Urban Design
a graduate certificate program
Faculty
Daniel Abramson
Assistant Professor of Urban Design & Planning; Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Full member of China Studies and Canadian Studies faculties
Ph.D. Tsinghua University; M.Arch., M.C.P. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; B.A. (Magna Cum Laude) Harvard
Courses:
- Urban Design Studios
- Site Planning
- Interpreting the Urban Environment
- Planning in the Pacific Rim
Professional Activities:
- Urban planning consultant, China
Research Interests:
- Neglected, multicultural and transnational communities and developing world cities
- Chinese urban planning and development
- Urban identity, conservation, and design
- Housing and community development
- Problems of development in emerging/resurgent market economies
- Application of new information media in international collaborative work
Hilda J. Blanco
Chair, Department of Urban Design & Planning; Professor of Urban Design & Planning
Ph.D., M.C.R.P., University of California, Berkeley, B.A. City College of New York
Memberships:
- American Planning Association
- International Society of Social Systems Sciences
- Institute of Operations Research and Management Sciences
- Society for Judgment and Decision Making
Courses:
- Neighborhood Planning and Community Development
- Legal and Administrative Framework for Planning
- Urban Design Studios
Professional Activities:
- Consultant in planning and urban design
- Author How to Think About Social Problems: American Pragmatism and the Idea of Planning (1994)
Research Interests:
- Urban land use and management
- Urban and suburban design
- Community development planning and design theory
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
Ph.D., Environmental Planning, and M. Arch, University of California, Berkeley
Memberships:
- Pacific Rim Community Design Network
- Association of Community Design
Courses:
- Community Design/Cultural landscapes studios
- Urban Landscapes: Discourses, Politics, Poetics
- Design Activism
- Asian Cities: History, Theory & Practice
Professional Activities:
- Board member, International District Housing Alliance
- Project consultant, Maynard Avenue Green Street Project
Research Interests:
- Community design
- Cultural landscapes
- Social & ecological multiplicity in the urban environment
- Design activism
- Participatory design & planning
- Comparative Practice in the Pacific Rim
Assistant Professor of Architecture
Dipl.-Ing., architecture and urban design, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
Courses:
- Urban Design Theory
- Urban Design studios
Research Interests:
- Urban design theory
- impact of media such as photography and film on concepts of architectural and urban design
Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design & Planning
M.Arch., (Lisenciata), Finnish Institute of Technology, Helsinki; University of Liverpool (Fulbright Student in Civic Design); B.Arch.E. (Honors), Washington State University
Memberships:
- American Planning Association
- American Institute of Certified Planners
- Fellow of American Institute of Architects
Courses:
- Urban Design Studios
- Thesis Preparation and Research
Professional Activities:
- Partner, Design Director, TRA, Seattle (retired)
- Past President, Washington State Council of Architects
- American Institute of Architects
Research Interests:
- Architectural and urban design professional practice
- The design process
- The genesis of architectural form and detail
- Product design
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture; Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture
M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; B.L.A., Utah State University
Memberships:
- American Institute of Certified Planners
- American Planning Association
- American Society of Landscape Architects
Courses:
- Site Planning, Urban and Neighborhood Design Studios
- Site Planning
- Graduate Seminars
- Professional Practice
Professional Activities:
- Registered Landscape Architect, Florida
- Certified Planner
Research Interests:
- Design and use of urban parks and civic space
- Outdoor learning and play environments for children
- Neighborhood design
- Urban design
- Cultural expressions in the landscape
- 20th-century architecture
Associate Professor of Urban Design & Planning; Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture
M.U.P., University of Washington; B.Arch., University of Notre Dame
Memberships:
- American Institute of Architecture
- Planning Association of Washington
- American Planning Association
- Northwest Watercolor Association
Courses:
- Communication and Analysis
- Urban Design Studio
- Urban Planning Problems Studio
- Urban Design and Ecology
- Urban Design Studio Prepatory Course
- Urban Design Theory
- Urban Design for Non-Designers
Professional Activities:
- Principal, Kasprisin Pettinari Design, Architects and Urban Planners
- Adjunct Professor, Eastern Washington University, Department of Urban and Regional Planning
- Author, Design Media (NY: Wiley and Sons, 1999), Visual Thinking for Architects and Designers (NY: Wiley and Sons, 1995), Watercolor in Architectural Design (NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989)
- Watercolorist
Research Interests:
- Graphic methodologies in urban design
- Urban design compositional relationships
- Urban design based on eco-function criteria
- Locally based community planning in small waterfront communities
- Downtown design and planning
- Waterfront design
- Urban design guidelines
- Historic preservation
Professor of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design & Planning
Dr. ès Sc. École Polytechnique Fédérale, Switzerland; B.Arch., (Honors) University of California, Berkeley
Memberships:
- Affiliate Faculty, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
- Fellow, Urban Land Institute
- National Advisor, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Urban Design Institute
Courses:
- Urban Design and Planning Studios
- Urban Form
- Pedestrian Travel, Land Use and Urban Form
- Regulating Urban Form
Professional Activities:
- Registered Architect, Switzerland
- Researcher, writer, consultant
Research Interests:
- Urban Morphology
- Evolution of urban and suburban form
- Measuring urban form with GIS
- Physical activity and environment
- Urban residential design in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America
- Street design and pedestrian planning
Professor of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design & Planning
M.Arch., B.A. (Architecture), Rice University
Memberships:
- Fellow, American Institute of Architects
- Society of Architectural Historians (Board member 2000-2003_
- Vernacular Architecture Forum
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
- College Art Association
Courses:
- Architecture studios
- Urban Design studios
- Urban Design Theory/Implementation
- Historic Preservation
- Architectural History
- Thesis Research
Professional Activities:
- Author, researcher, consultant
Research Interests:
- 19th- and 20th-century architectural and urban history
- Northwest architectural history
- Architecture and art of Arts & Crafts Movement
Chair, Department of Architecture; Associate Professor of Architecture Ph.D., M.A., Cornell University, B.Arch., Chandigarh College of Architecture
Memberships:
- Indian Institute of Architects
- Society of Architectural Historians
- Other Connections: An International Forum for Architectural and Urban Studies in Decolonization
Courses:
- History of Non-Western Architecture
- Seminar in Non-Western Architecture
- Architectural and Urban Design Studios
Professional Activities:
- Architect in private practice in India
- Founding member of Other Connections: An International Forum for Architectural and Urban Studies in Decolonization
Research Interests:
- Modernism
- History of architecture and urban development
- Cultural theory
- Non-western architecture
Professor of Architecture
M.Arch., Harvard University; B.Arch., Pratt Institute
Memberships:
Fellow, American Institute of Architects, Planners Network, Low Income Housing Coalition
Courses:
- Architecture and Urban Design Studios
Professional Activities:
- Principal, Pyatok Associates--high density, affordable housing, urban design, transit-related housing
- Consultant to NEA Design for Housing Program
- Member, Steering Group of AIA Housing Committee
- Tenant organizer and consultant to non-profit housing corporations
- Housing design competitions
Research Interests:
- Participatory design methods
- Self-help community development
Chair, Department of Landscape Architecture; Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture; Adjunct Professor, Forest Resources
M.L.A., University of Pennsylvania, B.Arch. (honours), University of Edinburgh
Memberships:
- American Society of Landscape Architects
- Registered Landscape Architect, State of Oregon
- American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta
Courses:
- Introduction to Planting Design
- Planting Design Studio
- Thesis Research
Professional Activities:
- Private consulting for planning and design of public gardens
Research Interests:
- Design of botanical gardens and arboreta
- Master-planning for public gardens
Associate Professor of Construction Management and Urban Design & Planning; Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture
M.Arch., M.C.P., University of Pennsylvania; B.Arch., Iowa State University
Memberships:
- AICP
- Associate Member Urban Land Institute
- Institute for Urban Design
Courses:
- History of Building Construction
- Analysis of Development Process
- Real Estate Finance
- Investment Case Studies
- Urban Design Studios
- Introduction to Urban Design
Professional Activities:
- Research on Real Estate Development Process
- Consultant/Arbiter on Real Estate issues
Research Interests:
- Marketing and market analysis technigues with particular emphasis on housing, development process, and real cost of development capital
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
B.L.A. and M.L.A., University of Oregon
Courses:
- Urban Design studios
- Cultural landscapes
Research Interests:
- Place-making with ecological integrity and cultural meaning
- Designing for ecological literacy
- Cultural landscape conservation
- Environmental design and sustainability
Associate Professor of Architecture, and Urban Design & Planning; Director, Community and Environmental Planning Program
Ph.D. Architecture, University of Pennsylvania; M.C.P., University of Pennsylvania; B.Arch., Clemson University
Memberships:
- American Institute of Certified Planners
- American Planning Assocation
Courses:
- Urban Design and Planning Studios
- Urban Design Methods
- Introductory courses in urban design and in urban planning graphics
- Reading The City
- Thesis Preparation and Research
Professional Activities:
- Chairman of the Urban Design & Historic Preservation Division of the American Planning Association (1986Ð88)
- Member, Seattle Planning commission (1989Ð )
- Member, Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board (1992Ð94)
- Member, Advisory Group, Paideia, Journal of Undergraduate Education, University of Washington
- Member, Board of Directors, Arcade, The Journal for Architectural Design in the Northwest
- Consultant on urban design and planning
Research Interests:
- Community
- Ethics and identity
- Urban change and continuity
- Methods of analysis of place
- Interdisciplinary education
Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design & Planning; Adjunct Professor of Architecture
M.L.A., University of Pennsylvania; Dip. Arch., Brighton College of Arts and Crafts
Memberships:
- Society of Architectural Historians
- Garden History Society
Courses:
- History of Urban Design
- History of Landscape Architecture
- History of Modern Landscape Architecture in the U.S.
- The Making of the British Landscape
- History of Environmental Design on the West Coast
- History of Environmental Design in the Pacific Northwest
- Thesis Preparation and Research
Professional Activities:
- Consultant in historic landscape conservation
Research Interests:
- History of modern landscape architecture
- History of urban design
- Regionalism
- Regional landscape design
- History of environmental design on the West Coast
- Historic landscape conservation planning
Other Faculty
The Program regularly hosts guest lecturers and practitioners from the Seattle area as well as from all over the world. Faculty from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the University of Washington, other than those listed above, are also important resources for the Program in teaching, research, and special studies.
Urban Design Program | Certificate Programs Introductory Page | Historic Preservation Program
Department of Architecture | Department of Landscape Architecture | Department of Urban Design & Planning
College of Architecture and Urban Planning | University of Washington
last revised November 24, 2008