Laila Seewang, Ph.D., assistant professor in Portland State's School of Architecture, has received the 2023 College of the Arts Dean’s Council Award for Research, Scholarship and Creativity.
The $4,000 award, funded by the College of the Arts Dean’s Council through the Dean's Fund for Opportunities and Excellence, celebrates faculty members who demonstrate significant contributions to research, scholarship and/or creative activity at the national or international level.
A registered architect and architectural historian, Dr. Seewang teaches design, architectural and urban history in the School of Architecture. Her research focuses on environmental and urban design, particularly as viewed through the lens of urban infrastructure, from public water to brick manufacturing to public toilets. Recently, she has turned her focus to the use of timber as a material for use in architecture, exploring the role that forestry and wood production have played in Indigenous communities and ecosystems, and the importance of recognizing the throughline of timber from forest to city.
In addition to the above scholarship, Dr. Seewang is the author of peer-reviewed articles and volumes on the topic of timber as an architectural material both in the past and into the future. Her artistic exploration into Indigenous ecosystems of the Willamette was exhibited at the 2021 Venice Biennale.
In making its recommendation, the selection committee commended Dr. Seewang for her "internationally recognized work on the emerging focus on the use of wood in architectural design and on the sustainability of a supply of timber through wise management of forests," in addition to collaborative strengths, bringing together “a diverse group of community partners including foresters, land owners, Indigenous communities, architects and recycling companies."
“Laila Seewang’s approach offers a remarkable model of community engagement and wise stewardship of our precious natural resources,” the committee wrote.
“My research asks architects to understand that, by designing with timber, we design forests,” Seewang commented.
She was also named the PSU College of the Arts Researcher of the Year for 2023.
Taravat Talepasand, Assistant Professor of Art Practice in the School of Art + Design, was also chosen by the selection committee to receive the 2023 Dean's Council Early Impact Award, writing that "her work is inspired also by her own Diaspora and the many elements in that experience of 'history, nostalgia, self-awareness and rebellion.'"
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Kailin Mooney, Director of Development, College of the Arts
503-725-5031 | mooneyk@psuf.org
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