Study Architecture 
ProPEL Jan. 9 – 11, 2025 | Austin, TX
2025 ACSA/AIA Intersections Research Conference:
NEW HOUSING PARADIGMS
Fall Conference
SCHEDULE: Saturday, JANUARY 11, 2025
Below is the schedule for Saturday, January 11, 2025, featuring session descriptions. The conference schedule is subject to change.
Conference Locations:
The Westin Austin Downtown
The University of Texas at Austin
Conference Registration Hours:
8:30am-12:30pm
Saturday, JANUARY 11, 2025
9:00am-10:30am
Concurrent Sessions
Equitable Communities: Learning from…
Research Session – 1.5 HSW Credit
Moderator: Leyuan Li, University of Colorado Denver
Reimagining Collective Ownership: Grassroots Strategies for Affordable Housing in New York City
Edward Palka, Columbia University
False Creek and St. Lawrence housing: Ideologies of community housing in Vancouver and Toronto in the 1970s
Sara Stevens, University of British Columbia
Adrian Blackwell, University of Waterloo
Innovation in Family Needs and Strategic Deployment: Dalmatian Case Studies URBS-4 and URBS-5
Dragana Zoric, Pratt Institute
30 Housing Cards: An Interactive Approach for Selecting and Promoting Affordable Housing Precedents
Emmanuel Osorno, Northeastern University
Ecology: From Values to Standards
Research Session – 1.5 HSW Credit
Moderator: Adrianne Steichen, AIA HCD & Pyatok
Free Sustainability: Identifying Cost-neutral Operational Energy Improvements in Mulitfamily Typologies
Grant Mosey, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
[Project]: a Sustainable, Resilient, Affordable Housing Prototype
Duane McLemore, Mississippi State University
Housing Expanded – Hyper-local Food Circularity
Anna Weichsel, Portland State University
Well-being + Health: Housing and the Sun
Research Session – 1.5 HSW Credit
Moderator: Liang Wang, University of Texas at Austin
The Solar Bundle: A Housing Model for Aligning the Solar Envelope with Urban Upzoning
De Peter Yi, University of Cincinnati
The Intersection Of Inside and Outside
Graham McKay, Kean University
Housing the Floating Population
Evan Saarinen & Linnea Moore, Wenzhou-Kean University
Integrating 3D Printed Ceramic-Based Evaporative Cooling into Studio Teaching
Erin Hunt, Texas Tech University
Climate, Building Resiliency & Human Health: How Extreme Weather Impacts Building Materials
Special Session – 1.5 LU Credit
The rise in synthetic products, coupled with the focus on airtight buildings to conserve energy, has led to increased volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), particulate matter (PM), and chemical-related indoor air quality (IAQ) issues, resulting in building-related illness, litigation, and leasing problems. Additionally, weather-related disasters, warmer temperatures, and changing precipitation have increased ground ozone, mold, and pathogens. These disasters also have the potential to increase material emissions inside buildings, threatening the IAQ in these spaces. This presentation raises awareness so building professionals can drive market transformation towards healthier spaces.
Presenters:
Holley Henderson, Chemical Insights Research Institute of UL Research Institutes
Dawn Haynie, American Society of Interior Designers
10:30am-11:00am
Networking
Coffee Break
11:00am-12:30pm
Concurrent Sessions
1 .5 LU Credit
Ecology: Carbon Ecologies
Research Session – 1.5 HSW Credit
Moderator: Ian Caine, University of Texas at San Antonio
From Energy Codes to Carbon Codes: The Role of Embodied Carbon in Contemporary Code-Compliant Residential Design
Robert Williams, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Embodied efficiency: Enabling Low-Carbon Concrete Housing in Nairobi, Kenya
Mohamed Ismail, University of Virginia
Biogenic Carbon sequestration and Storage Potential of Urban Residential Environment
Sonsoles Vela & Rubén García Rubio, Tulane University
Digital Harvest: Parametric Design Tools for Wood-frame Carbon Calculations in Canadian Housing
Sheryl Boyle & Frangiscos Hinoporos, Carleton University
Well-being + Health: Designing for End-Users
Research Session – 1.5 HSW Credit
Moderator: Martin Hättasch, University of Texas at Austin
A Way Home: Renovating Housing Communities for Seniors with Alzheimer’s
Liwei Shen, Sasaki Design
Towards More Play and Autonomy: Designing Child-Friendly Housing and Neighborhoods in Medium and Small Sized Cities
Emilie Pinard, Laurentian University
Proactive Design for Aging in Place: A Functional Scenarios Analysis Approach to Home Environment Assessments
Yousef Bushehri, Georgia Institute of Technology
Long-Term Care Elderhousing and Occupant Health: Japan and Canada—A Comparative Assessment
Stephen Verderber, University of Toronto
Urban Variability: Housing for Cognitive Impairments
Ulysses Vance, Temple University
Housing Studio Knowledge Sharing Workshop
Special Session – 1.5 LU Credit
Housing environments comprise the spaces where people spend most of their lives, even more so for the very young, older adults, and people with disabilities. Given the criticality of housing across the lifespan and the lack of sufficient safe affordable housing, design of housing is an important focus for architectural design studio teaching. This workshop invites educators to share resources with the goal of training the next generation of environmentally and socially just housing designers. Participants will leave with a revised syllabus and reading list for an inclusive studio, co-created studio activities, and an enduring network of housing educators.
Presenters:
Lynne Dearborn, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Christina Bollo, University of Oregon
Tom Collins, Ball State University
12:30pm-2:30pm
Lunch
On your own & travel to campus
4:00pm-5:00pm
Plenary
1 LU Credit
Closing Keynote
Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett is a spatial designer, artist, and cultural thinker whose work explores the intersections of identity, history, and the built environment. Moving fluidly between architecture, sculpture, and furniture design, Bennett draws deeply from the traditions, forms, and languages of the African diaspora, creating works that resonate with collective memory and cultural lineage. His practice transforms abstraction into tangible spaces and objects, inviting contemplation and communion while challenging dominant narratives of space and design.
At the heart of Bennett’s work is a commitment to storytelling and ancestral reverence. His creations serve as monuments to resilience, sites of reflection, and vessels for cultural exchange. Through an iterative process that reinterprets historical and contemporary materials, Bennett crafts spaces that honor memory and provoke dialogue—spaces that live, breathe, and hold the spirit of community. His work pushes beyond disciplines, presenting design as both a physical and spiritual act, capable of evoking intimacy, resistance, and transformation.
5:30pm
Closing Reception
University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS
Obtain Continuing Education Credits (CES) / Learning Units (LU), including Health, Safety and Welfare (HSW) when applicable. Registered conference attendees will be able to submit session attended for Continuing Education Credits (CES). Register for the conference today to gain access to all the AIA/CES credit sessions.
Conference Partners
Michelle Sturges
ACSA
Conferences Manager
202-785-2324
msturges@acsa-arch.org
Eric Wayne Ellis
ACSA
Sr. Dir. of Operations & Programs
202-785-2324
eellis@acsa-arch.org
Michele A. Russo
AIA
Vice President, Research
202-626-9045
research@aia.org
