The Department of Architecture is pleased to announce new faculty appointments:
Associate Professor of Architecture Ferda Kolatan has been appointed as Director of the Master of Architecture Program. Ferda Kolatan is an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design and a founding director of SU11 Architecture + Design, based in New York City. His work with SU11 has been exhibited at venues such as MoMA, FRAC Centre, Walker Art Center, Vitra Design Museum, Istanbul Modern, Art Basel, the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Beijing Architecture Biennale, and the Istanbul Design Biennial. He has contributed to numerous journals and is the author of Images, Artifacts, Architecture (Applied Research + Design, forthcoming Fall 2026), Misfits & Hybrids: New Architectural Artifacts for the 21st-Century City (Routledge, 2024), and Meander: Variegating Architecture (Bentley Institute Press, 2010, coauthored with Jenny Sabin). His Cairo Design Research Studio received the inaugural 2017 ARCHITECT Magazine Studio Prize.
Associate Professor of Architecture Andrew Saunders has been appointed as Director of the MSD-RAS (Robotics and Autonomous Systems) Program. Andrew Saunders is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design and the founding principal of Andrew Saunders Architecture + Design, an internationally recognized, award-winning architecture, design, and research practice dedicated to advancing innovative digital methodologies that expand architectural inquiry and cultural impact. The practice works across multiple scales, from product and exhibition design to residential, civic, and cultural institutional projects. His research explores the intersection of computational geometry, architectural aesthetics, emerging technologies, digital fabrication, and building performance. At Penn, Saunders was instrumental in establishing the Advanced Research and Innovation (ARI) Robotics Lab at the Weitzman School of Design and has taught advanced design studios in the MSD-RAS program since its inception in 2020. His current research investigates the integration of robotics and artificial intelligence into architectural design and fabrication. Recent work includes Deep Relief, a permanent installation for the Middletown Library that combines AI-assisted design methodologies with advanced robotic fabrication. His earlier research has produced award-winning museum exhibitions, experimental installations, and internationally recognized industrial design projects. His peer-reviewed scholarship has been widely published and presented at leading venues, including ACADIA, ACSA, and Rob|Arch.
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