Elena Vazquez Pena, a research fellow in technology and design in the David R. Ravin School of Architecture, won the 2023 Architectural Research Centers Consortium Dissertation Award.
Founded in 1976, ARCC is an international association of architectural research centers, academies and organizations committed to the research culture and supporting infrastructure of architecture and related design disciplines. The award, presented with the Association for Architectural Education, recognizes one dissertation each year.
Vazquez came to UNC Charlotte in August from Penn State University, where she completed a Ph.D. in Architecture (Design Computing), a Master of Science in Architecture and a graduate certificate in additive manufacturing. Her dissertation, “Kinetic Architecture: A Performance-Based Approach for Developing a Shape-Changing Skin Using Bistable and Smart Materials,” explores the use of a novel building material to create screens that open and close in response to daylight and darkness.
Currently in the second semester of a two-year, full-time research and teaching position, Vazquez was attracted to the Ravin School of Architecture in part because of the work that Professor of Architecture Kyoung Hee Kim has done in façade technology. In addition to her microalgae window system research, Kim is investigating regenerative windows integrated with climate responsive solar cells.
Read more on the College of Arts + Architecture website.