The “Art” of Building an Idea
To develop an idea for his final graduate school project 25 years ago, Architecture Clinical Professor Michael Abrams didn’t draw inspiration from his favorite architects: He riffed off his passion for music. Jazz, with its swinging groove, offbeat rhythm and layering of instruments, influenced his ...
Student Project Reclaims a Sacred Space
For over 20 years, an ornate, gothic-style Roman Catholic church located in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. served as a “safe haven” for a Filipino community to gather and worship 9,000 miles from home. But what was once a lively, joyful place for potlucks, Christmas mass and com...
Unearthing a Campus’ Past
Road ruts, broken pieces of pottery and metal fragments long-buried along the north side of the University of Maryland’s campus may offer new clues about the land’s history, and the enslaved people who lived and worked there, through ongoing archeological research led by the School of Architecture, ...
Capstone Winner Makes Room for Growth in College Park
A community-nurturing, mix-used development with panoramic views of Greater College Park earned first place in the Spring 2025 John B. Colvin Capstone Competition. The Haven was one of five projects presented to a jury of industry experts that capitalized on the booming growth surrounding the Univer...
A Peek Inside: The Architecture Studio
This story was originally published in Maryland Today. Written by Karen Shih '09. Photos by Stephanie S. Cordle.Power cords curl like jungle vines from the ceilings, snaking between black metal dividers and miniature construction projects. Throughout the industrial space, with its concrete floors an...
To Succeed in Business, Think Like an Architect
Architecture Adjunct Professor Andrew Pressman believes a great team is akin to a big, unhappy dysfunctional family.You don’t have to like the other team members to produce great results,” Pressman says. “Tension between team members can be seen as constructive—as the gasoline that fuels innovation ...
Best in Class
Written by Maggie Haslam and Brianna RhodesA field of wildflowers 55 miles north of College Park is an unlikely setting for a visitor’s center. But for Alden Schutz ’25, it was a canvas for conceiving a place that marks one of the most pivotal moments of the Civil War. The architecture major’s desig...
Restoring a Main Street’s “Charm”
Architecture student Christophe Tanis discovered a bold way to gauge a neighborhood’s walkability while strolling down a city street in West Baltimore: He estimated the number of inches between him and a speeding bus. “There’s no safety buffer between the sidewalk and the road, and people are drivin...
VR Can Boost Police Officer Empathy, UMD Study Finds
The story originally appeared in Maryland Today. Written by John Tucker. The job of police officer isn’t one that’s generally associated with touchy-feeliness, but a new University of Maryland study points to a tool that could help cops better connect with those they serve: virtual reality (VR).Poli...
UMD Program Puts Green Brewing Practices on Tap
For the nearly 10,000 micro- and craft breweries in the United States, making suds is surprisingly soggy business. The average independent brewery uses between 10 and 20 gallons of water to make just one gallon of beer, compared to the 2:1 ratio of macrobrewers.Now the University of Maryland’s Envir...