Keywords

Design and Imagination, Curriculum Design, Houses/Housing, Construction Technology 

Education

Auburn University, School of Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture, June 1989, 1st in Design Class
Georgia Institute of Technology, Master of Architecture, June 1990
Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Master of Design Studies with Distinction, June 1996

Biography

Michael’s love of design at all scales is evident in his teaching, research and practice. 

Statement of Teaching Interest

He is a registered architect and is the founder of G+G Creative, in continuous operation for 35 years. From 2015 to 2022, he directed the Master of Architecture program in the School of Architecture, we he co-authored the re-imagining the graduate studio curricular sequence, with greater emphasis on the role of imagination in relationship to emerging technologies. Michael has a reputation in professional and academic circles for his “feet on the ground, head in the clouds” approach. His city and library wanderings fuel his teaching exploits.

His design-driven teaching and research operate at a variety of scales, from house to city, with emphasis on innovation, history, and imagination. He has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching, design and scholarship. His current book project on the role of history and drawing in design education, Quantum Poems, is forthcoming.

Statement of Research Interest

Current technical research in conjunction with Mechanical Engineering and the Kendeda Building for Innovative Design, Rapid Deploy Disaster Prototypes, is in testing. 

Michael was the first point of contact for the $30 million Living Building gift, a.k.a. Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design (KBISD), and actively participated in pre-planning and fund acquisition, design competition and team formation, all the way through building execution, implementation and certification. He continues to lead a series of interdisciplinary design studios that paralleled the effort, and chaired the Academic and Research Council connected to the project. He is co-author of the novel organizational structure of the living building workgroups, now tested, and served as chair of the KBISD advisory council and leads the Living Building Pilot Project Program, comprised of faculty, researchers and students from across campus, now in round three of funding. He authored a book on the effort, Climate Change and the Design of the Built Environment.