News & Press
AIA awards research grants to five climate initiatives, from biodegradable structures to microgrids
By Niall Patrick Walsh
The AIA has announced the winners of the 2022 Upjohn Research Initiative, an annual grant which awards funding to research projects advancing sustainability in architecture.
Penn State to study how fungal biomaterials can help reduce construction waste
By Niall Patrick Walsh
“Researchers at Penn State are undertaking a study into whether fungal materials can replace traditional acoustic insulation funded by the 2022 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative. The team behind the effort, funded in 2021 by both an AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grant and a SOM Foundation Research Prize, is being led by assistant architecture professor Benay Gürsoy from Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture Stuckeman School - Department of Architecture.”
Architecture student’s research uses fungi for better building acoustics
By Penn State, College of Arts and Architecture
“To some, fungi and building acoustics might seem like an odd combination, but for integrated undergraduate-graduate architecture student Natalie Walter, there’s a natural harmony in the relationship.
Funded by an Erickson Discovery Grant, Walter is researching mycelium-based composites and their ability to be used as acoustic paneling.”
Two architecture students receive Erickson Discovery Grants
By Penn State, College of Arts and Architecture
“Undergraduate architecture students Katie McRury and Natalie Walter have each been awarded Erickson Discovery Grants to advance their architecture research and development.”
New grant looks to biomaterials to help reduce construction waste
By Penn State, College of Arts and Architecture
“Walter said that the team is hoping to gain a more holistic understanding of mycelium-based composites — and biomaterials, in general — for use as architectural components.
“We believe that biomaterials can play a huge role in reducing the embodied carbon [the term for the greenhouse gas emissions that arise from the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal of building materials] and amount of waste generated during material manufacturing. So, from a materials standpoint, we hope to contribute new knowledge to this field that can benefit the architectural industry at large,” she said.