Yael Erel, a lecturer in the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was recently awarded a Journal of Architectural Education Best Article Award by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

“The article presents a framework for teaching construction of environments with light,” Erel said. “It explores light as a material that can be precisely controlled through understanding its physicality as well as the literary dimensions it holds.” “

The award-winning article, titled Constructing Mystery, explores the work and thought she developed over the last few years in her seminar “Projecting Light.” The seminar is designed to give future architects a way to understand light as a physical material they can comprehend and manipulate.

“This research intersects the fields I am deeply immersed in — light, architecture, and education,” Erel said. “Receiving the best article award is meaningful to me as it affirms the pedagogy and work created in the course as well as the depth of the investigation.”