Navigation
| Position | Professor |
|---|---|
| Phone | 805.756.1444 |
| Fax | 805.756.1500 |
| rarens@calpoly.edu | |
| Office | 34-220E |
| Office Hours | Wed 3:00-5:00 or by appt.
|
| Web Page | www.robertarens.com |
| Fall Courses 2011 | ARCH 241 Architectural Practice 2.1 ARCH 241 Architectural Practice 2.1 ARCH 251 Architectural Design 2.1 |
| Winter Courses 2012 |
ARCH 242 Architectural Practice 2.2 ARCH 242 Architectural Practice 2.2 ARCH 252 Architectural Design 2.2 |
| Spring Courses 2012 |
ARCH 253 Architectural Design 2.3 UNIV 424 HNRS 424 |
Areas of Expertise
Architectural Design
Materials and Construction Systems
Profile
Robert Arens has a diverse background that blends architecture with landscape architecture, technology with design, and professional activity with teaching. This mix has resulted in a holistic and collaborative approach to design that balances both theoretical and practical considerations. It has also left him with an interest in new materials and methods of fabrication and their impact on architecture.
Throughout Robert’s professional career his work has focused mainly on civic and cultural projects. Robert has worked with Studio Daniel Libeskind on the World Trade Center Redevelopment, the Fiero Milano Redevelopment project, and the Denver Art Museum Expansion and Museum Residences. Earlier in his career, he worked with William Kessler and Associates on the US Air Force Museum Expansion, the State of Michigan Library and Historical Center, and the Orchestra Hall Expansion. He maintains a small architectural practice that is currently seeking opportunities in California while completing schematic design on the expansion of the St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center in Manhattan, KS.
Prior to joining Cal Poly in 2005, Robert held full-time or visiting professorships at the University of Detroit, the University of Colorado and Kansas State University. At Cal Poly his teaching activity is currently focused on second-year studio and lecture courses that integrate design, building technology and digital tools.
Robert’s publications include works on architecture, urban design, technology and teaching; these may be found in numerous US and international publications, among them Shrinking Cities: Volume 1 and Stalking Detroit. He has given invited lectures at numerous universities, symposia and conferences and participated in exhibitions in New York, Detroit, and Ann Arbor. Among his grants and awards are the Booth Traveling Fellowship from the University of Michigan and an Honor Award from the Detroit Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Teaching Experience
Professor, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 2009-present
Associate Professor, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 2005-2009
Associate Professor, Kansas State University, 1999-2005
Assistant Professor, Kansas State University, 1992-1999
Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Colorado, 1997
Assistant Professor, The University of Detroit, 1988-1992
Registration
Registered Architect in Michigan, 1985
Affiliations
Member, the American Institute of Architects
Member, Building Technology Educators Society
Scholarship
The following are publications from the last two years:
"Laid Bare: Debating an Expanded Role for Infrastructure at the World Trade Center,” Proceedings of the 100th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Mark Goulthorpe and Amy Murphy, editors, (Washington, DC: ACSA Press, 2012).
"Versioning: Design and Fabrication of a Flat Pack Emergency Shelter," Proceedings of the 2011 Conference of the Building Technology Educators Society, Teri Boake and Vincent Hui, editors. Co-authored with Ed Saliklis, Associate Professor in Cal Poly’s Architectural Engineering Department.
"Interdisciplinary Form-finding in the Development of a Sustainable Emergency Shelter," Procceedings of the 2010 International Conference on Structures and Architecture. Co-authored with Ed Saliklis, Associate Professor in Cal Poly’s Architectural Engineering Department.
"White Space: Taking Beginning Design Students from the Abstract to the Architectural," Proceedings of the 2010 ConnectED International Conference on Design Education.
"Versioning: Interdisciplinary Design of a Flat Pack Emergency Shelter," Proceedings of the 2010 ConnectED International Conference on Design Education. Co-authored with Ed Saliklis, Associate Professor in Cal Poly’s Architectural Engineering Department.
News
Robert will present the poster “Formative Materials Studies in Foundation at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo on Design Studios” at the 3rd North American Materials Education Symposium to be held March 29-30, 2012 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Robert will present the paper “Flatpack: Optimizing an Emergency Relief Shelter” at the 7th Annual International Association of Shell Structures Symposium to be held May 21-24, 2012 in Seoul, Korea.
Robert was awarded the 2011-2012 Verla and Paul Neel Faculty Scholarship. It will support his attendance at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Conference and Design Exposition in Washington, DC, on May 17-19, 2012.
Robert was an invited critic for Prof. Chris Fords’s “Hybrid Urban Infrastructures” studio review at the University of Nebraska on Friday March 16, 2012
Robert was an invited juror for the 2012 Design Awards Program of the San Joaquin Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Robert presented the jury's comments and awards at the Fresno Art Museum on Friday January 27, 2012.
Robert was invited to participate in the exhibit “RE-Cycle: Strategies for Architecture, City and Planet”. Curated by Pippo Ciorra, the exhibit will be held at MAXXI (Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo) from November 2011-April 2012. Robert’s contribution is a collaboration with the artist Sergio Degiusti on entitled “Skin Deep: Detroit’s Tradition of Reinvigorating Its Urban Surfaces”.
Robert’s abstract, "Versioning: The Potential Role of Full-Scale Prototyping in Studio Courses," was accepted for presentation at the 28th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student with the theme "End in/of the Beginning: Realizing the Sustainable Imagination".
Robert received a $53,378 grant from the California Central Coast Research Partnership for the project “Rapidly Assembled Emergency Shelters, Phase 2”. The project focuses on the development and testing of lightweight, reusable shelter prototypes for disaster and refugee relief situations. Co-investigator for the project is Associate Professor Ed Saliklis of Cal Poly’s Architectural Engineering Department.
Robert’s abstract, “Versioning: Interdisciplinary Design of a Flat Pack Emergency Shelter” was accepted for presentation at the Second International Conference on the Constructed Environment.
Robert presented "Ground Zero Sum Game: The WTC Redevelopment Ten Years Later" at the AIA New Mexico State Conference held September 23-24, 2011. The presentation was a critical assessment of the redevelopment efforts at the WTC site in Lower Manhattan.
Robert was an invited critic for the 2011 end-of-the-year design studio reviews at the University of Southern California.
Robert’s poster, “FlatPack Shelter,” was accepted for presentation at the 99th Annual Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture’s Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Robert received a seed grant from Cal Poly’s Planning, Design and Construction Institute to formulate the second phase of his research on architecture for disaster relief situations. This research is being conducted with Ed Saliklis, Associate Professor in Cal Poly’s Department of Architectural Engineering.
Robert received a $64,000 California Central Coast Research Partnership Grant for his project, "Rapidly-Assembled Disaster Response Shelters Made From Recycled Plastic Materials". This research is being conducted with Ed Saliklis, Associate Professor in Cal Poly’s Architectural Engineering Department.