Departments School of Architecture

Cyclists in Dresden, Germany, cross the Waldschlösschen Bridge in the morning, with the historic old town skyline in the background. Photo by: Robert Michael/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

How will the pandemic change cities?

BERLIN—Pop-up bike lanes and grassroots efforts to turn mostly empty parking lots and residential streets into playgrounds have appeared as this city begins to reopen after the COVID-19 outbreak. Sara Jensen Carr, who studies how epidemics have changed cities, says this may only be the beginning.

by Andrew Curry - contributor May 20, 2020

Faculty Expert

Sara Jansen Carr

Assistant Professor

Paolo Ciuccarelli, a professor of design at Northeastern, recently became the founding director of the Center for Design at Northeastern, where he will bridge disciplines to make information transparent and actionable. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

A data designer takes aim at the numbers

“We need more context for data,” says Paolo Ciuccarelli, a new professor of design at Northeastern and the founding director of the Center for Design, “and that’s where my background in architecture will help—a lot.”

by Aria Bracci October 22, 2019

Northeastern graduate Claire Coletti took part in the Falling Walls competition with her proposal for equitable urban centers based on a model she experienced in Germany. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

She dreams of falling walls and better cities

Claire Coletti, who has earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in architecture at Northeastern, has come to see her search for inclusive architecture from the perspective of her transgender identity.

by Ian Thomsen October 8, 2019

An exhibit that makes you question your reality

At a time when facts are called into question, what provides indisputable truth? Data? Nature? Physical evidence? In Re:Constructing Evidence, a new exhibit at Boston Cyberarts, five Northeastern professors show that it’s never that simple.

by Aria Bracci October 3, 2019

Sara Jensen Carr. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Six epidemics from American history show how urban design affects our health

What does tuberculosis have to do with your neighborhood park? What does cholera have to do with city grids? Sara Jensen Carr, an assistant professor of architecture at Northeastern, reveals how epidemics, chronic illnesses, and “social diseases” shape the places where Americans live.

by Emily Arntsen August 8, 2019

Hundreds of Northeastern students participated at the 2019 Research, Innovation, and Scholarship Expo on the Boston campus on Thursday. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

At RISE, students pursue invention and find themselves

Hundreds of students participating in the annual Research, Innovation, and Scholarship Expo were lined up, row after row, alongside their projects, which were spelled out with text and graphics on easily digestible posters.

by Ian Thomsen April 4, 2019

From left to right: Soudy Khan, Chris Marciano, Ryan Matthew, Matt Stoner, Michelle Stoner, Lucia Marciano, and Mark Munroe of Neuron. Photo courtesy of Neuron.

Designing software and smartphone apps with an architect’s touch

Armed with architecture degrees from Northeastern, four alumni founded a startup that takes a unique approach to the navigation of websites, apps, and other platforms.

by Khalida Sarwari March 7, 2019

Architecture Professors Peter Wiederspahn, Michelle Laboy, and David Fannon pose for a portrait in Ryder Hall on Dec. 11, 2018. Their work will be on exhibit at the A+D Museum in Los Angeles. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

How to build a better building

Peter Wiederspahn, Michelle Laboy, and David Fannon, faculty in Northeastern’s School of Architecture, have focused their recent research on “future-use architecture,” the practice of designing buildings that can house any number of uses beyond their original intent.

by Molly Callahan December 13, 2018

How each generation incorporates its of-the-time improvements to a structure built in the early 1800s is continually a challenge.

If these walls could talk: The architectural history of the White House

The White House, synonymous with American government, is almost as old as the country itself. So how does one ensure it “gracefully accepts changes that the people who built it never even thought of?” asks architecture professor David Fannon.

by Molly Callahan August 8, 2017