An exciting new exhibition, Cities of Now, Cities of Tomorrow, is open in the Design Building Gallery through mid-December. The exhibit presents the outcomes of an interdisciplinary research project led by Pari Riahi (Architecture), Yahya Modarres-Sadeghi (Mechanical Engineering), and Brian Kane (Environmental Conservation). Their collaborative work seeks to demonstrate how adapting existing affordable housing can lead to a built environment in which small-scale wind turbines, solar photovoltaics, microforests, and water/wastewater resilience strategies are integrated within the fabric of the city make neighborhoods greener, healthier, and cooler. With the help of research assistants Lilly Etlinger (MArch/MLA '26), Tes Siarnacki (Environmental Conservation PhD ‘27), Sudhansh Taneru (Mechanical Engineering PhD ‘27), Adrian Carleton (Mechanical Engineering PhD ‘25), and Ava Towfigh (BS ME ‘28), they developed an evidence-based case study of the Rindge Tower Complex in North Cambridge, MA, an affordable housing complex with more than 600 residential units distributed in three high-rise towers. Their findings, in the form of visual and scientific data, will help cities and communities make such futures possible in urban areas of different scales and configurations. This project is supported by a Provost Interdisciplinary Grant.
The Design Building Gallery is open to the public from 9:00AM to 4:00PM on weekdays, excluding holidays.