2019 ACSA National Meeting takes place in Pittsburgh Thu 28 - Sat 30 March. We invite you to attend the presentations, panel discussions, and keynotes featuring SoA faculty, alumni, and students. All events take place downtown at the Westin Pittsburgh Hotel, unless otherwise noted.

Matthew Ciccone (MUD ‘06) is co-founder and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Beauty Shoppe, a firm that transforms historic buildings into elegant and inviting co-working spaces. Beauty Shoppe is currently working on the Pittsburgh Terminal Building in South Side to create unique makerspaces for artisans and craftspeople.

Rana Sen, a 1999 PhD graduate from the CBPD, is a managing director at Deloitte US where he leads their smart city initiative and the US state/local transportation practice and smart city work globally.