Center of Building Innovation (CoBI)

This was a fun review. I forgot to add Christian Solorio, AIA, NOMA, LFA, LEED AP as a reviewer as well! Thank you for taking the time to talk with our students.

This semester our studio paired with Elizabeth Golden and students from the University of Washington to design non-nuclear family housing in Grant Park using compressed earth block. We began in January with a full scale mock up and wrapped up with final presentations yesterday. Students presented projects one-on-one to reviewers. It was great to see the work of a semester in 10 weeks! Thank you so much to our critics: James Trahan, Amalia DeSardi, Selina Martinez, Diane R. Jacobs, FAIA, Olga Bracamontes, NOMA, Katherine Dudzik Smith, AIA, Philip Horton, Kirk Higbee, Natalie Florence, and Maria Salenger. And students: Helen Zhao, Gabriela Soto Sanchez, Jack Carleson, Paris Marshall, Kate Irwin, Austin Frydman, Anna Melis, Noah Grahmann, Carlo Sosa Garcia, Madison Gardner, and Kyla Barlow. Well done! ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts The Design School at ASU Mohammad Alrajhi Marc J Neveu

This week, the students of our Futures Exchange studio -- supported by a grant through The U.S. Department of State and The Aspen Institute -- presented their research, analysis, and conceptual frameworks in a Mid-Review. Thanks to LaDawn Bentley, Matt Jacoby, Olga Bracamontes, Scott Murff, MIHIR B. CHILL'n, and Kristin Taylor-Foley for joining us, and for all of your thoughtful and encouraging feedback! The studio -- in partnership with An Najah National University (NNU) in Nablus, Palestine -- is focused on designing a kindergarten for the people of the Ein Beit al-Ma' refugee camp (No.1) in Nablus, the West Bank. The students have been developing their concepts by exploring a series of narrative-driven 'moments' of play-based learning (with some iterative support from AI), balanced by principles of trauma-informed design. And, following the Arkio training that my colleague Mohammad Alrajhi has been leading, the students were able to help our guests begin to experience their designs in VR. After Spring Break, we are looking forward to advancing into schematic design, layering in architectural strategies for resilience and culturally-appropriate building. Huge thanks to our colleagues at NNU: Sameh MONNA, Mutasim Baba, Muhannad HAJ HUSSEIN, and Allam Mousa for your excellent partnership. We are looking forward to sharing this latest design work with the students at NNU, and to seeing their ongoing design efforts in our next meeting. And thanks to the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and The Design School at ASU for supporting the grant that is facilitating this vital exchange. _______________________ Philip Horton Marc J Neveu Renee Cheng paola sanguinetti Vinita Rakheja Maryam Laly Lindsey Penn Andie Shafer Christine Shiau The Stevens Initiative at the Aspen Institute Anera Sean C. Carroll Pamela DeLargy Nick Sabato

Over the weekend Professor Elizabeth Golden and students from the University of Washington College of Built Environments travelled to Tempe to build a mockup of a Compressed Earth Block (CEB) wall that included a corner detail (with a single and double wythe wall), window and door openings, as well as a bench. Students from ARC 402 at ASU are working collaboratively with students from UW on a housing studio in Grant Park this semester/quarter using CEB. The studio is supported by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture & Temple Hoyne Buell Center Course Development Prize. We were guided by Kirk Higbee, who is an encyclopedia of earthen construction and Grand Master of the Order of the Adobe Spoon. After the build, we toured his own adobe home, which is under construction, as well as a straw bale house, all in South Phoenix. Kyla Barlow Jack Carleson Austin Frydman Madison Gardner Noah Grahmann Kate Irwin Paris Marshall Anna Melis Audrey Sinclair Carlo Sosa Garcia Gabriela Soto Sanchez Helen Zhao Mohammad Alrajhi Marc J Neveu Philip Horton Demitry Sebastian The Design School at ASU ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

This week we kicked off a new Climate Futures Exchange (CFX) studio. While we anticipate collaboration with our colleagues at An Najah National University -- who will be kicking off early next month -- we are working on context modeling and analysis, as well as skill-building within some of the tools that we will use and experiment with this semester. Yesterday, Mohammad Alrajhi introduced half of the CFX students here at Arizona State University to Arkio, an intuitive extended reality (XR) platform for real-time collaborations within AEC and the built environment. Soon, these students will bring digital models of their site and context -- which is adjacent to the oldest refugee camp in the city of Nablus -- into Arkio to enhance their iterative design explorations throughout the semester. We are looking forward to sharing the experiences and outcomes of this virtual exchange with our supporters in The Aspen Institute and the U.S. Department of State, as well with as our colleagues in The Design School at ASU, the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and across the university. And, of course, we look forward to seeing what our students will learn together this semester, the experiences they will share, and the bonds that they will form along the way. _______________________ Philip Horton Marc J Neveu Sameh MONNA Mutasim Baba Allam Mousa Muhannad HAJ HUSSEIN Renee Cheng paola sanguinetti Vinita Rakheja Maryam Laly Lindsey Penn Andie Shafer Christine Shiau The Stevens Initiative at the Aspen Institute

Here we go! This is going to be exciting. ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts The Design School at ASU Marc J Neveu Philip Horton

Fantastic experience last week with ASU Next Lab and ASU Prep Digital Plus Tempe Experience! Thank you Amanda Federico for showing the digital twin to ASU Prep Digital Plus students and faculty! Kasandra Singh Ann Kaufman Trista Zobitz, Ed.D. Sarah Chandler The Design School at ASU ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Philip Horton Marc J Neveu

Amazing morning, and very exciting to be a part of this! The Design School at ASU ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Philip Horton Marc J Neveu

Have you heard about the NSF Engines: Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine (SWSIE)? SWSIE aims to elevate the Southwest as a regional hub of economic development catalyzed by innovations in water, energy, and carbon sustainability and security. The Center of Building Innovation (CoBI) has been asked to help 'stand up' a fourth workstream focused on the built environment, and building integrated solutions. If your organization is interested in joining this effort as a partner -- or if you know of any technologies or practices that could use a 'boost' to help advance their technology readiness level (trl), adoption readiness level (arl), or workforce development efforts -- we would like to meet with you and bring you into the engine. https://swsie.asu.edu/

While in Tempe, students and faculty from the Architectural Engineering program at An Najah National University sat in on ARC 111, met with students in ARC 502, and toured several sustainably designed buildings, including: Rob and Melani Center for Planetary Health with Rachel Green Rasmussen, AIA NCARB and Tom Reilly Architekton Ltd Offices with John Kane FAIA ASU Student Pavilion with Philip Weddle of Weddle Gilmore Architects The Beam with Chase Farnsworth of Mortenson The Farmer Education Building with William Kidd College Avenue Commons, home of the Del E. Webb School of Construction with William Kidd They even found some time for a baseball game, In-N-Out, an amusement park, and even some tacos. We were told “Mexican food is better than American food.” Well put. Thank you all for taking the time to meet with us! The Aspen Institute The Stevens Initiative at the Aspen Institute Maryam Laly Lindsey Penn Muhannad HAJ HUSSEIN Mutasim Baba Sameh MONNA Allam Mousa Alia Gilbrecht-Hendi ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts The Design School at ASU paola sanguinetti Philip Horton Mohammad Alrajhi Marc J Neveu