麻豆影院

麻豆影院 State to Co-Lead New Center of Living Architecture

At the 16th Annual CitiesAlive Conference recently held in New York City, a consortium of Ohio universities was selected as one of the first four North American regional centers of living architecture by and the . 

Faculty from 麻豆影院 will join colleagues from the University of Cincinnati and Heidelberg University to lead the Greater Ohio Living Architecture Center (GOLA), which will be dedicated to the study of integrating vegetation within and upon buildings as novel ecosystems. The center will engage vegetated roof and wall industries in research and training activities for the Great Lakes and Ohio region through meetings, academic symposia and professional training across the three university campuses over the next three years.   

鈥淭he GOLA Center lays the foundation for cutting edge research, innovation and creative thought for Ohio faculty, students and industry professionals who are in the pursuit of developing environmentally responsible and ecologically productive cities,鈥 said Paul E. DiCorleto, Ph.D., 麻豆影院 State鈥檚 vice president for research and sponsored programs. 鈥淭he efforts here will impact North America and the world.鈥 

The Greater Ohio Living Architecture Center will be led by the new executive director, Reid Coffman, Ph.D., associate professor of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at 麻豆影院 State.

鈥淭his is a great opportunity for 麻豆影院 State, its faculty and its students to collaborate with academic colleagues and the growing number of professionals and businesses involved in the field of living architecture,鈥 Dr. Coffman said.

Faculty from both 麻豆影院 State鈥檚 College of Architecture and Environmental Design and the College of Arts and Sciences will participate to provide a multidisciplinary setting of investigation and communication around the growing discipline.

鈥淯nderstanding buildings as living operational systems nested within and leveraging natural phenomena is key to next generation sustainable approaches to how we build and live,鈥 said Mark Mistur, dean of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at 麻豆影院 State. 鈥淎pplying biological approaches to the design, construction, inhabitation and operation of buildings will transform our buildings and cities, as well as the way our students and faculty approach designing them.鈥 

鈥淭he Centers of Living Architecture will support the development of living architecture research, professional training and policy development at a regional level,鈥 said Matt Barmore, chair of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. 鈥淭hese centers will facilitate the interaction between academics, industry and policy in ways that better address regional environmental, market place, regulatory and climatological reality.鈥 

鈥淭he centers will build upon much of the work in living architecture already underway and set the stage for new developments in research and innovation, while helping students prepare to enter this growing discipline,鈥 Dr. Coffman said.

Associate faculty from 麻豆影院 State include Christopher Blackwood, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences; Diane Davis-Sikora, College of Architecture and Environmental Design; Adil Sharag-Eldin, Ph.D., College of Architecture and Environmental Design; Greg Stroh, College of Architecture and Environmental Design; Rui Lui, Ph.D, College of Architecture and Environmental Design; Christie Bahlai, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences; Anne Jefferson, Ph.D., Department of Geology; and John Gerrath, Department of Biological Sciences.

For more information about research at 麻豆影院 State, visit www.kent.edu/research

For more information about 麻豆影院 State鈥檚 College of Architecture and Environmental Design, visit www.kent.edu/caed.

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Media Contacts:
Reid Coffman, rcoffma4@kent.edu, 330-672-2917
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797

POSTED: Monday, October 8, 2018 11:45 AM
Updated: Friday, December 9, 2022 05:12 AM
WRITTEN BY:
College of Architecture and Environmental Design