Martin S. Felsen

  • Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies

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Martin Felsen is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and director of UrbanLab, an architecture and urban design firm based in Chicago. UrbanLab is involved in projects at all scales, ranging from large, urban infrastructural plans to residential, commercial, and recreational projects. Felsen’s professional work blends design and research to produce uniquely progressive, site-specific projects, resulting in a new aesthetic for environmentally resilient architecture, landscapes, and public space. His recent book, titled Bowling, speculates on ways to realign architecture and infrastructure with dwindling natural resources. He was awarded the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows Latrobe Prize, the History Channel’s “City of the Future” competition, and many design awards from the American Institute of Architects. Felsen’s work has been published and exhibited widely, including in the 2010 and the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale and the 2015 and 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Education

B.ARCH., Virginia Tech
M.S. Advanced Architectural Design, Columbia University

Awards

American Institute of Architects Chicago Distinguished Building Award Citation of Merit (2017)

American Institute of Architects Chicago Small Project Award Citation of Merit (2017)

American Institute of Architects Chicago Honor Award (2016)

American Institute of Architects Chicago Distinguished Building Honor Award (2014)

Publications

Felson and Dunn. 2008. "Researching Growing Water" Implications

Books

Felsen, Martin and Dunn, Sarah. 2017. Bowling: Water, Architecture, Urbanism. Applied Research and Design.

 

Professional Activities

Director of UrbanLab

Martin Felsen

Contact Information

312.567.3230 3410 S. State Street, Chicago, IL 60616, Room 101 By Appointment

Media Appearances

Co-Chair of College of Architecture Board of Advisors, Professors Honored in Newcity's Design 50 List of Top Architects Shaping Chicago

Newcity Design

“The Power of Persistence ought to be the title of our next book,” says Krueck Sexton partner Tom Jacobs. “From the moment I arrived at the firm [in the 1990s] I saw there were certain core values we had that were related to sustainability, but which later became important in the market.” Mark Sexton, one of the founding partners, agrees. Sexton studied architecture at IIT where he was steeped in the teaching and values of Mies van der Rohe, the architecture school’s first chief and the planner and designer of most of the Bronzeville campus. “The partners here believe [as Mies did] that quality construction doesn’t need to be value-engineered out and that you can meet a project’s goals for cost.”