Assistant Professor, Design
Education
Ph.D., History and Theory of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2002
S.M.Arch.S. (Master of Science, Architectural Studies), Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 1994
B.Sc., Building Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1991
Bachelor of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1991
Academic Experience
Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, UIUC; 2002-present
Visiting Associate, Harvard Design School, Spring 2004
Visiting Instructor, School of Architecture, UIUC; Spring 2002
Recitation Instructor, Department of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 1998
Visiting Instructor, School of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; 1991-1992
Affiliated Faculty member:
UIUC Department of Landscape Architecture; Program in South Asian and Middle East Studies; and The Environmental Council.
Professional Experience
Miller Dyer Spears Architects and Planners, Inc.; 1994-1995
Publications
“Hassan Fathy's vision of vernacular architecture,” The Many Faces Of The Courtyard House: Urbanism, Ecology, and Culture. Edited by Nasser Rabbat. [forthcoming]
"Doxiadis," Encyclopedia of Modern Greece, London: Fitzroy Dearborn 2002, pp. 513-514.
"Historicizing Pedagogy: A Critique of Kostof's Architectural History Textbook," Journal of Architectural Education (May 1999):216-225
"Grey-areas in Green Politics: Reflections on the Modern Environmental Movement," Thresholds 14 (Spring 1997):48-53
"Revisiting Scientific Epistemology in Architecture: Ekistics and Modernism in the Middle East," [Masters Thesis] Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1994
Research
Pyla's research centers on two main areas: a) the history and theory of modern architecture and urbanism in the postcolonial context of the Middle East , and b) the intersections of modern architecture with the history and politics of development and environmentalism. Pyla's research has an interdisciplinary outlook, spanning the disciplines of architectural history, environmental history, and cultural studies.
Pyla presented her current research at numerous academic conferences, including the annual meetings of the Society of Architectural Historians, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the College Art Association, and the Middle East Studies Association. Pyla also presented papers at symposia at Harvard, UCLA, and the American Research Center in Egypt. She performed field research in Egypt, Greece, Switzerland, Syria, and Turkey, and is now working on a manuscript analyzing Ekistics. Other publications include her article, "Gray-areas in Green Politics: Reflections on the Modern Environmental Movement," published in Thresholds (Spring 1997); and "Historicizing Pedagogy: A Critique of Kostof's History of Architecture," published in the Journal of Architectural Education (May 1999). In 2004 she organized a symposium titled "Landscapes of Development: Modernization and the Physical Environment in the Eastern Mediterranean ," which was held at the Harvard Design School where she was a research fellow.
Presentations and Lectures
Paper: “Cities of the Future, Heroes of the Past.” 57th Annual Meeting of the Society of Architectural Historians, April 2004.
Invited Lecture : “Re-imagining a National Identity: Urban and social restructuring in Baghdad, 1955-58.” Harvard Design School Medina Conference, “Reconstructing Identity,” April 9, 2004.
Paper: “Architects as Development Experts: The ‘Mediterranean Metropolis’ of Doxiadis Associates.” Landscapes of Development Symposium at Harvard, March 13, 2004.
Paper: “Ekistics and Post-WWII Urbanism.” Harvard Design School Conference, “Josep Llouis Sert, Architect of Urban Design,” October 2003.
Paper: “Shrubs, Honeycombs, and Cities: What ‘Nature’ Meant to Mid-20th Century Global Visionaries.” 56th Annual Meeting of the Society of Architectural Historians, April 2003.
Paper: “Global Visions, Local Knowledge, and the Design of Model Communities:
The Centrality of the Postcolonial World in the Historiography of Modernism.”
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Conference, March 2003.
Paper: “Local Tradition and Global Consciousness: Hassan Fathy’s Architecture.
” Public lecture, The American Research Center in Egypt, Cairo, March 1999.
Paper: “Environmental Politics: An Alternative Perspective to Hassan Fathy’s Vernacular Architecture.” Hypotheses III Conference, Princeton University, February 1999.
Paper: “The Arab House: From Regionalist Environmentalism to Identity Politics.” Middle East Studies Association Conference, December 1998.
Professional Memberships
Society of Architectural Historians
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture
College Art Association
Other Activities
Teaching interests encompass architectural history, theory and design. Design studios emphasize critical perspectives on contemporary environmental consciousness and sustainability, and investigate the larger social and cultural dimensions of architectural practice. History/theory offerings focus on the history and politics of twentieth century modernism, drawing on the theoretical premises of cultural criticism and science/technology studies.
Symposium Organized:
“Landscapes of Development: Modernization and the Physical Environment in the Eastern Mediterranean”, held at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design in March 2004. For info: http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/landscapesofdevelopment
Awards and Honors
Harvard Graduate School of Design, Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2003-2004)
UIUC Research Board Grant (2004)
UIUC Environmental Council Grant (2003)
Samuel H. Kress Foundation Dissertation Research Fellowship (1998-99)
Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Research Grant (1998)
Outstanding Graduating Student Award for Masters Thesis (MIT, 1994)
American Institute of Architects School Medal and Certificate of Merit (1991)
The Peck Prize for design thesis (RPI, 1991)
Fulbright Scholarship for Undergraduate Studies (1986-91)
Panayiota I. Pyla