Ph.D. in Architecture

Program

Course of Study

Admissions

Doctoral Research Faculty

Doctoral Students

Bahar Aktuna

Ph.D.
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Doctoral Committee Members:
Charlie Hailey, PhD | Hui Zou, PhD | Mark McGlothlin, M.Arch | Eric Kligerman, PhD | Nathan Rothschild, PhD | Bruce Janz, PhD

Carla Brisotto

Ph.D.
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
City of Agro-fragments: How Ecological Thinking Influences Architectural Processes in the Era of Post-Globalization

Doctoral Committee Members:
Charlie Hailey, PhD | Stephen Belton | Erin Cunningham | Richard Stepp

Carla obtained a Ph.D. in Design, Planning, and Construction (DCP) from the University of Florida and an architectural degree from the University IUAV of Venice (Italy). She has fifteen years of practitioner experience in the UK and – as a licensed architect – in Italy. Her projects span the realm of commercial, residential, and historic preservation. She focuses her research agenda on identifying and developing design strategies for a resilient built environment. Her Ph.D. dissertation was a comparative study of agrarian urbanism cases and the analysis of their design process. The investigation unveiled the use of installations as a method of engagement of a community to build more resilient food systems and, therefore, communities. She interpreted this strategy as a form of transformative design. This conclusion drove her to investigate transformative design as a resilient design approach. Currently, she is a Post-Doctoral Associate at the Florida Institute for the Built Environment Resilience (FIBER) at the University of Florida. At FIBER, she has been researching community-based design strategies such as the Urban Living Lab, Design Thinking, and Exhibition methodologies. She is editing (in collaboration with Dr. Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira) the book Re-imaging Resilient Food Landscapes: Perspectives from Planning History by Springer.

Publications:

Brisotto, C. (2021). Resilient urban agriculture practices: the historical lesson of Venice. In Melis A. (Ed.), Resilient Communities (N/A). D Editore.  (in press)

Aktuna, B., and Brisotto, C. (2018). Agripoetic Resistance in Urban Architecture and Planning in the European World. In Sadri H. (Ed.), Neo-Liberalism and the End of the Profession of Architecture (207/228). Springer.

Murphy, C.C., and Brisotto, C. (2020) A Productive city in a time of pandemics: Healthy food access as justice in Baltimore. The Plan Journal, 5 (2), doi: 10.15274/tpj.2020.05.02.5

Wei-Chun Cheng

Ph.D. Student:
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Education:
Master of Science in Design Theory and Pedagogy, SCI-Arc, USA (2023)
Master of Science in Architectural Technologies, SCI-Arc, USA (2022)
M.Arch, Rhode Island School of Design, USA (2018)
B. of Science in Architectural Design and Urban Planning, Chinese Culture University, Taiwan (2011)

Bio:
Wei-Chun Cheng is a Ph.D. student at the University of Florida. Cheng received MS degree in Design Theory, Pedagogy, and Architectural Technologies from SCI-Arc, where he graduated with distinction and received the “Hsinming Fung and Craig Hodgetts” Post Grad Thesis Prize. In addition, he holds an M.Arch Degree from Rhode Island School of Design, where he was awarded the AIA Norton Salk Scholarship for Design Excellence. He has extensive professional experience, having practiced in Tokyo, Taipei, and Cambridge (USA). In addition to practice, he has taught as an Adjunct faculty at the Boston Architectural College. His background in architectural design strongly informs his interests in design theory, machine vision, and platform design. His research investigates the role of representation in architectural design, exploring how technique, medium, and technology reform architectural design in the age of artificial intelligence.

Elizabeth Cronin

Ph.D. Candidate
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Crafting the Architectural Field

Doctoral Committee Members:
Charlie Hailey, PhD

Elizabeth Cronin is a PhD student at the University of Florida School of Architecture, where she received a Bachelor of Design in Architecture, a Master of Architecture, and a Master of Science in Architectural Pedagogy. Her research focuses on materials and making, textiles, and domestic crafts as applied to architectural design processes and pedagogies. Elizabeth was the founding Executive Editor of UF’s Graduate School of Architecture Publication Vorkurs. She is also a winner of the Diana Bitz Book Award and the ARCC King Student Medal for Excellence in Architectural and Environmental Research.

At UF, Elizabeth teaches design studio courses.  She has also taught drawing and design studio courses at the University of Miami School of Architecture, where she was a finalist for the Emerging Practitioner Teaching Fellowship. Additionally, Elizabeth has worked on a number of Design/Build projects and has practiced architecture in Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville. As a student, educator, and practitioner she works to cultivate feminist practices as integral to the architecture profession.

Publications:

Vorkurs: Making, Executive Editor
Vorkurs: Making, edited by Elizabeth Cronin and Zachary Wignall. University of Florida, 2017.

Home Dressmaking: From Marginalized Craft to Method of Feminine Subjectivity, MRP
Cronin, Elizabeth. “Home Dressmaking: From Marginalized Craft to Method of Feminine Subjectivity.” Master’s Research Project. University of Florida, 2017.

Architecture and Feminism: Discussions Towards Inclusive Ideologies, Pedagogies, and Practices, MSAS Pedagogy Thesis
Cronin, Elizabeth. “Architecture and Feminism: Discussions Towards Inclusive Ideologies, Pedagogies, and Practices.” Master of Science in Architectural Studies Thesis. University of Florida, 2018.

“Evolving Ideologies: Feminist Rereadings of Modern Domestic Space,” in Vorkurs: Exquisite Corpse
Cronin, Elizabeth. “Evolving Ideologies: Feminist Rereadings of Modern Domestic Space.” In VORKURS: Exquisite Corpse, edited by Jamie Lindsey, 138-157. University of Florida, 2018.

Yasin Delavar

Ph.D. Student:
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title:
TBD

Doctoral Committee Members:
Chair: Karla Saldaña Ochoa, Phd

Bio:
Yasin Delavar is a Ph.D. student in architecture at the University of Florida. He holds a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture, which he considers a window to other aspects of design that were previously unknown to him. Throughout his years of study, Yasin has been actively engaged in architectural practice within a professional environment. His proficiency in design software, combined with his artistic mindset, has enabled him to work for several prestigious companies and projects in Iran. In addition to enhancing his time management skills and attention to detail, his simultaneous work and study have granted him extensive experience as an architectural designer, with expertise in various design areas.

Publications:

“A Scoping Review of Urban Design and Planning Studies on the Covid-19 Pandemic,” in Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 2022 (Revised).

“GreenPlotter: Toward an Automated System for Low-Carbon Land Partitioning and Sustainable Development,” in Automation in Construction, 2023 (Under review).

“Past, Present, and Future Perspectives in Walkability Assessment: A Systematic Review,” in Cities, 2023 (Submitted).

Matt Demers

Ph.D.
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Le Corbusier and Ecstasis: A Cyber-History (2013)

Doctoral Committee Members:
Charlie Hailey, PhD | Adeline Hoffer | William Tilson | Gregory Ulmer

Matt Demers is an architectural designer and theorist in Chicago. He received a PhD in Design, Construction & Planning (2013) and Master of Architecture (2007) from the University of Florida. His research articulates cyber-history, the use of historical precedents in problem solving. Matt has applied cyber-history techniques to examine a variety of topics, including Le Corbusier’s invention of architectural modernism, and the development of low cost, energy efficient housing prototypes for the Florida landscape. He is currently investigating Chicagoisms: the methods and practices that continually construct the city of Chicago.

This background in architecture and a love of food and work in the specialty coffee industry drew Matt and his wife to Chicago, a global hub for both architecture and cuisine. As a project manager for Barker Nestor Architecture + Design, Matt combines his passions for architecture and food in work on all phases of hospitality projects for clients both in Chicago and across the US.

Publications:

Amie Edwards

Ph.D. Candidate
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Doctoral Committee Members:
Charlie Hailey, PhD | Hui Zou, PhD | Vernelle A. Noel PhD | Brenda Chalfin PhD | Prof. Donna Cohen

Amie has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design from the Art Institute of Jacksonville in 2016.  She has a Master of Architecture from University of Florida in 2020. Amie’s Masters Research Project investigated the progression of architectural materialism in African culture, based on time, space and itinerary in Accra, Ghana. She was a part of the design team from the African Architecture seminar with Professor Donna Cohen that collaborated with Nigerian Architect James Inedu George to develop a design proposal for UF Center for African Studies, Gwendolyn M. Carter Conference | Energy for Africa 2019. The project proposed an energy solution through a micro-grid system that addressed energy solutions for two cities equal in scale, “Sister Cities”, one in Durum, Kuduna State, Nigeria and the other in Micanopy, Florida, U.S.A.  Amie was also the Research Editor and a writer for the journal Vorkurs Vol. 4 “Derive” in 2020. She is currently studying African Architecture and Culture Identity. Her dissertation research focuses on the meaning of cultural craft and its connection with the 19th Ashanti Palace in Kumasi, Ghana.  Amie presented her preliminary Ph.D. research in the DCP 2020 Research Symposium. She is interested in Architectural History and Theory, Cultural Space, and Historical Urban Context.

Fourough Foroutan

Ph.D. Candidate
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Resilient places of forced resettlement in receiver communities

Doctoral Committee Members:
TBD

Forough is currently a Ph.D. student in the School of Architecture at the University of Florida. She received her Master of Architecture from the Tehran University of Art, Iran. Her Master Research Project titled “Design of Iran’s Pavilion in Expo 2015, Milan” (2014) concentrates on cultural and traditional dialogues and reinterpretation of Iranian identity in contemporary architecture. She has four years of practitioner experience as a licensed architect and three years of teaching experience in architectural theories and design studios as a lecturer in Iran.

She started working as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Florida Institute of Built Environment Resilience (FIBER) in Summer 2020. She is working on a project sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to design affordable, modular, energy-efficient, and resilient post-disaster housing.

Her main research interests include cultural heritage, built environment studies, contextualism, forced migration, displacement, social research theories and methods in environmental design, placemaking, and dwelling. Her ongoing research explores the transformation of the concept of place and dwelling after a forced displacement and endeavors to reveal how resilience can shape and facilitate these changes. 

Fatma Hasanain

Ph.D. Candidate
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) an Green Building Certification: BIM-based Mostadam Application Model Development

Doctoral Committee Members:
Nawari O. Nawari, PhD | Raymon Issa, PhD | Fazil Najafi, PhD

A third year PhD student. I am a LEED Green Associate My Research interest in LEED, Sustainability, and Building Information Modelling. I love and enjoy teaching and I was a Lecturer at Dar Al-Hekma University for three years and I am currently a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Architecture.

Publications:
Conference proceeding and Presented in Construction Research Congress Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, March 8 – 10, 2020
Volunteered and Attended Green Build Conference in Georgia Atlanta, October 2019
Conference Proceeding and Presented in the Workshop on Linked Building Data and Semantic Web Technologies, September 2019

Chang He

Ph.D. Candidate
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Spiritual Space in Rustic Architecture Order

Joshua Jones

Ph.D. Candidate
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Towards a Fictive House: Rudiments of American Domesticity

Saleh Naseer

Ph.D. Candidate
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Investigating the effect of nursing home acoustical environment characteristics on older adults’ auditory comfort

Doctoral Committee Members:
Committee Chair: Hassan Azad, Ph.D. | Committee Members: Shabboo Valipoor, Ph.D. | Martin Gold, Ph.D. 

Saleh Naseer is a Ph.D. student in architecture at the University of Florida’s college of design, construction, and planning. He received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Umm Alqura University in Saudi Arabia and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Arizona in 2021. His master’s thesis focused on optimizing the indoor environment of classrooms to improve learning outcomes, health, and well-being. Saleh enrolled in the Ph.D. program in the Fall of 2021. He is conducting research for his dissertation on acoustics in healthcare facilities. He is focusing on improving the indoor acoustics environment to increase the acoustic comfort of older adults in nursing homes.

Mobina Noorani

Ph.D. Student:
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Education:
Master of artificial intelligence-computer engineering, Iran (2022).
Master thesis title: Emotional detection from facial images using new activation function with deep learning
Bachelor of Information Technology engineering, Iran (2017).

Samira Roostaie

Ph.D. Candidate
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Integrated Building Assessment Framework for Sustainability and Resilience

Doctoral Committee Members:
Nawari O. Nawari, PhD | Charles J Kibert, PhD | Jeffery Carney M.Arch  | Fazil Najafi, PhD

Samira Roostaie is a Ph.D. candidate in Design, Construction, and Planning at the University of Florida. She is a LEED GA (soon to be LEED AP) and has been working as a teaching and research assistant for the UF since Fall 2015. In an attempt to develop a joint research agenda, Samira’s work represents a collaboration between the School of Architecture and the Rinker School of Construction Management. Her fascination with sustainable design coupled with her passion for building resilience to natural hazards has resulted in multiple journal publications. Her current research focuses on the resilience to natural hazards in the state of Florida, and the integration of resilience design indicators into sustainability assessment frameworks.

Publications:

Roostaie, S; Nawari, N; Kibert, C.J (2019).  Sustainability and resilience: A review of definitions, relationships, and their integration into a combined building assessment framework. Building and Environment.

Roostaie, S; Nawari, N; Kibert, C.J (2019). Integrated Sustainability and Resilience Assessment Framework: From Theory to Practice. Journal of Cleaner Production.

Monadizadeh, S; Kibert, C.J; Li, J; woo, J; Asutosh, A; Roostaie, S; Kouhirostami, M (2021). A review of protocols and guidelines addressing the exposure of occupants to electromagnetic field radiation (EMFR) in buildings. Journal of Green Building. Special Issue: Green Buildings for Sustaining Tomorrow (In-Press).

Myengsoo Seo

Ph.D.
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Origins of Korean Modern Architecture

Ke Sun

Ke Sun, Ph.D.

Ph.D.
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title
The Flaneur’s Dream World: a Phenomenological Walk through the Urbanscape of Paris and New York City

Sun received his Master of Architecture (M.Arch) from University of Florida in 2016. His Master Research Project (MRP) studies the American Dream amid the Post-war Era to explore the meaning of dwelling that challenges utilitarianism and functionalism. The project studied latent poetics of postwar North American landscapes in order to reframe the suburb as a critical site for 21st-century questions of place, identity, and energy infrastructure.

Sun has both lectured and served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for Architectural Theory and History courses at the University of Florida. He is also the recipient of the Graduate School Preeminence Award (GPSA) Ph.D. fellowship for Fall 2018 to Spring 2022.

Publications:

Xiuyuan Wu

Ph.D. Candidate
College of Design, Construction, and Planning, UF

Dissertation title or proposed title:
Geometry and Architectural Representation in Premodern China

Doctoral Committee Members:
Chair: Hui Zou, PhD
Co-Chair:
Members: Mary Watt | Richard G. Wang | Vandana Baweja

Dr. Xiuyuan Wu was born in 1992, Beijing, China. He finished his undergraduate study in 2014 at Tongji University, majoring in Conservation of Historic Architecture. He completed his Master of Science study in 2015 at the University of Sheffield, majoring in Digital Design and Interactive Built Environments. He started his Ph.D. study in architectural history and theory at the University of Florida in 2015. During his doctoral study, he worked as a graduate teaching assistant and an online course instructor for the undergraduate architectural history and theory courses. For his dissertation research, he visited McGill University in Montreal in the spring 2019 semester to work as a doctoral research intern under the supervision of architectural historian Dr. Alberto Pérez-Gómez. Wu passed his candidacy exam in 2017 and received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2020. His dissertation explores the history and theory of geometrical representation in Chinese classic architecture and gardens from the phenomenological perspective. 

Publications:

(First author) “浅析建筑现象学与中国传统建筑文化的对应关系” (Analysis of the Correlation between Architectural Phenomenology and Chinese Traditional Architectural Culture), 城市建设理论研究 (Theoretical Studies of Urban Construction) (ISSN 2095-2014), vol. 23, no. 2 (June 2014), Beijing, China.

(First author) “To Protect or Not to Protect: The Contemporary Preservation Dilemma of China’s Vernacular Architecture in Historical Perspective,” a paper presented at the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians 2016 Conference, New Orleans, USA.

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