Dana Cupkova

Cast-in-place concrete #thermalMass wall is part of the Hsu House residence upstate New York. This is a south facing heat sink mass that stores sensible heat and animates light, creating an all season solarium that, in the summer, opens and unfolds into the natural landscape. It replaces functionality of mechanical air conditioning. #hsuhouse #overgrowing #thermalmass #epiphytelab

Towards #PsychosomaticArchitecture: Attuning Reactive Architectural Materials Through Biofeedback Thermochromic effects of electromechanically induced concrete cast panels are reactive to human physiology and activate a change in material character, projecting thermal comfort moods onto objects. These thermal patterns explore the relationship between human mood and thermal comfort: with @daraghbyrne #tbt2017 #MoodRingArchitecture #HeatPatterns #materialSentience #EpiphyteLab #cmuSoA The built environment is known to affect human health and wellbeing. Yet architecture does not respond to our bodies or our minds. It tends to be static, ignoring the human occupant, their mood, behaviors, and emotions. The monotony of average space can be harmful to human health. Additionally, differences in gender, race, and cultural conditions vary the perception of and preferences for temperature and color. To improve the psychosomatic relationship with architectural spaces, there arises the necessity for it to have a greater range of spatial reactivity and better support for personalized thermoregulation and aesthetics. This paper proposes an architecture that operates like a mood-ring, one that creates rich feedback between architecture and occupant towards individualized reactivity and expression. Sentient Concrete is a prototype of a thermochromically treated concrete panel that is thermally actuated by embedded electromechanical systems and can dynamically produce localized thermally reactive responses. It serves as a test case for outlining further research agendas and possible design frameworks for psychosomatic architecture. Does your wall know how you feel?

Excited for @hornbostel_apostle to present our project #RockingCradle : Reconstituting Geology on a Damaged Earth at the kick-off of @acadiaorg conference - project session @weitzman_arch 📸 @edmassery @cmusoa team: Design and Research Lead: Dana Cupkova @dcupk ; Design Development Lead: Matthew Huber @hornbostel_apostle , Environmental and Community based Art Direction: Edith Abeyta @edithabeyta ; Design Development and Production Team: Marantha Dawkins @putumd , Kirman Hanson @kirmanhanson , Gil Jang @gill.jpg , Ryu Kondrup @pacokondrup , Longney Luk @longney , Louis Suarez @le.roi.louis , Alex Wang @alexandermichaelwang ; Post-production and Drawing Contribution: Shenyuan Li @jiimmimy , Kit Tang @kitchentansoup

ACADIA is pleased to announce the results of the 2025 Election for the President of ACADIA, the ACADIA Board of Directors, and the IJAC Editorial Board. Thank you to all of the candidates for running and to all of our members who voted in the election. We look forward to working with this new group of leaders over the coming year. IJAC Editorial Board Returning and Newly Elected: * Dana Cupkova, Carnegie Mellon University * Armin Mostafavi, Cornell University * Jane Scott, Newcastle University * Karla Saldana Ochoa, University of Florida

#PhycoFins: Bioplastic Light Screens was developed as part of ‘Shaping Environments: Biomatter’ Fall’25 seminar led by @dcupk , supported by @cmusoa @studioforcreativeinquiry Project by: @jz_joannezeng , @_sarawagi_ , @anoushkasethi Urban environments face mounting challenges in waste management and material sustainability, alongside growing interest in low-impact, biodegradable alternatives to conventional plastics in architecture. Bioplastics—made from natural polymers and enhanced with waste additives—offer a versatile solution that addresses both environmental and design concerns. PhycoFins explores bioplastics as a sustainable material system for modular screens. By combining a natural polymer base with two contrasting waste-derived additives—spirulina and fly ash—the project investigates how material composition shapes both visual and physical properties. Spirulina, a nutrient-rich algae powder, produces translucent green, lightweight, and flexible sheets that allow light to pass through. Fly ash, an industrial byproduct, adds stiffness, weight, and opacity, resulting in a more stable material. Together, these contrasting additives demonstrate clear differences in behavior: light vs. heavy, translucent vs. opaque, flexible vs. rigid. Sheets are cast over a cellulose-based substrate, which naturally shrinks and deforms during drying, creating irregular, tactile surfaces. Modular assembly allows the screens to function as walls or partitions, integrating waste materials into visually expressive, low-impact architectural elements #biomatter #wastestreams #circularity #regenerativematerials

#Reshaping Coastal Morphologies: Adaptive Regeneration of Coastline Terrains Using Natural Sedimentation Patterns for Mangrove Catchment Zones By the incredible Meghna Roy @roy_is_it #MSSD’24 with @dcupk and @design_thinker for @acadiaorg ‘24 @cmusoa This research explores natural sedimentation phenomena by coupling computational and physical simulations to reinforce coastal zones, drawing inspiration from mangrove growth. The focus is on analyzing sedimentation patterns to identify interventions that support a self-sustaining strategy for land regeneration in the form of barrier islands, serving as mangrove nursery catchment areas. As the limitations of reactive and post-disaster shoreline management plans have proven inadequate, the studies in mitigation based on natural longer-term behaviors hold the promise of more resilient coastal ecosystems.

ROCKING CRADLE: #Reconstituting Geology on a Damaged Earth Dana Cupkova @dcupk , Matthew Huber @hornbostel_apostle , Edith Abeyta @edithabeyta published at 2022 @acadiaorg proceedings: Hybrids and Haecceities The Rocking Cradle is an interactive installation comprised of multiple binder-jet-printed vessels integrated into a public tree nursery. Informed by hydrological and geological processes, the Rocking Cradle is conceived as a literal and figurative device for fostering environmental stewardship. Situating the tree nursery as a community space, these sand-printed vessels hybridize the typology of urban furniture with the behaviors of water flow, water collection, bird bathing, and growing native plants. Located in a polluted post-industrial landscape, the installation is conceived as a new form of ecological infrastructure that fosters stewardship through the instigation of urban play. Co-authored through a series of environmental justice workshops with @centeroflifepgh , the semi-porous, stone-like surfaces carry embedded messages from local youth, thus becoming vehicles for local environmental consciousness intertwined with communal discourse. Through water flow simulations, the vessels’ surfaces visually express landscape behaviors, while their geometric forms nurture ecological habitats and human interaction, cultivating new modes of play and #ecologicalIntimacy. #ShapingHydrology #EcologicalInfrustructure #CoDesign #Weathering #DesigningEnvironmentalEngagement #ArtExcursionsUnlimited @cmusoa team: Design and Research Lead: Dana Cupkova @dcupk ; Design Development Lead: Matthew Huber @hornbostel_apostle , Environmental and Community based Art Direction: Edith Abeyta @edithabeyta ; Design Development and Production Team: Marantha Dawkins @putumd , Kirman Hanson @kirmanhanson , Gil Jang @gill.jpg , Ryu Kondrup @pacokondrup , Longney Luk @longney , Louis Suarez @le.roi.louis , Alex Wang @alexandermichaelwang ; Post-production and Drawing Contribution: Shenyuan Li @jiimmimy , Kit Tang @kitchentansoup

Shaping Passive Dehumidification for Hot & Humid Climates: Computational Approach to Integrating Isothermal Membrane Assisted Dehumiditication (IMAD) By the amazing Nandan Bhusry @bhusrynandan #MSSD’24 with @dcupk and #azadehsawyer for @acadiaorg ’24 @cmusoa This research explores adapting architectural material systems as passive dehumidifiers using hygroscopic coatings and material geometry. The study validates increased passive dehumidification through a hybrid lattice system by adapting Isothermal Membrane-Assisted dehumidification (IMAD) technology used in mechanical cooling systems. IMAD is applied as surface coating integrated into sand-printed substrate to passively extract moisture. Drawing inspiration from Indian Jaali systems, a lattice scaffold is tested to study lattice morphology, and hygroscopic material properties for effective dehumidification at a building scale. Using computational simulation and physical testing, this proposal integrates IMAD into material geometry, focusing on increasing air velocity and passive dehumidification effectiveness.

Please join us for the student work showcase of the IDeATe course Shaping Environments: Biomatter, taking place in CFA 111 on Thursday, December 4, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. This course was hosted by the Studio for Creative Inquiry. We would love to share our work and gather your insights. Biomatter taught by @dcupk

#BIOCHROMATIC LOOPS: Material Alchemy of Food Waste exhibited at the @sigradi_official invited exhibition #Bio-Architectures / #Bio-Arquitecturas curated by #AlfredoAndia @fiu_soa #sigradi2025 @cmusoa #Biochromatic Loops investigates biosynthetic strategies that transform waste into responsive material systems, where chromatic change mediates environmental awareness and design adaptation. Through #biochromatic transformation, color becomes both an environmental indicator and a medium of aesthetic and ecological attunement. #BioIndicating Matter and Stained Glass Bioplastics demonstrate biosynthetic approaches to material circularity and new aesthetic frameworks for sensing and reuse. Both projects explore how food waste and invasive species can be transformed into biochromatic and environmentally responsive materials. #BioIndicating Matter investigates pH sensing within biomaterial systems, demonstrating how reversible color-changing bioplastics integrated with mycelium substrates can function as architectural interfaces for ecological feedback. These color shifts reveal variations in moisture and microbial activity, enabling intuitive, visible cues to indoor environmental quality. #StainedGlassBioplastics extends this inquiry through pigment synthesis and structural experimentation with substrates made from invasive plant species such as Japanese knotweed and nutrient-rich algae like spirulina. Bioindicating Matter: @jil.berenblum @dcupk #RobertHeard Stained Glass Bioplastics: @kimberly.june.blacutt @audrey_reiley #JessicaWu #TobiAina @dcupk

Emerging system diagrams from the #IntroToEcologicalDesignThinking seminar - with an amazing TA @visha_a - mapping the research territory of design proposals situated within broader geospatial ecologies, shifting material paradigms, and cross-scalar domains. #MSSD @cmusoa 1. Kruti Makwana @makwana_kruti 2. Julia Twardzisz @alunisae 3. Aashritha Jaladi @aashrithaa_ 4. Mrunal Dusane @mrunaaal.18 4. Isabelle Stratton @artbyissi 5. Aidan Smith @_8dn_

ACADIA is excited to announce the Opening Panel for the 2025 Conference: Computing for Resilience, taking place on Thursday, November 6, 2025, from 1:30 – 2:45 PM at the FIU SASC Auditorium. This event is open to the public. Moderator: Dana Cupkova @dcupk , Professor @cmusoa Panelists: Aldo Sollazzo @aldo.sollazzo , Chief Executive Officer, @lamaquina_3d / @pure.tech_ / @noumena.data Karla Saldaña Ochoa @karlasaldanao , Assistant Professor @ufarchitecture Neil Leach @neilleach14 , Professor @fiu_soa / @digitalfutures.world Rodolphe el-Khoury @elkhouryrodolphe , Dean, School of Architecture @u_soa Skylar Tibbits @skylartibbits Associate Professor @mitarchitecture / @selfassemblylab This session brings together leading researchers and practitioners whose work demonstrates how computation, simulation, artificial intelligence, environmental sensing, and generative design can expand the tools available for adaptation and resilience. The discussion will explore technological innovation alongside social and environmental responsibility, emphasizing how inclusive data, local knowledge, and community engagement can shape more adaptive and equitable design responses in the face of a changing climate. Join us in Miami, November 6–8, as we celebrate all our speakers, awardees, authors, and exhibitors. For full schedule visit: 2025.acadia.org/schedule #ACADIA2025 #ComputingForResilience #MiamiDesign #DesignExcellence #FIU #UM @fiu_soa @u_soa @rdflabfiub @caadriaorg @sigradi_official @ascaad_official @caadfutures #ecaade3d