Ikeda and Jones Present at UC Davis Symposium

On November 19, Margaret Ikeda and Evan Jones presented AEL research at the symposium “A Living Atlas: Community-sourced Design for Citizen Science” at the University of California, Davis. The presentation included an overview of AEL research projects, including the Buoyant Ecologies Float Lab, the Presidio Culvert Reef and the work with the Treasure Island Sailing Club’s “Sailing to Save the Sea” science education program. The latter involves an ongoing collaboration with Adam Larson from Stanford University’s Prakash Lab deploying their PlanktoScope to survey microscopic aquatic life. Larson also presented at the symposium, along with CCA student Yitian Ma (B.Arch 2022), who shared the “Living Pod” project developed in 2019 Constructed Ecologies class for the 2019 BioDesign Challenge. This project incorporated a floating PlanktoScope capable of autonomous monitoring of plankton and microplastics, which is being developed in conjunction with Adam Larson at the Autodesk Technology Center in San Francisco.

Ikeda and Jones Present at Maldives Villa College

Margaret Ikeda and Evan Jones recently participated in an international conference on social research and innovation at Villa College in the Maldives. Profs. Ikeda and Jones were invited to present their Buoyant Ecologies Maldives studio work from CCA and the University of Washington. The conference, titled “Building Back Better: A Resilient Future for All,” explored responses to threats of sea level rise affecting the Maldives and looked at the potential for floating architecture and regenerative infrastructures to create adaptable solutions for local islands.

Architectural Ecologies Lab Team Presents at Biodesign Challenge 2021

On June 21, 2021 a three-student team from the Fall 2020 Constructed Ecologies class presented their project Urchigami at the 2021 BioDesign Challenge. This was the third consecutive year that the class, taught by Margaret Ikeda and Evan Jones, entered the competition. The project explored folded shell designs and biocementation using calcium carbonate and living algae. The team consisted of Geetika Rohra (MArch’21), Nidhi Patel (BArch’21), and Lina Kudinar (MArch’21). Working in consultation with previous collaborators at UCSF microbiology labs and environmental engineering professor Dr. Varenyam Achal from Guangdong Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, the project was developed in the spring semester and featured on the SeaShift Collaborative website (seashift.org)

Margaret Ikeda Presents at ACSA Administrators Conference in New Orleans

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On November 9, Margaret Ikeda presented the Buoyant Ecologies research at the 2019 ACSA Administrators Conference “UNCERTAINTY” at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. Margaret presented as part of the panel “Water Scarcity, Flood, and Climate Change,” organized by Dr. Adrian Parr, Dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington.