Gather Light: ARC 201
Students in CAPLA’s ARC 201 studio, guided by faculty including Christopher Domin and others, completed the "Gather Light" project focused on understanding and designing in harmony with the Sonoran Desert environment. Through observation, drawing, and modeling, students explored how light, nature, and architecture interact. Key activities involved studying desert plants, translating their forms into design systems, and developing canopies that filter light and enhance outdoor spaces. The project emphasized hands-on learning, teamwork, and iterative design using 2D and 3D representations to create thoughtful architectural interventions that respect and respond to the desert landscape.
Lecturer Christopher Tucker wins AIA Design Pedagogy Award for innovative Abiotic Studio
Christopher Tucker, a lecturer in architecture at CAPLA, received the American Institute of Architects’ Design Pedagogy Award for his Abiotic Studio, a fourth-year course that challenges students to engage with ecological realities and reimagine post-industrial landscapes through more-than-human perspectives.
Sustainable Built Environments Students Cultivate More Than Community in the UArizona Community Garden
At the beginning of the Spring 2023 semester, students in the University of Arizona Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Built Environments and Minor in Sustainable Built Environments programs joined together at the UArizona Community Garden to grow fruits, vegetables and other plants while cultivating their own community. This is their story.
Prestigious Graham Foundation Grant Supports Architecture Professor Beth Weinstein's Research on Architecture and Choreography
Thanks in part to a 2022 grant from Chicago-based Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Associate Professor of Architecture Beth Weinstein is synthesizing more than a decade of her research on architecture and dance into a book that “establishes a field of practice, raises many critical questions” and also aims to “inspire people interested in interdisciplinary dialogues.”
CAPLA West Building Phase 2: Review Design Charrette Outcomes and Provide Your Own Ideas!
On Wednesday, March 22, more than two dozen students, faculty and staff assembled in the Foundation Studio after hours to kick off the second phase of the CAPLA West Building renovation. Their charge: reimagine the ground floor of CAPLA West in a design charrette. Now it's your turn to submit ideas.
Lecture Recap and Video: Fletcher McCusker on 'Rio Nuevo: Catalyst for Tucson's Urban Core'
Fletcher McCusker speaks about the history and impact of tax increment financing districts, and how this tool was used to spur economic growth in Tucson's urban core in this CAPLA Lecture Series lecture.
Lecture Recap and Video: Greg Faulkner on 'Built Form: Observation, Association and Transformation'
In this CAPLA Lecture Series lecture, Greg Faulkner of Faulkner Architects presents seven houses completed by the firm over the past decade.
Lecture Recap and Video: Jesus M Barajas on 'Equity in Project Prioritization and Planning at State and Regional Transportation Agencies'
Jesus M. Barajas shares findings from research about how departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations are addressing equity in their planning and project prioritization processes in this CAPLA Lecture Series lecture.
CAPLA Faculty Collaborate with Salt River Project to Understand Arizona’s Electrified Transportation Network Needs
SRP is funding CAPLA faculty members Bo Yang, professor of landscape architecture and urban planning, and Shujuan Li, associate professor of landscape architecture and planning, to research the planning and design of electric vehicle charging stations. Learn more in this fascinating interview.
Building Immersive Environments: Erika Schmidt '20 BS SBE, '23 M.Arch
Erika Schmidt, who is originally from Maryland but grew up in Sahuarita, Arizona, graduated from CAPLA's BS in Sustainable Built Environments at the beginning of the pandemic. A sudden shift in career possibilities led her to enroll in the Master of Architecture program, but her passions for performance and design remain.
CAPLA Professor on Heat Mitigation and Management in the Southwest and the Broader Workforce
Leading extreme heat expert Ladd Keith, an assistant professor of planning and sustainable built environments in CAPLA, was interviewed for recent articles in The Hill and Arizona Science, an NPR radio program.