TEACHING STATEMENT

I have been a Lecturer at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts since 2008, where my teaching efforts have focused primarily on initial design studios providing introduction to design processes, for both undergraduates and prospective university students. Other course topics I have taught include technical building systems and a general architectural process survey course for students drawn from other colleges and majors.

My work in this capacity has been and continues to be guided by a few key pedagogical & practice philosophies-

- I believe in the benefits of a comprehensive, holistic, and concept-driven education for students of architecture. I work to provide a set of relevant experiences that engage students at the levels of both productive thought & effective action and prepare students to successfully interact with and influence the professional & personal spaces they will occupy upon graduation. This focus can involve discussions on topics appropriate to the work at hand, that go beyond basic architectural facility with the built environment, such as sustainability, identity, social justice, and the role of architecture in the betterment of the human condition. I encourage students to develop expertise with both hand-made & computer-aided methods of representation.

- My intention when helping students with their design assignments is to be an advocate for them and a fellow discoverer of the potential of their ideas, and to not shy away from the possibly challenging, temporarily unformed, or even absurd implications of their initial concept gestures. Through repeated and respectful conversation, I continually try to ensure that students are as excited about their work as I am, I endeavor to help them take the implications of their work as seriously as I do, and to help them practically realize the best representation of that work and their ideas, in the context of the design studio and beyond.

- I remain dedicated to the belief that maintaining an active and engaged presence in both academic and professional practice settings is critical to my ability to contribute to the advancement of the overall discourse and the built reality of ‘architecture’. I am certain that my experiences helping students realize their design intentions and potential has made me a better practicing architect and kept me excited about the work I have contributed to, and that done by others, during the occasional moments when the realities of practice can be discouraging. Most importantly I believe my deep and consistent involvement with both aspects of the discipline makes me a better educator, and a better resource for my students, providing the ability to join them in pursuit of conceptual aspects of their work, as well as the more technical and procedural ones. I intend to maintain this sometimes difficult balance going forward, and I encourage that approach generally.