Associate Professor Markus Breitschmid, Ph.D., S.I.A., Chair of the Core Professional Bachelor of Architecture Program, has edited the text for the book publication “Olgiati”. The volume is published by Birkhäuser Publishers in Basel in 2012. Besides the English edition, there are editions in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. Breitschmid was also invited to moderate the event “Architettare: Tradition & I”, a discussion on architecture among internationally active architects, by the Organizzazione Studenti Accademia of the Accademia di Architecttura at the Universita della Svizzera Italiana, held on May 31, 2012.

Assistant Professor Aki Ishida has been awarded Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership Education Grant to design an interactive installation reinterpreting Japanese lantern festivals for the AIA Blue Ridge chapter’s design award exhibit on September 14, 2012. The project is designed in collaboration with the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology at Virginia Tech.