Stories
Renovations to Revitalize Sibley Dome as Vital Hub for AAP
Featuring a 100-seat "hanging" auditorium, a collaborative commons area, and flexible studios and spaces for the Department of Design Tech and the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities, the adaptive reuse project celebrates the 1902 building's historic elements while giving it new life within the college.
An Endless Conversation: The Art and Practice of Mendi + Keith Obadike
Cornell faculty and husband-and-wife creative team Mendi and Keith Obadike have worked for decades across music, text, and visual art to explore complex histories and social tensions. The resulting pieces invite the audience into a conversation with both the artists and their material.
Community Engagement Awards Honor Exceptional People, Projects
The second annual Community Engagement Awards, held at Cornell and hosted by the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, celebrated partnerships like those between the Finger Lakes ReUse and the Circularity, Reuse, and Zero Waste Development (CR0WD) partner network, which includes the labs of AAP faculty Jennifer Minner and Felix Heisel. David Ni (B.Arch. '24) was one of three recipients of this year's Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Awards and among the 15 faculty and five students to receive awards at the event.
Designing with an Eye Toward the Past, Present, and Future
Learn more about the long career, building designs, and master plans of award-winning architect and educator Alan Chimacoff ('63, B.Arch. '64) in the AAP Alumni Archive.
Workbook Tackles Injustice – and Carbon – in Built Environment
CRP faculty Jocelyn Poe and Jennifer Minner, along with Architecture faculty Felix Heisel, are among several coauthors who recently published Embodying Justice in the Built Environment: Circularity in Practice. The guide and workbook seek to help policymakers, practitioners, and communities center justice principles while implementing strategies related to materials resource management, new construction, and alternatives to demolition.
Robinson-Appel Award Recipients Serve Diverse Local Populations
David Ni (B.Arch. '24) received a Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Award to honor his significant involvement in community engagement. The $2,500 award goes toward projects that improve the lives of diverse local populations, including adopted and foster children, refugee students, and immigrants.
In Practice with Najeh Abduljalil (B.S. URS '25)
CRP student Najeh Abduljalil shares insights into the work and impact of Cornell University Research-To-Action Youth (CURTA-Y), the student-run organization and participatory research initiative. CURTA-Y unites Cornell undergraduates with Binghamton-area high school students to work toward transformative change in their communities. CRP Associate Professor Jenni Minner, who leads the Just Places Lab, is a mentor and advisor.
Faculty Awarded for Creative, Innovative Community Engagement
Thirteen Cornell faculty members, including Architecture Assistant Professor Suzanne Lettieri and Associate Professor of Apparel Design in the College of Human Ecology (CHE) and inaugural Design Tech faculty Heeju Park, have received Community-Engaged Practice and Innovation Awards from the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.
Solar Energy Can Uplift Rural Ethiopians, But Is Hard to Come By
Yujin Lee (Ph.D. RS), author of the study "Upholding Household Agency in Climate Mitigation and Socio-technical Energy Transition in Ethiopia," traveled to Ethiopia finding that people were very open to solar energy but quality solar panels are hard to come by – covered by the Cornell Chronicle.
Hired as part of the provost's Sustainability Radical Collaboration initiative, Faircloth's synergistic appointment will span teaching and scholarship at Cornell AAP and cross-cutting, knowledge-to-impact research and engagement opportunities at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.
In Partnership: Supporting Informal Settlement Upgrading from Within
This April, the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities welcomes Joseph Kimani, Executive Director of Slum Dwellers International–Kenya, to campus to share conversation and learning as both organizations seek to support informal settlement residents in their efforts to achieve increased housing security and equitable access to urban services.
Architectural Art Installation Takes Center Stage at Coachella
Architecture faculty Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivkovic of HANNAH designed and built Monarchs: A House in Six Parts, a towering, 3D-printed, robotically fabricated architectural art installation for this year's music festival in the California desert. A circular assembly of six towers ranging from 32 to 72 feet in height, their installation creates a temporary gathering space for around 500K festivalgoers and anticipates an afterlife as components for a private residence.
AI-Powered "Sonar" on Smartglasses Tracks Gaze and Facial Expressions
François Guimbretière, professor of information science in Cornell Bowers CIS and faculty in the multicollege Department of Design Tech, coauthored research on two technologies — GazeTrak and EyeEcho — covered by the Cornell Chronicle.
Community-Engaged Research Gets Boost from New Grants
Architecture Lecturer Hanna Tulis is part of a team that received funding from the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement to support undergraduate participation in faculty- and staff-led research. Their project includes the design of a new facility and community garden for the Enfield Food Distribution Center, the Cornell Chronicle reports.
Film Set in Schwartz Center: A Pop-up Laboratory for Building Worlds
Sid Martis (B.Arch. '25) shares thoughts about learning valuable skills in Assistant Professor of Performing and Media Arts Jason Simms's production design course by painting and dressing the film set for a short film titled "Remembering Colin Stall," emphasizing the actualization process in creating occupiable spaces.
Democracy Problems: Jae Shin and Damon Rich on HECTOR's Design Practice
Visiting AAP NYC architecture faculty Shin and Rich of the Newark, New Jersey-based firm HECTOR share thoughts on democratizing urban design and how they have learned from the US tradition of popular education.
AAP Announces New Annual Strauch Early Career Fellow Appointment
Thanks to the generosity of decades-long alumni supporters Hans (B.Arch. '80) and Roger Strauch ('78), the college continues to increase the accessibility of academic careers to emerging scholars and practitioners in the disciplines of architecture, art, and planning.
Admitted Class of 2028 Personifies Cornell's Founding Principles
The 5,139 admitted students will bring with them a variety of lived experiences that will enrich the vitality and innovation of Cornell’s intellectual community, the Cornell Chronicle reports.
Peek Inside the Galleries at AAP's Freedom of Expression Show
Cornellians highlights the thought-provoking works that have been on display in AAP's galleries during the month of March for the Cornell Council for the Arts' exhibition.
A love of board games combined with an interest in exploring their larger cultural implications inspired this collection of insightful essays by contributors drawn from across Cornell's campus, alumni, and beyond.