Disc* 2018 Faculty

 

Gabriel Kaprielian | Co-Director

Gabriel Kaprielian is a designer, urbanist, and artist based in the Bay Area. With degrees in both architecture and city planning, his creative work and research focus on resilient cities, sustainable design, emergent technologies, and digital fabrication. His professional experience includes traditional architecture practice with award-winning firms, social focused architecture as a Design Fellow for Architecture for Humanity, urban design in the public sector, and as an Artist-in-Resident at Autodesk’s Pier 9 Workshop in San Francisco. In addition to serving as the Co-Director of DISC in the College of Environmental Design, Gabriel has served as a lecturer at a Cal Poly, California College of the Arts, UC Berkeley, and is currently Assistant Professor of Architecture in the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. Gabriel holds a BArch from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA, and MArch and MCP from UC Berkeley.

 

Jonah Merris | Design Studio Lead

Jonah Merris is a designer from Oakland, CA. He completed his Master of Architecture at the University of California in Berkeley where his research focused on land reclamation in coastal environs and the role of architecture in the Anthropocene. Jonah has taught multiple studio courses in architecture and design representation at UC Berkeley including DISC* 2016. From 2017-2018 Jonah was a John K. Branner Travelling Fellow and has received multiple awards including the 2018 AIA Henry Adams Medal and Certificate. Jonah has explored issues of architecture, sustainability, and urbanism in practice through work on the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. He has also held positions at Kava Massih Architects in Berkeley, CA and Vermont Integrated Architecture in Middlebury, VT. Jonah received a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies and Political Science from Middlebury College.

 

Ghigo DiTommaso | Global Cities / Global Challenges Lecturer

Ghigo DiTommaso was trained as an architect in Florence, where he picked up the tools of the trade while feeding a strong interest in urban history and theory. Licensure in hand, he moved to Barcelona to become part of its thriving design community. There he worked with prominent Catalan architects on numerous award-winning projects while also conducting research at the EtsaB School of Architecture and teaching at the ESDi School of Design. Based in the Bay Area since 2010, he has been a core member of the Rebar Art & Design Studio and more recently of the new San Francisco offices of Gehl Studio, where he continues to practice the profession. At CED, while serving as Program Director of Disc*, he also collaborates with the LAEP department as a lecturer and project researcher. Ghigo holds a BArch and an MArch from the Facoltà di Architettura di Firenze, and an MSArch and PhD from EtsaBarcelona.

 

 

Disc*2018 Guest Speakers

	Katie McKnight Environmental Analyst, SFEI			Susan Schwartzenberg Senior Artist and Curator, Exploratorium
	Laura Tam Sustainability Development Policy Director at SPUR			Josiah Cain Director of Innovation, Sherwood Design Engineers
	Will Travis Former Executive Director, BCDC			Sarah Dean Assistant Professor, California College of the Arts
	Mark Stacey Professor of Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley			Lidia D'Amico Biologist, AECOM
	Amanda Brown-Stevens Managing Director, Resilient by Design			Nate Kauffman Founder, Live Edge Adaptation Project

 

Past Speakers

	Bruce Riordan UC Berkeley Climate Readiness Institute		Allison Arieff Editorial Director, SPUR
	Janette Kim Co-Director, Urban Works Agency; Assistant Professor of Architecture, CCA		Molly Turner Lecturer, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
	Charisma Acey Assistant Professor of City & Regional Planning, UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design		Neeraj Bhatia Assistant Professor of Architecture, CCA
	Victoria Salinas Chief Resilience Officer, City of Oakland		Antje Steinmuller Assistant Professor of Architecture, CCA; Principal, Studio URBIS
	Matthew Passmore Founder and Lead Artist, Morelab; founder, Rebar Art & Design Studio		Jeremy Lowe Senior Environmental Scientist, San Francisco Estuary Institute
	Philip Vitale Project Manager, Bay Area Parks for People Program, Trust for Public Land		Stephanie Kiriakopolos Research Technician, Romberg Tiburon Center
	Jennifer Wolch William Wurster Dean, UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design		Alison Sant Urban Designer and Artist, Studio for Urban Projects
	Rebecca Johnson Citizen Science Coordinator and Researcher California Academy of Sciences		Robin Grossinger Senior Scientist Resilient Landscapes Program Director, SF Estuary Institute
	Amber Hasselbring Executive Director, Nature in the City Founder, Art Ecology		Allen Fish Director, Raptor Observatory Golden Gate National Parks Conservatory
	Damien Raffa Education/Volunteer Program Manager, Presidio Trust		Joel Pomerantz Historian/Founder Thinkwalks
	Dr. Katharyn Boyer Associate Professor, SF State Romberg Tiburon Center		Kelley Higgason NOAA Affiliate Ocean Climate Initiative Coordinator Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
	Tae Kim Founder, Alite Designs		Peter Brastow Biodiversity Coordinator SF Department of Environment

• Mayra Madriz, Urban Planner, Re:Imagine Group
• Alison Sant, Urban Designer & Artist, Studio for Urban Projects
• Tyler Pew, Designer & Social Entrepreneur, ILabHaiti, KidMob
• Glenn Corey, Educator, Novato High School
• Ben Grant, Urban Planner, SPUR
• Steve Gennrich, Designer and Engineer, Exploratorium Outdoor Studio
• Liz Ogbu, Designer, UC Berkeley
• Nick Polansky, Urban Planner, MIT
• Allison Lassiter, Researcher, UC Berkeley
• Dan Parham, Social Entrepreneur, Neighborland.org
• Louise Mozingo, Chair and Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, UC Berkeley