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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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

$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.

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.

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.

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.

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.