This is a vertical elective combining students in their fourth and fifth year of the BArch program with students from the architecture graduate programs. The content of the elective options varies from year to year, and covers advanced topics that invite critical thinking and innovation in the area of building technology.Section Description: This BT (Building Technology) elective seminar will explore innovative bio-based material approaches in lowering the embodied carbon in the design and construction of buildings—11% of global carbon emissions currently comes from building materials alone.A provocation of this seminar is to design building material assemblies as a healthy living system which promotes the well-being for humans and the ecologies we live in. Design technology tools will be introduced to rethink, complement and inform material choices. alongside systems in nature that minimize material use in design. By leveraging technologies with the understanding of living systems, we aim to translate these biological efficiencies into architecturally scaled prototypes as case studies, ones that minimize material usage by drawing inspiration from natural systems to inform smarter, more sustainable design solutions.Building from the recent success of the Biomaterials Symposium and Exhibition which brought together over 15 academic and industry leaders to advance discussions on meaningful change in architectural material practices, this seminar will integrate a cooperative approach toward sustainable innovation in building materials. Students will work closely with Autodesk Research and Autodesk Technology Centers, alongside partners such as UCSF’s cellular and molecular biology lab (Mullins Lab) and Texas A&M’s material engineering department, to bridge the gap between research and industry as they develop projects for the Biodesign Challenge In NYC. This partnership has been recognized in past years—CCA teams have won the Outstanding Science Award (BacTerra & Shell We Dance?) at the Biodesign Challenge, reflecting CCA’s impact on biomaterials research.To drive meaningful change, and break out of silos, will require rethinking conventional building components to move towards circular thinking. This elective intends to provide you tools and a platform for research insights to integrate sustainability, creativity, and technology—to lead this transformation.

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