Congratulations to the Department of Architecture’s Liz Martin-Malikian, Michael Carroll, and Dr. Miné Hashas-Degertekin, who have each been appointed 2018-2019 Sustainability Faculty Fellowships with the Center for Diversity Leadership and Engagement at Kennesaw State University.

 

Liz Martin-Malikian (left) will be developing a new curriculum in Real Estate Sustainable Development as a campus-wide undergraduate minor to prepare students for careers in the corporate sector, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, or environmental advocacy groups. As proposed, this new minor would be an interdisciplinary one-year program to prepare students to become effective and influential participants in the fields of real estate, finance, design and development. The intent of this undergraduate minor is to not only help students develop a systems-level perspective of the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable developments, but also raise awareness within the broader campus community.

Michael Carroll’s (middle) academic research focuses on materiality and material expression in contemporary architecture. As Sustainability Faculty Fellow 2018-19, Professor Carroll’s project, entitled “Performative Façades: De-constructing Identity Through Architectural Design”, embraces sustainability from both a technological and a cultural perspective. The proposal centers not only cutting edge innovative materials and performative façade technologies that filter light and air, but also how these can be deployed in the design of a series of façade systems for non-profit groups in Metro Atlanta that traditionally have been under-represented. These façade systems would not only make buildings that house these groups more ecologically sustainable but also positively contribute to the cultural identities of those organizations.

Miné Hashas-Degertekin (right) has been working with various government agencies, non-profit, and advocacy groups including Atlanta Regional Commission, Transformation Alliance, GA Stand Up, ULI-Atlanta, City of Atlanta, and Soccer in the Street, etc. for identifying social, economic and cultural patterns, physical character and place making solutions to challenge anticipated gentrification in West-End Neighborhood. She has integrated various students taking her courses to the projects via internships, research, sustainable urban design proposals and associated community participation processes. Continuing these partnerships and based on the study results, Dr. Hashas-Degertekin will be developing an implementation project addressing the same issues in West-End involving additional faculty and students.