The Cooper Union has received $1 million from the IDC Foundation to advance innovation at the intersection of architecture, engineering, and building construction. Following the success of previous initiatives funded by the IDC Foundation, this new three-year grant is aimed at expanding the AACE Lab and Solar Decathlon programs while establishing two new IDC Foundation Distinguished Professorships.

“Architects and engineers work closely together in the professional world, and yet these disciplines are often siloed at the undergraduate level,” says Harrison Tyler, director of the AACE Lab. “Thanks to the IDC Foundation, Cooper has built an environment where students in architecture, art, and engineering can combine their skills and tackle real-world challenges. This funding allows us to keep building on that momentum.”

The New York-based IDC Foundation has in recent years provided generous support to Cooper for scholarship awards, course development, student travel grants, an Innovation Fellowship program, and $2 million in funding for the launch of the IDC Foundation Art, Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (AACE) Lab, which opened in 2020 to students from all disciplines. This latest funding seeks to fortify the interdisciplinary student collaborations that have since grown out of these programs.

The grant creates two IDC Foundation Distinguished Professorships, one in architecture and one in engineering. Awarded on a rotating basis, the appointments will recognize exceptional faculty who are committed to advancing innovation in building, design, and construction while addressing broader social and professional issues related to these disciplines. The distinguished professors will support interdisciplinary student work and will provide mentorship to IDC Fellows. 

These new appointments will also be charged with encouraging student and faculty engagement within the AACE Lab, a facility that offers access to over 30 digital fabrication tools, ranging from laser cutters, CNC routers, and 3D printers to a vacuum forming machine and an industrial grade embroidery machine. This latest grant from the IDC Foundation will further integrate the lab’s resources with Cooper’s course offerings as well as introduce more hands-on student training.

Another major aspect of the IDC Foundation grant is the establishment of an Innovation Accelerator Fund, part of a renewed internal grant program designed to encourage creativity and collaboration among students in utilizing the technologies, materials, and educational resources available through the AACE Lab. With the Albert Nerken School of Engineering launching a new computer science (CS) degree program next fall, the fund also supports opportunities for course integration between the CS curriculum, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, and the AACE Lab. 

Solar Decathlon, which is offered as a Vertically Integrated Project (VIP), has been another successful means of promoting collaboration, giving Cooper students in architecture and engineering the opportunity to work on sustained, multi-semester research and design projects. In 2023, a student team from Cooper won the Commercial Grant Prize in the US Department of Energy-sponsored Solar Decathlon Design Challenge Competition. This new funding from the IDC Foundation will continue to support Solar Decathlon as an exemplary model of collaboration between the two schools.

“IDC Foundation's continued support allows us to build on the interdisciplinary learning and modernization that this partnership has enabled since its inception," says Malcolm King, interim president of The Cooper Union. “This new funding will allow our students to take full advantage of state-of-the-art tools, innovative programs, collaborative projects, and strong mentorship from our technicians and faculty members. We are creating unparalleled opportunities for students to push the boundaries of their disciplines and work together on addressing societal issues.”