Joe MacDonald
Associate Professor
Department of Architecture

 

 

Curriculum Vitae


 
EDUCATION
1992 Harvard Graduate School of Design,
Cambridge, MA. Master of Architecture
Design Thesis: Navigable Sites: Toronto Island Airport, Toronto, Canada.
  • K. Michael Hays, Jorge Silvetti, Thesis Advisors.
  • Homa Fadjadi, Thesis Preparation Advisor.
Core and Option Studio Critics:
  • Sanford Kwinter, Mapping the Los Angeles River, Los Angeles
  • Eva Jiricna, Architectural Revisions: Paternoster Square Convention Center, London, U.K.
  • Sanford Kwinter, Mapping the Los Angeles River, Los Angeles
  • Rem Koolhaas, Convention Center As Terminus, Teterboro Airport, New Jersey
  • Mohsen Mostafavi, A Boathouse on the Charles River, Cambridge, MA.
1987 Architectural Association , London, UK 
Diploma Unit Extension Studies: Master Plan for Red Square, Moscow, U.S.S.R.
  • Pascal Schonig, Unit Master
1987 University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture
  • Architecture in Rome Program, Rome, Italy
1984 University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, 
Honors Physics


TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2000- Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA
Associate Professor of Architecture (2005–present)
Assistant Professor of Architecture (2001–2005)
Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture (2000–2001)
  Core Design Studios, Instructor
  • Linnaus Institute for Advanced Plant-Based Research (Allston, MA). Second Semester Core, Spring 2006.
  • Plumbing the Penumbral: Emerald Necklace Center (Boston, MA). Second Semester Core, Spring 2006.
  • Tectonics and Urbanism: An Institutional Identity in Allston (Allston, MA). Third Semester Core, Fall 2005.
  • Housing Patterns (South Boston, MA). Fourth Semester Core, Spring 2005.
  • Performance (Allston, MA). Third Semester Core, Fall 2004.
  • 10,000: The Fleet Center (Boston, MA). Second Semester Core, Spring 2004.
  • 100: A Museum for Brandeis Campus (Waltham, MA). Second Semester Core, Spring 2004.
  • Housing Architecture (South Boston, MA). Fourth Semester Core, Spring 2003.
  • Courthouse: Tectonics and Urbanism (Allston, MA). Third Semester Core, Fall 2002 and 2003.
  • Wellesley Campus Student Center(Wellesley, MA). Second Semester Core, Spring 2002.
  • Site/Program and the Construction of Architectural Alibis:
    • Unfit Program/Changing Site (Boston, MA). Second Semester Core, Spring 2001 and 2002.
    • Ground Leftovers/Program Marriages (Lincoln, MA).Second Semester Core, Spring 2001.
  • Urban Conglomerate: A Recreation Facility for North PointPark(Boston, MA). Third Semester Core, Fall 2001.
  • Urban Conglomerate: A Recreation Facility for South Boston (Boston, MA). Third Semester Core, Fall 2000.
  Seminar Instructor
Entrepreneurship, Spring 2001.
  • Professional Practice course offering (meets degree requirements).
  Seminar, Instructor
Tadashi Kawamata: The Boston Project, Plan In Progress, Spring 2001.
  • Conducted a semester-long research and planning seminar in collaboration with artist Tadashi Kawamata during his residency at Harvard University. The project brought together curators, faculty, and students from the Harvard University Fogg Art Museum and Fine Arts School (FAS), Harvard GSD, Brandeis University Rose Art Museum, and the Massachusetts College of Art.
  Advanced Workshop, Instructor
The Harvard Project on the Work of Shigeru Ban, Spring 2003.
  • Conducted in conjunction with the GSD exhibition Paper Wood and Bamboo: Structural Innovation in the Work of Shigeru Ban (January 27–March 16, 2003), this seminar was the first in a series of student workshops supported by the Rouse Fellowship Program at Harvard. Ban’s structural innovations provided a theme for research in material use, assembly systems, and fabrication processes; emulating his research and practice methodology, students constructed details as a “kit of parts” which could be dismantled and re-assembled.
  Academic and Administrative Duties:
  • Thesis, Thesis Preparation, Independent Studies, Academic Advising (2001-present).
1996-2001 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Clinical Associate Professor of Architecture (1998–2001)
Adjunct Assistant Professor (1996–1998)
  Vertical Design Studios, Instructor
  • The Vertical Vertical: Interior Urbanisms for Hong Kong, Fall 2000 and Summer 2000.
  • Housing the Next 10 Million Competition, California, Spring 2000.
  • FormAsia: Digital Cartographies for Shanghai, Spring 2000.
  • Shanghai Dazibau (with Sanford Kwinter), Fall 1996.
  Core Design Studios, Coordinator and Instructor
  • Speed, Direction, and Rate of Exchange: A Swimming Pool Facility in Central Park, Spring 1998 and 1999.
  • Boston Crossing: Boston City Hall Plaza, Fall 1997 and 1998.
  • Surface/Skin: Structure/Organizational Forces, Spring 1998 and 1999.
  • The Approach, Reconsidered: RPI Campus Landscape, Fall 1998 and 1999.
  • Dance Infusion, Spring 1997.
  • Topological Constructions/Measurement, Fall 1997, 1998, and 1999.
  Technology Courses, Instructor
  • Emerging Technologies: Material Science and Building Systems, Spring 1999.
  • CNC Milling: Technique + Technology, Spring 1999.
  Academic and Administrative Duties:
  • Architecture Lecture Series Coordinator, 2000.
  • Core Curriculum Committee Member, 1998-2000. 
  • Dean’s Curriculum Task Group, 1998-2000. 
  • Final Project Design Competition Coordinator, 1999.
  • Thesis and Academic Advising, 1996-00.
1992 Career Discovery Program, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA
Studio Instructor
1992- Guest Critic
Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, New York, NY; Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA; Illinois Institute of Technology, College of Architecture, Chicago, IL; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, Cambridge, MA; Northeastern University, Department of Art and Architecture; Rhode Island School of Design, Department of Architecture; Rice University School of Architecture, Houston, TX; Syracuse University, School of Architecture, Syracuse, NY.


HONORS AND AWARDS
2004-2005 Minimal Surfaces: Implicit Trigonometric Surface Patterns: Prototyping for Practical Applications in Designed Environments
Dean’s Faculty Research Grant Award (competitive basis), Harvard Graduate School of Design
2003-2004 On Pattern: its permutational, performative potential in the parametric formation of architecture
Dean’s Faculty Research Grant Award (competitive basis), Harvard Graduate School of Design
2001-2002 Digital Cartographies for Tokyo
Dean’s Faculty Research Grant Award (competitive basis), Harvard Graduate School of Design
1999-2000 Reclaimed Territories and Reciprocal Manifestations: Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taipei
Robert S. Brown ’52 Faculty Traveling Fellowship (competitive basis), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
1994 Progressive Architecture Awards Citation
Atlantic Center for the Arts, Thompson and Rose Architects, Cambridge, MA.  Project team member
1993 Boston Society of Architects Design Award
Atlantic Center for the Arts, Thompson and Rose Architects, Cambridge, MA.  Project team member
1993 American Society of Landscape Architects Design Award
Harvard Yard Master Plan, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., Landscape Architects, Cambridge, MA. Project team member.


LECTURES
2004 Becoming Techniques. Lecture given at the Harvard GSD.
  Marjetica Potrc: Urgent Architecture. Lecture and Gallery Tour given at the MIT List Center for the Visual Arts.
2002 Mercurial Surfacing: Global Branding and Design. Lecture given at Harvard GSD.
  The Contemporary Asian City. Lecture given at the Aijian New Community Design Competition, Harbin, PRC.
2001 FormAsia: Digital Cartographies for Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taipei. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY.
  Tadashi Kawamata: The Boston Project, Plan in Progress. Lecture and Gallery Tour given at the Sert Gallery, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Spring 2001.
2000 Soft Cartographic Practices and Informed Urban Terrains. Lecture given at Harvard GSD.
1998 Recent Work. Lecture given at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY.
1995 The History of American Campus Planning. Lecture given at The Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO.


CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA
2006 Critical Digital: Digital Culture and Ornamentation. April 24th, 2006, Cambridge, MA. Round-table discussion speaker with Antoine Picon (Harvard), Mark Jarzombek (MIT), and Mark Goulthorpe (MIT). Topic: “Throughout the history of Design the concept of “ornament” has swayed back and forth from appeal to revulsion. With the almost complete saturation of digital media into our design culture, what role does, can, or will the notion of ornament play? What is critical about ornament in the digital age?”
2001 Innovations in Mapping GIS Software. New York, NY. Participated in conference devoted to leading web mapping software, including ArcIMS/ESRI, AutoCAD MAP/Autodesk MapGuide, MapCiti, MapInfo, and HydroQual/ComCarto.
  3D FORUM: International Conference on 3D and Multimedia. Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. Participated in international technology conference with topics including multimedia systems and applications, human-machine interface, 3D input and output technologies, and ergonomics.
  New Technologies in Architecture II: Digital Design and Manufacturing Techniques. Discussion participant.
  Digital Design: a symposium with leading industry experts. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY. Discussion participant.
2000 BOOK/ENDS: Transformations of the Book and Redefinitions of the Humanities. SUNY, Albany, NY. Moderated symposium whose participants included Elizabeth Diller, Toni Dove, Brian Massumi, and Stelarc.
1999 P/A Awards Symposium. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. Co-moderated symposium whose participants included Preston Scott Cohen, Office d’A, SHoP Architects, and SOM.
  DATA: A Critical Symposium on Information Technology, Architecture, and Space. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. Discussion participant.


EXHIBITIONS
2006 TED (Technology Entertainment Design) Conference, Monterey, CA, February 22-25, 2006. Focused on the merging and converging of the fields of technology, entertainment, and design, in the service of learning and communications. 2006 Topic: The Future. Parametric modeling designs featured at conference. 
  On Pattern, Faculty Currents Wall, Gund Hall Gallery, Harvard Graduate School of Design, January 30–March 31, 2006. Exhibition featuring a collection of research projects on parametric modeling software design (CATIA).
2005 Wave Workstation and Mercurial Surfacing seating elements. International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF),Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, NY, May 14–17, 2005.
2004 Blue Moon. World Financial Center Plaza, Battery Park City, New York, NY, May 4–August 20, 2004. A collaborative installation with sound artists O+A (Bruce Odland and Sam Auinger).
2003 Art de l’Automobile: BUGATTI 1909–2003. Hôtel de Paris, Monte Carlo, Monaco, June 6–9, 2003. Parametric modeling designs for auto stands featured on site.
  Constituting Identity: Hong Kong, Faculty Currents Wall, Gund Hall Gallery, Harvard Graduate School of Design, January 27–February 13, 2003. Multimedia exhibition featuring research conducted in collaboration with Fookling Benita Lee, MARCHI ’05.
  Paper and Wood: Structural Innovation in the Work of Shigeru Ban. Gund Hall Gallery, Harvard Graduate School of Design, January 27–March 16, 2003. Curated by Kim Shkapich. Exhibition featuring student work from The Harvard Project on the Work of Shigeru Ban. Advanced Workshop Instructor.
2002 AUTOeMOTIVE: The Design Work of J Mays. Gund Hall Gallery, Harvard Graduate School of Design, January 28–April 7, 2002. Exhibition featuring the work of J Mays, 2002 recipient of the Harvard Design Excellence Award. Co-curator and exhibition designer.
  In Practice: Terrain Vague, a digital derive through evolutionary urban code. SculptureCenter, Long Island City, NY, December 2002.  Installation proposal.
2001 Tadashi Kawamata: Boston Project, Plan in Progress. Sert Gallery, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, March 1–April 30, 2001. Exhibition featuring student work from GSD seminar. Seminar Instructor.
  1HRNY. Urban documentary video project. Participants in the 24-hour International FilmFest, including the work of 24 video artists. Munich, Germany. May 16, 2001.
2000 DanceSpace. Regional County Council for the Arts, Troy, NY, Fall 2000. Interactive installation conducted in collaboration with Bennington College and the Terry Creach Dance Company.
1999 Clinica Aesthetica. Berlin, Germany. Exhibition booth design and construction for art gallery.
1998 Diffa Event, New York, NY. Randolph Duke and Swarovski.
1997 Haferl, Dusseldorf, Germany. Traveling exhibition design for shoe manufacturer.
  Faculty: Recent Work. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, School of Architecture, Troy, NY.  Spring, 1997.
1994 Creative Spaces: The Leeper Studio Complex. Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, FL. May 8 – July 1, 1994.  A public exhibition of project models and drawings by Thompson and Rose Architects. Project team member.
1992 Studio Work Exhibition. Gund Hall Gallery, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA. Thesis Project, Navigable Sites: The TorontoIslandAirport. Jorge Silvetti and K. Michael Hays, Thesis Advisors; Homa Fardjadi, Thesis Preparation Advisor. Spring, 1992.
1991 Studio Work Exhibition. Gund Hall Gallery, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA. Studio Project from Architectural Revisions: Paternoster Square. Eva Jiricna, Design Critic. Fall, 1991.
  Studio Work Exhibition. Gund Hall Gallery, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA. Studio Project from Real Virtuality: Mapping the Los AngelesRiver. Sanford Kwinter, Studio Critic. Spring, 1991.


COMPETITIONS
2004 National AIDS Memorial. The Grove, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. “Entry of Note.” Top 12/200.
2000 Harvey Milk Memorial Plaza. The 2000 San Francisco Prize Competition, San Francisco, CA. Top 10/112.
1998 Port/Parc de la Tournelle. Paris, France. Steedman Traveling Fellowship, Washington University. Entry.
1997 Bigfoot. A New NFL Football Stadium, Santa Monica, CA. Entry.


PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS

PERIODICALS
2006 Metropolis Magazine 1981-2006 Special Anniversary Issue. Quoted in Laurie Manfra, Portland Building. April, 2006, p. 166-167.
  Metropolis Magazine. Laurie Manfra, The Metropolis Observed/software, “A Pattern Language: CATIA gets its due in an intricate installation at the Storefront for Art and Architecture.” March, 2006, p.54.
  Harvard Design Magazine. “Faculty Notes,” with Daniel Schodek, on The Architect’s Newspaper coverage of “new CAD modeling approaches that offer better design, analysis and management.” Fall 2005/Winter 2006, p.122.
2005 Interior Design Magazine Market Tabloid Best in Show. Coverage of Mercurial Surfacing seating elements. October 31, 2005
  The Architect’s Newspaper: New York Architecture and Design. Clay Risen, The Next Dimension, interviewed on research and design conducted within the parametric modeling environment of CATIA.  Issue 10, June 8, 2005, pp. 12-14.
  Harvard Design Magazine. “Faculty Notes,” with Christian Werthmann, on HOME/HOPE: The National Aids Memorial Competition. Spring/Summer 2005, p.122.
  San Francisco Chronicle. Rona Marech, “5 Finalists Compete on Design for National AIDS Memorial,” a review of The National AIDS Memorial Competition. Wednesday, January 19, 2005.
2004 Harvard Design Magazine. “Faculty Notes,” on Blue Moon. Fall/Winter 2004–05, pp.125–6.
  Time Out New York. Noah Chasin, “Art Review,” Blue Moon. June 3-10, 2004.
  The New York Times. Roberta Smith, “At Shows Painted with Sound, Be Prepared to See with Your Ears,” art review of Blue Moon. May 21, 2004.
  The Tribeca Tribune. Etta Sanders, “Downtown Is the Place for Artful Earfuls,” art review of Blue Moon. May 2004.
  The New York Times. Carol Vogel, “Sounds of Art,” art review of Blue Moon. April 16, 2004.
  Time Out New York Kids. Julie Cosgrove, “Hear  ye, hear ye,” art review of Blue Moon. Spring 2004.
2003 Domus. Carlo Ratti, “L’architecttura della parsimonia,” architecture review of Paper, Wood & Bamboo: Structural Innovation in the Work of Shigeru Ban. March 2003, pp. 20–21.
2002 Harvard Magazine. “Short, Stubby, Sexy,” a review of exhibition AUTOeMOTIVE: The Design Work of J Mays. May–June 2002, pp. 47–48.
  Vanity Fair. Anne Fullenwider,“Art of the Drive: J Mays Revs Up the World of Auto Design,” coverage of 2002 Harvard Design Excellence Award and exhibition AUTOeMOTIVE: The Design Work of J Mays. February 2002, p. 58.
1994 INSITE.  Article includes the design development of the Atlantic Center for the Arts project and its connections to the local landscape.  March, 1994. Project team member
  Progressive Architecture.  A preview of the Atlantic Center for the Arts project by Thompson and Rose Architects.  February, 1994.  Project team member.
1992 GSD News. Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA. Studio Project from Architectural Revisions: Paternoster Square in Portfolio.  Eva Jiricna, Design Critic.  Fall, 1991.
1991 GSD News. Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA.  Studio Project Convention Center As Terminus: Teterboro Airport, in Not Not Architecture.  Rem Koolhaas and Andrew MacNair, Design Critics.  Winter, 1991.
  Kenchiku Bunka. Tokyo, Japan.  Studio Project Convention Center As Terminus: Teterboro Airport in Harvard University: Recent Work.  Rem Koolhaas and Andrew MacNair, Design Critics.  Winter, 1991.
1990 Journal for Architectural Education. Washington, D. C.  Studio Project A Public Rowing Facility on the Charles Riverin Core Studios at Harvard GSD.  Mohsen Mostafavi, Design Critic.  Winter, 1990.
  GSD News. Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA.  Studio Project A Public Rowing Facility on the Charles River in Portfolio.  Mohsen Mostafavi, Design Critic.  Winter, 1990.

BOOKS
2006 STUDIOWORKS 11. Harvard Graduate School of Design, Department of Architecture, Editor, Cambridge, 2006.
2004 STUDIOWORKS 10. Harvard Graduate School of Design, Department of Architecture, Editor, Cambridge, 2004.
2001 Book in Progress: Tadashi Kawamata DAILY NEWS. “Boston Project, Plan in Progress, Boston, USA.” Tokyo: INAX Publishers, 2001, pp. 212–245; 288–299.
1995 Recapturing the Commons: The Colorado College Master Plan 1995-2005. Colorado College, 1995.

TELEVISION
2000 PBS. American Architecture Review: Dedicated to the Advancement of Architectural Technology and Information, televised segment touring the Wasserman Residence masonry and stone design work (limestone and white onyx) and an interview.  Appeared during the PBS Fall/Winter season, 2000.


SERVICE

GSD DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
  Committee Work:
  • Junior Faculty Search Committee, 2005-present. 
  • MDesS/DDes Committee on Technology Studies, 2004. 
  • Renzo Piano Prize, 2004.
  • James Templeton Kelley Thesis Prize, 2003. 
  • Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship, 2003.
  • MArchIAP Admissions 2004, 2005, 2006. 
  • MArchI Admissions, 2001-2003. 
  Core Calendar Design, 2001-2003.
  Departmental Lecture Series, Host, 2003-2004:
  • Jeanne Gang, Gang Studio, December 07, 2004.
  • Stephen Cassell & Adam Yarinsky, Architecture Research Office, November 30, 2004.
  • Brad Cloepfil, Allied Works, April 20, 2004.
  • Peter Lynch, No Less, No More, March 23, 2004.
  • Pierre Huyghe, Pierre Huyghe, A Conversation, February 17, 2004.
  • Youshiharu Tsukamoto & Momoyo Kaijima, Atelier Bow Wow, November 04, 2003.
  • Inigo Manglano-Ovalle, The Weather in Pergatory, October 21, 2003.
  • Ron Witte, Open Figures, October 07, 2003.
  Gallery Tours:
  • GSD Visiting Committee, 2002.
  • Members of the popular press, including The Boston Globe, Harvard Magazine, Time, Vanity Fair, 2002.
  Invited Presentations:
  • GSD Alumni Council, 2003.
  • Office of Development and Alumni Relations, 2004.
  Additional Lecture Introductions:
  • Kengo Kuma, Kengo Kuma, GSDAsia, 2004.
  • NakedCity, GSD Film+Architecture Series, 2003.
  • Baraka, 3rd Semester Architecture Studio, 2002.
  • Tadashi Kawamata, Rouse Visiting Artist Lecture, March 01, 2001.
  GSD Open House Events:
  • Meetings with prospective students, 2001-present.
  Student Work Fall Exhibition, Gund Hall Gallery, Curator, Designer, and Content Editor, 2001-2005.
  Studio Work Website, Content Editor, 2003-2005. http://studioworks.gsd.harvard.edu
  STUDIOWORKS 11, Editor, 2006.
  STUDIOWORKS 10, Editor, 2004.

COMMUNITY SERVICE
  AIDS Action Committee, Volunteer, Artcetera biannual art auction.
  Anti-Violence Campaign Fund, Volunteer.
  ICA New Group Steering Committee, Member. Serving to raise awareness about contemporary art in the Boston community.  Membership committee.
  Institute for Urban Design, Fellow.
  LEF Foundation, Advisor. Serving to advance public art and related programs on the Wharf Parks of the Rose Kennedy Greenway project.