Studio Prize: Animate Archi-Tectonics: Structural Configurations Between Lines, Planes, and Volumes

This first-year undergraduate studio at the Cooper Union explored the principles of form and space by starting with Paul Klee's idea that "a drawing is taking a line for a walk."

Investigation | Mersiha Veledar, an assistant professor at the Cooper Union, doesn’t believe in easing her first-year students into the school’s rigorous undergraduate program—and it shows in the way she designed her studio, Animate Archi-Tectonics, which throws them headfirst into a deep exploration of how lines, planes, and volumes come together to create architectural forms.

The studio is split into three phases, beginning with an examination of the ways lines intersect. From those drawings, students investigate how the forms created by those intersections function at different scales and dimensions; they then build models, which they test in terms of scale and habitation—inserting doors and stairs, for example.

“In my book the most exciting thing about this studio is showing students how abstractions can be made real,” Veledar says.

MoMA : 'Healing the City'

November 21, 2015

Feeling deeply grateful for Cooper Union's historic return to the MoMA with Barry Bergdoll yesterday for "Open City: Existential Urbanity" by Diane Lewis (day 2) celebration of the publication and for being part of the "Cities of Catastrophe" panel I taught with the incredibly supportive Daniel Sherer (also the moderator) within a span of eight, out of ten years of teaching this subject at The Cooper Union + Dean Nader Tehrani, P. Scott Cohen, Mac Scogin, Pablo Lorenzo Eroia, + studio alumni. Thrilled to talk about 'Healing the City' essay contribution to this studio chapter. A heartfelt thank you to Diane Lewis, Belen Moneo, Pippo Ciorra and Scott Cohen!

BRILLIANT panel discussions all around!

Cooper Union MoMA The Museum of Modern Art MoMA ‪#‎charta‬‪#‎chartapublications‬ ‪#‎womeninarchitecture‬ ‪#‎tenmen‬‪#‎architecturecanheal‬

Photo courtesy of Alessandro Melis.

Open City: Existential Urbanity Symposium

November 18, 2015

Hello friends, in case some of you might be able to come, I'll be MODERATING the 'DOMUS/LOCUS (2006)' Studio I taught during my many years as faculty at the fourth year Architecture of the City Studios at The Cooper Union with Diane Lewis & the remaining incredibly dedicated fourth year colleagues, this Friday (12:30-1:30PM). Panel includes MICHAEL WEBB, MERRILL ELAM, JONATHAN KIRSCHENFELD, FRED BIEHLE and the super talented alumni of this studio scheduled to take place this Friday at the New Museum.

Additionally, I'll be a panelist at the MoMA the following day moderated by my dear colleague Daniel Sherer for 'CITIES OF CATASTROPHE: FROM ATLANTIS TO NEW ORLEANS (2007)' Studio & reading a passage from the essay I wrote for the OPEN CITY:EXISTENTIAL URBANITY publication titled "HEALING THE CITY" describing Mostar while witnessing (as well surviving) genocide...now over 20 years after the act.

This panel will also include Dean NADER TEHRANI, MACK SCOGIN, P. SCOTT COHEN and more incredible alumni of the studio I very much look forward to seeing again!

Cooper Union Collonade - EOYS

May 18, 2015

End of Year Show Sneak Peak OPENING TODAY. 5pm on, first year spring semester is SUNLIT in the Colonnade.... (mind and body can rest now). May 26-June 14, 2015 #architectonics #cooperunion #firstyear!!! — at Cooper Union - Foundation Building

The Cooper Union Finals

April 30, 2015

The last few months have been un-real in the private realm. This was a good moment with leading the architectonics studio.

Flowers and Finals

May 4, 2014

So very proud of my first year Architectonics students as the studio lead at the Cooper Union! And thankful for these surprise flowers! End of Final review, May 4th 2014 / close to midnight, after 26 individual reviews in one day! Thank YOU. #‎architecturecanheal‬ #elements

"I just finished partaking in an 12 HOUR critique of first year architecture students at Cooper Union. I am awestruck by their brilliance and industriousness. There is no other academy like this one. Thank you @mersihaveledar for asking me to be one of the critics and for leading these students through such profound investigations. " Adam Whitney Nichols, Founder of Fortnight Journal

Elements, Midterm

March 26, 2014

Linee Occulte at New York’s Citygroup explores the unseen in architecture

Studio Prize: Animate Archi-Tectonics: Structural Configurations Between Lines, Planes, and Volumes

This first-year undergraduate studio at the Cooper Union explored the principles of form and space by starting with Paul Klee's idea that "a drawing is taking a line for a walk."

RIBA President’s Medals: Silver
Cycles of Toolmaking: An Optic, Tactile, Haptic, Material, Scalar and Pedagogic Study

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Studio Prize: Animate Archi-Tectonics: Structural Configurations Between Lines, Planes, and Volumes

This first-year undergraduate studio at the Cooper Union explored the principles of form and space by starting with Paul Klee's idea that "a drawing is taking a line for a walk."

RIBA President’s Medals: SilverCycles of Toolmaking: An Optic, Tactile, Haptic, Material, Scalar and Pedagogic Study

RIBA President’s Medals: Silver
Cycles of Toolmaking: An Optic, Tactile, Haptic, Material, Scalar and Pedagogic Study