IDEAS-BE Weekly Graduate Seminar Series
25 January 2023
Workshop
Research and Study Methods
1 February 2023
Burcu Olgen
New Article on Interactivity, AI and Eco-Didactic Environment
8 February 2023
Multidisciplinary Event
Student presentations of their multi-disciplinary approach
22 February 2023
Workshop
Writing Plan Development
15 March 2023
Multicultural Event
Student cultural exchanges
29 March 2023
Workshop
Comprehensive Doctoral Exam Prep
12 April 2023
Multimedia Event:
Student exchange of the multi-media approaches in their research
5 October 2022
Writing Workshop for the Conversation
A general discussion of IDEAS-BE research projects and their progress
19 October 2022
Sanjana Shivakumar
Thinking through the Design of Workspaces:
A Participatory Design Tool for Space-creation in Offices
26 October 2022
Firdous Nizar
Do you have a Right to the City? Addressing SDGs 5, 10 & 11 in Architecture
2 November 2022
Negar Rahimi
Retrofitting Scenario of EV building through DSF
9 November 2022
Sara Khatib
Working research proposal
23 November 2022
Sara Kariminejad
The lively, healing, and intergenerational space in older adult care homes' courtyard: Joyful older adults and children
30 November 2022
Christmas Party
11 May 2022
Research Project Discussion
A general discussion of IDEAS-BE research projects and their progress
1 June 2022
Mohammad Abdalreza Zadeh & Christine White
PedalBox Gallery (Pop-up mobile Art-Hive)
15 June 2022
Aristofanis Soulikias
33rd Annual Society for Animation Studies Conference presentation
22 June 2022
Nasim Naghavi
Understanding the new mobilities of urban spaces in films
3 August 2022
Madelyn Capozzi
Realized through Value Collective
17 August 2022
Invited Professor
Collective review of 4-5 students of 20 min presentation in total (including feedback)
2 February 2022
The Conversation
Peer Reviews and a general discussion for The Conversation
9 February 2022
PROJECT REVIEW I
IDEAS-BE project summaries and progresses
16 February 2022
Sara Kariminejad
The lively, healing, and Intergenerational space in older adult care homes' courtyard: joyful older adults and children
23 February 2022
Firdous Nizar
Preparation for the Strategic Public Communications competition and getting feedback
9 March 2022
PROJECT REVIEW II
IDEAS-BE project summaries and progresses
30 March 2022
Fatima Mehrzad
Identifying the spatial distribution of problems in Sainte-Catherine Street by geolocating citizen's feelings through social media
6 April 2022
Albena Yaneva
A Doctoral seminar with invited Guest Speaker Albena Yaneva
13 April 2022
Burcu Olgen
AI Aspects in Public Space: Developing Eco-didactic Framework through Interactive Technologies
20 April 2022
Nasim Naghavi
Understanding the new mobilities of urban spaces in films
29 September 2021
Firdous Nizar
Investigative Journalism as a Pedagogical Tool in Architecture and Urban Design [Paper Review]
6 October 2021
WRITING WORKSHOP I
Bio Sketches
13 October 2021
Mohammed Abdul Rezazadeh
The Language around Homelessness
20 October 2021
Sanjana Shivakumar
Exploration of IoCT Dining as a post pandemic strategy
27 October 2021
Omar Ortiz-Meraz, Firdous Nizar, Carmela Cucuzzella
CAMMM Web Atlas v0.1 - Collaborative Play Testing Session
3 November 2021
WRITING WORKSHOP II
Op-Ed Full Draft for The Conversation
17 November 2021
Mohsen Rasoulivalajoozi
A study of visual and experiential aspects of cancer departments: A case of two Montreal Hospitals
1 December 2021
WRITING WORKSHOP III
Op-Ed Peer Reviews for The Conversation
8 December 2021
Sherif Goubran
The contribution of Canadian recognized buildings to the SDGs
19 May 2021
Nasim Naghavi
The Spatial Experience of the Mobile World through Cinematic Images
2 June, 2021
Aristofanis Soulikias
Animating the inanimate: Paper for the 2021 Society for Animation Studies Conference
16 June, 2021
Negar Rahimi
The Evolution of the Architectural Façade since 1950 and its Impact on the City
30 June, 2021
Mohammed Abdul Rezazadeh
Dominant Patterns of Time-Space Endangering Homeless Health
14 July, 2021
Sara El Khatib
The 15 minute city: Is Livabilty only Hyperlocality?
11 August, 2021
Sherif Goubran
The Future Role of the Architect in Sustainable Design
27 January 2021
Mohammed Abdul Rezazadeh
The Importance of Studying Homeless Time-Space
3 February 2021
Sanjana Shivakumar
Mobile Diagnosis in a Pandemic Context and Mobility in Cities
10 February 2021
Sherif Goubran
Our Buildings Have Credentials...Now What? "The Defense"
17 February 2021
Aristofanis Soulikias
Evoking the Haptic City in the Age of Confinement, Part II
24 February 2021
Sherif Goubran
Our Buildings Have Credentials...Now What? "The Tragedy"
10 March 2021
Damoon Nasseri
Gentrification, Displacement and its Impact on Residents' Social Capital
17 March 2021
Fatemeh Izadi
The Effect of Built Environment and Urban Greenery on Walkability and Transport Mode Choices
24 March 2021
Firdous Nizar
Blogging as Community Building in Architecture Education
31 March 2021
Mohsen Rasoulivalajoozi
Design Criteria in Health Caring Services and Systems
7 April 2021
Fatemeh Mehrzad
The Effect of Social Media on Public Participation in Urban Planning (A Review of Experiments and Potentials)
14 April 2021
Golriz Farzamfar
The Role of Senses in Healing Architecture
21 April 2021
Dina Kamal
Narratives Normalizing Human/Nature (dis)Connectedness
28 April 2020
Morteza Hazbei
Revealing a Gap in the Definition of Context in Parametrized Architecture
17 September, 2020
Morteza Hazbei
Parametric design of the façade patterns on an office building in Montreal regarding energy performance and visual comfort
23 September, 2020
Firdous Nizar
Reflecting on Architecture Through Creative Writing and Blogging
30 September, 2020
Mohammed Abdul Rezazadeh
Batiment7: a Space of Resistance
7 October, 2020
Aristofanis Soulikias
FRQSC application: Making a case for handmade animation as a research tool in Quebec
14 October, 2020
Fatima Mehrzad
Evaluating the capability of social media for urban regeneration
21 October, 2020
Mohsen Rasoulivalajoozi
Design Principles in health caring services and systems
28 October, 2020
Dina Kamal
Nature (dis)Connectedness in the Built Environment
4 November, 2020
Golriz Farzamfar
Healing Architecture and Urban Design
18 November, 2020
Sherif Goubran
Our Buildings have Credentials… Now what?
3 June, 2020
Fatima Mehrzad
Settlement of Iranian immigrants and their geographic Choices in Montreal from 1980 to 2016
10 June, 2020
Morteza Hazbei
Parametric Design Theories and Applications
24 June, 2020
Sherif Goubran
Green Building Standards and Sustainability: The Illusion of contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
1 July, 2020
Aristofanis Soulikias
Evoking the Haptic City in the Age of Confinement: A film animation project in Lisbon
8 July, 2020
Mohammed Abdul Rezazadeh
Community-University Engagement: Cavendish Mall Case Study
15 July, 2020
Pooyan Alizadeh
Why rewriting the past?
5, 12 August, 2020
Firdous Nizar
Retracing Spatial Design Processes: Thesis Defense Prep
12 March, 2020
Gabriel Pena
Greening as a tool for urban politics
20 February, 2020
Pooyan Alizadeh
Democratizing Public Art: Anti-Monumentalism
6 February, 2020
Firdous Nizar
Designing with Spatial Narratives
30 January, 2020
Aristofanis Soulikias
Sensory Awakenings in Film Animation
23 January, 2020
Sherif Goubran
Why the dinosaurs perished? They didn't publish...
16 January, 2020
Mohammed Abdul Rezazadeh
Community-University Engagement based on Design Methods
10 December, 2019
Firdous Nizar
Communicating Spatial Formations: Potential of Hybrid Tools in Architecture
3 December, 2019
Gabriel Pena
Eco-Mannerism
22 November, 2019
Fatima Mehrzad
Public Spaces as Potential for Urban Regeneration in Montreal
19 November, 2019
Morteza Hazbei
Coherence of Interior and Exterior Formal Qualities in Parametric Designed Buildings
12 November, 2019
Pooyan Alizadeh
Collaborative Art for Social Engagement
29 October, 2019
Aristofanis Soulikias
Work at the Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Australia: Progress and Lessons
23 October, 2019
Sherif Goubran
Our Buildings have Credentials: Now what?
11 September, 2019
Firdous Nizar
Tools for Communication of Spatial Ideas in Architecture: A Phenomenological Experiment
4 September, 2019
Gabriel Pena
After transparency / The sensorial, social and spatial affects of glass reflection
31 July, 2019
Morteza Hazbei
Bridging Culture with Environmental Performance Through Parametric Design in Architecture
3 July, 2019
Pooyan Alizadeh
Augmented Reality: Democratizing Artworks in the Public Realm
12 June, 2019
Aristofanis Soulikias
Tangible Animation for the Intangible City
8 May, 2019
Sherif Goubran
The Semiotics of Sustainability in Architectural Design Projects
Life at IDEAS-BE & NGCI
SSHRC Partnership Grant Local Convention
SSHRC Partnership Grant Local Convention
SSHRC Partnership Grant Local Convention
SSHRC Partnership Grant National Convention
SSHRC Partnership Grant National Convention
SSHRC Partnership Grant National Convention
A celebration of achievements: Ari, Fatima, Sherif, Firdous, Damoon, Golriz and Mohsen
Albena Yaneva Summer 2022 (1/4)
Albena Yaneva Summer 2022 (2/4)
Albena Yaneva Summer 2022 (3/4)
Albena Yaneva Summer 2022 (4/4)
NGCI Students and Researchers at the CIRODD Summer School, 2021
First outdoor gathering of IDEAS-BE team in 2021 at Mount Royal Park (1/3)
First outdoor gathering of IDEAS-BE team in 2021 at Mount Royal Park (2/3)
Attending Sherif's outstanding INDI PhD Defence (1/3)
Attending Sherif's outstanding INDI PhD Defence (2/3)
Attending Sherif's outstanding INDI PhD Defence (3/3)
Christmas get-together at Jean Talon Market (1/5)
Christmas get-together at Jean Talon Market (2/5)
Christmas get-together at Jean Talon Market (3/5)
Christmas get-together at Jean Talon Market (4/5)
Christmas get-together at Jean Talon Market (5/5)
Late Fall hang out at St. Joseph Oratory Mount Royal (1/4)
Late Fall hang out at St. Joseph Oratory Mount Royal (2/4)
Late Fall hang out at St. Joseph Oratory Mount Royal (3/4)
Late Fall hang out at St. Joseph Oratory Mount Royal (4/4)
Dina's Fall 2020 seminar on Zoom
First outdoor IDEAS-BE weekly graduate seminar
Firdous presenting at the first outdoor IDEAS-BE seminar
The first seminar by Morteza for the Fall 2020 IDEAS-BE weekly graduate seminars
End of summer Mount Royal picnic with the IDEAS-BE team (1/3)
End of summer Mount Royal picnic with the IDEAS-BE team (2/3)
End of summer Mount Royal picnic with the IDEAS-BE team (3/3)
Sherif Goubran's send-off to Cairo at Jarry Park (1/3)
Sherif Goubran's send-off to Cairo at Jarry Park (2/3)
Sherif Goubran's send-off to Cairo at Jarry Park (3/3)
Continuing our IDEAS-BE Graduate Weekly Seminars: Summer 2020 on Zoom
IDEAS-BE Team at the 4th Space
Funding, Awards, Achievements
3MT Competition, March 2023
Mohammad Abdalreza Zadeh awarded PhD Winner of Concordia's Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition
Thesis title: "Blossoming from the cracks: Fostering empowerment and creativity in unhoused communities through pop-up art hives". Expected date of completion: Summer 2024
3MT Competition, March 2023
Aristofanis Soulikias awarded PhD People's Choice Award at Concordia's Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition
Thesis title: "Sensing the city: revealing urban realities and potentials through handmade film animation".
Expected date of completion 2 September 2024
Cities Journal 2022
Carmela Cucuzzella's Article Published in Cities Journal
"A TOD index integrating development potential, economic vibrancy, and socio-economic factors for encouraging polycentric cities" is co-written by
Carmela Cucuzzella from Concordia University.
The article highlights a gap in TOD indices for assessing development potential around transit nodes in cities.
SSHRC IG Grant
Carmela Cucuzzella is a CO-Investigator in the awarded SSHRC IG grant led by David Howes, Entitled Explorations in Sensory Design
SSHRC Partnership Grant 2022-2027
Quality in Canada's Built Environment: Roadmaps for Equity, Social Value, and Sustainability
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella is a Co-PI on a PG grant. It was awarded 2.5M from SSHRC and a total of more than $8M CAD when including in-kind and cash contributions from partnering and co-applicants' institutions.
SSHRC Insight Grant 2022-2027
The Hidden Social Side of Productive Infrastructure
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella is a Co-PI on an Insight grant. The Hidden Social Dimension of Infrastructure aims to uncover qualities of infrastructural spaces that enable societal, cultural, and environmental phenomena.
FRQSC Team Grant
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella is part of a winning FRQSC team grant for the Laboratoire d’étude de l’architecture potentielle (L.E.A.P)
This is an interdisciplinary, cross-university team of scholars from Universite de Montreal, UQAM, McGill, and Concordia
Public Scholars 2022-23
Aristofanis Soulikias is selected as a 'Public Scholar' by Concordia University
He has been selected among 10 other doctoral candidates to spend the next year showcasing his doctoral research. The 10 selected doctoral candidates represent the university’s very best graduate researchers and were chosen for their academic excellence, diversity of research and community engagement.
CMHC Funding, Summer 2022
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella leads a CMHC funded project called, Value Collective. Seed funding for summer 2022.
NGCI Fellowship 2022-2025
Fatemeh Mehrzad is awarded the NGCI fellowship for three years
Her research on using social media as a mechanism of exchange to influence, collect, and enable social values for urban regeneration projects, which incorporates multiple fields of knowledge, is awarded the NGCI Fellowships for the next three years
MITACS Internship
Firdous Nizar is awarded a MITACS Internship
The internship project is currently titled, “Redefining Shared Living Spaces: Reflecting on Post-pandemic Coliving through Architectural Journalism”. She will be interning for the partner organization, Nomad Coliving, under the mentorship of founder Maria Kinoshita and supervision of Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella. This Mitacs Accelerate program is divided into 2 internship units of 4 months each.
SAF Award, May, 2021
Mohammed Abdolreza Zadeh is awarded the SAF Funding Award for Summer 2021
2021
Sherif Goubran defends his PhD
Sherif Goubran, an INDI PhD candidate defends his PhD in 2021. His PhD research investigates the alignment between local sustainable practice and global sustainability goals. His research focus includes building sustainability and sustainability assessment, behavioral approaches in design, building-occupant interaction in buildings as well as topics relating to sustainability in urban and architectural design.
SSHRC Award, May, 2021
Aristofanis Soulikias is awarded the SSHRC Doctorate Award for 2 years
He is awarded the SSHRC Doctorate Award for the next 2 years for his research on handmade film animation to represent the built environment and the city.
Fellowship Award, September 2020
Firdous Nizar is awarded the Concordia University Graduate Doctoral Incentive Fellowship Award on entry to the INDI PhD Program for Fall 2020
Her supervisory committee is comprised of Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella (Design and Computation Arts), Dr. Elyse Amend (Journalism) and Dr. Jean-Pierre Chupin (Architecture). Her research is tentatively titled, "Reflecting on Architecture through Creative Journalism: Blogging as a Design Thinking Module".
SAF Award, May, 2020
Mohammed Abdolreza Zadeh is awarded the SAF Funding Award for Batiment 7 Wild Green Playground Project, Summer 2020
International Exchange at Universidade Lusófona, February-June, 2020
Aristofanis Soulikias is awarded an international exchange under the supervision of Dr. Pedro Serrazina
He is awarded an exchange program at the Universidade Lusófona, in Lisbon, Portugal, as part of his PhD research under the supervision of Dr. Pedro Serrazina.
ANA Avatar XPRIZE Competition, December 2019
Team AVAReach with Firdous Nizar becomes finalist of ANA Avatar XPRIZE Competition 2019
She is part of the product management unit of the AVAReach team which is one of the 4 teams from Canada that made it to the finalists of ANA Avatar XPRIZE Competition.
Concordia Public Scholars, May 2019
Sherif Goubran is selected as one of Concordia's Public Scholars for 2019
Sherif Goubran, INDI PhD candidate, is selected as one of Concordia's Public Scholars for 2019.
Jorisch Family Artist Residency, August 2019
Aristofanis Soulikias wins the prestigious Jorisch Family Artist Residency
His four-week residency on "Film Animations of the Amalie Redlich Tower" will take place in August 2019 in Salzburg, Austria.
SSHRC Partnership Development Grant, March 2019
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella, along with Dr. Zach Patterson, Dr. Carolyn Hatch, Pr. Anne Cormier are awarded a SSHRC Partnership Development Grant
Their SSHRC Partnership Development Grant is entitled, "CoLLaboratoire for Activating Multi-Modal Mobility: One Public Space at a Time", and funded from 2019 to 2022.
District 3 Hackathon, March 24, 2019
Pooyan Alizadeh is winner of the District 3’s “La Charrette Art X Tech” Hackathon
He wins the District 3’s “La Charrette Art X Tech” for his work "EMOTIONS" on March 24, 2019.
Italian Glass Technology Award, Nov. 2018
Gabriel Alejandro Peña Tijerina is awarded the ‘Italian Glass Technology Award’ at the European Institute of Design, Lake Como campus, Villa del Grumello
He receives the ‘Italian Glass Technology Award’, Nov. 2018 at the European Institute of Design, Lake Como campus, Villa del Grumello.
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, July 2018
Sherif Goubran is awarded the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship from Summer 2018 to Winter 2021
He receives the prestigious scholarship valued at $50,000 per year to support his PhD thesis titled, "Our buildings have credentials, Now what? "Green" Buildings and Sustainable Development Goals in Canada"
SSHRC Insight Grant, May 2018
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella (PI), with Dr. Cynthia Hammond and Dr. Jean-Pierre Chupin are awarded a SSHRC Insight Grant
Their grant is entitled, The Eco-Didactic Turn in Art, Design, and Architecture in the Public Realm, and is funded from 2018-2022
Research, Activities, Outcomes
The Conversation, August 2023
Burcu Olgen and Carmela Cucuzzella publish article titled, "Artificial intelligence can be used to design engaging and interactive public art" in The Conversation
Montréal’s public art program attracts people to specific locations throughout the city, encouraging visitors to linger. While these installations are entertaining, there is often a certain uniformity across these different works. This article explores the opportunities and dangers of adopting AI technologies in public art installations.
Public Presentation, May 29, 2023
Carmela Cucuzzella, Jean-François Cantin, Firdous Nizar, Omar Ortiz-Meraz present CAMMM, the Collaboratoire for Activating Multimodal Mobility project, at Concordia’s 4th Space
Highlights from the presentation on CAMMM, the Collaboratoire for Activating Multimodal Mobility project, at Concordia’s 4th Space on the 29 May 2023, given by Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella, Concordia University Professor, Research Chair in Integrated Design and Sustainability for the Built Environment, and Founding Co-director of the Next-Gen Cities Institute, Mr Jean-François Cantin from RTM (Montreal Transit Authority), PhD candidate Firdous Nizar, and PhD candidate Omar Ortiz-Meraz.
Public Scholar Workshop, April 21, 2023
Concordia Public Scholar Aristofanis Soulikias conducts workshop exploring the possibilities of handmade animation for urban design
Concordia Public Scholar, Aristofanis Soulikias conducted a workshop with paper-cut elements, alongside charcoal sketches, that were animated in real time.
This workshop was accompanied by a discussion with Janet Blatter that tackled themes such as the nature of employing senses beyond vision in making animation, the sense of time in animation and the city, and sensing and communicating space and place via animation.
Journal of Social Determinants of Health, April 2023
Mohsen Rasoulivalajoozi and Ghada Touir publish article titled "Spinal fusion surgery for high-risk patients: a review of hospitals information"
Spinal fusion surgery (SFS) is commonly performed as an elective procedure in the United States that employs minimally invasive techniques; however, it possesses potential risks and side effects and is still considered an experimental treatment. As such, patients can often be hesitant when proposed SFS. In that regard, this study aimed to analyze and critique available SFS instructive materials, to account for the procedure’s potential risks for patients.
Study Presentation, March 16, 2023
Burcu Olgen and Negarsadat Rahimi present their study "Sustainable eco-façade through interactive eco-didactic engagements in urban space"
Negarsadat Rahimi and Burcu Olgen presented their preliminary study with a poster about sustainable eco-façade as eco-didactic engagements at the 4th Space, Concordia University Sustainability Conference on March 16.
Under the supervision of Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella at IDEAS-BE Concordia University Research Chair, their preliminary study titled "Sustainable eco-façade applications through eco-didactic engagements in urban space" explores Artificial Intelligence, eco-art installations and parametric eco-façade applications, and speculates on the façade as a canvas for eco-didactic communication in public space.
Science Direct, February 2023
Nariman Rafati, Morteza Hazbei, Ursula Eicker publish article titled "Louver configuration comparison in three Canadian cities utilizing NSGA-II" in Science Direct in February 2023
Shading devices, particularly louvers, if chosen and designed correctly, reduce excessive uncontrolled solar gains and daylight in interior space, consequently improving building energy performance and occupants' visual comfort. However, various questions related to their adaptation to different climates, their designs, and optimized methods are unanswered. This paper aims to show that even in geographical areas with similar climate conditions, different louver designs are required.
Invited Keynote, November 21, 2022
Carmela Cucuzzella is invited as keynote to the American University in Cairo to talk about future cities
Dr. Cucuzzella presents the Next Generation Cities flagship projects to graduate students and professors at the American University in Cairo. An important networking opportunity for students and future research.
Jean-Pierre Chupin, Carmela Cucuzzella, Georges Adamczyk co-edit in 2022
The Rise of Awards in Architecture, published by Vernon Press in July 2022
This book is the first scientific study to focus on awards in architecture and the built environment investigating their exponential growth since the 1980s. The celebration of excellence in architecture and related fields remains a phenomenon on which there is strangely little scientific scrutiny. What is to be understood from the plethora of award-winning projects, award-winning buildings and awarded professional practices in the built environment, year after year?
The Conversation, July 2022
Burcu Olgen, Fatima Mehrzad, Negarsadat Rahimi, and Sara El Khatib publish article titled, "Sci-fi shows like ‘Westworld’ and ‘Altered Carbon’ offer a glimpse into the future of urban transportation" in the Conversation
Our colleagues write about what would the typical commute look like in the future. They explore some science fiction TV series that depict the next generation of public transportation. This article has been published by The Canadian Press, National Post, Inc., Fast Company, and other outlets. Additionally, it reached more than 11,000 readers.
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella and Dr. Ursula Eicker co-lead the 2nd installment of the CIRODD summer school
The summer school focuses on the social transformation of urban projects while aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
(summer 2022)
Concordia’s leading climate change researchers make their voices heard at COP26
The Next-Generation Cities Institute was founded at Concordia University, providing us with a framework to pose problems and articulate responses outside the usual academic modes of operation. The institute aims to facilitate collaboration between researchers and educators from a wide range of backgrounds in order to develop integrated and transdisciplinary approaches.
Ursula Eicker is the co-director and founder of Concordia University’s Next-Generation Cities Institute. This commentary is co-authored by fellow institute researchers Carmela Cucuzzella, Pierre Gauthier, Govind Gopakumar, Meghan Joy, Janis Timm-Bottos, Chun Wang and Erkan Yonder.
The Conversation, May 2022
Golriz Farzamfar and Mohsen Rasoulivalajoozi publish article titled, "How psychological aspects of healing are important for hospital design" in The Conversation
For designing healing environments, significant advances have been made that support a patient’s process of recovery. The concept of a healing environment puts the patient at the centre of hospital and health design.
To this end, in addition to patients’ clinical needs, their psychological and mental needs must also be taken into consideration in the design process.
The Conversation, October 2021
Carmela Cucuzzella publishes article titled, "Eco-art, design and architecture can be agents of environmental change in the public realm" in The Conversation
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella writes about the Eco-didactic project where she is cataloguing public art, design and architecture projects in Canada that aim to teach about the environmental crisis, to reveal what eco-lessons are conveyed to the public and what the public can learn.
Potential Architecture Books, Montreal, September 2021
Carmela Cucuzzella, Jean-Pierre Chupin, Emmanuel Rondia and Sherif Goubran co-edit Design Guidebook for “Reimagining Waiting for the Bus”
This creative guidebook, the result of an international competition, is a synthesis of the best ideas in the form of a free resource aimed at stimulating citizen discussion and community group engagement around the improvement of small urban environments connected to bus stops. The ideas extracted from projects from many countries are not presented as solutions but as illustrated principles gathered along 5 vectors going from culture to social dimensions, from ecological concerns to technological innovations and, in general, to everything that can increase the feeling of well-being. A free, illustrated guide that invites citizens to imagine the spaces surrounding bus shelters in their own neighbourhoods.
Summer School, CIRODD, Montreal, August 2021
Carmela Cucuzzella, the academic lead for the CIRODD Summer School on Social Transformation, spends 2 days teaching systemic thinking and systems modeling for city-based and UN SDG aligned development projects
Carmela Cucuzzella was lead academic for the CIRODD Summer School on Social Transformation
Between July 27 and August 27, 2021, CIRODD and its partners held their first Summer School on Societal Transformation. The School’s Objective, which will be given over 45 hours, is to develop key competencies for the achievement of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the municipal level for up to 50 change driven leaders drawn from both the public and private sectors.
The Summer School was designed to accelerate the socio-ecological transition in our societies and that applying the SDGs at the ground level offers the greatest promise. The inspiration was the development of UNESCO’s framework of key competencies, which are based on acquiring overarching competences in integrated problem-solving. This first edition of the Summer School on Societal Transformation was an essential step to the creation of a community of practice aimed at increasing expertise and experience sharing across Canada and internationally.
Special Issue, Sustainability Journal, July 2021
Carmela Cucuzzella, Jean-Pierre Chupin and Cynthia Hammond receive 11 papers as co-editors of Special Issue of Sustainability Journal: Eco-Didactic Art, Design, and Architecture in the Public Realm
For this special issue of Sustainability, they invited essays that focus on environmentally-driven architecture, landscape design, and public art practices that have emerged over the last two decades (2000-2020). They are interested in practices that manifest a distinctively “didactic” environmental discourse, i.e. one that aims to educate and influence the public.
Open House International Journal, July 2021
Aristofanis Soulikias , Carmela Cucuzzella , Firdous Nizar , Morteza Hazbei and Sherif Goubran co-publish the article titled, "We gain a lot…but what are we losing? A critical reflection on the implications of digital design technologies" in the Open House International Journal on 21 July 2021
The paper looks at current trends in developing and establishing “computer imaging” within architectural education, and the architectural profession through parametric design and the area of sustainability. In order to reveal novel and hybrid ways of architectural image-making, it also looks into art forms that already experiment with bodily practices in design by taking an artisanal animation project as a case study.
Podcast, École urbaine de Lyon, June 2021
Carmela Cucuzzella talks about eco-art and architecture in the podcast, "Urban Anthropocene by doing n°12 - Eco-Didacticism in public space" by École urbaine de Lyon
At a time when environmental architecture is proliferating in all its forms around the world* :
How could we make the invisible visible? How can urban space make us sense the human impact on planet earth ? How to explore anthropocene issues through art, architecture and design in public space today ? This program with Carmela Cucuzzella will question the concepts she developped with her research team on Eco-didactism.
* from her last book : Analyzing Eco-Architecture Beyond Performance
INDI Research Day Video Showcase, 4th Space, April 2021
Aristofanis Soulikias presents his research video as winner in the INDI Research Day Video Showcase at the 4th Space
We were forced to go virtual and banish ourselves. This was our punishment. We were all forced to go virtual and pretend we like it. Pretend it is real.
How can I tell the story of the city if I do not feel it? How can I imagine it if I cannot touch it? How can I make it move me if I cannot make it move? I will assemble its sounds, its odours, the textures and shadows, and the human traces, those fingerprints of love, and I will feel them crafting every instance, every frame, and set the city in motion. The body needs the city back, and the city needs the body to return to the streets. The city of exactitudes and certainties lives in the mind of the computer and is vainly reproduced, glossy, tall, and distant, over and over and over… The city I am making on my light table with my own hands will have all the imperfections it needs; those happy and not so happy accidents; those that accumulate over time and to which people feel they belong; those that reveal I am one of them.
With its re-emergence thanks to digital capture, handmade animation is reviving bodily ways of making and perceiving narratives. My research investigates hybrid modes of producing film animation which use digital technology but privilege the artisanal in ways that can reveal a more haptic understanding of the built environment.
INDI Research Day Video Showcase, 4th Space, April 2021
Morteza Hazbei presents his research video as finalist in the INDI Research Day Video Showcase at the 4th Space
Do buildings wear clothes? Do they match their clothes to the surrounding? Are building forms, shapes, and colors important? Do these convey any meaning? Can we pick up a building in a small city in east Europe and put it in a North American city?
Buildings such as humans convey social and cultural meaning. They need to be compatible with their climates and settings; however, recent advancement in technology and digitalization in architecture erodes building’s identity and cultural significance. The focus in contemporary digitalized architectural practices is to design seductive and provocative forms that do not represent the contextual significance of the site.
In my Ph.D. research, I deconstruct the “context” meaning in qualitative and quantitive parameters and study how we can incorporate qualitative parameters such as culture and history in contemporary digital architecture.
INDI PhD Presentation, March 2021
SHERIF GOUBRAN DEFENDS HIS INDI PHD THESIS TITLED: "OUR BUILDING HAVE CREDENTIALS...NOW WHAT?
Sherif Goubran successfully defended his PhD thesis, titled: "Our Buildings Have Credentials…Now What? A Design-Based Analysis Framework for Reconciling Green Buildings with the Sustainable Development Goals". Sherif passed the defense with an overall outstanding evaluation. Following three parallel research directions, Sherif's interdisciplinary research proposes a new theoretical framework for sustainable architecture inspired by the 2030 Agenda, develops and tests novel analytical tools for sustainable design, and studies the contribution of recognized Canadian architecture to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Vernon Press Book, October 2020
Carmela Cucuzzella and Sherif Goubran co-edit new book on sustainable architecture with Vernon Press
“Sustainable Architecture – Between Measurement and Meaning” takes a step back to reflect on how sustainability in the built environment can be theorized and practiced critically. This book exposes that architecture remains a human and social science that lies at the intersection of measurements and meanings. It reveals that sustainable architecture can still operate in a dialectic space of expression, rather than serving as a manifesto for either the technical or socio-cultural extremes. It purports that the human intuition, senses, and skills still holds the key to unravelling alternative futures of sustainable built spaces. And that most importantly, humans still have a place in sustainable architecture.
This book will be of interest to students, early career scholars, established researchers and practitioners studying sustainability in the built environment. It can be used as a reference to those in the fields of design, architecture, landscape and urban design, urban studies, geography, social sciences, and engineering.
Competition Launch, February 1 2021
Launching New International Student Ideas Competition
The Concordia University Chair of Integrated Design, Ecology, and Sustainability for the Built Environment and the Canada Research Chair in Architecture, Competitions, Mediations of Excellence at Université de Montréal are working together to mobilize the creativity of young designers of the built environment in order to stimulate debate on the renewed experiences of public transportation for increased urban resiliency.
Musée des Beaux-Arts, September 2020
Aristofanis Soulikias launches his new film animation at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in September 2020
A musical and visual voyage inspired by the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings by Ferdowsi, the 11th century epic) in which myth, sound and images from the Persian tradition take on a new life.
This multidisciplinary performance includes a film by Aristofanis Soulikias on 26 September 2020 at Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal. This film is another stop-motion hand-made film animation that reflects his explorations of tactile animation for his doctoral research.
Editions JFD Book, June 2020
Carmela Cucuzzella publishes, Analyzing Eco-Architecture: Beyond Performance, from Editions JFD, in June 2020
At a time when the definitions of environmental architecture are proliferating in all forms, norms, and statements around the world, this book offers an overview of the state of the field and constitutes a critical introduction to the study of environmentalism in architecture. Contrary to the technological and performative biases of most eco-design studies, the book helps to understand how meaning is embedded in all types of eco-architecture. It introduces a mapping method for the analysis of its varying expressions. The graphic comparative apparatus helps assess the relationship between the symbolic and technological aspects of 10 libraries, 10 museums, and 9 university buildings from all over the world in a clear manner. Analyzing Eco-Architecture: Beyond Performance is essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners involved in the study and design of environmental architecture today.
Master of Design Presentation, August 2020
Firdous Nizar completes her Master of Design Final Thesis Presentation in August 2020, and immediately is accepted in the INDI PhD
Her thesis titled, "Retracing Spatial Design Processes: Developing a Pedagogical Tool for Architecture", explores the ongoing gap in the interactive documentation of the ideation processes in architecture education such that they could promote reflective design learning among architecture students while generating ideas for the built. This gap is attributed to the various challenges and limitations of existing CAAD tools such as the rigidity of their interfaces and lack of holistic support for collaborative design works. The research explores a digital design tool for students and novice practitioners that has the ability: (1) to record and trace the concepts and design ideas generated during creative brainstorming sessions, (2) to provoke reflective design thinking and making through proposed design modes and, (3) to facilitate collective contribution to these designs.
Master of Design Presentation, August 2020
Pooyan Alizadeh successfully completes his Master of Design, with Final Thesis Presentation in August 2020
His thesis titled, "The Democratization of Public Space: Anti-Monumentalism Through an Augmented Reality Based Mobile App ", examines the possibilities of Augmented Reality (AR) as a platform made for expression and speculation in public space. Critical and speculative design methods are used to foster engagement by examining the capacity of social and cultural movements to produce democracy in public space. Through this research-creation process, qualitative data is used to investigate the capabilities of Augmented Reality as a participatory medium, and Anit-monumentalism as a gradual response concerning the city and memories is explained.
Society of Architectural Historians virtual conference, May 2020
Carmela Cucuzzella and Jean-Pierre Chupin present, Competitions as Means for an Alternative Development in the City, at the Society of Architectural Historians 2020 virtual conference (originally to be held in Seattle) in May 2020.
How can civil society engage with the immanent urban issues of climate change and spatial justice? Increasingly, technical solutions to these concerns have been historically adopted, most of which have been based on highly structured principles seeking ever more eco-efficiency. These approaches have revealed several limitations due to the normative nature of their evaluation tools, their fragmented project analysis processes, and their lack of knowledge to the crucial social and cultural questions. This presentation postulates that some of the predominant international discourses and approaches to mitigate climate change events may require a reconsideration in order to reposition humans at the center of climate change debate, to move away from demonstrative ecological add-ons, and to move towards critical integration of solutions. The CoLLaboratoire initiative helps mobilize the many actors to build strong networks through collaborative practices for tackling today’s climate change challenges. This paper shows how these often-small-scale projects, like those from the design competition, “More Than Waiting for the Bus”, can have large-scale impacts, from an integrated urban blended infrastructure viewpoint.
Cities Journal, April 2020
Carmela Cucuzzella, Jean-Pierre Chupin and Cynthia Hammond publish a paper in the Cities journal
Their paper is titled, "Eco-didacticism in Art and Architecture: Design as Means for Raising Awareness."
Cities Hub Exhibition
Control Your Comfort
The IDEAS-BE team presents a new research experiment allowing residents to control their comfort zones while learning about their energy usage, through a fun interactive interface.
Event launched on October 24, 2019 in the 4th Space, Concordia University
Virtual Special Issue of Journal of Sustainability Research
Carmela Cucuzzella and Jean-Pierre Chupin are invited as guest editors
Special issue title: Sustainable Architecture and Urban Design: Alternative Theories for Qualitative Comparisons.
Deadline for Manuscripts: April 2020
Etudes Urbaines Anthropocenes, Universite de Lyon, November 2019
Carmela Cucuzzella is invited to Ecole Urbaine de Lyon
She presents a paper, "Eco-didacticism in Public Art and Design as response to the Anthropocene".
Journal of Sustainabilty Research, July 2019
Sherif Goubran and Carmela Cucuzzella publish a paper in the Journal of Sustainability Research
They publish the paper entitled, "Integrating the Sustainable Development Goals in Building Projects" in the Journal of Sustainability Research for the special issue of The Sustainable Development Goals in July 2019.
Journal of Sustainabilty Research, July 2019
Carmela Cucuzzella and Sherif Goubran publish a paper in the Journal of Sustainability Research
They publish the paper entitled, "Infrastructure as Deeply Integrates Sustainable Urban Projects" in the Journal of Sustainability Research in July 2019.
Challenges and Opportunities for Investors, Institutions and Regulators
Carmela Cucuzzella and Jordan Owen present at Emerging Risks in Finance
They present a paper, "Economic Risks from Policy Pressures in Montreal Real Estate".
International Conference on Civil and Architectural Engineering, France, May 2019
Morteza Hazbei presents at the International Conference on Civil and Architectural Engineering
His paper has been selected for oral presentation on 12th-13th May, 2019 at Paris, France. He receives both Concordia University and Fine Arts Travel Awards.
Journal of Cleaner Production, February 2019
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella publishes a paper in the Journal of Cleaner Production
She publishes the paper entitled, "The Normative Turn in Environmental Architecture" in the Journal of Cleaner Production in February, 2019.
Journal Launch at IDEAS-BE Lab (FB630.19) in February 2019
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella and Dr. Cynthia Hammond Launch their Co-edited Journal: On the Potential of Didacticism in Architecture
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella and Dr. Cynthia Hammond, co-editors, launch the latest publication of the Cahiers de LEAP, entitled, On the Potential of Didacticism in Architecture.
Inaugural Exhibition at 4th Space in January 2019
CoLLaboratoire exhibits its work with the Centre for Zero Energy Building Studies
Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella and Dr. Andreas Athienitis exhibit their collaborative work at the 4th Space, featuring winning entries from the international competitions, Solar-Powered Bus Shelter and "More Than Waiting For the Bus".