Date: April 20, 2015

Time: 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Location: Computer Science, Room 104

Professor Michelle Addington, of Yale University, speaking on the topic of sustainable architectural design, presents “disciplinary mis-translations” as part of the 2014-2015 Highlight Seminar Series.

ABSTRACT
As the field of architecture is under increasing scrutiny due to its role in energy consumption, and as the profession of architecture is quickly adopting advanced materials and fabrication methods, it might seem that the disciplines of architecture and mechanical engineering are finally occupying some common ground.  This seemingly common ground, however, may be obscuring the lack of clarity in determining the fundamental problems and questions that should be foregrounded through collaboration. In this talk, Professor Addington will introduce areas of mis-translation, speculating on their causes, and open up a dialogue on possible modes of rethinking disciplinary relationships.

BIO
Michelle Addington is the Hines Professor of Sustainable Architectural Design at the Yale School of Architecture. Ms. Addington, who also holds a joint appointment with the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, is educated as both an architect and engineer. Her teaching and research explore energy systems, advanced materials, and new technologies. Building on her dissertation research on the discrete control of boundary layer heat transfer using micro-machines, she has extended her work to defining the strategic relationships between the differing scales of energy phenomena and the possible actions from the domain of building construction. Ms. Addington’s articles and chapters on energy, system design, HVAC, lighting, and advanced materials have appeared in several journals, books, and reference volumes. She coauthored the book “Smart Materials and Technologies for the Architecture and Design Professions” and just recently published “Emerging Technologies.” Ms. Addington taught at Harvard University for ten years before her appointment at Yale in 2006. Her engineering background includes work at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and she spent a decade at DuPont as a process design and power plant engineer. In 2009, Architect magazine selected Ms. Addington as one of the country’s top ten faculty in architecture.