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(412) 268-6260
jfolan@andrew.cmu.edu

Carnegie Mellon University
School of Architecture
5000 Forbes Avenue
212 College of Fine Arts
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Garrett Rauck
UDBS Fellow

PAST

Alise Kuwahara Day, UDBS Fellow
J William Gott, UDBS Fellow
Ming Ming Lin, UDBS Fellow
Karen Branick, UDBS Assist.

John Folan

AIA, LEED AP
UDBS DIRECTOR
T. David Fitz-Gibbon Associate Professor

John Folan is the T. David Fitz-Gibbon Professor of Architecture and Director of the Urban Design Build Studio (UDBS) at Carnegie Mellon University. John served as track Chair of the Masters of Urban Design (MUD) Program and member of the Urban Laboratory faculty from 2009 to 2012. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois (Bachelor of Science in Architecture, High Honors) and the University of Pennsylvania (Masters of Architecture) where he was a Kahn Fellow and recipient of the Henry Adams Medal. Registered as an Architect since 1995, John has focused his research on the methodologies employed in the translation from drawing to building.  He investigates this in two ways:  as pure developmental analysis and in application through critical practice.  The research embraces methodology in the context of site condition, constructive logic, and material technologies - both traditional and emergent.  A fundamental component of the research is the development of representational techniques and analytical experiments that enable simultaneous study of physical and phenomenological conditions. Experimentation with representation and analytical testing is investigated as a means of collapsing the multifaceted layers that separate conception and construction, establishing an analogue between representation and fabrication.

John's applied research in practice has included large-scale cultural and institutional commissions in the United States, Japan, Africa, and Europe. Executed within variable urban and rural landscapes, the projects have consistently engaged construction as an inherently centered, collaborative accomplishment predicated on broad consideration, sensibility and ethics. Included in this body of work are the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the National Wildlife Federation Headquarters, and the United States Embassy Compound in Nairobi, Kenya. John's work in practice has been critically reviewed in more than fifty journal articles, has been included in several published compendia, has been documented in two building monographs, and has been recognized by more than thirty national and international professional merit award programs. 

Prior to joining the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in 2009, John was a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Arizona. While on the faculty at Arizona he was a founding member of the Emerging Materials Technology (EMT) group. He also co-founded and served as an executive board member of the Drachman Design Build Coalition (DDBC); a university affiliated, non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation dedicated to the design and construction of environmentally specific, energy efficient, affordable housing prototypes. Projects with the DDBC in Tucson's Urban Empowerment Zone have been recognized with three consecutive AIA Arizona Honor Awards for Residence of The Year. Urban strategies employed in the implementation of the DDBC work influenced the collaborative development of the Drachman Institute’s legislative proposal that was recognized with first place award in the 2008 National Urban Policy Initiative Competition (NUPIC). The work executed with the DDBC, and currently with the UDBS, has enabled John to collaborate with students in finding sympathetic relationships between physical and cultural conditions through construction - not as a physical operation, but as a comprehensive unity informed by site, material, material behavior, technology, methodology, and representation.

Recognizing society and popular culture's gravitation toward specialization, John's teaching pedagogy focuses on the fundamental core attributes of practice and education that rely on reasoning, logic and ethic. His pedagogy has developed out of a desire to establish intellect and maintain broad reaching consideration in the creative process by engendering clear reasoning skills; reasoning skills that will defy the restrictions of specialization and benefit the academy, profession and society with generosity. His teaching was recognized at the University of Arizona with six consecutive Robert C. Geibner Awards, the Daryl Dobras Award, and the university's highest teaching honor, The Five Star Faculty Award.

412 Food Rescue
475
ACTION-Housing, Inc.
Allegheny County Economic Development Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund
Allegheny County Health Department
Allegheny County Sanitary Authority
All Facilities Energy Group
Auberle
Autodesk Foundation
Baker Engineering
Bedford Hope Center
Beaufort Services
Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture Hong Kong 2013
Bike Pittsburgh
Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation
Braddock Carnegie Library
Braddock Community Oven
Bridgeway Capital
Bruce Construction, LLC
CMU Alumnus Ben Chigier
CMU BxA Intercollege Degree Program
CMU SoA Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics
CMU Facilities Department
CMU School of Drama Lighting Design
CMU School of Architecture
CMU SoA Urban Laboratory Studio
C & C Lighting Design
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
cityLAB PGH
Colcom Foundation
Comfort Supply, Inc.
Community Business Enterprise
Community Design Center Pittsburgh
Community Stewards Committed to Revitalizing the Inner City
Computer Reach
Construction Junction
Cresson Steel
Deglau Engineering
Department of Environmental Protection
Donald and Sylvia Robinson Foundation
Duquesne Light

East End Regional Advisory Committee
East Liberty Development Inc.
Eisler Landscapes
Elwin Green
Energizing Kowloon East Office
Equitable Gas
FIRST COURSE Cafe
Ford Motor Company
G. A. Mattern and Associates
Garden Dreams Urban Farm & Nursery
Garfield Jubilee Association
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania AFFECT Program
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
Green Building Alliance
Habitat for Humanity
The Heinz Endowments
Holy Family Institute
Homewood Children's Village
Hong Kong Institute of Architects
Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh
Iams Consulting
Institute for Ecological Innovation
J & J Fire Protection Co., Inc.
Jim Watson, P.E.
Katherine Mabic MCKenna Foundation
Konefal Engineering
Landforce
Laurel Foundation
Lawrence County Habitat for Humanity
Lawrenceville Corporation
Lawrenceville United
Leslie Park Pool Collective
The Ligonier Valley Endowment
Make Roots Marketing
McKamish Metal Fabrication Group
McKlveen Supply
Merit Electrical Group, Inc.
National Black Master of Business Administration Association
New Sun Rising
Nowall
Open Hand Ministries
Operation Better Block
Owens Corning
Pennsylvania Agricultural Department
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission
Pennsylvania Senator Jim Ferlo
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
Pittsburgh City Councilman Patrick Dowd
Pittsburgh City Councilman Ricky Burgess
Pittsburgh CitiPARKS
Pittsburgh Economic and Industrial Development Corporation
Pittsburgh Foundation
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (former)
Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority
P.J. Dick Construction
PROJECT RE_
RE/MAX
Reverend Eugene Blackwell
Richard King (R.K.) Mellon Foundation
Rocky Mountain Institute 10XE Program
Ruthrauff Sauer
RYCON Construction Inc.
Sauer Brothers Heating & Cooling
Seton Hill University
Shelton Design//Build
Sprezzatura
Steve Catranel Construction Co., Inc.
Solid PGH
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art
Standard & Custom, LLC
TAKTL
TETRA Architects and Planners
Three Rivers Center for Independent Living
Trade Institute of Pittsburgh
Transformazium
TREK Development
Tri-Rivers Electric
T&R Landscaping
Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh
Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale
URBANUS Architecture and Design
Valley Landscaping & Lawn Care
Venture Outdoors
Zach Ali

2018-2019
Ishwar Prasad Balaji *
Kyle Bancroft
Jacob Clare
Ever Clinton
Miranda Ford '
Srinjoy Hazra
Alison Katz
Bobuchi Ken-Opurum *
Timothy Khalifa
Yash Khemka '
Anthony Kosec
Lana Kozlovskaya
Gargi Lagvankar
Alex Lin
Fernanda Mazzilli
Shailaja Patel
Yashwitha Maram Reddy
Ryan Smerker
Jay Tyan
Weichen Zhan *
Christine Zhu

2017-2018
Chaz Barry
Zane Birenbaum ’
Richard Buechel *
Jacob Clare +
Ankur Dobriyal *
Mounica Guturu
Gautam Jagdish +
Timothy Khalifa ’
Yash Khemka +
Anthony Kosec +
Shivam Mathur *
Sophie Nahrmann +
Yoon Ho Oh +
Cassidy Rush
Connor Smith *
Jay Tyan +
Ethan Young +
Yingyang Zhou +

2016-2017
Brian Bollens '
Javaneh Jabbari-Arfaei *
Candace Ju '+
June Kim '
Naomie Laguerre '
Matthew Lin
Cheng Cheng Mao *
Ivy Monroe '
Rachel Muse '
Sophie Nahrmann +
Anthony Nitche '
Yoon Ho Oh ' +
Apoorva Ranka *
Garrett Rauck +
Alexa Roberts '
Kelsey Simpson
Nairiti Singh *
Connor Smith **
Rachel Sung '
Jeremy Tong *
Xin Zhao *
Di Zhu *

2015-2016
William Aldrich
Brian Bollens '
Gundars Buka *
Samuel Day
Daniel Gomez-Latorre '
Kendra Ho '
Candace Ju
Jean Kim '
Naomie Laguerre +
Nathan Lutz '
Lucia Madrigal *
Rohit Motwani *
Garrett Rauck +
Sophia Riedel '
Alexa Roberts +
Rachel Sung +
Gabriel Vidal-Hallet '
Kenan Zhang *

2014-2015
Swapnil Banzal *
Abhay Bhandari *
Daniel Gehr +
Marcos Gonzalez-Bode +
J William Gott +
Himanshu Jampala *
Priya Kambham *
Jason Kim +
Marshall Knutson
Naomie Laguerre '+
Yu Luo*
Shin-Yu (Victoria) Pai '+
Jaemin (Max) Park +
Arpit Prakash *
Tarang Rajendra Kumar *
Sharon Rubin +
Bahar Saghai *
Ankita Sharma *
Ruhi Thakur *
Robin Wohlforth '
Jianan Wang *

2013-2014
Zach Bauer '
Christopher Chan
Matthew Dawson
Daniel Gehr
Laleh Gharanjik *
J William Gott
Shaohua Guan *
Kevin Hyun'
Sandra Kalanyan
Jason Kim '
Ying Lin
Runyu Li *
Harris Mazur
Jessica Rinn *
Sharon Rubin
Ziwen Shen *
Xiaoxi Song *
Kyle Woltersdorf
Chiaowei Yu *

2012-2013
Sandra Kalanyan
Isaac Kwon '
Ying Lin
Emily Puhnaty
Daniel Quaintance '
Morgan Stampf '
Noelle White '
Karno Widjaja '
Kyle Woltersdorf

2011-2012
Daniel Burdzy
Becky Cole
Joy Kang
Phyllis Kim
Issac Kwon
Liza Langer
Jordan Parsons
Daniel Quaintance
Daniel Rappoport
Samuel Rashid
Medha Singh
Jessica Wang
Noelle White
Karno Widjaja

2010-2011
Shawn Cencer
Grace Ding
Jason Gates
Angelina Gonzalez
Sara Gotschewski
Alex Greenhut
Timothy Hild
Inkyoung Kim
Christopher Lee
Hubert Li
Ming Ming Lin
Cheryl Spencer
Michelle Spitzer

2009-2010
Filip Agren
Liz Duray
Doug Farrell
Ellen Garrett
Raghav Kaushik *
Ingrid Kong
Alise Kuwahara
Chen Ling *
Josh Marshman '
Julia Martini
Kaitlin Miciunas
Justin Rosenberry '
Lingshui Wang

2008-2009
Elizabeth Cohn
Nelly Dacic
Jared Friedman
Christopher Gallot
Spencer Gregson
Charles Helmstetter
Ubolsiri (Ja) Racharaks
Donald Reeves
Patricia Rivera
Rachelle Roll ‘‘
Diego Taccioli ‘‘
Gregory Tanski
Alyssa Topinka
Jerome Williams
Sadik Hurcan Yurtoglu *

' One semester involvement
+ UDBS Summer Internship
’’ Summer construction assistance

* AECM student, one semester
** Masters of Civil & Environmental Engineering, one semester