The tour was organized as part of the Building Technology Class that I teach, but was also related to the third year studio.  The tour was led by Robert Katchur, an associate principal at Diller Scofidio Renfro (Diller and Scofidio are both alumni and former faculty). The students were accompanied also by studio faculty members Nima Javidi and Ben Aranda, and by Associate Dean Elizabeth O'Donnell AR'83. 

Currently under construction on the far west side of Manhattan where the High Line meets Hudson Yards, The Shed will be housed in a 200,000-square-foot, six-level structure designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Rockwell Group. The radically flexible design of the performative structure can physically and operationally accommodate the broadest range of performance, visual art, music, and multi-disciplinary work. Purpose-built to complement The Shed’s programmatic vision, the building is designed to operate in various configurations and to offer multiple events simultaneously.

Work from Cooper Union Architecture students will be presented at the annual Menschel Fellowship Exhibition, which opens January 31^st in the 5^th and 6^th floor lobbies of the Foundation Building. Five students from the School of Architecture will be exhibiting work: Jenny Hsiao and Hui Rong Liu, will present their project, A Bowl of Ocean Soup. Students Yu Kiu Chan, Kelsey Lee, and Piao Liu will present their project, Tracing the Forgotten: Tibetan Vernacular Architecture. The Menschel Fellowship is a program designed to provide 4^th year students the opportunity to travel and research specific areas of personal interest.

The proposed elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities has sent shockwaves through creative communities throughout the nation. Although the NEA, the NEH, and Corporation for Public Broadcasting occupy less than 1% of the overall annual budget, the organizations have come under threat of extinction. The Hill reports that in addition to the privatization of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the NEA and NEH would be completely eliminated with the proposed Trump Administration plan. Petitions are currently being circulated to stop these cuts from taking place. Concerned individuals are also encouraged to call their Congressional senators and representatives.

Karan Vafadari, (Cooper Engineering Alum ‘87), has been detained by Iranian authorities, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. He and his wife, Afarin Niasari, were arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, and have been held without access to counsel or formal charges since late July in connection with an art gallery they had been directing in Tehran. After months of silence, Afarin’s sister, Kateh has written a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khameni which calls for the couple’s immediate release and asserts that they have been subjected to "extortion, property seizure and national security threats" since their arrest earlier this year.