Computational Design Practices, Faculty Position - Columbia University (NYC, NY)
Description
The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University invites applications for a full-time, open-rank faculty position in Computational Design Practices, in the tenured, tenure-track, and professional practice categories. A Master’s degree in Architecture, Urban Planning, Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, or Computational Design, or the equivalent professional degree with a specialization in computation and the built environment is required.
GSAPP is a school dedicated to engaging and shaping the built environment across scales, in light of the climatic, ecological, societal, bodily, and technological tensions of today. With Master’s programs in Architecture; Urban Planning; Historic Preservation; Real Estate Development; Architecture and Urban Design; Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices; and Computational Design Practices, and doctoral programs in Architecture, Urban Planning, and Historic Preservation, GSAPP represents a unique environment that fosters interdisciplinary thinking and innovation across contexts, expanding the reach and critical capacity of knowledge and practice. Located in the heart of New York City, the School has built its long legacy of excellence as an engine for change, combining inventiveness with disciplinary practice and incisive and engaged thinking. The Master of Science in Computational Design Practices (MSCDP), newly established in 2021, is a one-year (three semester) pre- or post-professional cross-disciplinary degree program. It extends and integrates disciplines of architecture, design, spatial data visualization, and urban planning, focusing on computational design practices for the built environment at multiple scales. The program encourages critical and creative engagement with computational design as both method and practice.
GSAPP seeks candidates who will build bridges and form networks between computational design, technology, data analysis, visualization, and the built environment. The new faculty member will link curricula across MSCDP; the Computation and Technology sequences in the Master of Architecture, Advanced Architectural Design and Urban Design programs; and Urban Analytics in the Master of Science in Urban Planning program, among other possibilities.
GSAPP is a unique research and pedagogical environment that fosters thinking and innovation with computational methods across scales and contexts. Recognizing that the tools, technologies, and data that shape the built environment are not neutral, GSAPP is interested in candidates whose research and practice engage critically with urgent questions that address the future of computational design. Strong candidates will have the ability to foster careful environments of design and reconsider tools and technologies that might have new impacts on design practice from the scale of the project to the scale of the planet. The position is open to multiple interpretations of this challenge including new ideas for public interest technologies, the design of intelligent tools, speculative and creative computation, critical approaches to computational design in the context of machine learning and artificial intelligence, new uses and new forms of data and its visualization, human computer interactions beyond screens, and procedural urbanism. The field of computational design must constantly change and adapt to reflect upon, challenge, and incorporate new technologies as they emerge. We invite applications from candidates with new approaches and definitions of the field and those whose practices include strong consideration of the social, cultural, and ethical aspects of computational design.
Qualifications
A Master’s degree in Architecture, Urban Planning, Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, or Computational Design, or the equivalent professional degree with a specialization in computation and the built environment is required.
GSAPP is especially interested in candidates who have the ability not only to shape pedagogy and teach core courses in the MSCDP program and cross GSAPP electives, but also to formulate and guide innovative research in computational design for the built environment at any scale.
GSAPP faculty lead the evolution of their disciplines and create the conditions for students to research and interrogate current and past ideas and methods, as well as support their capacity to experiment with novel or alternative notions and practices. Therefore, we welcome applications from candidates who are able to teach, conduct research, and/or practice in emergent directions that respond to contemporary challenges and engagements.
Candidates in all ranks and categories must have demonstrated capacity for original work and have strong leadership, institution building, and communication skills. They must show clear evidence of expertise in, and promise of significant continuing contributions to, their disciplines.
Successful senior candidates (associate professor or full professor rank) being considered for hire with tenure require extensive teaching experience, a substantial body of scholarship and research, and interest in broader public engagement. Ability to develop multidisciplinary collaborations in research and a strong commitment to integrate theory and practice are desirable.
Tenure‐track candidates in the assistant professor rank must show evidence of teaching and great promise in scholarship, research, and/or practice. Tenure-track candidates in the associate professor rank will have a demonstrated record of teaching, scholarly achievement, and show great promise of attaining distinction in their field of specialization. For all tenure-track candidates, interest in and ability to collaborate with other disciplines is desirable.
Successful professional practice candidates (associate professor of professional practice or full professor of professional practice rank) must show evidence of recent (within the past 3 years) or current contributions to the fields of the built environment through professional engagement and are expected to sustain an active professional practice in the discipline of hire. All professional practice candidates are expected to articulate how their professional expertise and practice interests can contribute to GSAPP, as a means to shape the direction of the disciplines and programs of the School as well as the field more broadly. Candidates for the full professor of professional practice rank will be those who have a minimum of ten years’ experience and who have distinguished careers for which they are recognized at the national and international level. Candidates for the associate professor of professional practice rank will generally have five years of professional experience and show clear evidence of expertise and significant promise of continuing development.
Application Instructions
Please submit a letter of application, CV, a statement of current and future research plans, writing and work samples (research/projects), teaching philosophy and sample syllabi, and contact information for three references. (Confidential recommendation letters will only be requested from references for candidates who are invited for a campus visit/second round interview.) Review of applications will begin September 1, 2023 and continue until the position is filled. The anticipated start date for this position is July 1, 2024.
Hiring Salary Ranges (Annually)
Assistant Professor (tenure-track): $100,000 - $130,000
Associate Professor (tenured, tenure-track, professional practice): $120,000 - $160,000
Full Professor (tenured, professional practice): $150,000 - $200,000
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran
Pay Transparency Disclosure
The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.
