Before Building Laboratory
University of Virginia
beforebuilding@virginia.edu
MISSION
The Before Building Laboratory pioneers new material assemblies, with the aim of creating building material systems that sequester carbon and reduce construction’s contribution to the environmental crisis. Current projects focus on rapidly renewable biomaterials, including wood, bamboo, grass, various invasive plant species, and hemp.
We engage emerging technologies to work with natural materials and processes in new ways, reframing the relationship between biology, technology, and authorship. We seek to advance the accessibility of computation and robotic construction, leveraging democratized and consumer-grade technologies as well as inventing and building low-cost ground-up construction systems.
UPCOMING LECTURES
🎙 2022 Exhibit Columbus Symposium @ Columbus, Indiana City Hall, October 22, 2022
🎙 “(re)Building through Disruption: Biomaterials @ AIA Virginia Conference, November 3, 2022
🎙 Curated Urbanisms Lecture Series, Univeristy of North Carolina Charlotte, November 16, 2022
LECTURES, PANELS, & PODCASTS
🎙 “Lush: From Field to Fabrication” @ UTK
🎙 “This is America: Design Practices Memorializing Difficult Histories” @ Brown
🎙 “Growing, Buliding” @ UVA
🎙 “Growing Buildings” @ Public Building
🎙 “After Specification” @ UVA
🎙 “How After Architecture Balances Practice with Materials Research” @ Architect Magazine
🎙 “After Specification” @ Pecha Kucha Knoxville
RECENT REVIEW
☞ Journal of Architectural Education
DIRECTORS
KATIE MACDONALD, AIA NCARB
KMACDONALD@VIRGINIA.EDU
Katie MacDonald is Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia, Cofounder of After Architecture, and a licensed architect in Virginia and Massachusetts. She is Co-Director of the Before Building Laboratory at UVA, Co-Director of the Hemp Co-Lab at UVA, and Co-Curator of the Biomaterial Building Exposition. MacDonald is a member of Madame Architect’s National Council.
EDUCATION
︎ M.Arch. Harvard University
︎ B.Arch. Cornell University
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
︎ Morphosis Architects
︎ Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects
︎ Clive Wilkinson Architects
︎ Stayner Architects
︎ MALL
AWARDS
☆ Exhibit Columbus University Design Research Fellow, 2022-23
☆ Tennessee Architecture Fellowship, 2019-20
☆ Emerging Designer, Virginia by Design Awards, 2018
☆ Housing Design Education Award, American Institute of Architects and Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 2020
☆ Paul M. Heffernan Travel Grant, 2015
PRESS
☞ UVA Today
☞ Madame Architect Profile
KYLE SCHUMANN
SCHUMANN@VIRGINIA.EDU
Kyle Schumann is Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia, Co-Director of the Before Building Laboratory at UVA, Cofounder of After Architecture, and Co-Curator of the Biomaterial Building Exposition. Schumann was an Editor of Pidgin from 2016-8.
EDUCATION
︎ M.Arch. Princeton University
︎ B.Arch. Cornell University
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
︎ Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
︎ Anmahian Winton Architects
AWARDS
☆ Exhibit Columbus University Design Research Fellow, 2022-23
☆ Tennessee Architecture Fellowship, 2019-20
☆ Robert A.M. Stern Architects Travel Fellowship, 2017
☆ Princeton University Fellowship, 2016-8
☆ William S. Downing Prize for Architectural Design, 2012
PRESS
☞ Madame Architect Profile
DIRECTORS
︎ Katie MacDonald
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︎ Kyle Schumann
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CURRENT TEAM
︎ Collette Block
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︎ Cecily Farrell
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︎ Abby Hassell
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︎ Rachel Lee
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︎ Reagan McCullough
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︎ Liv Orlando
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︎ Charlotte Pitts
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︎ Emily Ploppert
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︎ Jonathan (Yianni) Spears
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︎ Jolie Talha
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︎ Mia Hsu
︎ Fah Keerasuntonpong
︎ Dillon Mcdowell
PAST TEAM
2022
︎ Sonja Bergquist
︎ Brandon Dennis
︎ Sophie Depret-Guillaume
︎ Leila Ehtesham
︎ Alex Hall
︎ Caleb Hassell
︎ Kristopher Kollias
︎ Chujun Dina Luo
︎ Meredith Magness
︎ Chris Osterlund
︎ Russell Petro
︎ Timothy Victorio
︎ Andrew Spears
︎ Valerie Speirs
︎ Cecilia Yiyue Su
︎ Annabelle Woodcock
︎ Haoran Zhang
2021
︎ Collette Block
︎ Brandon Dennis
︎ Youfang Duan
︎ Leila Ehtesham
︎ Ephrata Johannes
︎ Kristopher Kollias
︎ Audrey Lewis
︎ Chujun Dina Luo
︎ Meredith Magness
︎ Jacob McLaughlin
︎ Lizzie Needham
︎ Kate Nguyen
︎ Chris Osterlund
︎ Andrew Spears
︎ Elizabeth Tatham
︎ Timothy Victorio
2020
︎ Sarina Hermanto
︎ Mason Millner
︎ Lisa Rowland
︎ Kevin Saslawsky
2019
︎ Connor Brown
︎ Tim Cox
︎ Ellie Cuthrell
︎ Brian Gore
︎ Aria Hill
︎ Mason Millner
︎ Alex Munro
︎ Jack Wasielewski
2018
︎ Brian Gore
︎ Brianna Morales
2017
︎ Brianna Morales
︎ Katie MacDonald
︎ Kyle Schumann
CURRENT TEAM
︎ Collette Block
︎ Cecily Farrell
︎ Abby Hassell
︎ Rachel Lee
︎ Reagan McCullough
︎ Liv Orlando
︎ Charlotte Pitts
︎ Emily Ploppert
︎ Jonathan (Yianni) Spears
︎ Jolie Talha
︎ Mia Hsu
︎ Fah Keerasuntonpong
︎ Dillon Mcdowell
PAST TEAM
2022
︎ Sonja Bergquist
︎ Brandon Dennis
︎ Sophie Depret-Guillaume
︎ Leila Ehtesham
︎ Alex Hall
︎ Caleb Hassell
︎ Kristopher Kollias
︎ Chujun Dina Luo
︎ Meredith Magness
︎ Chris Osterlund
︎ Russell Petro
︎ Timothy Victorio
︎ Andrew Spears
︎ Valerie Speirs
︎ Cecilia Yiyue Su
︎ Annabelle Woodcock
︎ Haoran Zhang
2021
︎ Collette Block
︎ Brandon Dennis
︎ Youfang Duan
︎ Leila Ehtesham
︎ Ephrata Johannes
︎ Kristopher Kollias
︎ Audrey Lewis
︎ Chujun Dina Luo
︎ Meredith Magness
︎ Jacob McLaughlin
︎ Lizzie Needham
︎ Kate Nguyen
︎ Chris Osterlund
︎ Andrew Spears
︎ Elizabeth Tatham
︎ Timothy Victorio
2020
︎ Sarina Hermanto
︎ Mason Millner
︎ Lisa Rowland
︎ Kevin Saslawsky
2019
︎ Connor Brown
︎ Tim Cox
︎ Ellie Cuthrell
︎ Brian Gore
︎ Aria Hill
︎ Mason Millner
︎ Alex Munro
︎ Jack Wasielewski
2018
︎ Brian Gore
︎ Brianna Morales
2017
︎ Brianna Morales