Architecture professor receives award for affordable housing research, advocacy
Dana Cuff, professor of architecture and urban design and founding director of UCLA cityLAB was recognized for her activsm by Architectural Record's 2019 Women in Architecture Awards. In 2016, after a decade of design research, cityLAB co-authored landmark state legislation to encourage Accessory Dwelling Units effectively ending single-family zoning in California and enabling the design and construction of millions of small rental units. cityLAB is now experimenting with “schoolyard housing” that would integrate affordable apartments on strategic sites at kindergarten through college campuses.
"In Dana Cuff’s vision for the future of Los Angeles, architecture is the solution to the housing crisis.
Dana Cuff, a professor in the School of Arts and Architecture, received the Women in Architecture Award for advocacy in September. She received the distinction for her work as director of cityLAB, a UCLA think tank that develops design projects to tackle urban housing problems. (Ashley Kenney/Daily Bruin) Cuff, a professor in the department of architecture and urban design, was honored by professional journal Architectural Record on Sept. 6 for her architectural design research to make housing more accessible. Cuff was one of five women to receive the journal’s annual Women in Architecture Award.
Cuff received the distinction in the activism category for her leadership in creating cityLAB, a UCLA architectural design research center that aims to use architectural design to create affordable housing and improve living conditions in cities.
CityLAB develops its own projects focusing on the future of urban design and the concept of “spatial justice,” Cuff said.
“(Spatial justice) is probably the kind of watchword in everything we do — thinking about inclusive, equitable, urban architecture,” she said.
Cuff said she thinks the award is representative of a transitional era in which the architectural community has realized the importance of recognizing women, given that architectural awards have historically been dominated by white men.
“If you look at the women that are in the group of five that I’m part of, they’re really stunning practitioners that don’t need to be singled out by their gender,” Cuff said. “But, it’s because of structural circumstances that the journal decided to try and elevate the status of women in the field.”
Cuff has researched public housing and segregation for 30 years. After working on issues of affordable housing, segregation and discrimination embedded into national public housing programs, she said she wanted to put theory into practice."— Rayna Salam, Oct. 2, 2019
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Daily Bruin website.
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