Laura Briggs
Laura Briggs is a partner in BriggsKnowles Studio, a practice recognized for its use of light, color and the integration of energy efficient and renewable energy technology. Prior to joining RISD, she served as director of the Bachelor of Fine Arts of Architecture Program, interim dean of the School of Constructed Environments and chair of Sustainable Architecture at Parsons New School for Design. She taught architecture studio and ecological design and was the faculty lead for the school’s 2011 entry into the Solar Decathlon, which has now become a home for two families in Washington, DC, through the support and partnership of the DC government and Habitat for Humanity of Washington, DC. Previously, she taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University and at University of Michigan as the Mushenheim Fellow.
Briggs’ approach combines a scientific method with design practice. Her work on super efficient buildings, adaptable photovoltaic systems and concentrating solar has been supported by the US Department of Energy, Arnold W. Brunner Foundation, Deborah J. Norden Fund and through a fellowship from the MacDowell Colony. She is a contributor to the Green Studio Handbook. The work of BriggsKnowles Studio has been featured in The New York Times, Dwell, Domus, Metropolis Magazine and Fine Living HGTV.
Briggs holds a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s Advanced Architectural Design Program and a Bachelor of Architecture from RISD.
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
ADVANCED STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
These studios, three of which are required for graduation, are offered by individual instructors to students who have successfully completed the core curriculum. They are assigned by lottery. Once assigned to an advanced studio, a student may not drop studio.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $50.00 - $200.00
Fee: Some advanced studio sections have a fee for course supplies or field trips. The fee is announced during the registration lottery held in the department.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | BArch, MArch (3yr), MArch (2yr): Architecture
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NCSS CORE SEMINAR
SECTION DESCRIPTION
In the NCSS Core Seminar, students explore key issues in nature-culture-sustainability studies, developing an interdisciplinary understanding of the need for integrative approaches to issues including mobility and infrastructure, environmental justice and equity, sustainable food and water systems and the very real present and future of climate change. Beginning with definitions of nature and natural systems, drawn from environmental literature and history, we will dig into questions of what we mean by "culture" and "sustainability". The vitality of the ecologic and social and built environment upon which we all depend will form the core of our investigations. How and where we live matters; in the present Anthropocene, questions of resiliency and adaptation take on ever greater urgency. We will study contemporary conditions with examples from across the globe, with an eye to understanding how innovation and creative practices in art and design impact future planetary health. This course lays the foundation for students pursuing the NCSS concentration. The seminar will include lectures and discussions of readings and case studies. Occasional guests will include scientists, designers and others engaged at the forefront of environmental activism and research. Students may ground their final course project in a topic connected to their own work, relating it to their major or another concentration, in addition to NCSS.
Elective
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NCSS CORE SEMINAR
SECTION DESCRIPTION
In the NCSS Core Seminar, students explore key issues in nature-culture-sustainability studies, developing an interdisciplinary understanding of the need for integrative approaches to issues including mobility and infrastructure, environmental justice and equity, sustainable food and water systems and the very real present and future of climate change. Beginning with definitions of nature and natural systems, drawn from environmental literature and history, we will dig into questions of what we mean by "culture" and "sustainability". The vitality of the ecologic and social and built environment upon which we all depend will form the core of our investigations. How and where we live matters; in the present Anthropocene, questions of resiliency and adaptation take on ever greater urgency. We will study contemporary conditions with examples from across the globe, with an eye to understanding how innovation and creative practices in art and design impact future planetary health. This course lays the foundation for students pursuing the NCSS concentration. The seminar will include lectures and discussions of readings and case studies. Occasional guests will include scientists, designers and others engaged at the forefront of environmental activism and research. Students may ground their final course project in a topic connected to their own work, relating it to their major or another concentration, in addition to NCSS.
Elective