Within a few decades seven out of every ten people will be living in urban areas. Now more than ever, the way we build our communities, our neighborhoods and our homes will have a critical impact on our collective safety, comfort, health and well-being. As Dean of the University of Miami School of Architecture, Rodolphe el-Khoury has advanced cutting edge initiatives on Smart and Resilient Cities as well as the ways in which embedded technology will influence all scales of design from objects to urban form. In this episode of ON CITIES, el-Khoury will discuss the lessons he has learned and the ways he is exploring these unique challenges and opportunities in his research, practice and teaching.
Rodolphe el-Khoury is Dean of the University of Miami School of Architecture. Trained as both a historian and a designer, he divides his time between scholarship, research and practice. He is the author of numerous books on architecture and urbanism, including See Through Ledoux: Architecture, Theatre and the Pursuit of Transparency; Monolithic Architecture with Rodolfo Machado; Figures: Essays on Contemporary Architecture; and Shaping the City: Studies in History, Theory and Urban Design edited with Edward Robbins (in its second edition). He leads RAD-UM, a research lab for embedded technology and robotics aiming at enhancing responsiveness and resilience in buildings and smart cities. The work of his firm, Khoury Levit Fong (KLF) has won international awards. el-Khoury’s work has been featured in national and international media outlets that cut across disciplines ranging from WIRED Magazine to the Wall Street Journal, the Space Channel to BBC World. He has shared his work through teaching, visiting professorships and lectures at dozens of institutions in the U.S. and abroad.
