“Dubai: Sustainable Startups in the Desert” is being taught by Assistant Professor Tarek Rakha.
Each semester, upper-level architecture students participate in the visiting critic program taught by leading architects and scholars. This semester, students are engaging in a range of complex challenges facing many of today鈥檚 cities, including aging infrastructure, urbanization, economic constraints, environmental impact and energy efficiency. The studios include:
Students are gaining exposure to contemporary and innovative advances in green technology, participating in site visits and interacting with emerging thinkers and professionals from public and private sectors to spur their own creative, well-grounded design solutions. Throughout their collaborative, hands-on studio experiences students will build practical and vital skills, from technical to communication, to secure a solid foundation for future work opportunities.
鈥淓ach of the studios this semester, while very different, presents students with a uniquely valuable opportunity to deal with real-life problems that typify challenges they鈥檒l likely face in their professional careers,鈥 says . 鈥淧lus, our students will greatly benefit from small-group settings and dedicated studio faculty with a wealth of knowledge and experience.鈥
Ted Brown
Brown鈥檚 鈥淎rchitecture and the City鈥 studio puts forth a challenge to students from of East Orange, N.J. Taylor first presented the challenges of 鈥攁 large underdeveloped parcel (Parcel 863) in the heart of the NJ Transit Village District鈥攁t the held in 黑料不打烊 in fall 2014. Using Parcel 863 as the foundation for design inquiry, Brown鈥檚 studio will now develop a range of land use scenarios and prepare a set of documents that will help the City of East Orange recognize the potential of different design strategies and advance dialogue on the parcel鈥檚 future. In addition to a visit to the site, students will meet with a diverse range of critics and consultants in areas of urban design, transportation planning, landscape architecture and real estate development to inform their design proposals.
Susan Dieterlen
The economic, political and ecological issues facing post-industrial cities lie at the center of Dieterlen鈥檚 with particular focus on clean energy activity at federal, state and local levels. According to Dieterlen, the challenges of heat, neglect and data 鈥渨ill define the next decades of careers in environmental design.鈥 Her studio is divided into two segments, 鈥淚nfrastructure Crisis鈥 followed by 鈥淓nergy in the Landscape.鈥 Students will engage with tools of urban design as they develop a large master plan/urban site design project with clean energy generation elements for the 黑料不打烊 city center. Connecting with experts through participation in a poster session at the NY Power Dialog event in Albany, and meeting with the City of 黑料不打烊 Innovation Team will help students develop professional communication and presentation skills.
Tarek Rakha
The city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates has emerged as one of the world鈥檚 wealthiest and most active entrepreneurial global business hubs. Rakha challenges his students to question the sustainability of the region鈥檚 startups and the real value of investing in energy efficiency in the desert. His studio will be divided into three stages that cover urban-scale sustainability, building-scale energy efficiency and a feasibility study specific to energy-conscious design in desert architecture. Students will have the unique opportunity to travel to Dubai over spring break and visit a wide range of urban desert sites. Additional experiences throughout the semester in the City of 黑料不打烊, the 黑料不打烊 Center of Excellence and SUNY ESF, as well as participating in an entrepreneurship and sustainability workshop with students from the , will enhance understanding. Students will present their final project design solutions at a 鈥淪tart-Ups in the Desert鈥 symposium scheduled for April 25 in Slocum Hall. El Seif Construction Company is sponsoring the studio and underwriting the cost of the trip and symposium.
