U-SoA Fall 2025 Final Reviews

ARC 407-510-609-601: Tactical Pre-vitalization

This studio will explore the relationship between long-term district scale planning and short-term tactical urbanism strategies. During the first part of the semester, students will engage with real-world sites to develop district-scale urban design plans for underutilized waterfront spaces. During the second half of the studio, students will design tactical activations that will help catalyze long-term urban transformation. The studio will include continued instruction in the lexicon and practice of urbanism; best practices in city design, placemaking, and temporary architecture; examination of case-studies; and understanding of tactical project types, materials and methods of construction.

Faculty: Tony Garcia

Location: Murphy C

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

ARC 407-510-609: Housing Futures - Hybrid Strategies for Middle-Class Communities in the Bahamas

This advanced six-credit design studio addresses the urgent need to expand affordable housing for the growing middle-class population in the Bahamas. Responding to limited housing stock, rising construction costs, and financing challenges outlined in Housing Affordability in The Bahamas, students will develop innovative and sustainable housing proposals that integrate social equity, environmental performance, and emerging technologies. Students will collaborate with local and international stakeholders, and early in the semester may participate in a site visit to the Bahamas to engage directly with community members, municipal leaders, and project directors. These interactions will inform context-specific design strategies rooted in real-world conditions. In partnership with the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto (FEUP) and industry sponsors, students will explore prefabricated and low-carbon construction systems. Under the co-leadership of Professor Barbara Rangel, students will adapt prefabricated components developed at FEUP to new design proposals at the University of Miami. The studio will also collaborate with the Climate Resilience Institute (CRI), integrating interdisciplinary research on climate adaptation and environmental stressors into architectural thinking. Additional support from the Center for Urban and Community Design (CUCD) will help shape urban strategies that prioritize community engagement and resilience. Students will design 3- to 5-story mid-rise structures on large-scale urban infill sites, incorporating mixed-use programs that include housing, public services, education, and workforce development. Emphasis will be placed on Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) methodologies, carbon-conscious materials, and long-term adaptability. In October 2025, students will travel to Porto for a joint workshop with FEUP and visit Kriar, a leading prefabrication manufacturer, gaining hands-on insight into the full lifecycle of architectural components—from design to fabrication to implementation.

Faculty: Veruska Vasconez

Location: Korach Gallery

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

ARC 407-510-609: Architectural Adaptations for Coastal Ecologies 

This research studio is the second collaboration between the University of Miami and Syracuse University exploring the futures of coastal collective living. Changing climate realities in Miami require both building adaptations and new cultural practices rooted in reciprocal care between humans and more-than-human entities. The studio will analyze coastal ecologies and investigate architectural opportunities for learning and research. Student work will be showcased in a public exhibition on Miami’s urban futures in November.

Faculty: Lily Wong

Time: 6:00-8:00pm followed by a reception on the Murphy Terrace

Location: Murphy A + B

ARC 407-510-609: Architectural Adaptations for Coastal Ecologies 

This research studio is the second collaboration between the University of Miami and Syracuse University exploring the futures of coastal collective living. Changing climate realities in Miami require both building adaptations and new cultural practices rooted in reciprocal care between humans and more-than-human entities. The studio will analyze coastal ecologies and investigate architectural opportunities for learning and research. Student work will be showcased in a public exhibition on Miami’s urban futures in November.

Faculty: Lily Wong

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm + 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Murphy A + B

ARC 407-510-609: Net Zero Schools

This Upper Design Studio focuses on Net Zero Schools—an advanced course for students seeking to deepen their capabilities in sustainable design. The semester simulates a collaborative, office-like environment, equipping students with innovative workflows and tools to master the design of educational spaces. Participants will have the opportunity to focus on either K–12 or higher education facilities in a location of their choosing. While sustainability is central, the studio is ultimately about design excellence—treating environmental performance and high-quality design as equally important and fully integrated. This reinforces the idea that great architecture must be both beautiful and responsible. Students will dedicate significant time to using advanced simulation tools to model and predict building performance—including energy use, daylighting, wind, and solar radiation—supporting informed, data-driven design decisions from the earliest stages. Through real-world projects, participants will address the pressing challenges of sustainability, resilience, and limited resources in shaping modern learning environments. To enrich the experience, guest speakers from HKS Architects and other leading firms will share their expertise and insights into the evolving future of educational design. Together, the studio will envision and create learning environments that are sustainable, adaptive, and rooted in design excellence.

Faculty: Alejandro Branger

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm + 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Murphy c

ARC 407-510-609: Outpatient Medial Center of Excellence

Explore the functional use planning and design characteristics of an approximate 350,000 GSF Outpatient Medical Center of Excellence diverse enough to enhance community engagement and allow for multiple clinical sub-specialists to provide care within a market sector of South Florida that is currently served by several significant healthcare providers. The studio will explore how outpatient medical facilities should be planned to sllow for community engagement, the diversity of functional use and the potential of shifts in healthcare delivery models as part of a campus approach. 

Guest Critics: Nader Tehrani

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm + 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Murphy D + Curved Wall

ARC 407-510-609: Park Redevelopment

The project is located in the Coconut Grove area of the City of Miami. The first part of the semester will focus on a master planning exercise in collaboration with students from the MRED+U department. Once the master plan is established, students will design and document individual buildings aligned with the plan. Some of the potential occupancies include mixed-use residential, a fire academy, a library, and a museum, among other possibilities. This project has the backing and support of the City of Miami. The studio will have access to an off-campus conference room owned by the City and within walking distance of the redevelopment site. Student work will be presented to the City of Miami Commissioners and could serve as the foundation for a real development.

Faculty: David Trautman

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm + 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Korach Gallery North

ARC 407-510-609: Architectures of Continuity - Adaptive Reuse in Layered Urban Contexts

This upper-level design studio investigates adaptive reuse as a critical practice at the intersection of cultural heritage, spatial transformation, and sustainability. Set in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Noto, Sicily, the studio engages students in analyzing the layered urban and architectural stratifications that inform contextually grounded design proposals. Framed by the UNESCO Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, the course emphasizes the integration of conservation principles—reversibility, legibility, and material compatibility—within contemporary architectural practice. Students will explore strategies of intervention in historic urban fabrics, examining architecture’s role in mediating continuity, identity, and change.

Faculty: Rosa Milito

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm + 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Korach Gallery South

ARC 203: Architecture Design III 

ARC 203. Architecture Design III is the third in a sequence of six core design studios in the UM-SoA BArch program. As such, it builds on the architectural fundamentals explored in the three previous semesters and acts as a first introduction not only to housing, but also to urban design through the focus on housing. Through a set of distinct exercises, the students will study residential architecture as a major constituent of the urban fabric. The purpose of this semester is to center on residential building types, i.e. houses and mixed-use buildings, which make up the highest proportion of the built environment of neighborhoods, towns and cities; to understand housing types, with focus on the three constants of function, site disposition, and configuration which will serve to define the characteristics of each.  The above constants will have been determined by a masterplan’s urban code that defines where types may be implemented. Among other parameters, density is explored as a potential remediation to the existing challenges on the design of healthy places for human dwelling and the built environment. The three projects explored in the course will collectively reinforce fundamental principles of architectural theory in design, by engaging in design thinking and skills, ranging from the scale of the detail to that of the city.

Faculty: Frank Martinez (Coordinator) + Alice Cimring + Peter Kilidjian + Joanna Lombard + Juan Calvo + Victor Santana + Tomas Tapias + Juan Alayo + Maria De Leon Fleites 

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm 

Location: Murphy A + B + C + D + Curved Wall + Glasgow

Hall + Korach Gallery North + Korach Gallery South + Old Gallery

ARC 604 DESIGN: Spatial Deviations

The Women’s Club of Coconut Grove was established in 1891 as the Housekeepers’ Club. The De Garmo historic coral rock structure is still occupied by the organization which has now broadened its commitment to focus on “enriching the community through the promotion of public welfare, education, civic improvement, historic preservation and the advancement of the arts and culture while fostering good fellowship among its members.”

The studio is framed around a fictive RFP (Request for Proposal) released by the organization that spells out a new vision for the development of the lot where it would share space with another club. The new club should increase the density of the lot twofold. Students will review the public archives which have documented the life of the Coconut Grove Women’s Club over time. They will then be tasked with choosing a culture/subculture to design a club for, and gather research on this group.

The new Club will add around 4,000 - 4,500 sf of habitable space to the existing lot.  The design exercise will focus on the spatial relationships created by the interaction of the two Clubs. The layout of the proposal should spatially engage with the existing Club and an argument for how both programs are re-mixed, negotiated and re-imagined by this interaction should be formulated. Students must engage in a critical conversation around the possible reform of what the respective clubs may become as they come into contact with each other and translate this eloquently into spatial form. Designs can decide to act as an attached or detached addition, and will be allowed to modify the existing structure as necessary.

Faculty: Sasha Juneau

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Pentland

ARC 305: Design V

Juanita Greene (1924–2017) was a journalist and conservationist who worked for the Miami Herald and used her platform to advocate for the establishment of Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park.

Maintaining the health of both constructed and natural systems will require collaborative thinking and an ingenious paradigm of integration. The time to act is now.

The Deering Estate, located near the common boundary between Miami-Dade and Broward counties, provides a fitting site for a center dedicated to the natural-cultural stewardship of this vast region. This project proposes the design of the Juanita Greene Center at the Deering Estate.

Faculty: Jorge Hernandez (Coordinator) + Armando Montero + Carie Pendabad + Elizabeth Cardona + Patirki Astigarraga + Martin Moeller + Adib Cure 

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Murphy A + B + C + D + Korach Gallery North + Korach Gallery South + Old Gallery + Bld 48-300

ARC 101: Design I

ARC 101 is the foundational Design I studio that introduces students to the relationship between architecture and the city through three major projects. The first, Tracing and Urban Analysis, develops perceptual and analytical skills through hand-traced studies and comparative drawings of historic city plans and blocks from around the world. The second, Architectural Composition, focuses on designing a micro-dwelling (Jutaku House) on a narrow urban lot in Japan, emphasizing spatial organization, materiality, and human experience. The third, Urban Composition, expands design thinking to the collective urban scale, requiring teams to create a sustainable, mixed-use master plan for the Hialeah Racetrack site that integrates dwelling types, civic buildings, and public spaces. Together, these projects form a progressive pedagogical sequence—moving from observation to architectural design and urban synthesis—anchored in empathy, abstraction, and environmental responsibility.

Faculty: Jaime Correa (Coordinator) + Cristina Canton + Yasmine Zeghar + Christopher D'Amico + Andrew Clum + Elmira Moskvina + Hasna Sal + Gabriella Gama + Andrew Aquart + Crystal Torres

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm 

Location: Murphy A + B + C + D + Curved Wall + Glasgow

ARC 607: Housing +

Housing + addresses the role of housing in the contemporary city. Students are encouraged to question conventional notions of home, reimagine spatial boundaries, and propose innovative solutions that reflect the diverse realities of contemporary domestic life.

On a project site located in Chicago’s Historic Bronzeville Neighborhood, occupying the southwest quadrant of Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology, students will develop a feasible and forward-looking apartment building while responding creatively and provocatively to the surrounding context. The “+” represents an additional programmatic layer that each student will define independently, creating a mixed-use urban building that enriches the fundamental purpose of housing, offering new possibilities for interaction, functionality, and experience.

Faculty: Allan Shulman + Cristina Canton

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Murphy A + B

ARC 407-510-609: VENICE STUDIO, Student Housing and Public Square 

The historic city of Venice in northeastern Italy is the site of our studies. Venice’s unique urban and
architectural history serves as the starting point for our analysis of place, forming the foundation
for a design project. Venice can be described as a total work of art—a social sculpture that, over centuries, has given form to a way of life. Built on water, the city becomes a fantastical floating stage for everyday life... It is an exceptional example of the possibility of architecture as public art—a discipline dedicated to enhancing the quality of life and making beautiful places for all. The Venice Studio proposes research through drawings to draw lessons from the architecture of
the city and to inspire future design. The studio will consist in two interconnected phases. In the
first part of the semester, analytical and typological drawings will develop foundation knowledge
and set the stage for a student housing project with an accompanying public space. A non-required
field trip to Venice may be considered.

Faculty: Roberto Behar

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Murphy C

ARC 407-510-609: Soft Architecture Structures 

The studio will investigate structure and materiality as tools to generate a series of spatial
experiences. Through digital and physical modeling, studio designers will experiment with
space-making through the lenses of structural and material expression. Consultations with
practitioners engaged in advanced form-making across types including membranes, shells,
and tensegrity systems will augment class discussions and case studies. Studio products
will include the assembly of study models into a digital presentation and a final virtual reality
model.

Faculty: Denis Hector

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Korach Gallery North 

ARC 203: Final Exhibition 

ARC 203, Architectural Design III, is the third in a sequence of six core design studios in the UM-SoA BArch program. Building on the architectural fundamentals explored in previous semesters, this course serves as an introduction not only to housing but also to urban design through a focus on residential architecture. Through a set of distinct exercises, students study residential architecture as a major component of the urban fabric.

The semester centers on residential building types—houses and mixed-use buildings—which comprise the highest proportion of the built environment in neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Students will explore the three constants of function, site disposition, and configuration, which define the characteristics of each housing type. These constants are determined by a masterplan’s urban code, which guides where specific types may be implemented. Density is examined as a potential strategy for addressing contemporary challenges in designing healthy places for human dwelling and the built environment.

The three projects in the course collectively reinforce fundamental principles of architectural theory and design. Students engage in design thinking and skill development across multiple scales, from detailed components to the broader urban context.

Faculty: Frank Martinez (Coordinator) + Alice Cimring + Peter Kilidjian + Joanna Lombard + Juan Calvo + Victor Santana + Tomas Tapias + Juan Alayo + Maria De Leon Fleites 

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm 

Location: Korach Gallery

RED 601: Introduction to Real Estate & Development 

The students in this class come from different graduate degree programs, including real estate development, architecture, urban design, construction management, business (real estate, finance), law (JD and LLM in Real Property Development), and urban resiliency, based in four schools and colleges at UM. Students in this review were organized into 11 interdisciplinary teams who worked on sites throughout South Florida. Each team will present a development proposal that is informed and supported by their site analysis, market analysis, and financial feasibility research assignments. Each team must present a case for the approval of their project as a contextually appropriate development program and design concept that will have a positive impact on the neighborhoods and communities where it is proposed.

Faculty: Chuck Bohl + Tim Hernandez + Tony Prado 

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm 

Location: Glasgow Hall

ARC 101: Final Exhibition

ARC 101 is the foundational Design I studio that introduces students to the relationship between architecture and the city through three major projects. The first, Tracing and Urban Analysis, develops perceptual and analytical skills through hand-traced studies and comparative drawings of historic city plans and blocks from around the world. The second, Architectural Composition, focuses on designing a micro-dwelling (Jutaku House) on a narrow urban lot in Japan, emphasizing spatial organization, materiality, and human experience. The third, Urban Composition, expands design thinking to the collective urban scale, requiring teams to create a sustainable, mixed-use master plan for the Hialeah Racetrack site that integrates dwelling types, civic buildings, and public spaces. Together, these projects form a progressive pedagogical sequence—moving from observation to architectural design and urban synthesis—anchored in empathy, abstraction, and environmental responsibility.

Faculty: Jaime Correa (Coordinator) + Cristina Canton + Yasmine Zeghar + Christopher D'Amico + Andrew Clum + Elmira Moskvina + Hasna Sal + Gabriella Gama + Andrew Aquart + Crystal Torres

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm 

Location: Murphy A + B + C + D 

ARC 407-510-609: Designed by Nature 

A site “designed by nature” has often felt the heavy hand of humans throughout history. From its early occupation by the Hobe and Jeaga tribes—who built shell rock mounds as burial sites, kitchen middens, and signaling platforms to warn of approaching ships—to wrecked European colonists and the people they enslaved, who temporarily occupied the site until driven north by native tribes; to pioneers, most notably Trapper Nelson, who homesteaded the land, created a zoo, and later sold it to speculators and the U.S. government, which used the site as a military training ground for the Signal Corps during World War II. Finally, the most dramatic transformations came with the construction of the FEC Railroad and Old U.S. 1 Highway, bisecting the park and introducing what Leo Marx called “The Machine in the Garden.” Jonathan Dickinson State Park is indeed “designed by nature”—if we understand that humans are as much a part of nature as we are agents of its change. Established in the 1950s, Jonathan Dickinson State Park is a landscape of uncommon beauty. Its caretakers have sought to balance relics of the past with new educational and conservation programs across 16 natural plant communities spanning 11,500 acres. The studio will explore how time has shaped this landscape through two projects on two sites: a replacement observation platform for Hobe Mountain, and a cabin for visiting artists and naturalists studying the park’s horticultural and endemic species. The first site is elevated, public, and exposed; the second is hidden, private, and immersive. Together, they invite students to consider paradox in both nature and architecture—how balance can be achieved between competing interests: the pressures of increasing public access and the need for environmental preservation and conservation. By revealing the sites in different ways to visitors, the projects are intentionally contrasting. The observation tower is public, active, and offers panoramic views extending to the horizon, while the cabin is private, secluded, and contemplative—a vehicle for intimate observation of nature. Together, these two projects promote the idea that engagement with nature is both active and contemplative. Site visits are required but inexpensive and accessible—approximately two hours by car from Miami.

Faculty: Rocco Ceo

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm

Location: Korach Gallery

ARC 407-510-609: The "Midding Middle" - Integration of Historic Preservation, Climate Resilience, and Affordable Housing Strategies in South Florida 

This upper-level studio challenges students to develop interdisciplinary solutions at the intersection of historic preservation, climate adaptation, and affordable housing. As part of the Florida Housing Initiative [Student] Competition, participants will produce case studies and proposals for “Missing Middle” typologies—such as duplexes, triplexes, multi-family, and townhouse developments—that bridge the gap between single-family and large multifamily housing. Students will reference a new historic preservation and resilience benchmarking system designed for high-risk coastal zones.

Set in a flood-prone historic district in South Florida, the studio’s projects will reimagine both rehabilitation strategies and zoning approaches to enhance cultural preservation, climate resilience, and affordability. Strategies will include reexamining FAR, adaptive reuse, and the retrofitting of historic structures to maintain cultural integrity while generating affordable rental units that help address housing shortages.

Students will evaluate and develop a scalable framework correlating the extent of heritage preservation with climate vulnerability factors, integrating context-specific case studies, zoning protocols, and infill development methodologies to optimize heritage conservation while mitigating climate-related disruptions. Through research, design iteration, and critical discussion, participants will explore how historic districts can be transformed into resilient, inclusive, and sustainable communities in the face of climate challenges.

Selected competition finalists will be exhibited at the 2026 AIA Florida and Florida Housing Coalition conferences, with jurors announcing their decisions prior to May 2026. This studio is designed for diligent students prepared to engage with complex urban issues through research, policy, and design—fostering leadership in architecture, preservation, and urban advocacy.

Faculty: Sonia Chao

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Murphy A + B 

ARC 407-510-609: Upper-Level Design Studio

For this studio, we will incorporate the power station and the vacant land adjacent to the theater and convention center to create a new mixed-use venue featuring retail, a club, a spa, small convention spaces, a music venue, worker housing, and signature condominiums, all managed by a major hotel company. Wherever possible, new buildings will be designed using volumetric steel modular systems, with modular design serving as a major focus of the class. The studio will also explore hospitality design and adaptive reuse strategies as integral components of the study.

Faculty: Steven Miller

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Murphy C 

ARC 407-510-609: Pattern and Paradise 

This advanced design studio explores the architecture of the resort hotel—an urban type that blurs the boundaries between landscape and building, privacy and community, retreat and engagement. The semester begins with a comparative analysis of historical and contemporary resort precedents, examining how these projects shape individual experience while generating broader spatial patterns, neighborhood structures, and urban form. In the second phase, the studio turns to Key Biscayne, Miami, where students will propose a multi-building resort complex on a real project site, newly commissioned and under design by the studio’s sponsor, Hart Howerton. The framework for the project will engage environmental context, architectural typology, and the spatial relationship between buildings, landscape, and the public realm. Hart Howerton is an interdisciplinary architecture and planning firm with offices in New York and San Francisco, known for designing complete environments that integrate architecture, landscape, and urban design. Their work spans resort, residential, and mixed-use developments, with a focus on site-sensitive and environmentally responsive solutions.

Faculty: Steven Fett

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Murphy D + Old Gallery

ARC 407-510-609: Upper-Level Design Studio

This interdisciplinary studio pairs Architecture and MRED+U students to reimagine urban development. Students gain hands-on experience designing infill communities while mastering development math, zoning compliance, and pro forma modeling. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, they learn to merge architectural vision with financial strategy—preparing them to lead in shaping sustainable, community-centered neighborhoods.

Faculty: Geoffrey Mouen

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Korach Gallery North 

ARC 407-510-609: City Campus

Imagine a vibrant future where the Portuguese Red Cross Health School stands as a beacon of innovation, seamlessly integrating education with community transformation. Situated in the marginalized Alcântara Valley neighborhood of Lisbon, this initiative demonstrates how educational institutions can serve as powerful catalysts for urban renewal.

In this design studio, students will explore Transforming Urbanism through the study of architectural typologies, examining architecture and urban design not merely as physical structures but as living expressions of collective knowledge shaped by cultural narratives, political contexts, social dynamics, and economic realities. The strategy of urban revival through the dynamics of a city campus will provide the foundation for a knowledge-based economy, crucial for creating meaningful change in the 21st century. By integrating educational programs throughout the neighborhood, the project will address the school’s spatial needs while fostering meaningful interactions among students, faculty, and residents, ultimately transforming isolated urban fragments into a cohesive and vibrant community ecosystem.

Faculty: Filipe Lourenco

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Korach Gallery South 

ARC 407-510-609: Meditate

Uniquely, meditation offers a selfless path to inner calm and repose in a world of noise and haste. As part of ongoing research into the topic of “Consciousness Architecture,” this studio questions whether we can shift the perception of meditation—from its current association with the commercialized wellness industry and individualistic self-care, often personified by figures like Ram Dass—to a genuine remedy for humankind’s obsession with greed and growth. In alignment with these ideas, philosopher and cognitive scientist Thomas Metzinger wrote: “We urgently need to create a new cultural context to help us exit the growth model. Mental and political resilience will be impossible without intellectual honesty, compassion, and a certain form of inner awareness. And so ‘Bewusstseinskultur’ could be the answer, both for entire societies and for every individual who is looking for some way to stay honest.”

The studio takes these provocative philosophical questions as a point of departure for designing a Place for Meditation situated near existing religious structures on the University of Miami campus. Drawing inspiration from the rich traditions of the East—such as the Zendo (meditation hall) or the classic tea room, each defined by noble simplicity and quiet grandeur—students will explore how to reinterpret this spatial typology in a Western context, where it remains underdeveloped. The studio invites students to conceive spaces that facilitate profound attentiveness and contemplation, offering an architectural path toward what might be called the “Nameless.”

Faculty: Florian Sauter

Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Old Gallery