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The Transforming Places, Practices, and Pedagogies Collaborative (TP3C) is a research unit within the School of Architecture at the University of Utah, dedicated to conducting architectural research. Our mission is to develop new knowledge, tools, processes, and spur innovation in architecture. We engage in cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research that addresses current challenges in architecture. We strive to bridge the gap between architectural profession and research, and engage with the industry and other partners in collaborative research projects.

News and Publications


Facades Education in the United States: Current State and Recommendations for Improvements

“Facades Education in the United States: Current State and Recommendations for Improvements” presents the results of a research study, outlining the state of facades education at higher-education institutions across the United States. The objective was to identify coursework focusing on facades (or enclosure systems) and analyze how these courses relate to the overall curricula, educational […]

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Design and Energy Analysis: Assessment of Workflows and Simulation Tools

“Design and Energy Analysis: Assessment of Workflows and Simulation Tools” discusses integration and interoperability between Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Energy Modeling (BEM) tools, which pose major challenges for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. BIM to BEM workflow should steer the users towards the design and analysis of energy efficient building shapes, […]

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Facade World Congress 2024 held at the University of Utah

Facade World Congress 2024 was held at the University of Utah School of Architecture (SoA) from October 8 to 10. Organized by the Facade Tectonics Institute and the SoA, the Congress brought together architects, engineers, contractors, manufacturers, researchers, and academics from around the world. The event included fifty presentations of peer-reviewed papers, keynotes, panel discussions, […]

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DRS 2024: Editorial on Reimagining Care Through Evidence

“Reimagining Care through Evidence: Design Research, Patient Centered Solutions, and a Culture of Care for Healthy Societies” outlines a session at the Design Research Society 2024 Conference, exploring  patient-centered evidence-based design in healthcare as a model of recovery, resistance, reflection, and reimagination. We were particularly interested in works of practice, scholarship, and research that put […]

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User-Centric Renovation Design Strategies of Traditional Offices for Supporting Hybrid Work: Engaging Employees through Research

“User-Centric Renovation Design Strategies of Traditional Offices for Supporting Hybrid Work: Engaging Employees through Research” investigated renovation strategies of office spaces to post-pandemic, hybrid working environments with an emphasis on user inclusion in the holistic design process – from pre-design inquiry, design synthesis and development, and final design validation. The goal was to determine renovation strategies […]

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TP3C Research Featured by Building Design + Construction

TP3C’s research on intelligent facades has been featured by the Building Design + Construction network. An article “Could ‘smart’ building facades heat and cool buildings?” discusses the development, testing and benefits of active facade systems that integrate thermoelectric materials. Thermoelectric materials are smart materials that can produce a temperature gradient when electricity is applied, exploiting […]

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Suncica Milosevic presents at EDRA 2024

Suncica Milosevic presented TP3C research on user-centric and adaptive retrofit design principles at the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) 55: Human-Centric Environments Conference, held in Portland, Oregon (June 19-22, 2024). The jointly authored paper with Prof. Ajla Aksamija, titled “User-Centric Renovation Design Strategies of Traditional Offices for Supporting Hybrid Work: Engaging Employees through Research,” described […]

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Innovations in Architecture: Research, Design and Technology

“Innovations in Architecture: Research, Design and Technology” is an invited review paper, presented as part of a keynote presentation. Architectural designers are currently faced with many challenges—technological changes, environmental and economic impacts, necessity to innovate and raise the bar in building performance, and the paradigm shift in architecture with the wider adoption of advanced computational […]

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Building Information Modeling-Based Building Energy Modeling: Assessment of Workflows and Tools

“Building Information Modeling-Based Building Energy Modeling: Assessment of Workflows and Tools” investigated interoperability between computational design and energy modeling tools. Integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Energy Modeling (BEM) has potential to provide streamlined and accurate building energy predictions, steering architects towards sustainable building design. Yet, integration and interoperability between BIM and BEM […]

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