Teaching Philosophy 
 
As practicing architects and educators, we believe in equipping students with a strong foundation that couples hands-on experimentation with a rigorous digital workflow. Hybrid workflows are crucial to developing a student's design sensibilities and fabrication skills. Analog mappings and modeling develops a tactile understanding of material and craft while digital proficiency in programs like Rhino and Grasshopper within the studio allows students to develop and test moments in their projects with a high level of precision. A linear design process leaves little room for testing an idea, but the act of moving between analog and digital design establishes an iterative design process. Hybrid design can generate incredible works of art and architecture that balance the tactility and emotional response of handcraft with precision and innovation of digital technology. 
 
Students in our design studios are immersed in a culture of making that incorporates cross-disciplinary studies of art, architectural history, and materials and methods of construction. When combined with the thoughtful integration of technology and fabrication, this foundation empowers students to produce work that is both conceptually rich and technically advanced.  Our process-based curriculum focuses on spatial exploration; with an emphasis on building sustainable environments using fine art, landscapes, poetry, and history as a primer for understanding proportions and compositions. In addition to developing effective visualization skills, emphasis is placed on written and verbal communication. The profession of architecture extends far beyond the drawings on paper, and effective communication of ideas is part of the design process. The architectural education is unique, and emphasis on communication will make students stronger and more confident professionals as they leave university and begin to compete for commissions on a global scale. 
 
In the studio, we understand that a project will never be fully complete. We are successful when a student becomes passionate about a piece of their project and develops the technical ability to explore it beyond the required list of deliverables. Within the studio, a free exchange of ideas and techniques fosters critical inquiry, collaborative learning, and a culture of experimentation that prepares students to engage architecture as both a rigorous discipline and an evolving practice.