building a better texas

In the future, structures will be created onsite by 3-D printers, and the construction and manufacturing industries will have much more in common, according to a multidisciplinary Texas A&M faculty team envisioning how technology will change building.

To prepare for a future in which structures are built with material from large-scale, 3-D printers, College of Architecture faculty are developing and testing environmentally responsible printing methods in a two-year study funded by a $500,000 X-Grant.

Researchers are learning how to reduce highway repavement costs and maximize rural highway safety in two multiyear research projects that include Kunhee Choi, Texas A&M associate professor of construction science, and scientists from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

Seemingly rational choices, made in the wake of natural disasters, can produce unsound results due to “uncanny wisdom,” a term, coined by a Texas A&M urban planning professor, describing actions that eventually exacerbate problems they were meant to solve.

As La Grange, Texas recovers from post Hurricane Harvey flooding, residents and elected officials are considering Texas A&M student proposals that address the town’s infrastructure, housing and transportation needs.

A recent National Academies report championing the integration of science and the arts validates a Texas A&M visualization professor's multi-year National Science Foundation-funded initiative to elevate the role of art and design in STEM fields.

Jing “Eric” Du, Texas A&M assistant professor of construction science, is creating a virtual reality emergency simulation system to train firefighters for dangerous missions with a $465,000 National Institute of Standards and Technology grant.

The future of architecture lies in design that converts, flexes and adapts to changing needs, according to Texas A&M College of Architecture faculty Negar Kalantar and Alireza Borhani, who explore transformability as a design tool in iMOTION, open through July 29, 2018.

A Texas A&M student's design proposal for a coastal Texas city’s commercial and residential development, including natural and engineered solutions to prevent flooding, was featured on WLA, an international website showcasing student and professional work.

Former First Lady Laura Bush recently announced a health research initiative that will feature a Houston healing garden designed by Phillip Hammond, a Texas A&M landscape architecture student.

First responders’ lives depend on their ability to navigate structures during a emergency — a task Jing “Eric” Du, assistant professor of construction science, aims to make easier and safer with wayfinding research funded by a $220,000 NSF grant.

Senior environmental design students recently designed and built small-scale prototypes for lightweight collapsible pavilions that could be deployed at full scale up to 400 square feet. The portable, transformable structures expand to form artistic, architecturally intriguing canopies.

Texas A&M students' master plans addressing urban flooding and crime, unintended effects of gentrification, and other environmental and societal issues earned top honors from the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

For making Texas A&M a more inviting place for minorities, third-year urban planning student Carlo Chunga Pizarro received the 2018 Buck Weirus Spirit Award in a ceremony 10:30 a.m. Sunday, April 15, 2018 at the Association of Former Students Alumni Center.

By diligently working to remove barriers for people with disabilities on the Texas A&M campus, Bara Safarova, a doctoral student in architecture, was honored at the 2018 ACE Awards. an annual event recognizing the importance of campus diversity.