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William W. Wurster Dean Renee Y. Chow has appointed Professor of Architecture and Civil & Environmental Engineering Stefano Schiavon to serve as the College of Environmental Design’s first associate dean for research and design. In this role, Schiavon will provide strategic guidance to the dean in all areas of research with the goal of boosting the college’s production of scholarship and design across disciplines. 

In the wake of the king tides that swamped San Rafael and Corte Madera in January, KQED interviewed Associate Professor Kristina Hill, an expert in sea level rise and climate adaptation. “We should be ready to live in a bathtub,” Hill said. “Then I think we’re in business and will have a way to live for a 100 years and preserve the city’s tax base.”

The Architect’s Newspaper says that the Chengdu Pavilion, a building in China’s Sichuan Province designed by Chair of Architecture Lisa Iwamoto’s firm IwamotoScott, “represents a trajectory toward environmentally adaptive architecture in anticipation of the context taking shape around it.”

Drawing on research developed by Paul Mayencourt’s team at the UC Berkeley Wood Lab, Mad River Mass Timber has emerged as California’s first producer of dowel-laminated mass timber, which has the potential to improve forest health, mitigate wildfire risk, and accelerate the production of affordable housing — while also contributing toward the long-term goal of decarbonizing the environment.

Clare Cooper Marcus was known for pioneering work translating empirical research on user behavior into practical design recommendations for architects, landscape architects, and city planners.