Sensory Cities was grounded in the work of Terreform ONE, an architecture and urban design research group that aims to illuminate the environmental possibilities of habitats, cities, and landscapes across the globe through pioneering acts of design.

As lead instructor, I led the seminar portion of the class and led daily lectures and supported final studio assignment deliverables in tandem with our studio instructor and teaching assistants.

Seminar + Studio Brief: This course positioned students as researchers of the built environment. Teaching them how to carefully observe, interpret, and “read” space across multiple scales, from biomaterials and microscopic systems to buildings, infrastructure, and the city itself. 

Our course was grounded in teaching Architecture and the Environment and Design for Future Cities students how to develop a sensory understanding of the built environment.

The spine of the course was grounded in the work of Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa’s seminal text, The Eyes of the Skin (1996).

Focusing on the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a primary site of study, students developed a deep sensory awareness of place. Using touch, taste, texture, light, sound, temperature, and material presence to understand how cities are constructed and experienced.

Through this investigative approach, they learn to see the Navy Yard not just as a collection of buildings, but as a living system of ecological, industrial, social, and material relationships

Students investigate through project work the regenerative use of natural materials and the emergent field of socio-ecological design. 

This approach to design uses actual living matter, not abstracted imitations of nature, to create new functional elements and spaces. 

These actions are grounded in social justice and are far-reaching in their application of digital manufacturing and maker culture.

Illustration by Rosie Barker