Study Architecture 
ProPEL Aug. 7-8, 2025 in Charlotte, NC | Sep. 11-12, 2025 Virtual
2025 Summer Conference
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Session Recordings
Virtual Sessions
Below are zoom recordings from the ACSA Summer Conference, Virtual Sessions on September 11-12, 2025. All Time are in Eastern Time. You can read the research abstracts by clicking HERE.
Designing Across Divides
Moderator: Mara Marcu, University of Cincinnati
Energy Conflicts: Toward An Architectural Resolution
Ralph Nelson, Lawrence Technological University
The Urban Engage Project: Improving the Perceived Sense of Safety and Vibrancy in Downtown Areas through Interactive Public Infrastructure
Guy Gardner, Jonathan Monfries, Mauricio Soto Rubio & Shelby Christensen, University of Calgary
Street Art in Beirut, Belfast, and Sarajevo as an Ephemeral Expression of a Wounded Past and Divided Present
Joumana Ibrahim, University of the Arts London
Space, Memory, and Identity: Architecture’s Role in Post-Conflict Reconciliation
Dijana Handanovic, University of Houston
This session explores how architecture and urban design intersect with critical social issues such as safety, identity, justice, and environmental responsibility in complex urban and post-conflict contexts. This session highlights the multifaceted ways design can foster community resilience, promote social equity, and improve public welfare. Participants will illustrate how architectural interventions can create safer, more vibrant urban environments through collaborative community partnerships and sustainable design.
Redesigning the Future
Moderator: Wesley Hiatt, Lehigh University
Global Challenges, Global Campus: A Transdisciplinary Cross-University Program as a Model for Enhancing Climate Resilience in Architectural Education
Oswald Jenewein, Mehdi Farahbakhsh & Michelle Hummel, University of Texas at Arlington
Ian Gillis, Mohsen Hajibabaei , Daniel Klausner, Robert Sitzenfrei & Yannick Back, University of Innsbruck
Virtual Visualization as Techne: Reflections on Adaptation, Entanglement, and Impact in the Architecture Studio
Masataka Yoshikawa & Julia Kiernan, Lawrence Technological University
Parallel Paths, Expanded Options: The Case for Flexibility in Architectural Education
Jacklynn Niemiec & Ulrike Altenmueller-Lewis, Drexel University
Un-Building as a Framework for Applied Ethics Pedagogy
Camille Sherrod, Kean University
This session explores critical contemporary challenges in architectural education through innovative frameworks and technologies. Discuss how adaptable curricula support social equity and prepare students for varied roles that promote community well-being. Focusing on the ethical dilemmas architects face when designing controversial building types, we will explore engaged ethics through the lens of “unbuilding” and social justice advocacy. Focusing on architect’s responsibility in navigating political and societal values to protect and promote community health, safety, and welfare.
Designing Spaces
Moderator: Camille Sherrod, Kean University
Architectural Pedagogy in Contested Spaces: Racially Charged Landscapes of Collective Memory
Awilda Rodriguez, Oklahoma State University
Designing for Playful Learning: Co-Designing Urban Spaces through Community Engagement
Ulrike Altenmueller-Lewis & Debra H. Ruben, Drexel University
Housing as Home vs Housing as a Commodity
Karen Kubey, University of Toronto
This session explores innovative architectural and design strategies addressing urgent social challenges in urban environments, including equitable housing, community engagement, and the reimagining of contested public spaces. Presenters will highlight how design can foster social justice, community empowerment, and cultural resonance.
Navigating Community, Climate, and Conflict
Moderator: Dahlia Nduom, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Acupuncture Architecture：A Design Methodology as Conflict Resolution
Na Wei, Temple University
Gathering – Reimaging the Porch to mitigate Climate Change in Under-Resourced Black Communities
Sheryl Tucker de Vazquez, University of Houston
Challenging Sidewalk Standardization: A Flexible Approach for Tree-Root Conflicts in Uptown New Orleans
Charles Jones, American University of Sharjah
Helping Students Visualize Embodied Carbon Using Digital Models of Existing Buildings: An Anti-demolition
Iana Jaslowski, Malini Srivastava & Mike Christenson, University of Minnesota
Malini Foobalan, North Dakota State University
This session showcases innovative, small-scale interventions that address climate resilience, cultural heritage, and material realities in architecture. From climate-adaptive process, to flexible systems that enhance accessibility, sustainable practice, and carbon-visualization tools that promote building reuse. Panelists will show how architecture can safeguard people and the planet through thoughtful, context-driven innovation.
Architecture and Environmental Redesign
Moderator: Andrew Gipe-Lazarou, Virginia Tech
Architecture Education 4.0 Redefines Energy Pedagogy
Zahida Khan, Ball State University
Fictional Frontiers: Reconstructing with Memory
Amanda Aman, University of Texas at Arlington
Frictional Visualizations: Forcing Awareness of Harmful Externalities in Embodied Carbon Assessments
Mike Christenson, Malini Srivastava & Heather Willy, University of Minnesota
Contested Surfaces, Contested Grounds: Buildings As Culpable Sites For Environmental Justice Protest
Malini Srivastava, University of Minnesota
This session examines contested terrains of land and resource use, emphasizing the health, safety, and welfare impacts of the environment. Participants will explore strategies for designing with energy justice principles and developing innovative approaches to environmental remediation that restore ecological function, protect public health, and promote long-term resilience across multiple scales.
Redesigning Conflict
Moderator: Jacklynn Niemiec, Drexel University
Mutually-inclusive Design Pedagogy: A Five-step “How To”
Andrew Gipe-Lazarou, Virginia Tech
Adaptive Feedback Mechanisms in Architecture: A Gamified Approach to User-Centered Design and Education
Altaf Engineer, Asif Zeshan & Sandra Bernal, University of Arizona
Decolonizing Art and Architecture Curricula: Yinka Shonibare’s site specific Installations as Pedagogical Case Studies for Conflict and Resolution
Charlott Greub, North Dakota State University
This session explores how transforming conflict into a constructive force promotes safer, and more equitable design environments. By shifting perspectives to view conflict as an opportunity for innovation and growth, participants will learn strategies to identify root causes, foster open communication, and collaboratively develop solutions that address the welfare concerns of all stakeholders. This approach supports improved relationships, inclusive decision-making, and design outcomes that prioritize community well-being and resilience.
Designing Through Complexity
Moderator: Joshua A. Foster, East Los Angeles College
Dangling the Carrot: Would Extrinsic Factors Instil Authentic Collaborative Mindsets and Behaviours in Group Projects?
Zhengping Liow & Yiat Yam Leong, Singapore Polytechnic
Understanding Stories of Trauma and Hope through Architecture: Visualizing First-Hand Testimonies of Immigration Detention and Reentry
Serena Langdon-Dimidjian, University of Colorado Boulder
Migration and Displacement in a Small American City: Envisioning Urban Change through Public History, Spatial Storytelling, and Coalition Building
Wesley Hiatt, Lehigh University
This session explores how architecture and education can promote health, safety, and welfare through collaboration and socially engaged design. Topics include improving teamwork skills in design studios, addressing the dehumanizing conditions of immigration detention centers through architectural analysis, and tackling housing displacement in small cities with community-driven land-use reforms. Additionally, we examine post-conflict urban design’s role in healing divided communities.
Conference Partners
Michelle Sturges
Conferences Manager
202-785-2324
msturges@acsa-arch.org
Eric W. Ellis
Sr. Director of Operations and Programs
202-785-2324
eellis@acsa-arch.org
