Northeastern University School of Architecture

On May 21, Professor Ivan Rupnik testified at the United States Congress’ House Select Committee on Small Business.

The committee’s question was crucial: how do we reduce regulatory barriers that increase construction costs and limit housing supply? Dr. Rupnik’s research, conducted alongside colleagues at MOD X and supported by HUD since 2022, is pushing housing affordability by helping move a 50-year-old policy framework from authorized to operational.

Congratulations, , on such impactful research!

Find the full transcript of the testimony at the link in bio.

A few weeks ago, Students from ‘s studio presented their semester research on modular housing and offsite construction strategies at the Boston City Hall Annex alongside city officials, the Housing Innovation Lab, and collaborating public agencies.

Developed in collaboration with Reframe Systems, the work explored how modular three- and six-plex housing models could support innovative, scalable, and community-oriented housing solutions across Boston. The presentations engaged questions of housing innovation, zoning, supportive housing, and the future of urban residential development.

The studio continues ongoing conversations around Boston’s evolving housing needs and the role that architecture, prefabrication, and public-sector collaboration can play in shaping more resilient and accessible urban futures.

Thank you , .systems , and everyone who contributed perspectives and feedback throughout the discussion.

The whole faculty together in a rare year-end celebratory shot. HAPPY GRADUATION TO OUR 2026 CLASS!! ✨

Final thesis reviews for the Master of Architecture program at Northeastern University. Students presented original research and design proposals to a jury of faculty and practitioners, marking the culmination of their graduate studies.
Congratulations to all who presented. 🎓
We are so proud of each and every one of you.
GraduateArchitecture

ARCH 7140 students presented their semester-long work at a public exhibition at the Dewitt Center in Lower Roxbury.
The studio, led by , asked students to engage with the Southwest Corridor : one of Boston’s most layered urban landscapes, through an ethic of repair. Spanning over 4 miles, the Corridor passes through neighborhoods shaped by 19th-century railroads, 1930s redlining, and mid-20th century highway clearance halted by community activism. Student projects propose interventions that surface silenced histories and address infrastructural, sustainability, and zoning challenges along the Corridor today.
The opening on April 13 was honored by the presence of David Lee, principal of Stull and Lee : the firm responsible for both Ruggles Station and the Dewitt Center, connecting the work directly to the legacy of design in this neighborhood.

•Faculty Spotlight•

We’re excited to share that Designing for Thermal Equity: Housing, Heat, and Health in Boston: a proposed graduate research studio by Professor Alpha Yacob Alpha Arsano- has received an Honorable Mention in the 2026 ACSA Course Development Prize on Architecture, Climate Change, and Society.

The studio explores equitable retrofit strategies for existing residential buildings, particularly in communities most vulnerable to rising temperatures. Through participatory engagement and performance-informed design, it reimagines how architecture can contribute to more just and resilient urban futures.

Project graphics by Callum Tinkler and Joshua Webb
Photos by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University.

👏 Congratulations to Professor Arsano!

• Inside the marsh •

Students of Nick Brown’s course Cities, Landscape, and Contemporary Culture visited Eel River Preserve and Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, near Plymouth, to learn about the dam removal and river restoration projects.

A truly “immersive” experience!

Thursday April 9th
Sam Naylor
Time: 1:30 pm
Behrakis 315

Sam Naylor, AIA is an architect, educator, and researcher with a focus in American multifamily housing. He believes everyone has a right to a dignified, affordable, and delightful dwelling; and is in pursuit of more expansive and imaginative designs for housing from the block to the bedroom.

He is a founding partner of Nominal, an architecture and design firm based in Boston and Minneapolis; and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Practice at the University of Minnesota College of Design.

Alongside practice he regularly partners with universities and non-profits to further design research in housing. Recently he was the lead designer for Equitable by Design: a zoning research project at Northeastern University, and he was a Harvard Druker Traveling Fellow investigating co-operative housing design around the world. He was the primary author of the report: Legalizing Mid-rise Single-Stair Housing in Massachusetts, as well as a co-editor of The State of Housing Design 2023, a book about national design trends -both published by The Harvard Joint Center for Housing.

•Student Work Spotlight•

Transect, an urban design proposal developed within the Architecture, Infrastructure, and the the City studio at the Northeastern University School of Architecture.

By: .porotsky and Sofia Aspillaga

Instructor:

Project Description: The project explores the “Boston alley” as a site-specific typology of public space that can strengthen social connections and residential life. Through a sequence of alleys, the public space connects street-edge micro pavilions to shared plazas, introducing moments of pause, interaction, and community within the urban fabric.

The proposal focuses on the street, more than the building, as the central subject of urban design, where permeability, accessibility, and social interaction happen. Alleys integrate landscape, circulation, and social gathering into a cohesive neighborhood framework. Each alley supports a gradient from public to semi-private space while activating edges and encouraging everyday community life.

Through an interpretative redesign of the Boston alley, the project demonstrates how urban design can shape place-based, people-centered environments.

•Architecture shaped by Context.

Join us for a lecture with Ruth Mandl, Principal at CO Adaptive, a practice focused on transforming existing buildings into energy-efficient, resilient, and thoughtfully designed environments.

CO Adaptive works at the intersection of architecture, construction, and sustainability, reimagining how our existing building stock can evolve to meet the environmental and social challenges of the future.

📅 Friday, March 13
⏰ 1:30 PM
📍 Shillman 135
📎 Organized by Kiel Moe

Come learn about adaptive reuse, sustainable design strategies, and how architects and builders can work together to shape the next generation of resilient environments.