Archeworks

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Archeworks

Established:	1993
Type:	An Alternative Design School
Founders:	Stanley Tigerman & Eva Maddox
Postgraduates:	15-20 students a year
Location:	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Campus:	River North, Chicago, IL
Website:	http://www.archeworks.org/

Archeworks is an alternative design school located in Chicago where students work in multidisciplinary teams with nonprofit partners to create design solutions for social needs.

Archeworks was founded in 1993 by internationally known architect Stanley Tigerman, FAIA of Tigerman McCurry Architects and award winning designer Eva L. Maddox, Ph.D., FIIDA, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, FIIDA of the firm Perkins and Will | Eva Maddox Branded Environments.

Archeworks is located in the heart of River North, Chicago's cultural arts district. Students meet and work in Archeworks's unique studio building, designed by Tigerman in 1997.

Archeworks co-founders and directors, Maddox and Tigerman, passed the baton to award-winning architects Sarah Dunn and Martin Felsen. Dunn and Felsen were introduced officially as new co-directors of Archeworks at a symposium on January 16, 2008 at 6 p.m. at Archeworks.

Dunn and Felsen are founding principals of UrbanLab in Chicago. UrbanLab is an award-winning design firm that has designed civic, commercial and residential projects. Recently, UrbanLab won the History Channel’s 2007 national City of the Future competition, and Felsen won the 2007 Dubin Family Young Architect Award from the AIA Chicago. Both Felsen and Dunn are graduates of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University in New York City. Felsen is an Associate Studio Professor at the College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Dunn is an Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture, College of Architecture and the Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Over the years, more than thirty design projects have been completed. Student teams have addressed subjects ranging from eldercare, AIDS, and elementary school education to universal design, micro-enterprises for low-income women and homelessness.

Under the new leadership of Dunn and Felsen, Archeworks will operate as a do-tank to engage in an international discussion of the future of cities. It’s a critical issue. At the outset of the 20th Century, 10 percent of the worldwide population lived in cities. In 2025, according to the United Nations, the number of city dwellers will likely reach 5 billion people.

Beginning with the 2008-2009 academic year Archeworks will address urban issues such as health, energy, mobility and lifestyles. The 2008-2009 school year will focus on water. Archeworks students will envision ways that Chicago can become a sustainable urban model for dealing with the global water scarcity dilemma. In subsequent years Archeworks will take on developing proposals to help Chicago to meet each of the other challenges, one issue per year.

Maddox has acted as Program Director and Tigerman as Director since the school’s inception in 1994. They will both continue to serve in these roles through the 2007-2008 school year and will remain on the organization’s Board of Trustees. The new co-directors will take the reins at Archeworks in May 2008. Felsen will act as Director and Dunn will act as Research Director.

Students work in multidisciplinary teams with nonprofit partners to create design solutions for social concerns. Since 1994, Archeworks has completed nearly 40 projects touching communities throughout Chicago. There are more than 150 Archeworks alumni working in the design field, studying at top-ranking universities, and continuing to apply their Archeworks experience to make a positive impact on society. Past faculty and lecturers include Omar Akbar, Peter Eisenman, Daniel Friedman, Jeanne Gang, Frank Gehry, Michael Graves, Ralph Johnson, Bruce Mau and Robert Somol.

Archeworks is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and receives funds from grants from foundations and corporations, tuition fees, and donations from individuals.

Archeworks welcomes students from a broad range of design disciplines and related fields. The one-year training program meets evenings and offers a postgraduate certificate.