
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
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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


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