Pushing the plus

Provocations for our disciplines

Students holding large, delicate wood screen.

New lines of inquiry and creative practice by our faculty, students and alumni are pushing our disiplines into new intellectual territory and spheres of influence. From global policy on local food systems planning to design strategies for climate resilient buildings, the intersections of this work reveal new possibilities for dialogue and action.

This is our invitation to consider new possibilities for our disciplines as creative, innovative and regenerative forces in our world.

We're focusing the dialogue around disruptive forces - and powerful opportunities - facing our disciplines today. Each installment of our blog features a selection of faculty, student and alumni work that present new possibilities, and raise critical questions, that warrant conversation. Our goal is to engage a wide audience of practitioners, scholars and interested publics in a dialogue on the potential to shape a better world through design, planning and urban development. 

The issues

Image of building with glass panels radiating sunlight.
Image of a building with a metal facade in the foreground, and historic church buildings and spires in the background.

Issue #1: Climate change

No other human activity has a greater impact on the climate crisis than the planning, design and development of the built environment. This same burden of responsibility, however, implies the magnitude of possibility for our disciplines to shift the climate crisis trajectory and perhaps the future of our planet. 

Issue #2: Materials and building

The methods, modes and materiality of building shapes not only the form and function of our built environment, but societal aspirations for cultural production, social justice and resilience. The School of Architecture and Planning's legacy in experimental making and fabrication has positioned our faculty, students and alumni in the center of this discourse. 

What's your "plus"?

How are you pushing the "plus" of future practice in our disciplines? Tell us how for a chance to be featured on our "Be the Plus" blog. Contact Rachel Teaman, assistant dean for communications: rmansour@buffalo.edu 

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