Publications
The architecture handbook:
a student guide to understanding buildings
Author, 2007 (300 page student edition; 600 page teacher edition)
A ground-breaking college-prep text for teens and the first high school architecture text book in the nation. Developed in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and in collaboration with my Chicago Architecture Foundation colleague Krisann Rehbein. Over three years, we led more than 100 architects, educators, and teens in advisory teams to develop and field test this innovative text which has changed the way architecture is taught in schools across the country.
In 2009, the American Institute of Architects awarded The Architecture Handbook with a National Honor Award for Collaborative Achievement.
schoolyards to skylines:
teaching with chicago’s amazing architecture
Primary author, 2002 (500 page teacher resource)
Schoolyards to Skylines is a unique interdisciplinary teaching resource that leads K-8 grade teachers through 47 lessons in core academic subjects. At the Chicago Architecture Foundation, we wanted students to understand the buildings where they live, learn, shop, worship, play, and work. Architecture becomes a catalyst for teaching curious young people, empowered to positively impact the built environment around them.
In 2004, the American Institute of Architects awarded Schoolyards to Skylines with a National Honor Award for Collaborative Achievement.
discoverdesign.org
Co-Creator, 2012
At the Chicago Architecture Foundation in collaboration with project partner Krisann Rehbein, I led the initial development, testing, and launch of an innovative digital learning tool connecting teens, teachers, and architects across the country for project-based learning in architecture. This first digital platform of its kind coaches teens through the steps of design process - focusing on the process over just the final product - while also introducing them to the world of architecture skills and professional designers who volunteer as online mentors. The Chicago Architecture Center’s Edge Quintanilla expanded and redesigned the platform which has over 8,000 registered users from around the world.
In 2015, the American Institute of Architects awarded DiscoverDesign.org with a National Honor Award for Collaborative Achievement.
no small plans - reader’S toolkit
Author for Chapter Guides to explain the buildings, neighborhoods, and historical context featured in No Small Plans with page-by-page detailed annotations, 2017
No Small Plans is a graphic novel that follows the neighborhood adventures of teens in Chicago's past (1928), present (2017) and future (2211) as they wrestle with designing the city they want, need, and deserve. The book was written by my Chicago Architecture Center colleague Gabrielle Lyon, illustrated by Eyes of the Cat Illustration, and inspired by the 1911 Wacker’s Manual, which was once used in classrooms to explain Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago.