Architecture

About the Department

Architecture at Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning is about creative and critical design practices that make lasting impact. Balancing rigorous research and scholarship, responsibility for our natural and built environments, we reimagine the world at every scale to build a just and sustainable future for all.

We see design as a process of creative experimentation and iterative analysis, ensuring non-judgmental, holistic, and open-ended inquiry enabled by independent, critical thinking and bold thought leadership. Our undergraduate and graduate programs are designed to support interdisciplinary collaboration and provide an integrated foundation in global history, theory, structures, environmental systems, building technologies, and visual representation, ensuring that our students are equipped with actionable knowledge and the agency to enact change.

Interior of a concrete dome building with architectural models and drawings lining the walls.

Above: An architecture exhibition in Milstein Hall.

Apr 23

2026 L. Michael Goldsmith Lecture featuring Annabelle Selldorf

The L. Michael Goldsmith Lecture, established in 2009 to honor the legacy of Cornell alumnus Michael Goldsmith (B.Arch. ’72), features Annabelle Selldorf with an introduction by Dean J. Meejin Yoon.

Lecture
Jun 6

Reunion 2026

Mark your calendars and celebrate with old and new friends at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning during Cornell Reunion Weekend on June 6, 2026.

Function

Announcements Three Major Los Angeles Art Institutions Celebrate Paul R. Williams

Architecture Professor Milton S. F. Curry, former Dean of USC School of Architecture, led the acquisition of the Williams archive, procured funding, and cocurated the exhibition at USC Fisher Museum of Art, open until March 2027. AAP architecture alums Cory Henry (M.Arch. ’12) and Amanda Williams (B.Arch. ’97) will contribute to related programming.

In the Media A Famed Brooklyn Cemetery Wants You to Come Visit… Before You Die

The New York Times — Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn is opening a $43 million visitor’s center and exhibition hall, designed by Gensler Visiting Critic Kim Yao’s firm Architecture Research Office.

Paper Voxel Shader – An Efficient Shadow Calculation Approach For Urban Building Energy Modeling

technical drawing examining energy modeling.

Architecture and Design Tech Associate Professor Timur Dogan and Amber Su (B.Arch. ’25) introduce a voxel-based ray-tracing method that efficiently computes sunlit fractions for urban surfaces using point cloud or mesh data without the requirement for manual geometry simplification.

Stories

Annabelle Selldorf: The Courage to Make Noise

This spring’s L. Michael Goldsmith Lecture will feature guest speaker Annabelle Selldorf, founding principal of Selldorf Architects. In advance of the event hosted by the Gensler Family AAP NYC Center on April 23 at Cornell Tech’s Verizon Executive Education Center, Selldorf reflected on her work in the city, in the art world, and why the job of an architect is to care.

Announcements Explore Fall ’26 Classes for Non-Majors at AAP

multiple glass pillar sculptures on pedestal

Expand your disciplinary boundaries and enroll in courses that cultivate connection and catalyze actionable research. Options range from fundamentals to deep dives across architecture, art, city and regional planning, real estate, and design technology.

Stories Announcing: Cornell Journal of Architecture Issue 13, “Missing”

Concluding a thematic set spanning three issues and marking the 45th anniversary of its inaugural volume, this student-led publication continues to capture current thinking in the field and reinforce the importance of writing and editing in an architectural education.

Announcements Museum of Emotions / Edition #7 Architecture Competition

Buildner’s Museum of Emotions / Edition #7 architecture competition awarded an honorable mention to Chung-Yu (Brandon) Chen (B.Arch. ’28), and recognizes Jiajing Li (B.Arch. ’28), Yijia Liu (B.Arch. ’28), and Tanqing Cheng (M.Arch. ’27) as shortlisted finalists.

Interactive Entertainment Architecture: Culture Lab, Toronto 1991–1994

Collage of still frame clips from archival video.

Curated by Architecture Assistant Professor Farzin Lotfi-Jam, view an exhibition at the Canadian Centre for Architecture that revisits Culture Lab, architect Brian Boigon’s radical interdisciplinary intervention in design and architectural discourse.