Jonathan Dessi-Olive served as the School of Architecture's first Ventulett NEXT Visiting Fellow. His work takes a critical approach to technology while integrating history and theory of architecture, contemporary compression-only construction, and computational design.

As a designer, builder, and scholar, his motivation is to help designers and builders to learn to design more intuitively, systematically, and visually. He firmly believes making is inseparable from design, and provides a context for learning that brings to light the relationship between current design tools and methods, and our necessity to make breakthroughs in techniques of assembly and construction.

His recent contributions have been to develop new methodologies for designing and building high-performance, sustainable concrete structures in the United States, Europe, and Africa.

As the inaugural winner of the RAMSA Traveling Fellowship, and in collaboration with Minneapolis-based NGO Organic Health Response, Jonathan initiated and led a project to construct a hybrid wind and solar-powered radio studio on a remote island in Kenya.

The building was constructed using historical construction techniques, adapted through local building traditions. This project was presented at the TEDxPenn 2015 conference and has since served as the basis of his research.

Jonathan is now an assistant professor of architecture at Kansas State University.