Cropped view with an energy-efficient house and wild grasses in the foreground, with a group of students and the Washington Monument in the background.
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Sustainability (SUS) - Penn State Architecture

Student thesis work showing wind temperature and internal airflow 'heat maps' overlaid on architectural images

Architecture Research Cluster

The Sustainability research cluster investigates architecture’s potential to improve the quality of life for current and future societies around the globe, addressing issues of natural resource consumption, pollution prevention, and organizational dependencies. Our faculty address aesthetic, technical, economic, and social issues in projects that cover multiple scales.

From design processes, historical and theoretical aspects of sustainability, material reclamation and reuse, to identifying social structures preventing sustainable practice, this research cluster offers a comprehensive view of sustainability that promotes interdisciplinary integration. Faculty bring both practitioner and academic experience to their investigations, producing generalizable knowledge that can also be applied in the professional practice of architecture.

People

Core Faculty

Headshot of Rahman Azari

Rahman Azari

  • Associate Professor of Architecture
  • Director of RE2 Lab

razari@psu.edu

Headshot of Laia Celma

Laia Celma

  • Assistant Teaching Professor of Architecture

luc274@psu.edu

814-863-5420

Headshot of Rebecca Henn

Rebecca Henn

  • Associate Professor of Architecture

rhenn@psu.edu

814-863-5420

Headshot of Lisa Iulo

Lisa Domenica Iulo

  • Director of the Hamer Center for Community Design
  • Associate Professor of Architecture

ldi1@psu.edu

814-865-3852

Headshot of Ute Poerschke

Ute Poerschke

  • Professor of Architecture
  • Associate Department Head for Graduate Education

uxp10@psu.edu

814-865-4238

Technical drawing of prototype for an Artificial Leaf-based Façade Cladding (ALFC) System; design by Rahman Azari (Penn State) and Mohammad Asadi (IIT).

Section image: Technical drawing of prototype for an Artificial Leaf-based Façade Cladding (ALFC) System; design by Rahman Azari (Penn State) and Mohammad Asadi (IIT).

Faculty Research

Student Work and Publications

Student thesis work (Tashokori) showing 3 images of a responsive cell moving based on conditions, as well as a meeter indicating numeric difference between conditions
Daylighting in Density: A Parametric Study of High-rise Residential Buildings and Urban Street Canyon Configurations in Dhaka, Bangladesh by Sumaiya Mehjabeen
The Connection for a community in Pittsburgh, PA, by Li Cai and Yiwen Song
The Connection for a community in Pittsburgh, PA, by Li Cai and Yiwen Song