The Architecture of Persistence: Designing for Future Use

David Fannon is an architect and building scientist whose work integrates research and design to provide occupant comfort and wellbeing in long-lasting, low-resource consuming buildings. He is jointly appointed associate professor in the School of Architecture and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University. David earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a master’s from UC Berkeley, and is a registered architect in the State of New York. He is a Member of ASHRAE and a LEED Accredited Professional with B+DC specialty.

Michelle Laboy is an assistant professor in the School of Architecture at Northeastern University, with affiliate appointments in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. As co-founder of FieLDworkshop LLC, she leads research-based transdisciplinary approaches to heighten the integration between people, buildings and landscapes. Her research and teaching examine how socio-ecological thinking influences architectural theory and practice to shape human experience, performance and adaptability to dynamically changing environments. Michelle holds a Master of Architecture and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, and is a Professional Engineer.

Peter Wiederspahn is an associate professor at Northeastern University, Boston, MA, and principal of Wiederspahn Architecture, LLC. His research and pedagogy are focused on architectural design, production, performance, and systems. In particular, he has conducted research on: wood construction and its cultural impact at the detail, architectural, and urban scales; high-performance, rapid-assembly, structural/thermal component construction system as an alternative to wood framing; light-weight flat-pack, rapid-deployment, long-term-use emergency shelter systems; and furniture design. His architectural practice has received numerous design excellence awards for residential, multi-family, commercial and interior architecture projects. Peter earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and his Master of Architecture from the Harvard University.