USC School of Architecture

🎓 Class of 2024 Spotlight - Anna Avdalyan Graduating with a Master of Landscape Architecture & Urbanism, Anna Avdalyan shifted gears from the fashion and event industry to focus more closely on the production of textiles, material ecology, and sustainable land management within California’s Tulare Lake basin. The thrilling opportunity of studying biocomposite materials and landscape architecture has allowed Anna to gain a new perspective on contemporary material culture and fuel her passion for material activism, especially with the fashion industry’s impact on the modern material crisis. Q: Could you describe the research project you are working on? My project, "Textile Landscapes: The Material Future of Tulare Lake," explores the material characteristics of cotton, a significant non-food crop with a rich historical presence in Central Valley agriculture, particularly within the Tulare Lake basin. It addresses the profound environmental imbalances stemming from conventional agricultural practices and unsustainable water management in the region. The research aims to uncover sustainable approaches for restoring the lake's ecosystem through a focus on material considerations, advocating for a material ecology approach. Learn more Anna's journey at buff.ly/43cxMGS #studentprofile #architecturestudent #studentspotlight #architectureschool #schoolofarchitecture #losangelesarchitect #futurearchitect

Coming soon! XPO 2024 is on view to the USC Architecture community and the public on Tuesday, May 6 to Friday, May 10, 2024. The annual exhibition transforms the halls and studios into a dynamic showcase and celebration of graduating students’ final thesis work. Visiting critics from across the country join faculty in dialogue and discussion of students’ innovative and forward-focused thesis concepts. Check out the link in our bio for more information! @undergrad_uscarch @uscgradarchitecture @uscmhc @usclandarchurbanism #uscmbs

Today’s Scholarship Luncheon recognized our many devoted supporters and celebrated our deserving talented students! With the most selective year ever, supporting our students’ education makes a huge impact on their success. Students, alumni, supporters, faculty, Board of Councilors, Architectural Guild Board, families and friends - Thank you for joining us today ! #uscarchitecture #uscarchitectureawards #uscarchitectureguild @undergrad_uscarch us grad architecture @uscmhc @usclandarchurbanism #uscmbs

Individual work and team effort alike, our Trojans have been hard at work this spring semester! Keep up the great work and Fight On! ✌️ #uscarchitecture #uscschoolofarchitecture #uscSOA #usc

We are thrilled to announce that Win Aung ‘24 is on the prestigious 2024 Metropolis Future 100 List, recognizing the top graduating architecture and interior design students in the United States and Canada! https://buff.ly/4b6B5mi Win is a graduate student in the Master of Architecture program, and is graduating this year. Aung submitted his portfolio to the Metropolis Future 100 List, and it was his standout project, "The Urban Activator," that ultimately secured him a spot on the list. The Urban Activator Situated between Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach, The Urban Activator project takes inspiration from the growth behavior of the Aragonite crystal responsible for coral growth. “Taking inspiration from coral reefs, the project aims to stimulate the city’s pulse through an unconventional urban architecture initiative,” explained Aung. Aragonite, under ideal conditions, forms into perfect hexagonal shapes until various environmental factors like water vapor and heat are introduced. The inverse correlation between crystal growth and water vapor defines the project's core concept. Designed to synchronize with nature, The Urban Activator includes a coral nursery as an underwater program promoting marine life. Visitors can observe the nursery through an aquarium tunnel before circulating upwards to explore additional programs. “The project serves as a living organism promoting coral growth below the water while also providing a park habitat above the surface,” said Aung. “The users approach the site through an aquarium tunnel and circulates upwards. The spatial experience throughout and along the way brings awareness to the importance of marine ecology.” @uscgradarchitecture @_winnergram_ @metropolismag #uscarchitectureawards #uscarchitectureclassof24

See what students in Architecture’s new Global Studies Latin America program have been up to. Led by Victoria Coaloa and Marcos Sánchez, the program kicked off this spring term in Mexico and has been traveling through the region, with multi-week visits to Havana, the Yucatán, Mexico City and Oaxaca de Juárez. Shorter trips visited neighboring towns around major cities, offering students an immersive study of historical and contemporary Latin American architecture and urbanism. In the first half of the term, the itinerary retraced the path of Spanish colonialism, situating the Mexican capital in the context of Mesoamerican cities, European imperialism and its postcolonial present. The term’s second half was spent primarily in Oaxaca, once the seat of Spanish occupation and famous for its extraordinary indigenous cultural and linguistic diversity. During this visit the program visited the city’s cultural institutions, tracing its colonial plan, visiting its archives, UNESCO sites and traveling to contemporary indigenous towns. Travels through the region included visits to famous Latin American works of architecture as well as to its tourist complexes, expatriate enclaves, ecological reserves and centers of resilient indigenous culture. The Global Studies Latin America program aims to learn from the power inherent in indigenous architecture, in the colonialist architecture that displaced it, and in the postcolonial cities that rose in its aftermath. It enables traveling students and faculty to stay in the fifth largest city in the world and to work alongside Latin American students, academics, and designers. The resulting exchanges open USC’s School of Architecture to institutions and academic collaborations in Mexico, offering insights into its contemporary design thinking and urban cultures. Ultimately, the program seeks to contribute to an urbanist, theoretical and historical connection between contemporary Los Angeles and the older cities of Latin America. @undergrad_uscarch #uscarchitectureglobalstudies #uscarchitecturestudyabroad #globalstudies #studyabroad #uscundergradarchitecture

Listen to the latest episode of Architects Explained, featuring new dean of USC School of Architecture Brett Steele. Chloe Romano, a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor in Architecture with a minor in Business Administration at USC, interviews professionals in the field of architecture on topics pertaining to planning, social equity, climate, historical preservation, and resiliency. https://lnkd.in/ga_XwqpV

Congratulations to USC Architecture Adjunct Professor Lorcan O'Herlihy #loharchitects on the upcoming publishing of his recent book, "Building in Place: Architecture Rooted in Context and Social Equity," underscoring his strong commitment to practice in the built environment that promotes equity and social good. With offices in Los Angeles and Detroit, O'Herlihy's firm has built over 90 projects across three continents. Each project exhibits Lorcan’s belief that artistry and social connectivity are key to building vibrant spaces that elevate the human condition. #rizzoli #archdaily #uscarchitecturefaculty #archpaper

We saw stellar research presentations by faculty and students at this year's Research Symposium! Thank you to everyone who participated and attended! https://buff.ly/4cW0PUf On Thursday, April 11, USC School of Architecture hosted the annual Research Symposium on “Resilient Futures: Bridging Tradition and Innovation in the Living Environment.” The packed program included keynotes, panels, and 32 research presentations by faculty and students showcasing the latest research and innovations in design, sustainable futures, and technology integration. Keynote speaker and author Frances Anderton set the tone with a presentation on her newest book, “Common Ground - Multi-family Housing in Los Angeles,” followed by an interactive session with special guest Dr. Ishwar K. Puri, USC senior vice president of research and innovation to discuss how to effectively enhance architectural research activities at USC. Congratulations to our student award winners! Best Research Awards went to Anna Avdalyan (MLA) for “Textile Landscapes: The Material Future of Tulare Lake” Madelene Dailey (M.ARCH) for “Urbanization & Rural Healthcare in Latin America” Excellent Research Awards went to David Hill (MARCH) for “Regional Material Ecology: Los Angeles” Quinn Wilbert (M.ARCH) “Clothes Make Character” Special thanks to the 2024 Research Symposium Organizing Committee: Meredith Drake Reitan, Geoffrey von Oeyen, and Joon-Ho Choi. #uscarchitecturefaculty #uscarchitectureawards #uscarchitecturestudents #uscarchitecturesustainability #uscarchitectureresearch

MBS alumnus Casey Castor ’19 is on mission to harvest sustainable energy with a unique leaf-like wind module for the ‘skin’ of buildings, and will launch a pilot program with Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. https://buff.ly/3UjrYZW He first developed a passion for environmental design while taking relevant courses during his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During his senior year in undergrad, Casey took an intelligent façades studio and started to think about the ‘skin’ of buildings. This sparked an idea for a unique leaf-like wind module for the exterior façade of buildings. Leaf Module Panel Systems “The skin of a building is its only connection to the natural environment,” said Castor. “I began to focus on how we could harness the energy that the wind, sun and rain provide, and eventually I developed an early concept design for what is now known as the Leaf Module Panel Systems.” Casey’s first iterations of the Leaf Module Panel Systems were leaf-like metal geometries protruding from buildings that would flap from the wind and collect water that expelled from one leaf to the next to generate energy back into the building. Pilot program with Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator To continue his development of the Leaf Module Panel Systems, Casey founded Mack Research @mack_research and was accepted into a rigorous 2-year incubation program with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI). LACI provides investment opportunities, business support services with consultants and $50,000 in funding for Mack Research to perform a physical pilot project of his wind technology in Los Angeles, which will take place this summer. Additionally, Casey has received a $250,000 Department of Energy grant to build a physics-based digital model of the system to give him insights on how to further refine the concept to a scientifically proven design. #uscmbs #uscarchitecturealumni #uscarchitecturesustainability