WORK
Undergraduate and graduate work from our five Program Areas, with a focus on studio design.
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Prof. Scott Murray has been elected to the College of Fellows of the Façade Tectonics Institute (FTI), an international organization advancing innovation in façade design and technology. FTI brings together architects, engineers, researchers, and industry leaders to foster collaboration, exchange knowledge, and promote high-performance building envelopes. Elected by a jury of their peers, the College of Fellows is among FTI’s highest honors. It recognizes exceptional and lasting contributions to the art, science, and practice of façade technology and to the profession, academia, and the Institute.
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Last week, Prof. Alina Nazmeeva hosted DIS/PLAY Lab Open House.
DIS/PLAY Lab is an interdisciplinary research and creative platform exploring how play, immersive storytelling, and computation shape contemporary spatial experience. Working with game engines, extended reality, interactive installation, moving image, and critical writing, the lab approaches digital environments as both design media and sites of critical inquiry.
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Congratulations to Senior Earl Prize 2nd Place Winner, Alex Hoffert, as well as their professor David Isern.
About their winning project Bird Logic:
“This speculative project examines architecture as a responsive system to ecological, social, and experiential conditions. Grounded as a research center and conceptual inquiry, it envisions a future environment where design adapts to site, climate, and human-nonhuman interactions. Rather than addressing deforestation from a human standpoint, finding a way for nature to support itself and its regrowth in a less controlled manner. Species experience migratory issues and there is little available research on how avian species are effected by and react to deforestation. This project aims to remedy this as well as support the regrowth of the forest.”
Congratulations again!
#archatillinois #wedesign
This September 30th, the Ricker Report had a launch party for their latest issue, Intention/Intension, which examines how architects and designers engage with social issues.
The Ricker Report is an award-winning architecture publication produced by the students of the Illinois School of Architecture and the oldest student-run architectural publication in the nation. The Ricker Report aims to be a platform for critical thought, expression, and speculation and publishes an issue each year with a theme that reflects industry trends.
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Congratulations to the Craft+Detail Graduate Prize First Place Winners, Nathan Blaim and Ryn Blackburn as well as their professor Niloufar Emami.
About their winning project Nestled Arches:
We are using concrete, demonstrating how the very same material that can be a hindrance on nature can also provide resources for the animals living in it, when utilized in a meaningful way. The river is our focal point, attracting the water loving warbler. Our concept nests the aesthetic of arching gateways within the existing structure under bridges. Bridges are recurring thresholds between land and water, providing a covered structure for the bird’s nests to stand over water, as they desire, while ensuring protection from any predators or human danger. The arching shape is aesthetic as well as functional, utilizing the bridge pillars to maintain structural integrity. By fabricating with a sturdy material like concrete, the prothonotary warbler is provided a lasting home within the urban environment.
Congratulations again!
#archatillinois #wedesign
This October, Jaime Torres Carmona, AIA, received the FAA Distinguished Legacy Award 2026.
Jaime is the founder and principal of Canopy, and award-winning architecture and urban design practice based in Chicago. Jaime’s notable work include the Enlace Community Center in Little Village, OSO Apartments in Albany Park, and Encuentro Square Master Plan.
Congratulations again!
#archatillinois #wedesign #fineandappliedarts
Congratulations to Professors Joseph Altshuler and Nekita Thomas on their new book! Supergraphic Landscapes: From Public Art to Urban Design has been published in October 2026.
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Congratulations to the Junior Earl Prize 2nd Place Winner, Margaret Schmidt as well as their professor Hugh Swiatek.
About their winning project Woven Together:
“Situated in downtown Urbana, Woven Together investigates how housing can be redesigned to create connections between residents, while still maintaining the autonomy of an individual resident. Initial research exposed how American housing is designed to fit the needs of a traditional nuclear family, leaving many groups with living spaces that do not support their needs and lifestyles. This project aims to serve both young professionals and elderly residents by creating spaces where age groups can gather on a variety of scales of privacy.”
Congratulations again!
#archatillinois #wedesign
Design workshops and studios for sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Core and elective graduate studios.
An in-depth look at selected projects.
