The J. Robert and Barbara A. Hillier College of Architecture and Design (HCAD) Gallery has opened “Troy West: The Architecture and Art of Belonging,” an exhibition that showcases the drawings, sculptures and architectural projects of the late Troy West, RA.

Born in Pittsburgh, West began practicing architecture and art in the late 1950’s, with a specialty in community design advocacy. He moved to Newark, New Jersey in 1973 to become one of the founding faculty at the NJIT School of Architecture. 

Kelsey Jackson ‘14 was recently awarded a Common Bond scholarship during the Common Bond: The Center for Architecture Gala. Jackson has been dedicated to integrating her experiences in education and architectural design to uplift historically Black cities and communities.

Every year at Common Bond, the Center for Architecture provides scholarships to outstanding architecture students, chosen by area schools that have been selected by their honorees.

Melissa Nieves ’19 is the recipient of the American Institute of Architects New Jersey 2022 Service Award. Nieves, associate architect for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, earned her master’s in architecture with a concentration in infrastructure planning. 

“Melissa has had the pleasure of becoming a leader and mentor inside and outside her workplace. She embodies what it means to be an advocate and representative for diversity and mentorship within the profession.” said the AIA.

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has received a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Authority (USEDA) to support the transformation of an underserved area into an economic development hub based around Newark Liberty International Airport.

Haylee Merola, 4th year interior design student at NJIT, is the undergraduate winner of the 2022 NEWH (Network of Executive Women in Hospitality) Green Voice Design Competition.

Taro Narahara, associate professor at the Hillier College of Architecture and Design, won a National Science Foundation I-Corps award for the development of flexible and intuitive design tools for multifamily residential housing.

This project proposes a platform for users to visually study possible housing complex designs and their potential performance in energy use intensity, environmental and some financial criteria based on preliminary sketches drawn by users. 

Just ahead of the Earth Day, two Hillier College of Architecture and Design students Jeongseo Lee, Ph.D. student in Urban Systems, and Elizabeth Kowalchuk, Undergraduate Senior in Architecture, received one of the 2022 Dana Knox Research Showcase medals for “An Evaluation Framework for a Net-Zero Energy Building’s Energy and IEQ Performance.” Lee and Kowalchuk won competition’s second place for graduate research.

‘Every architect should experience building a structure that they design’ – that is the motto behind the Design/Build options studio led by Professors Erin Pellegrino and Charlie Firestone. This semester their students are building a Parklet, in collaboration with the Hanini Group. The concept of the ‘Parklet’ is repurposing of on-street parking for seating, park space or extra dining space used by the public.

Andrew Whalley OBE, Chairman of Grimshaw, delivered his lecture ZERO at the Design Showcase 2022. Known for designing net-zero-carbon buildings and considerations of the building life cycle performance in their designs, Grimshaw committed itself to operating as a net zero company.

Architecture professor Gernot Riether has teamed up with engineering professor Mohamed Mahgoub to develop the Precast Concrete Institute (PCI) Research Studio as part of a four-year grant from the PCI Foundation. The key components of the grant include industry partnership, new precast concrete curriculum and innovative experiential learning.