Jerry A. Wells

Jerry A. Wells

Professor
Emeritus and Retired Faculty
Department

Architecture
Contact

(607) 255-5236
jaw24@cornell.edu

Jerry Wells served as chair of Cornell's architecture department for two terms from 1980 to 1989. He is a registered architect in New York, #8993, and with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, #5955. He has served on the Fulbright Committee, the National Screening Committee for Architecture, and was a member of the board of directors for the National Architectural Accrediting Board. He has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Architectural Education and was a member of the Architects in Education committee of the AIA.

Wells recently ran the Solar Decathlon studios at Cornell and was involved in teaching two interdisciplinary seminars for the project. He has a keen interest in industrialized building and solar energy.

Wells studied at the University of Texas receiving his B.Arch. in 1959 and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology-ETH, Zurich, Switzerland from 1960 to 1962.

Classes (Selected)

ARCH 3304/6304 Column, Wall, Elevation, Facade: A Study of the Vertical Surface in ArchitectureField and figure relationships (interrelation of parts dominated by the general character of the whole) are the general themes for studying numerous issues relevant to the design of elevations and facades. The first part of the semester is a lecture/seminar format. Students are required to research and present a paper for discussion. In the latter part of the semester, students do exercises to demonstrate their understanding of the issues addressed.
ARCH 3101/3102 Third Year Design StudioDesign and development of complex architectural projects situated in urban contexts and developed with regard to program, site, building, and representation.

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships (Selected)

Prize Winner - Newport News Cultural Center and Theater (1989)
40 Under 40, Architecture and Urbanis (1974–78)
Progressive Architecture Design Awards Citation (1971)
Industrial Design, Award for Excellence of Design for Manufactured Housing System (1970)
First Prize - Housing at Brighton Beach, Brooklyn (1968)

Exhibitions and Presentations (Selected)

Solar Decathlon, sixth place, Washington, DC (2009)
Solar Decathlon, sixth place, Washington, DC (2007)

Publications (Selected)

"Shenandoah House," Progressive Architecture, Archi Cree, Design Interiors, also exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (April 1992)
"Broadway East Housing, Kingston, New York; 130 units," Progressive Architecture (1974)
"Brighton Beach Housing, Brooklyn, New York; 360 units," published in various periodicals including New Directions in American Architecture, Learning from Las Vegas (1970)