A Note from Sedef Doganer
School of Architecture and Design at Spring Commencement
A Note from Sedef Doganer, Dean, Wentworth School of Architecture and Design
Dear friends of the Wentworth School of Architecture and Design,
As the academic year draws to a close, I would first like to extend a warm congratulations to all of our 2024 graduates. We are confident that they will make an immediate impact on our extended communities.
I am delighted to share some news and recent highlights from this past year. Once again, our model of high-value learning continued to thrive; we continued to forge exciting next-generation partnerships; and our students and faculty continued to distinguish themselves across the campus, across the region, and around the globe.
Becoming a strong design school has been one of our most important initiatives since I joined Wentworth in 2021. As the design school at Wentworth, our numbers continue to grow, welcoming 264 new first-year and 74 graduate students into the SoAD this year, bringing our total student body to 846, a 12% increase from last year.
Last fall, first-year students in Architecture, Interior Design, and Industrial Design shared the same studio for the first time this academic year and participated in The Event, an interdisciplinary design challenge that brings all students across the school together and showcases their creativity and collaborative spirit.
Additionally, the interdisciplinary Exploratory Semester launches this fall, which allows incoming first-years interested in Architecture, Industrial Design, and Interior Design to learn about design across disciplines prior to deciding on a major in the spring semester.
Our Wentworth Design Lecture Series invited a terrific group of speakers on the topic of Design Ethics & Climate Change, including Kiel Moe, Ella Doran, Marc O’Brien, and Ranee Lee. We also were very fortunate to welcome Sameeta Ahmed and our esteemed alumnus and Architecture Industry Professionals Advisory Committee (IPAC) board member Ahmed Bukhash to discuss their recent work.
Beyond campus activities, our students have had incredible opportunities to gain hands-on, real-world experiences while expanding their horizons globally. We continued to offer study abroad programs, one of our signature experiences, in Berlin, Germany; Girona, Spain; and Urbino, Italy.
Our undergraduate students in our Interior and Industrial Design programs traveled to Italy, Switzerland, and Denmark, visiting places like the Milan Furniture Fair and the Lego headquarters as part of the summer travel elective. Graduate students in the Master of Architecture program participated in Global Research Studios in Morocco, Japan, Turkiye, Greece, Kenya, and Scotland.
Our students and faculty distinguished themselves locally, internationally, and within the Wentworth community. A Wentworth team, under the guidance of Associate Professor of Architecture Troy Peters, placed 3rd in the Solar Decathlon Design Challenge (Single-Family Housing Division). Solar Decathlon is an international competition held annually and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The team behind the NEST ZERO project developed a new building typology for the town of Plymouth to fight against the home shortage epidemic while setting a new standard in sustainable building practices.
Additionally, two students in Professor of Architecture Ann Borst’s (who was awarded emeritus status after 26 years of service to the Wentworth community) Affordable Housing course took first prize in the 24th Annual Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Affordable Housing Development Competition and Industrial Design students placed 1st in the MassArt 16 Hours to Glory Challenge for the third year in a row.
Student clubs have been active as well; FRAHAUS, an Industrial Design Student Club, conceived, developed, and hosted an event called Design Intersections, with guest speakers Natalia B. and Daniela Garcia Garcia speaking on “Human Factors in Design.” In the meantime, more than 10 WITNOMAS member students participated in NOMA 2023 Conference in Portland, OR, attended the annual design competition, and presented their project on the national stage.
In our continuous efforts to improve our teaching and learning environment, an ad hoc committee of faculty, staff, and students from across the SoAD developed and adopted a new Teaching and Learning Culture Policy, which will go into effect this fall. We also continue to find new ways to solicit feedback from students, forming a Dean’s Student Council, organizing “town hall” meetings with all students in all programs and at all levels, and developing routine exit surveys.
We continued to forge next-generation partnerships with industry across the region. On campus, we were proud to host the 2023 Interior Design Educator’s Council (IDEC) Regional Conference on the theme of “Making Interiors,” with over 30 academics from across the region participating. This event highlighted our commitment to fostering dialogue and collaboration within the design community.
Further enhancing our engagement, the long-standing Architecture Industry Professionals Advisory Committee (IPAC) for the architecture programs was renewed and expanded. This group of professionals provides direct input into the curriculum to ensure that students graduate with the necessary skills to succeed in the job market.
Our facilities have also seen exciting upgrades. Following the new Additive Technologies Lab serving all students, a new Foam Prototyping Lab has also opened in Annex North. This lab provides a safe space and the necessary infrastructure for students to sculpt prototyping foam using hot-wire cutters and hand tools. Although open to all students, Industrial Design majors in particular will now be able to develop and ideate complex 3D geometries earlier in their studies.
An entirely new undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Science in Building Sciences offered in collaboration with the School of Management, was also approved and will launch in the fall semester of 2025.
We’re looking forward to another exciting year as we welcome a new class of exceptional students this fall.
Warmly,
Dean Sedef Doganer, Ph.D.