ABOUT THE NETWORKED PUBLIC SPACE  — 

Funded by the University of Virginia Strategic Investment Fund, Networked Public Space (NPS) is a collaborative of designers, planners, engineers, social scientists, and community stakeholders. NPS addresses the planning and design of networked public spaces, with a focus on human experience. NPS seeks to facilitate social interaction and human development rather than focus on infrastructural efficiencies. To do so, NPS defines "networked public space" not just as public space with embedded network and sensor technologies, but an interactive network of people, places, and technologies. The collaborative supports social, political, and technical action based on open data and analysis.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS —

Mona El Khafif, Associate Professor, Architecture and Urban + Environmental Planning [me9gn@virginia.edu]
Andrew Mondschein, Associate Professor, Urban + Environmental Planning [mondschein@virginia.edu]
Luis Felipe Rosado Murillo, Research Associate

RECENT RESEARCH PROJECTS AT NPS —

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MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE

On the evening of Monday October 10, 2022, Networked Public Space participated in the 20th Annual Gabriel Gathering: Making the Invisible Visible, organized by The Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality. NPS’s environmental sensing installation, part of this event, measured air pollution and sound levels on the African Burial Ground located in Richmond, VA, in real-time, responding to conditions on site with changes in lighting, and also uploading the data for visualization online. These responsive “sculptures” supported the ongoing environmental justice issues into conversation with the work of Sacred Ground and Recontextualizing Richmond. They highlighted the history of the African Burial Ground that extends to its conditions today, from the erasure of “urban renewal” and construction of I-95 to ongoing air and noise pollution on the site. The work aims to use open-source sensing technologies and community engagement strategies to make urban environmental data more accessible, meaningful, and actionable for communities.

Project Managers: Davis Eddy, Darcy Engle

Project Team: Seshi Konu, Marian Roshdy, Ali Sareini, Cara Hu, Wesley Jonah Lewis, Teagan Le (2020-2021), Pryce Derek Foyt, Gabe Andrade (2019-2020), Brian Kusiak (2020-2021)

Community Partners: Center for Civic Innovation (Charlottesville, Virginia), Belmont-Carlton Neighborhood Association (Charlottesville, Virginia), Jefferson Area Board for Aging (Charlottesville, Virginia), C4K (Charlottesville, Virginia), City of Richmond, Virginia, Sacred Grounds Historical Reclamation Project (Richmond, Virginia), UntoldRVA (Richmond, Virginia)

Learn more about this project.

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TIME SPACE EXISTENCE

On view at the Palazzo Mora in Venice from May – November 2023 is the work of Networked Public Space. NSP participated in the sixth edition of Time Space Existence, an international exhibition on display at the home of the European Cultural Centre (ECC) — the exhibition features an international group of architects, artists, academics, and creative professionals who are exploring “emerging expressions of sustainability.” As part of the exhibition NPS contributes to a diverse body of design work that addresses social justice through various strategies, which the exhibition curators describe as, “examin[ing] the tensions between the built urban environment and the nature surrounding it…[while] establishing a dialogue with local culture.” While the NPS project showcased in the exhibition used Richmond, Virginia as a testbed, it presents an approach that can be adapted for other applications or sites with different communities. NPS is not a traditional design project, but a system, including different interfaces: an online dashboard, instructables, a website, and recorded interviews. Together this designed system can amplify the vision and objectives of communities and longstanding activists working on social and environmental transformation.

Exhibition Design: Mona El Khafif, Darcy Engle, Marian Roshdy

RESEARCH AFFILIATIONS + COLLABORATORS —

Our affiliated research partners and collaborators include resident and institutional stakeholder groups who work with us to develop flexible, responsive architectures and infrastructures in local public spaces. 

Center for Civic Innovation
Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project
Untold RVA

NPS is made possible with support from the National Science Foundation S&CC grant # 1737581.

ABOUT THE NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE LAB  — 

The Natural Infrastructure Lab (NIL) works to develop innovative and culturally significant forms of coastal and riverine infrastructure through landscape design research. We partner with governmental, non-profit, and private entities to focus on the potential of plants, sediments, currents, waves, rocks, and the historical and contemporary human practices that engage them to deliver the services society relies on, including coastal resilience, landscape migration, and flood protection. Our research products work across scales and provide partners with the concepts, forms, and data-driven insights needed to implement innovative natural infrastructure that enhances human and ecological health over time. 

LAB DIRECTORS —

Brian Davis, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture [mudlands@virginia.edu]
Michael Luegering, Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture [ml6wb@virginia.edu]
 

LAB RESEARCH STAFF —

Emma Potter, Project Associate for UPWINS [hgt8zy@virginia.edu] 
Adrian Robins, Research Specialist [adrianrobins@virginia.edu]
Ruby Zielinski, Program Manager [fjw2zm@virginia.edu] 

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS AT NIL —

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PRESERVING COASTAL PARKLANDS 

In collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS), The Nature Conservancy, and ETZ Strategies, the Natural Infrastructure Lab is partnering on Preserving Coastal Parklands supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and their Engineering with Nature (EWN) Program for a three-year site-based research project to develop and test Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBFs) for three coastal national parks in the Chesapeake Bay region: Colonial National Historic Park (NHP), Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park (HATU), and Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS). Together, the parks represent a range of environments and issues facing coastal parks in the Chesapeake Region more broadly. The team will work to develop NNBF designs that provide natural alternatives to flood control and other landscape management needs of these coastal parks and their associated communities. The project aims to preserve the natural and cultural resources of the parks that are valued for their capacity to provide enjoyment, education, and inspiration for current and future generations that are under threat from sea level rise. 

Project Team: Brian Davis (UVA, Landscape Architecture), Erin Putalik, PhD (UVA, Architecture and Landscape Architecture), Michael Luegering (UVA, Landscape Architecture)

Collaborators: Cathy Johnson (National Parks Service), Jackie Specht (The Nature Conservancy), Isaac Hametz (ETZ Strategies), Jeff King (Engineering with Nature)

Researchers: Marantha Dawkins (PhD in the Constructed Environment), Adrian Robins (MLA '24), Alex Daley (MLA '24), Yi Zhu (MLA '23)

Funding: $540,000

Partners: EWN, NPS, TNC, ETZ Strategies

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URBAN PLANNING WITH INTEGRATED NATURAL SYSTEMS (UPWINS)

Urban Planning with Integrated Natural Systems (UPWINS), is an early-stage applied Research and Development project focusing on the development of monitoring and adaptive management techniques for nature-based infrastructure. Using both lab and field-scale trials, the project is developing accessible methods of plant and soil manipulation to encourage plant migration and growth that can engage the accelerating, critical aspects of riverine and coastal environments such as erosion and saltwater intrusion. Further, these trials pair with extremely frequent spectral and geometric collections from the plants using multiple scales of terrestrial and remote sensing. This data collection serves as the backbone of our data science approach to nature-based infrastructure monitoring, in which we seek to develop fundamental spectral signatures that can track the growth and change of key indicator species at large scales. Both sets of techniques are applied to sites within the Chesapeake Bay Region to verify the efficacy and impact of the research.

Project Team: Michael Luegering (UVA, Landscape Architecture), Bill Basener (UVA School of Data Science), University of Vermont, Spatial Analysis Lab, Chris Miller (United States Department of Agriculture – NRCS), Michael Tantala (Tantala Associates/ City College of New York), Peter Del Tredici (Arnold Arboretum)

Funding: $3.25M, United States Army Corps of Engineers – Engineering Research and Development Center; Engineering With Nature

In the News:
UVA School of Architecture
UVA Today

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NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION PROJECT (NIIP)

A newly formed collaboration brings together researchers and designers to study, develop, and pioneer new forms of natural infrastructure, approaches that use nature to address the challenges related to sea-level rise, erosion, flooding, and habitat loss in the nation’s bays and estuaries. For the Natural Infrastructure Innovation Project (NIIP), Davis leads a research team, based at UVA, that is studying and identifying best practices and future solutions in natural infrastructure for the mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States’ bays and estuaries.  Partner labs at the University of Pennsylvania and Auburn University are studying the Northeast and Gulf Coast regions, respectively, stitching together a wide geographic range to be able to share findings with landscape architects and engineers across the country. 

This project is helping to assess how maintaining and restoring natural infrastructure to support healthy functioning can save money, time, and lives in both the short and long-term future.  Support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, that has purposely incorporated natural processes and nature-based features into some of its flood-control projects through the Engineering With Nature (EWN) program for over a decade, allows for economic, environmental, and social benefits — enhanced by collaborations between engineers and landscape architects.

UVA Project Team: Brian Davis (UVA, Landscape Architecture), Adrian Robins (UVA, NIL), Ruby Zielinski (UVA, NIL)

Funding: $7.75M, United States Army Corps of Engineers – Engineering Research and Development Center; Engineering With Nature

Project Website: 
https://tidelands.us/

In the News:
UVA School of Architecture
Brian Davis on the EWN Podcast "Engineering with Nature"


 

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FOUR COASTS

Four Coasts is a collaboration with members of the Dredge Research Collaborative, Anchor QEA, and local communities that seeks to develop landscape architecture approaches to enhance natural infrastructure concepts related to the four coasts of the continental Unites States. The project is funded through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and their Engineering with Nature (EWN) Program with assistance from the San Francisco, Mobile, Philadelphia, and Great Lakes districts of the USACE. The project will take place over two years and is intended to accompany a decision tool developed in collaboration with Anchor QEA. Levee setbacks, beneficial use of dredged sediment, tidal flats, and dune enhancement, in conjunction with community needs and ecological health, are some of the design research concepts under development. The Natural Infrastructure Lab brings unique modeling capabilities as well as theoretical development to Four Coasts, and is focused on the San Francisco and Great Lakes regions in particular.

Project Team: Brian Davis (UVA, Landscape Architecture)

Collaborators: Sean Burkholder (UPenn), Rob Holmes (Auburn), Tess Ruswick (US Army Corps of Engineers ORISE fellow)

Researchers: Amy Schulz (MLA '23), Sean Kois (MLA + MArch '23)

Partners: EWN, San Francisco District (USACE), UPenn, Auburn

SUPPORTED COURSES —

The Natural Infrastructure Lab supports the EcoTech course sequence in the Department of Landscape Architecture connecting curriculum and research. These courses include:

LAR 6220 - EcoTech II:
This course establishes a foundation of technical knowledge about the physical + performative characteristics of traditional building materials and emerging alternatives related to landscape architecture.
LAR 7220 - EcoTech IV:
This course investigates earthwork and construction methods that integrate the principles of water and land, with an emphasis in self-remediation, bioengineering, living systems and management.

RESEARCH AFFILIATIONS —

Our affiliated research partners are also leading innovative work in the areas of coastal resilience, cultural landscapes, natural infrastructure, landscape migration, and vernacular landscapes:

Healthy Port Futures
UVA Batten School
Rural Design Bureau

School of Architecture faculty conduct research across a range of disciplines, methods, and modes of dissemination. When faculty seek to participate in funded research, the School of Architecture’s Research Administration team assists faculty with the development and submission of grant proposals and the management of awarded grants. The Research Administration team supports both external (outside UVA) grant and fellowship submissions as well as internal proposals. We also support the day-to-day administration of funded projects to ensure compliance with University, state, federal, and sponsor guidelines and regulations.

Your first step is to develop an idea for a research project that you believe worthy of funding. You can do this on your own, with colleagues at the A-School, other University of Virginia schools, or other institutions. If you decide to move forward with developing a proposal, you should inform your Department Chair or Center Director and consult with her/him about such matters as the potential need for space, other departmental support, staff support, or course release (i.e., buy-out) from teaching. If you are unsure if you are eligible to act as a Principal Investigator on a research project at UVA, please email sarc-research@virginia.edu. 

Faculty are invited to set up time to meet with the Associate Dean of Research, Andrew Mondschein, to share their research interests and discuss research opportunities within the School, the University and beyond (On Leave Academic Year 25-26). The Associate Dean of Research shares regular communications about research resources made available to our faculty, including internal and external funding opportunities, workshops, and other research-related opportunities within and outside the A-School. The Associate Dean of Research is also the primary point of contact for any questions you have about using your research funds to hire an A-School student as a research assistant (SRA). While our Associate Dean of Research is on leave for AY25-26, please reach out to sarc-research@virginia.edu. 

QUESTIONS: Please email sarc-research@virginia.edu for any questions you have about research or for support requests, including:

• New proposals and contracts, including budget development

• Resubmissions and renewals

• Initial at-risk account set-up

• Subawards

• Data Use Agreements, MOUs, material transfer agreements, etc.

• Rebudgeting

• PI exception requests

• Progress reports and continuations

• No-cost extensions/at-risk account extensions

• Post-award financial management issues

• Labor Distribution issues/oversight

• Oversight of effort reporting

The School of Architecture's Faculty Council establishes academic and faculty policies necessary to achieve the mission of the School of Architecture and to promote activities that enhance the programs of the School and the mission of the University.

Current members —
Mona El Khafif, Chair / Department of Architecture Representative (through end of July 2026)
Michael Lee, Department of Landscape Architecture Representative (through end of July 2027)
Andrea Roberts, Department of Urban + Environmental Planning Representative (through end of July 2027)
Lisa Reilly, Department of Architectural History Representative (through end of July 2027)
Nana Last, Full Professor Representative (through end of July 2027)
Katie MacDonald, Assistant Professor Representative (through end of July 2026)
Schaeffer Somers, General Faculty Representative (through end of July 2027)
John Comazzi, Ex-Officio Dean's Office Representative

A-SCHOOL FACULTY GOVERNANCE RESOURCES:
 

— Faculty Bylaws (Last Updated December 2024)

— Faculty Council Charge

— Faculty Representatives on Committees

A-SCHOOL FACULTY REVIEW + PTR RESOURCES:
 

— Faculty Annual Review Process

— Promotion, Tenure + Reappointment Policy

FACULTY POLICIES:
 

— Academic Policies

— School of Architecture General Faculty Policy

— Faculty External Consulting + Internal Overload

— Faculty Leave Policy

— Faculty Appointments, Types + Titles

Fall 2026
Dates TBD
Application (Opening Soon) Deadline: March 1, 2026

Learn More and Apply

Upcoming Information Session

If you are interested in applying the Venice Fall 2026 Program, join faculty director William Sherman and Professor of Landscape Architecture Bradley Cantrell for a forthcoming information session.

— Wed. Feb. 11, 5pm - 6pm, Campbell Elmaleh Gallery + Bishop Conference Room

Virtual Information Session Recording

This virtual information session took place on December 1, 2025.

TIMESTAMPS: 

Greece: 00:01:49 - 00:14:31

Barcelona: 00:15:13 - 00:28:58

Venice: 00:29:12 - 00:43:52

Vicenza: 00:44:06 - 00:54:03

General Information about Study Abroad, the Application Process, and Financial Aid: 00:54:07 - 01:12:13

The Venice Program offers a unique collaborative experience:  the study of a centuries-old relationship between dwelling, the land, and in this case, the water.  Being immersed in the daily rituals of a foreign culture and in material, spatial constructs takes an unparalleled hold on the imagination.  In a one-semester, fifteen-credit curriculum, the students retrace the urbanization of Venice and the Veneto, attend lectures and visit examplars of the development of Venetian art and architecture, conduct independent research and participate in a design studio. The Venice program’s focus on strategies for resilience in dynamic settings is grounded in an understanding of landscape processes, the multiple histories embodied in the cities, buildings and art, and the cultural structures that enable communal life. The complexities of building and rebuilding a city in a preposterous landscape emerge again as contemporary challenges operate at nested scales of daily life, material constructs and landscape systems. 

The School of Architecture has a longstanding connection to Venice and the Veneto, initiated by the late Professor Mario di Valmarana over 40 years ago. As a commitment to Mario’s legacy, the school has continued the program through the generosity of alumni who have funded numerous student scholarships and the Mario di Valmarana Professorship. The semester-length program in Venice builds upon this deep tradition to offer the students of the School of Architecture the opportunity for immersion in the rich art, architecture, and landscape of the unfathomable cultural life of Venice.

Venice must be understood in relation to its landscape, where its land-water conflation dictates its unique urban form and systems, where its watery existence may find application around the globe. In its relationship to the Adriatic Sea, Venice offers the chance to study the ever-increasing risks posed to coastal urban centers as evidence of climate change and impactful land development. The Venice program explores how well-considered design analyses and interventions, from urban and infrastructural strategies to detailed building and landscape proposals, could imagine more resilient forms of inhabitation. Since its origins, Venice has been a key nodal point in a wide Mediterranean network, a center for mercantile, artistic, and architectural exchange. Long heralded as a major center of the international art and contemporary architecture world being host to the art and architecture Biennale, Venice is a cultural laboratory where the program has found a home for inspired design experiments and inventive scholarly research.

Fall 2026
August 29 - December 1, 2026
Application Deadline: March 1, 2026

Learn More and Apply

Information Session

If you are interested in applying to the Barcelona Program, join faculty director Manuel Bailo for an upcoming information session.

Fri. Feb. 13, 10am - 11am, Location TBA

Virtual Information Session Recording

This virtual information session took place on December 1, 2025.

TIMESTAMPS: 

Greece: 00:01:49 - 00:14:31

Barcelona: 00:15:13 - 00:28:58

Venice: 00:29:12 - 00:43:52

Vicenza: 00:44:06 - 00:54:03

General Information about Study Abroad, the Application Process, and Financial Aid: 00:54:07 - 01:12:13

Experience the rich architectural and urban design histories of one of Spain’s largest cities. Through coursework, excursions, and daily life, this exciting program provides graduate students an invaluable opportunity to look closely at the critical issues of urbanization, including population densities, environmental impacts, and infrastructural efficacies, affecting the viability of cities in the 21st century.

The main goal of this program is to dive deep into urban investigation in the laboratory that Barcelona constitutes. Using existing academic and institutional networks, participants will have the chance to access the most exceptional places in the city and personally meet important administrators, planners and designers of Barcelona.

See the program in action! Check out the UVA Architecture: Barcelona Instagram. 

ABOUT BIOPHILIC CITIES — 

As a central element of its work, Biophilic Cities facilitates a global network of partner cities working collectively to pursue the vision of a natureful city within their unique and diverse environments and cultures. Network partners are working in concert to conserve and celebrate nature in all its forms and the many important ways in which cities and their inhabitants benefit from the biodiversity and wild urban spaces present in cities. Biophilic Cities acknowledges the importance of daily contact with nature as an element of a meaningful urban life, as well as the ethical responsibility that cities have to conserve global nature as shared habitat for non-human life and people.

DIRECTORS —

Founder and Executive Director: Tim Beatley, Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities, Urban and Environmental Planning [tb6d@virginia.edu]
Program Director: JD Brown [jdbrown@biophiliccities.org]

BIOPHILIC CITIES' CURRENT RESEARCH RESOURCES —

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BIOPHILIC CITIES NETWORK

Initially launched in 2013, the Biophilic Cities network is a growing global community of partner cities, organizations and individuals committed to planning and designing cities with abundant nature, where citizens have rich contact with the flourishing natural world as an element of daily life. Cities from around the globe, from Austin to Barcelona and from Norfolk to Singapore, that are dedicated to improving the connection between residents and urban nature are building upon biophilic principles to improve the sustainability, health and wellness of their places, residents, workers, and visitors. In addition to partner cities, global organizations who seek to effect change in broad range of areas, such as health, equity, and resilience, are partnering with Biophilic Cities to examine how abundant and accessible nature can enable cities to flourish. Partner organizations include Urban Greenspaces Institute, bioPhilly, the Earth Day Network, and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. 

Director of Partner Cities: Carla Jones-Harrell

About the Network.

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BIOPHILIC CITIES JOURNAL

The Biophilic Cities Journal is an online publication that features innovation in urban nature. Published annually and produced by Biophilic Cities, this resource partners with scholars and advocates from across the globe to build an understanding of the value and contribution of nature in cities to the lives of urban residents. Contributors to the journal are working in concert to conserve and celebrate nature in all its forms and the many important ways in which cities and their inhabitants benefit from the biodiversity and wild urban spaces present in cities. The journal features publications, projects, initiatives, and case studies that further the research supported by Biophilic Cities. 

View past issues of the journal.
Access Biophilic Cities resources.

SUPPORTED COURSES —

Biophilic Cities supports courses in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning connecting curriculum and research. These courses include:

PLAN 3860/6860, Cities and Nature

RESEARCH AFFILIATIONS —

Biophilic Cities Advisory Board
Biophilic Cities Steering Committee

Summer 2026
June 1 - 27, 2026
Application Deadline: February 15, 2026 

Learn More and Apply

UPCOMING INFORMATION SESSION

— FRI. JANUARY 23, 11AM - 12PM, Campbell 220B

Virtual Information Session Recording

This virtual information session took place on December 1, 2025.

TIMESTAMPS:

Greece: 00:01:49 - 00:14:31

Barcelona: 00:15:13 - 00:28:58

Venice: 00:29:12 - 00:43:52

Vicenza: 00:44:06 - 00:54:03
General Information about Study Abroad, the Application Process, and Financial Aid: 00:54:07 - 01:12:13

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Summer Program in Vicenza offers an immersive academic experience that brings together architectural study, cultural exploration, and intensive drawing practice in one of Italy’s most remarkable regions. Based in the historic city of Vicenza—home to Andrea Palladio and at the heart of the Veneto—the program invites students to engage directly with the architectural and urban landscapes of Northern Italy through sustained observation, analysis, and representation.

Over the course of the program, students investigate the intricate relationships between place, culture, and design by documenting and reflecting on the built environment. Field excursions across the Northeast of Italy serve as open-air studios where students explore themes of form, materiality, history, and civic identity. Guided visits to cities, buildings, and landscapes provide a framework for understanding the enduring dialogue between natural context, human occupation, and architectural expression. Through drawing, students learn to “ask better questions,” developing both critical insight and the capacity to translate experience into architectural understanding.

Combining a rigorous academic structure with the spontaneity of fieldwork, the program emphasizes drawing as both a method of discovery and a mode of communication. Sketchbooks, analytical studies, and final reflections become tools to record, interpret, and reimagine the Italian landscape. By working directly on site, students cultivate a disciplined yet exploratory practice—one that balances precision with curiosity and craftsmanship with speculation.

The experience culminates in an exhibition of student work, showcasing the diverse perspectives and visual narratives developed throughout the summer. Together, these drawings form a collective record of an intellectual and cultural journey—an exploration of how seeing, thinking, and making converge in the study of architecture abroad.

LOCATION

This summer program is based in Vicenza, in the Veneto region of Italy. With a population just over 100,000, Vicenza is home to the Villa Rotonda and numerous other buildings by Palladio. It is located approximately 30 minutes by train from the city of Venice.

LEARN MORE —

Program dates, Program details, Planning Information, Program Costs, Financial Aid Information and Application Details can be found at UVA's Education Abroad Website.

Graduating 4th years and rising 4th years are prioritized in the admission process, but graduate students, and rising 2nd and 3rd years are also eligible to apply. Applicants must meet the Eligibility Criteria to participate in an education abroad program.

Please note: School of Architecture students are encouraged to apply for dedicated financial aid for this program. This is a Walker Global Experience Scholarship Program - supported by a generous $2 million gift. Students may apply for an award of up $5,000 to cover expenses such as program tuition fees, room and board, transportation and incidental costs.

J TERM 2026
DECEMBER 27, 2025 – JANUARY 07, 2026
APPLICATION DEADLINE: OCTOBER 1, 2025

LEARN MORE AND APPLY

INFORMATION SESSION

• Thursday September 18, 11am - 12pm
  Campbell 220B

Apply for School of Architecture Study Abroad Funding for J-Term 2025

This course provides firsthand, direct knowledge of the Modern Architecture International Panorama through an intensive program of on-site visits in Madrid, Castille, and Andalusia, a cultural territory composed of a mix of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim elements that, with the later addition of profound American contributions, produced the first global civilization of the modern world.

The course complements the knowledge of architectural masterpieces and architectural precedents studied at the School of Architecture, combining site visits, lectures, and meetings with architects.

This program is open to students from across the University with a strong interest in architecture. No background in architecture or drawing is required.

See this program in action! Check out the UVA January Term Spain Instagram.

This program is based in Madrid, Spain. The Spanish capital and largest city in the country, Madrid has a population of about 3.2 million inhabitants and is known for its parks, plazas, and museums.

Participants will spend three nights in Cordoba, whose historic city center including the Great Mosque of Cordoba is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Day trips outside of Madrid (El Escorial and Salamanca or similar) and Cordoba (Granada and Sevilla) are included in the program.

ABOUT THE COMPUTATIONAL TECTONICS LAB— 

The Computational Tectonics Lab’s founder and director Dr. Ehsan Baharlou explores novel design strategies to shift the design approach from material- and fabrication-centered design processes to multispecies design. His research interests include integrating design computation with the process of materialization. Through his research lab, he aims to mediate the cyber-physical interactions between complex forms and advanced manufacturing tools, shifting from a paradigm of abstracted computational design toward an integration of both physical (fabrication and production) and digital investigations.

DIRECTOR —

Ehsan Baharlou, Assistant Professor, Architecture [baharlou@virginia.edu]

COMPUTATIONAL TECTONICS LAB CURRENT PROJECTS —

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ROBOTIC FABRICATION OF ARCHITECTURED MYCELIUM COMPOSITES FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

This research aims to create high-performance composite materials for building applications by utilizing the unique properties of mycelium. Mycelium is the vegetative part of fungi that possesses characteristics that can produce bio-based, low carbon, and energy-efficient building materials. The team will use architected mycelium composites, which combine mycelium with other materials to create sustainable structures. The composites are created by growing mycelium around a framework made of materials such as sawdust, straw, or hemp. The team hypothesizes that altering the inner makeup of mycelium composites can improve their thermal, acoustic, and mechanical properties. The goal of this pilot study is to understand key factors that affect the performance of additively manufactured mycelium composites. 

Project Team: Ehsan Baharlou (UVA, Architecture, PI), Osman Ozbulut (UVA, Engineering, Co-PI), Prasanna Balachandran (UVA, Materials Science and Engineering, Co-PI), Omoanghe Isikhuemhen (North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, Microbiology, Project Expert)

Funding: UVA Environmental Institute

Learn more about this project.

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3D PRINTING OF ECOLOGICALLY ACTIVE SOIL STRUCTURES

For this project the research team is combining additive manufacturing’s speed, cost efficiency and low energy demands with locally resourced, bio-based materials. This design philosophy and approach aligns with a sustainable development practice called the circular economy. The research contributes to the potential to reduce the environmental impact of buildings through green walls, which incorporate vegetation into the outer surface of the structure. Their study aims to first assess the feasibility of direct printing of plant-supporting soil structure, and then utilize matric potential and volumetric water content measurements to quantify the influence of the printing process on plant germination and long-term viability. Ongoing research would study the influence of geometry on water retention characteristics of the freestanding structure, which would enable the design of a precise watering schedule to be developed for 3D printed soil for a given plant species. 

Project Team: Ehsan Baharlou (UVA, Architecture, PI), David Carr (UVA Environmental Sciences, PI), Ji Ma (UVA, Materials Science and Engineering, PI)

Research Assistants: Spencer Barnes, Leah Kirssin, Elizabeth Needham 

Funding: UVA 3Cavaliers Program, UVA Harrison Fellows Program

Learn more about this project.

SUPPORTED COURSES —

The Computational Tectonics Lab supports courses connecting curriculum and research. These courses include:

Advanced Research Studios (graduate and undergraduate) examining robotic additive manufacturing, robotic ecotectonics, behavioral robotic fabrication, non-standard mass timber structures, and wood proto-architecture. 

Special Topics Seminars and Computation Seminars are also supported by the research and teaching of Dr. Ehsan Baharlou and the Computational Tectonics Lab.

Learn more about related courses.

RESEARCH AFFILIATIONS —

The Computational Tectonics Lab’s affiliated research partners include:
coming soon