Virginia Tech School of Architecture

Susan Piedmont-Palladino M.Arch. '84, professor of architecture in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, has been awarded the Robert L. Turner Chair in Urban Design in the School of Architecture by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The Robert L. Turner Chair in Urban Design was established with a generous gift from Robert L. Turner, with the provision that the title be bestowed upon a distinguished professor in the School of Architecture who demonstrates sustained excellence, national recognition, and leadership in the field of urban design.

A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1991, Piedmont-Palladino has led the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center as director since 2016, strengthening Virginia Tech’s presence and influence in the greater Washington, D.C., area.

She founded and advanced the school’s Master of Science in architecture and urban design program and has integrated interdisciplinary teaching, experiential learning, and global collaboration into the urban design curriculum.

She has authored and edited books, peer-reviewed publications, invited lectures, and major exhibitions that have shaped national and international discourse on urbanism, design literacy, sustainability, and civic identity.

As consulting curator and writer for the National Building Museum since 2002, she has led major public-facing initiatives that advance civic understanding of the built environment.

Her distinguished record of awards, professional service, public scholarship, mentorship, and interdisciplinary leadership reflects the highest standards of academic excellence and sustained commitment to advancing the discipline of urban design.

Piedmont-Palladino obtained her bachelor’s degree from William & Mary and her master’s degree in architecture from Virginia Tech.

James Jones, professor of architecture in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, has been named the G.T. Ward Endowed Professor in the School of Architecture by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The G.T. Ward Endowed Professorship was established with a generous gift from Ward to recognize a distinguished professor in the School of Architecture who sustains excellence in teaching, research, and service, subsequently advances the discipline, and elevates the reputation of Virginia Tech.

A member of the university community since 1997, James has served as director of the Center for High Performance Environments since 2008, building national and international recognition in sustainability, health and wellness design, and building performance.

He has mentored more than 100 undergraduate theses, chaired 75 Master of Science theses and 65 Ph.D. dissertations, and received multiple teaching excellence awards.

His scholarly contributions include over 100 peer-reviewed publications; the book “AEROFORM: Designing for Wind and Air Movement;” significant invited chapters; patented innovations, including the V2T roof vent system; and approximately $1.5 million in funded research.

He is the founder of the Center for High Performance Environments, which is recognized as a Center of Excellence by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.

Jones obtained his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in architecture from the University of Michigan.

Michael Ermann, professor of architecture in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, has been named the Reynolds Metals Endowed Professor in the School of Architecture by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The Reynolds Metals Endowed Professorship was established with a generous gift from the Reynolds Metal Company to recognize a distinguished professor in the School of Architecture whose sustained excellence in teaching, scholarship, professional engagement, and innovation advances architectural education and enhances the national reputation of Virginia Tech.

A member of the university community since 2001, Ermann has demonstrated innovative and nationally transformative teaching practices through the creation of Amber Book, a widely used licensure-preparation resource in the architecture profession, reaching more than 30,000 enrollees and over 1,000 firms worldwide.

His research in architectural acoustics, including the widely cited textbook “Architectural Acoustics Illustrated,” influential peer-reviewed studies on concert hall design, and groundbreaking work linking school noise levels to student performance, has advanced both theory and professional practice.

He has taught environmental building systems and design studios and earned multiple teaching excellence awards and professional recognition.

Ermann received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Tulane University and his master’s degree in architecture from the University of Florida.

Markus Breitschmid, professor of architecture in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, has been named the T.A. Carter Endowed Professor in the School of Architecture by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The endowed professorship was established with a generous gift from Carter to recognize a distinguished professor in the School of Architecture who has sustained excellence in scholarship, teaching, and service while advancing the discipline of architecture and enhancing the national and international reputation of Virginia Tech.

A member of the university community since 2004, Breitschmid has written eight books, including “The Significance of the Idea” and “Non-Referential Architecture,” which has been translated into multiple languages and adopted in leading architecture theory curricula worldwide. “Non-Referential Architecture” is the most-sold architecture theory book authored in the 21st century.

His writings have appeared in the most internationally prominent journals in the discipline, and his work has been exhibited at the Biennale Architettura di Venezia, the Galerie d’Architecture in Paris, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and other major international venues. Breitshcmid has been invited to lecture in more than 50 universities, museums, and professional associations in 18 countries on four continents.

He has received Virginia Tech’s Jacob A. Lutz III Eminent Scholar Award and the Gold Medal of the Colegio de Arquitectura del Peru along with international critical acclaim for shaping contemporary architectural discourse.

He operates Markus Breitschmid Architecture LLC, working on projects in the U.S., Italy, Brazil, and Switzerland and is currently finishing construction of a building adjacent to the Jefferson National Forest in Blacksburg.

Breitschmidt has held leadership roles in the National Architectural Accrediting Board and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

He received his professional architecture degree from the Central Swiss University of Applied Sciences, a master’s degree in architecture from Virginia Tech, and his Ph.D. from the Technische Universität Berlin in Germany.

Joe Wheeler M.Arch. '98, professor of architecture in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

A member of the Virginia Tech community for more than 32 years, Wheeler made significant contributions as a recognized innovator in the areas of housing industrialization, environmental sustainability, and technology integration.

He was the co-founder and co-director of the Center for Design Research beginning in 2011 and served as lead investigator for four major Solar Decathlon projects, five Solar Decathlon competitions, and multiple research initiatives. Additionally, for more than two decades, he guided student researchers and collaborated with industry, government, and academic partners to address global housing challenges through smart, efficient, affordable, and sustainable design.

Wheeler’s work has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the HIVE 100 Award from Builder Magazine, the American Institute of Architects Honor Award, the National Council of Architectural Recognition Boards Prize, the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects Research Prize, and the XCaliber University Prize for Excellence in Outreach.

He led Virginia Tech’s interdisciplinary teams in multiple competitions, including the LumenHAUS project, which won the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe title in Madrid in 2010 and received the American Institute of Architects Architecture Award in 2012. Wheeler also led the FutureHAUS project, which won the 2018 Solar Decathlon Middle East competition and was invited to exhibit at the 2020 World EXPO.

In the classroom, Wheeler taught a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate classes in the areas of architecture design.

Paul Kelsch, professor of architecture and a member of the Washington Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC) faculty, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

A member of the Virginia Tech community for more than 30 years, Kelsch made significant research contributions to the study of cultural landscapes, especially commemorative landscapes and historic parkways of the national capital region.

He served for over 20 years in the landscape architecture program on the Blacksburg campus and at the WAAC before shifting to the architecture faculty in 2021.

In 2020, he was named Robert L. Turner Chair in Urban Design and has led the urban design concentration in the Master of Science in architecture program at the WAAC since 2021. Through his leadership in the urban design program, he fostered international collaboration among faculty and students from Virginia Tech, the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany, and Universidad de Desarrollos in Chile.

Kelsch’s work has been recognized through numerous awards, including national recognition as a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2024. He was honored nationally by the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture with the Recognition for Academic Excellence Award in 2005. He received numerous awards from the American Society of Landscape Architecture for his design work and for his Cultural Landscape Reports for the National Park Service.

Kelsch cultivated a culture of collective learning and discovery by his leadership of the award-winning Casey Trees competition. Additionally, he led the first landscape architecture practice-based studio, enabling students to intern with professional firms while developing research topics that integrated practical experience with academic inquiry.

In the classroom, Kelsch taught a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate classes on the topics of landscape architecture history, design theory, and site construction. Throughout his academic career, he straddled disciplinary boundaries, especially in integrated design studios for students in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design.

This year, the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC) held an inaugural Thesis Prize competition for undergraduate and graduate theses that finished or defended this Spring.

They had five finalists:

Robyn Resnick
Will Nguyen
Saleh Zebermai
Lianbin Xu
Karen Aldana Castro

A panel of four jurors joined us for finalist presentations on Friday May 8. They were Matthew Bell, U-Maryland, Michael Winstanley, Winstanley Architects and Planners, Harry Kelly, Ritter Norton Architects, and Edward Becker, Virginia Tech.

They awarded the Thesis Prize to Karen Aldana Castro, for her thesis “The Breakaway: Between Spectacle & Observation in Times Square.” The jury also awarded two Honorable Mentions to Will Nguyen for “Inhabiting the Interchange" and Saleh Zebermai, "The Timber Stage: Design Proposal for Virginia Tech's Mass Timber Theater”.

Although the semester has come to an end, we wanted to share a few moments from the various final pin ups that took place during the last weeks of classes.

We hope all of our Hokies have a restful and enjoyable summer, and be sure to stay tuned in for more updates from us over the coming months!

On Wednesday, 06 MAY, student work from five Integrative Design Labs across three campus locations was exhibited in the Cowgill Lobby. Taught during the 4th-year in many different studios, the Integrative Design Lab challenges students to develop works of architecture that balance the poetic and the technical – the needs of both human spirit and human occupation.

The scale, site, and program of the projects varies across the studios and the jury is challenged to recognize projects that offer strong architectural propositions which are highly resolved and compellingly presented. This spring, the work was reviewed by Professors Julia McConnell and Leandro Piazzi, along with architect (alum) Justin Whiteford, a partner with Fultz & Singh Architects in Richmond, VA.

The jury recognized five projects equally with Merit Awards:

“Void and Veil” // Eve Lee // Blacksburg – Ermann Lab
“Settled by Design” // Joseph Scafa // WAAC
“Simpatia” // Emma Nguyen + Bella Hwang // Chicago Studio
“900 St. James” // Alex Rumley // Blacksburg – Green Lab
“Step Up Studio” // Christopher Marcone // Blacksburg – Schnoedt Lab

Congratulations to all the students and faculty for completing Integrative this semester – and high-fives all around to those whose work was recognized.

Dear graduating students of the School of Architecture,

Congratulations to each of you from the entire school community. Your presence and contributions have been integral to shaping who we are today, and I am confident that you will continue to serve as outstanding ambassadors for the School of Architecture, the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, and Virginia Tech. As you move forward, I know you will embody the spirit of Ut Prosim and engage the challenges ahead with purpose, integrity, and imagination.

Throughout your time here, you have demonstrated a remarkable ability to make a positive difference; in your communities and in the lives of those who encounter you and your work. Your education has grounded you in inquiry: the patience to articulate better questions and the courage to pursue meaningful answers through your medium. You have learned to meet the unknown through the contemplative and constructive practices of our discipline. Graduation marks a new beginning, and I hope you remember that, as creative individuals, you have practiced “beginning” with every project and challenge you have undertaken. You are well prepared for the opportunities ahead, and you have already begun to advance the profession in thoughtful and inspiring ways.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the parents, family members, and friends of our graduates for your unwavering patience, understanding, and support throughout these challenging and transformative years. Your sacrifices have played an essential role in helping our graduates reach this milestone, and we are deeply grateful for the trust and encouragement you have provided along the way.

Teaching and learning are reciprocal processes, and I offer my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your courage, generosity, and commitment to education. As you continue in your careers, I hope you will remember the School of Architecture and the professors, advisors, staff members, and fellow Hokies who have been part of your journey. This will always be your home, and we hope you will remain connected to us as you embark on the next chapter of your lives.

Best,

Jim Bassett
Director
School of Architecture