Friendship Cabins, an architectural research project from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute using environmentally friendly, next-generation interlocking plastic bottles to create sustainable outdoor dining structures, received an inaugural Alfresco Award from Alfresco NYC – a coalition of community organizations that supports the Open Restaurants program in New York City.  

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants throughout New York City and elsewhere use bespoke outdoor structures to offer safer dining experiences for their customers. However, many of these installations do not adequately protect servers, physically separate diners, provide thermal comfort, or easily disassemble if street maintenance is needed. 

Carla Leitao, a lecturer in the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been invited to present work at “CityX Venice,” the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale Italian Virtual Pavilion, curated by Tom Kovac from RMIT University in Australia and Alessandro Melis of the University of Portsmouth in England.

Dennis Shelden and Robert Karlicek, the heads of two prominent research centers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will serve as co-directors of the new Rensselaer Institute for Energy, the Built Environment, and Smart Systems (EBESS).

The Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is partnering with OBMI, a leading global architecture firm, to develop new education, design, and construction strategies that facilitate improvements in constructability, sustainability, technology, and wellness in the built environment.

The Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will co-host the Sustainable Futures Conference with the University at Albany and the Future of Small Cities Institute from April 27 – April 30.

Mae-ling Lokko, an assistant professor in the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been awarded a Future by Design grant from the Architecture Design Fashion division of the British Council, which seeks to builds connections between people in the United Kingdom and other countries through arts, culture, and education.

The research projects explored in the newest episode of Why Not Change the World? The RPI Podcast sound like the stuff of science fiction, but it turns out they are as real as they are fascinating.

The Rensselaer Plan 2024, the strategic plan that guides Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, dedicated the university to innovative teaching and research “that addresses the most compelling global challenges.” In the last year, no challenge has consumed the globe more than the COVID-19 pandemic — and the Rensselaer community has stayed true to its mission.

Throughout the nearly 200-year history of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the university has prized flexibility and ingenuity in its delivery of higher education. This mindset has especially proven to be an asset during the COVID-19 pandemic, which required the entire campus to shift to remote instruction in the spring and summer of 2020, followed by a combination of in-person, online, and hybrid courses in subsequent semesters.