Gillian Shaffer Lutsko
Lecturer
Bachelor of Architecture, Pratt Institute Master of Architecture II, Princeton University
Gillian Shaffer Lutsko is the Citizen Architect Fellow 2022-23 at USC, a designer and founder of the architecture studio, sl Collective. Her design and research interests center around the question of how architecture should respond to the most pressing issues of our time: the ongoing climate crisis; broader understandings of individual and cultural identities; worsening economic inequity; and the societal and cultural impacts of new technologies on space and visual media.
Her design work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and other international organizations and has been exhibited in the Venice Biennale: Fundamentals (2014), the Seoul International Biennale on Architecture and Urbanism (2017), and several galleries in New York. Recent design work and critical writings have appeared in Project Journal for Architecture, CARTHA, POOL Magazine, Pidgin, and the Doe. Before founding her practice, Shaffer Lutsko worked at architecture offices in Berlin, Tokyo, Boston, and New York City. She has previously taught at UCLA Architecture & Urban Design and the Pratt Institute's Berlin program. She graduated from the Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Architecture and holds a Master of Architecture II from Princeton University, where she received a certificate in Media + Modernity.
Related Links: sl Collective
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Examine the critical role of materials and methods for the design and construction of buildings. The primary focus is on materials and systems, their properties and connections, and their intrinsic relationship to structural systems and environmental performance.
Students will develop a fundamental understanding of: the relationship of materiality to construction systems and techniques, how building materials are manufactured, and how a material’s modular form, dimensions and intrinsic qualities influence the design process. Students will learn about various building systems, and how these systems assist in the expression of a design concept, through an examination of precedent projects whose design concepts were generated by material logics and systems. Students will work hands-on with building materials (concrete, wood, metal, etc.) to get an understanding of each material’s properties.
- 105ALFundamentals of Design CommunicationFundamentals of Design Communication
Key to an understanding of architecture is an ability to move between aesthetics and geometry, spatial concept and materiality, art practice and technical production. This course will introduce basic drawing, digital and physical modelmaking, and post-processing skills and encourage experimentation with these diverse methods of working, providing students with opportunities to build and expand an understanding of what constitutes architectural representation. By iteratively working through various types of representation techniques, students will not only enhance their ability to communicate both visually and verbally, but also improve the final output of their studio projects.
- 793aLArchitecture Directed Design Research Option IArchitecture Directed Design Research Option IDirected Design Research option for graduate level architecture degree. Credit on acceptance of research project. Graded IP/CR/NC.