Department of Construction Management Professor Hyun Woo “Chris” Lee, King County Metro, and UW Mobility Innovation Center team up to advance billion-dollar bus electrification projects for zero-carbon emissions.
Category: Newsletter
Tsunami preparedness in WA
CBE and the University of Washington have been working with Westport and their neighbors to help them face the threat of tsunamis head-on. | The Seattle Times
Bird-Friendly Design: Overcoming Building Barriers
Led by researcher Judy Bowes, The Bird Friendly Campus project aims to track bird-building collisions, provide bird-safe design tips, and raise awareness about the dangers of transparent glass to wildlife.
Crafting a path: Architecture youth programs
During the summer, the University of Washington’s Continuum College Youth & Teen Programs gave high school students a glimpse into college through their architecture camp.
Dean Renée Cheng on Sources of Energy, Research, and Making Equitable Spaces
In her conversation with Amy Stone, Dean Cheng shares her unique career journey, shaped by family values and artistic influences, and her transition into the world of architecture, emphasizing the transformative impact of teaching and mentorship.
Connecting the coastline
How the UW is helping Westport prepare for a tsunami | UW For Washington
From the Dean: Welcome Back!
As we usher in another academic year at the College of Built Environments, I want to extend a warm welcome back to all our faculty, staff, and students.
Interested in serving as a mentor?
You can work one-on-one with a College of Built Environments student and help them grow professionally through career exploration, networking, and professional skill-building by signing up for our mentor program. This is an excellent opportunity to support the built environments community by sharing your advice and professional experience.
Preserving affordable housing across the nation: research spotlight on Vince Wang
New Runstad Department of Real Estate Assistant Professor Vince Wang is shedding light on the mechanisms of sustainable, affordable housing and opening doors for student researchers.
Carb talk: CBE’s Climate Solutions Community of Practice sparks interdisciplinary collaborations
Is there a way to break through knowledge barriers and foster climate change collaboration within and without CBE? Professor Kate Simonen and other faculty think they’ve found it: CBE’s new Climate Solutions Community of Practice (CoP), a group dedicated to generating climate solutions across disciplinary frameworks that encourages student, staff, and faculty participation.
[Re]Visioning the Ave: Students devise real-world strategies for a thriving, accessible neighborhood hub
For several years, the U-District Partnership has sought to figure out what kinds of investments and interventions might help bring optimism back to the Ave. In this effort, UDP reached out to the College of Built Environments for assistance. Might there be a chance to get CBE students involved in devising some solutions?
Building a more just and beautiful future: CBE’s new faculty cohort makes strides on campus
The College of Built Environments at the University of Washington has big dreams. Faculty, staff, and students are tackling issues of social and environmental justice and climate change. They’re seeking out innovations in sustainability, breaking out of disciplinary silos, and forging new collaborations
Congratulations 2023 graduates!
Congratulations to this year’s graduates! Our mission of advancing knowledge is embodied in and by the students who graduate each year and the community who supports them. We all have a lot to celebrate this year.
Eight honored with CBE Distinguished Faculty Award for Lifetime Achievement
We are pleased to announce the eight individuals who have been selected to receive the CBE Distinguished Faculty Award for Lifetime Achievement. “It is an honor to recognize these outstanding faculty for their inspiring leadership to students and colleagues alike,” said Renee Cheng, John and Rosalind Jacobi Family Endowed Dean of the College of Built Environments.
CBE Celebrates 2023 Faculty & Staff Award Winners
The CBE Faculty & Staff Awards recognize exemplary faculty and staff for their dedication and service to the CBE community. View the list of winners.
Beyond Seating: Benches Build Community
Students began with individual projects using reclaimed materials like cardboard and sticks to learn about scale and structure. They then collaborated on a bench project, requiring planning, sketching, trial and error, and utilizing the Fabrication Lab for cutting and assembly.
Remembering Jon Runstad: A Philanthropist and Real Estate Visionary
The College of Built Environments is deeply saddened by the loss of Jon Runstad ’64, a prominent figure in the real estate industry and a dedicated philanthropist.
Gould Gallery showcases students’ work and the power of design
Emerging elegantly from Gould Hall’s Brutalist gray concrete exterior, the College of Built Environments’ Gould Gallery features works of societal impact.
Youth Perspectives on Disaster Planning project wins Population Health Initiative grant
Among the awarded projects was “Incorporating Youth Perspectives to Improve Disaster Planning: Piloting Drone-Based Photovoice to Explore Cultural Assets” whose investigators include UDP Associate Professor Daniel Abramson and UDP Masters’ student Matias Korfmacher, in collaboration with researchers from DEOHS.
CBE awardees of climate focused Population Health Initiative grants
CBE was well represented across the grant recipients of the Population Health Initiative, with four of the twelve projects including input from researchers in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design and Planning, Real Estate, and Construction Management.
College of Built Environments Faculty and Student receive Husky Sustainability Awards 2023
The Husky Sustainability Awards recognize individuals and groups across all University of Washington campuses who lead the way for sustainability at the University of Washington. This is the 14th year awards have been given by the UW Environmental Stewardship Committee.
CBE welcomes Dr. Amos Darko to interdisciplinary faculty cohort
In pursuit of our vision for a more just and beautiful world, the College of Built Environments continues to implement an important part of our strategic framework: growing our capacity for collaborative interdisciplinary work with the goal of advancing climate solutions.
University of Washington is a core member of newly announced New York Climate Exchange
UW will be a core member of a consortium led by Stony Brook University that will build and operate The New York Climate Exchange – a carbon-neutral international hub focused on climate action and adaptation. | UW News
Three CBE students named to 2023 Husky 100
We are thrilled to share that three of our amazing CBE students have been recognized for their contributions to UW and our communities as part of this year’s Husky 100. Congratulations to Ari Lazowski, Jacquelyn Crane, and Dana Austin Bass!
Don’t take concrete for granite: the secret research life of CBE Department of Construction Management Assistant Professor and concrete materials researcher Fred Aguayo
Concrete can sequester carbon, and the cement that glues its components together has been used since antiquity. Now, CBE professor Fred Aguayo is introducing students to the complex world of concrete research.
Urban@UW Announces the 2023 Research to Action Collaboratory Inaugural Cohort
Urban@UW is excited to announce the project teams selected for the inaugural cohort of the Research to Action Collaboratory (RAC). Throughout the next 18 months, Urban@UW will work with these teams and provide seed funds, dedicated time to build team cohesion and collaboration skills, and foster opportunities for peer support and shared resources and learning.
Governor Inslee makes second visit to College of Built Environments in 18 months
Governor Inslee recently visited the College of Built Environments, where he met with several faculty members to discuss their research and its relevance to his proposal to increase investment in affordable housing.
CBE Community, Environment, and Planning alum encounters experiences of a lifetime during his undergraduate career
Elijah Mason stepped through the door of his second-ever UW College of Built Environments (CBE) class. He was nervous, but also excited. “I chose the course because it was a planning practicum,” explains Mason. “We were going to be doing real work for the community, not just handing in assignments.”
UW Alumni & WA Friends – AIA Conference Reception in San Francisco!
Join us for a reception event hosted by UW’s College of Built Environments and this year’s AIA Architecture Firm of the Year awardee, Mithun! We look forward to connecting with our community attending the conference. Snacks and refreshments will be served.
Designing with Intention: Three Generations of Black Architects
In this panel discussion moderated by Dean Renee Cheng, speakers Affiliate Professor Donald King, Meredith Everest, and Whitney Lewis represent three generations of Black architects in the Pacific Northwest and discuss how the creation of some of Seattle’s most important landmarks continues to pushback against industry norms. Explore their perspectives and learn more by viewing “Designing With Intention.”
Women in Construction Management: Charting a Path Forward
UW’s Darlene Septelka and Lingzi Wu highlight the complications of more women in construction industries, including pay disparities by gender, occupational differences, impact of university pipelines, and more. Check out their perspectives in this article. | Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
Tim Lehman and the Regeneration of the Daybreak Star Property
In 2021, Tim Lehman, a landscape designer of Northern Arapaho descent, was hired to improve drainage conditions on the Daybreak Star property. | Landscape Architecture Magazine.
$2 million award from National Science Foundation will support team to develop 3D printed microorganisms for sustainable construction materials
An interdisciplinary research team, including University of Washington Associate Professor of Architecture Gundula Proksch, received $2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation’s Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program. The funding will be used to combine engineered microorganisms with 3D printing to create materials for sustainable built environments.
UW receives $1.2M climate change research grant from EPA
Catherine De Almeida, assistant professor of landscape architecture, is part of the interdisciplinary UW team working on a community-based project researching ways to preserve water, soil and sediment along the Duwamish River, famously polluted by decades of industrial contamination. | Fox 13 News
UW’s Green Futures Lab: Building wetlands to sustain salmon
The Green Futures Lab strives to create habitat and cleaner waterways through the use of floating wetlands. Check out this great video from King County summarizing our Duwamish floating wetland project. | King County TV
Empowering Women in Construction with Tess Wakasugi-Don
Learn about the Puget Sound Business Journal’s ’40 under 40′ recipient and first female principal of GLY Construction Tess Wakasugi-Don in an interview hosted by Jeff McCann and Lisa Benjamin as part of Runstad’s Real Leaders in Real Estate series.
2023 Architecture Alumni Awards
This bi-annual celebration recognizes the significant contribution made by alumni of our program in two distinct categories—the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award. This year’s theme is “an architecture for the public good.”
OUT in FRONT: Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion
OUT in FRONT: Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, is a fresh take on a favorite biannual event by the UW Landscape Architecture Professional Advisory Council. OUT in FRONT is a showcase for local firms to share innovative and exciting design work with students and the larger professional design community. This year’s event encourages professionals to share work that highlights JEDI principles, practices, or inquiries.
From the Dean: January 2023
After adopting our strategic framework nearly two years ago in 2021, the beginning of the year offers us a great opportunity to reflect and celebrate on what we have accomplished so far and where we plan to go. To learn more about our college’s efforts and outcomes towards these goals, please see the strategic plan implementation progress report.
Happy Year of the Rabbit
Diane Sugimura, Runstad Advisory Board member and Co-Chair of the Runstad Advisory Board EDI Committee, shares with us the history of the pan-Asian community in Seattle and her hope for the future.
Friday in Space — Chat with the ISS, and more!
Join us live on February 10 as Gregg Colburn, assistant professor of real estate and longtime friend of NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, will moderate a discussion with astronaut Cassada, currently stationed on the ISS.
Meet Steven Bourassa
On August 8, Steven Bourassa joined the College of Built Environments as the Chair of the Department and the Jon and Judith Runstad Endowed Professor. CBE Runstad Department of Real Estate’s new chair shares what drew him to the role and what excites him about the future.
In Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.
This year, on Monday, January 16th, we honor the 40th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday becoming federal law. Dr. King was a renowned civil rights leader and activist who believed deeply in equity and justice, and lived out his commitment to that in his words and actions.
Urban@UW launches the Research to Action Collaboratory, with initial funding from the Bullitt Foundation, to help collaborations achieve greater impact
The Research to Action Collaboratory (RAC), seeded by a catalytic $500,000 grant from the Bullitt Foundation, will bring together teams of UW scholars and community partners and support them with seed funds, intensive workshops to build team cohesion and collaboration skills, and peer support through the project cycles.
CBE hosts Project Pipeline, architecture camp for underrepresented youth
The College of Built Environments was happy to host NOMA’s Project Pipeline in Gould Hall. Throughout the week, 45 volunteers were there to help the kids learn and 12 youths participated this year, a number they hope continues to grow. They were able to take a tour of the college and campus, and hear from Dean Cheng and CBE professors.
UW, Pacific County EDC launch housing partnership
UW’s Livable City Year and program and the Pacific County Economic Development Council are working together to tackle important housing planning issues. | Chinook Observer
The obvious answer everyone is ignoring
The research from Gregg Colburn’s new book, Homelessness is a Housing Problem, is featured in a recent article in The Atlantic.
EDI Student Leaders talk about their perspectives of the CBE Diversity Council
Last spring, the CBE Diversity Council Communications Working Group sat down with some of the student representatives in the Diversity Council (Kat Golladay, Austin Bass, Kana Takagi, and Maimoona Rahim) and asked them to share experiences, their thoughts on the issues, and hopes for the future.
Rick Mohler awarded the AIA Seattle Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement
College of Built Environments Associate Professor of Architecture, Rick Mohler, has been awarded the AIA Seattle Gold Medal, the highest award that AIA Seattle can bestow on one of its members. It recognizes distinguished lifetime achievement in architecture, including design and professional practice and service to the profession, the community, education and the arts.
From the Dean: November 2022
Gould and Architecture Halls have been full of excitement and activity with classes and community events in full swing. In our second year of our two year strategic framework implementation, we are asking important questions about how CBE can be more of a leader in showing how built environments can elevate the experience of our students, faculty, staff, and other members of the community.