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Landscape + History + Theory

 

Assistant Professor

Co-Director, Master of Science in Architecture

Center for Architecture, Science, and Ecology

Coordinator, Cities & Territories

School of Architecture

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Research  Assistants

2022, 2021

Alexa Drumm

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2021

Caterina Guozden

Madeline MacDonald

Brianda Valerio

Betzy Pillco-Plaza

Nathanael Musera

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2020

Gina Bernotsky

Allen Bell

Nathanael Musera

Andrew Martin

Samantha Krumbhaar

Sara Cimino

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2019, 2018

Madeline MacDonald

Gina Bernotsky

Allen Bell

Nathanael Musera

Rachael DiChristina

Allyson Tan

Tricia Huang

Jonah Fields

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I am a Landscape Scholar, Writer, Editor, Researcher, and Instructor.

I teach at the university level in the Bachelors of Architecture and Masters of Architecture programs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. My specializations include interdisciplinary coursework (bridging Landscape Architecture, Architecture, and Urbanism), and the History, Theory, and Criticism of Design. I also teach architecture students in Core Design Studios, years 1 - 4, and advise on terminal projects and Theses.

My research interests include ecology, environmental ethics, and human geography; the use of biomaterials in landscapes, experimental horticulture,  the history and philosophy of science, technology, and design; the futures of landscapes and botany, the invention of botanical-cyborg hybrids, and speculation on landscape-machines -- landscapes that generate architecture, and architecture that creates and shapes landscapes.
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Ongoing research examines the implications of merging biological and artificial systems -- questioning the physical, material, and spatial properties of mixed systems, as well as the socio-cultural implications for the stewardship and care of 'artificial' x living matter. 

 

I am also interested in the contemporary landscapes of medicinal plants and substances. This includes the cultivation practices of medicinal plants, cultural relationships formed around these plants, and the material lifecycles of useful substances and waste material from the processing of vegetation for medicine. I am currently working on a publication that examines the environmental, ecological, and cultural legacies of medicinal plants, as they exist within, are extracted from, and shape landscapes, ecologies, and cultures. 

In my scholarship, I pursue questions about the emotional power of images and compelling force of environmental aesthetics to provoke hope and imagination about the future of landscapes and ecologies. My research aims to deepen our imagination about the possible futures of horticulture and socio-technical and hydrosocial systems.

My work is inspired and motivated by the work of a number of individuals, friends and colleagues, including Lorraine Daston, Mae-ling Lokko, Elaine Stokes, Andreea Vasile Hoxha, Rawan Al Saffar, Weaam Al Abdullah, Jeremy Kamal Hartley, Hannah Gaengler, William Virgil, Samantha Solano, Alberto deSalvatierra, Ed Eigen, Chris Perry and Cathryn Dwyer, Max Liboiron, Ursula le Guin, Eva Franch, Diane Scherer, the Bio Babes -- and more.

Thank you.


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Assistants

 

Harvard Graduate School of Design
Master of Landscape Architecture, with honors and distinction
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Bachelor of Architecture, with honors
Continuing Education
Sci-Arc
Making & Meaning, with distinction
MIT
Ancient Future Technology, Current Publications Editor

Adso, 2-1/2 years

since 2020

 

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Pickles, 8 years

since 2014

Memberships & Affiliations

ACADIA           ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN IN ARCHITECTURE

 

ACLU               AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

                           Los Angeles + New York Chapters

 

                         AMERICAN LITTORAL SOCIETY

 

                         DIGITALFUTURES

                         https://www.digitalfutures.world/

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HRWA            HUDSON RIVER WATERSHED ALLIANCE 

                        Board Member 2021, 2022

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LRG                 LANDSCAPE RESEARCH GROUP

                         Member ID: 477

 

NAACP         NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE

                       National + Troy Chapters

                       National Membership ID: M-00071740

 

NAEP           NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONALS

 

NOMA         NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF MINORITY ARCHITECTS

                      Allied Professional Membership

 

NRPA           NATIONAL RECREATION AND PARK ASSOCIATION

 

ORCID        OPEN RESEARCHER AND CONTRIBUTOR ID Network

                      Member ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8516-0035

 

SAH           SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS

 

SURJ          SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

 

                    THE ARCHITECTURAL LEAGUE OF NEW YORK

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