UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design

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UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design How and Where We Live Matter
#1 Public University for Architecture + the Built Environment and the world.

The College of Environmental Design (CED) is UC Berkeley's home for environmental design theory, research, innovation and practice. The College comprises three core departments — Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning, City & Regional Planning — and a recently-launched Real Estate Development + Design program. CED is consistently ranked as one of the most prestigious design schools in the U.S. To read more about the history of CED and the opening of Wurster Hall, read our Frameworks article: https://frameworks.ced.berkeley.edu/2010/ced-in-wurster-hall/

Visit CED's new cafe, Rice & Bones, from the celebrated chef of The Slanted Door. To view the menu and hours, visit https://www.riceandbones.com/

At CED, you get the best of both worlds — a tight-knit community paired with world-class opportunities. Explore our four...
10/21/2026

At CED, you get the best of both worlds — a tight-knit community paired with world-class opportunities. Explore our four undergraduate majors designed to shape the future of the built and natural environment:

• Architecture
• Landscape Architecture
• Urban Studies
• Sustainable Environmental Design

No matter the field, CED launches our graduates to be agents of change for environmental good. Join our Admissions Ambassadors for upcoming info sessions and tours!

Virtual Info Sessions

Wednesday, Oct. 21 | 2–3 PM
Monday, Nov. 2 | 1–2 PM
Thursday, Nov. 5 | 2–3 PM
Tuesday, Nov. 10 | 1–2PM
Friday, Nov. 13 | 1–2 PM
Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 1–2 PM
Friday, Nov. 20 | 1–2 PM

College Information Day & UC Berkeley Showcase
Saturday, Oct. 24 | 9 AM–2 PM

For middle school, high school, and transfer students, and their families. CED Ambassadors will be tabling at the UC Berkeley Resource Expo from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and leading a building tour from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

In-Person Info Session & Building Tour of Bauer Wurster Hall

Friday, Oct. 30 | 4–5 PM
Friday, Nov. 20 | 12–1 PM

Discover where CED can take you. Register now 🔗 in bio.
https://ced.berkeley.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions.

In honor of William W. Wurster’s birthday (born October 20, 1895 in Stockton, CA), we checked in with UPM Visiting Profe...
10/20/2026

In honor of William W. Wurster’s birthday (born October 20, 1895 in Stockton, CA), we checked in with UPM Visiting Professor of Practice Iñigo Cobeta, who is getting to know Wurster through his European travel journals.

Cobeta, a professor at ETSAM in Madrid, had the idea that researching the journal documenting the five weeks Wurster traveled through Spain in 1923 would be a good way to learn about the founding dean of CED.

“Wurster traveled south from Barcelona to Tangiers and back,” says Cobeta. “On his way south, his journal shows that, in his own words, 'all the time was spent in observation,' whereas coming back north, he adds his own thoughts about what he sees, 'trying to weave all the threads into a cloth of thought.' You can see him coming of age as an architect almost in real time.”

A 1919 graduate of UC Berkeley’s program in architecture (where he studied with campus architect John Galen Howard), Wurster set off for Europe when he was 27 years old. He wrote the journals documenting his yearlong sojourn (now held in the Environmental Design Archives collection) for his sister, parents, and grandmother back home, “the dearest, finest, truest family in the world.”

“Time and again,” Cobeta says, “Wurster notes the similarities between the climates of California and of Spain and identifies architectural approaches he could use at home, what he called ‘charming and useful ideas.’” He wrote about architectural monuments, such as the Great Mosque of Cordoba (noting its “dim dignity”) and the Seville Cathedral, but he was also drawn to examples of everyday architecture, noting the profusion of patios and flowers.

Cobeta has been especially struck by Wurster’s humanism. “He saw everything from a very human point of view. At first he thought that each country would be different from one another, but then he realized that humanity, in its essence, is the same everywhere."

Join us for Building Tomorrow: Innovation at the Edge of Climate Justice — a special Homecoming pane and reception. Lear...
10/02/2026

Join us for Building Tomorrow: Innovation at the Edge of Climate Justice — a special Homecoming pane and reception.

Learn how the College of Environmental Design is at the forefront of developing innovative, scalable solutions to the climate crisis — from wildfire prevention to sustainable timber construction to adaptive reuse.

Moderated by Interim William W. Wurster Dean Daniel G. Chatman, with presentations by Professor of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning and Urban Design Kristina Hill, Professor of City & Regional Planning Marta Gonzalez, and Assistant Professor of Architecture Ramon Weber.

A Q&A and reception will follow the presentations. We look forward to welcoming you back to Bauer Wurster Hall!

Friday, Oct. 9, 2026 | 3:30–4:30 PM (Reception to follow)
112 Bauer Wurster Hall

This event is part of UC Berkeley’s Alumni and Parents Weekend at Homecoming. Link in bio to learn more and RSVP! 💙💛

https://ced.berkeley.edu/events/building-tomorrow-innovation-at-the-edge-of-climate-justice-homecoming-event

Photo: Ramon Weber, closeup buildings from the exhibition "The Weather to Come: Forest, City, Fire, Cloud," CED, 2026.

Thinking about graduate study in design, planning, real estate, or the built environment? The College of Environmental D...
10/01/2026

Thinking about graduate study in design, planning, real estate, or the built environment? The College of Environmental Design’s graduate programs are hosting info sessions, open houses, and panels this fall. Join us!

🗓️UPCOMING ADMISSIONS EVENTS & INFO SESSIONS

UC Berkeley Graduate Diversity Fair
–Master of Urban Design (MUD): Tue, Oct. 6, 4 PM
– Master of Design (MDes) Career Pathways & Alumni Panel: Thu, Oct. 8, 9 AM
– Design the Future: Architecture Grad Programs: Thu, Oct. 8, 1 PM

Architecture Info Sessions
Learn about graduate architecture degrees with faculty and advisors.
—Mon, Oct. 12, 12 PM
—Thu, Nov. 5, 9 AM
—Application Walkthrough: Fri, Dec. 4, 5 PM

Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning Info Session
Join Chair Dorotheé Imbert & advisors for curriculum details, degree tracks, and faculty Q&A.
—Wed, Nov 4, 5 PM

City & Regional Planning Info Sessions
Join MCP Chair Charisma Acey & advisors to explore the program and application process.
—Tue, Sept. 29, 10 AM
—Tue, Oct. 20, 10 AM
—Tue, Nov. 24, 10 AM

Urban & Regional Development
Master of Urban Design (MUD) Info Sessions
Discover the interdisciplinary curriculum, admissions process, design studios, and career paths.
—Tue, Nov. 10, 10:30 AM
—Wed, Dec. 9, 5 PM

Abbey Master of Real Estate Development + Design (MRED+D) Info Sessions
Explore funding, student life, career outcomes, and applications tips. Also join us for an industry panel and open house.
—Tue, Oct. 6, 4 PM
—On-Campus & Virtual Open House: Mon, Oct. 19, 10:45 AM 

Master of Design (MDes) Info Sessions
Get an inside look at the curriculum, resources, and community.
—Curricular Overview w/ Faculty Director Kyle Steinfeld: Tue, Oct. 20, 4 PM
—In-Person Visit Day: Thu, Nov. 5, 1 PM

Arcus Social Justice Corps Fellowship Info Sessions
For grads driven to create transformational social change through planning, research, and design.
—Tue, Oct. 13, 11 AM
—Thu, Nov. 12, 11 AM
—Thu, Dec. 10, 11 AM

Head to the link in bio to register for a virtual or in-person session. We look forward to meeting you! 🔗 https://ced.berkeley.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions

It's Oski's B-Day fundraiser! We invite you join us in celebrating our mascot's birthday by supporting graduate fellow...
09/16/2026

It's Oski's B-Day fundraiser!

We invite you join us in celebrating our mascot's birthday by supporting graduate fellowships at the College of Environmental Design.

The Arcus Social Justice Corps Fellowship builds on CED’s legacy of educating environmental design leaders who are dedicated to creating positive social change. The Arcus Fellowship provides financial and programmatic support to graduate students in CED’s professional master’s degree programs who commit to using their education to address the vital issues facing our cities and communities.

The program is now in its fifth year, and Arcus alums are already making an impact, working with organizations to develop affordable housing, mitigate climate risk, and create healthy and just cities.

Your gift during Oski’s B-Day Bearathon, September 16 to 18, invests in these students, whose achievements ripple across Bauer Wurster Hall, campus, and our communities. Please join us in celebrating Oski’s birthday by supporting the next generation of changemakers!

Link in bio, make your gift today: https://givingday.berkeley.edu/giving-day/120099/department/120395

Learn more: http://ced.berkeley.edu/arcus

It's Oski's B-Day Bearathon fundraiser! We invite you join us in celebrating our mascot's birthday by supporting graduat...
09/16/2026

It's Oski's B-Day Bearathon fundraiser! We invite you join us in celebrating our mascot's birthday by supporting graduate fellowships at the College of Environmental Design.

The Arcus Social Justice Corps Fellowship builds on CED’s legacy of educating environmental design leaders who are dedicated to creating positive social change. The Arcus Fellowship provides financial and programmatic support to graduate students in CED’s professional master’s degree programs who commit to using their education to address the vital issues facing our cities and communities.

The program is now in its fifth year, and Arcus alums are already making an impact, working with organizations to develop affordable housing, mitigate climate risk, and create healthy and just cities.

Your gift during Oski’s B-Day , September 16 to 18, invests in these students, whose achievements ripple across Bauer Wurster Hall, campus, and our communities. Please join us in celebrating Oski’s birthday by supporting the next generation of changemakers!

Link in bio to make your gift today: https://givingday.berkeley.edu/giving-day/120099/department/120395

Learn more: http://ced.berkeley.edu/arcus



Link in bio to make your gift today: https://givingday.berkeley.edu/giving-day/120099/department/120395

Learn more: http://ced.berkeley.edu/arcus



Caption: Arcus Fellows at the fall cohort retreat.

We’re looking forward to an amazing semester with 10 visiting faculty across the college!The Department of Architecture ...
09/09/2026

We’re looking forward to an amazing semester with 10 visiting faculty across the college!

The Department of Architecture is welcoming Casper Mork-Ulnes, principal of international practice Mork-Ulnes Architects, as Friedman Visiting Professor of Practice; ETSAM professors Laura Sánchez Carrasco and Íñigo Cobeta as UPM Visiting Professors of Practice; and Luke Ogrydziak and Zoë Prillinger, principals of OPA, as Esherick Endowed Professors. In addition, the inaugural Creedon Fellow, Julie Riley, will continue in this role for the coming academic year.

The Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning has invited Kimberly Garza (BA Landscape Architecture 2006) and Erik Prince, principals of Atlas Lab, to campus as the fall 2026 Lifchez Professors of Practice in Social Justice.

The Department of City & Regional Planning is hosting two visiting professors: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign’s Ken E. Salo as Theodore B. and Doris Shoong Lee Chair in Real Estate Law and Urban Planning and Joshua Muldavin, professor of geography, environmental studies, and Asian studies at Sarah Lawrence College, as a visiting professor.

Welcome, all!

UC Berkeley Architecture
Casper Mork Ulnes
Mork Ulnes Architects
OPA - Ogrydziak Prillinger
ATLAS Lab Inc.

09/02/2026

A new issue of A—D is out with a contribution by Assistant Professor of Architecture Emmett Zeifman, “Camping in the Ruins of Modernism.”

Drawn from his practice and teaching in sustainable architecture, Emmett Zeifman traces an avant‑garde history of “camping in the ruins of modernism,” from Mies’s ambiguous shells to contemporary interior tents and thermal refuges. Reading these lightweight inhabitation devices as critiques of sealed comfort, he shows how improvised thermal living unsettles modern enclosure and reopens everyday experiments with climate.

About the issue:

A—D 96.3 The New Heliomorphism: A New Theory of Solar Architecture, guest-edited by Salmaan Craig, Charles Waldheim, and Min Yeo, asks not whether architects should design with the sun, but how we might do so, and to what ecological and political ends.

Moving beyond passive-solar nostalgia and technological quick fixes, contributors explore shade, buoyancy, radiant exchange, and biogenic materials as tools for reclaiming thermodynamic work. Across urban, interior, and material practices, heliomorphism becomes a framework for repairing climatic relations and imagining more equitable, resilient, and sustainable futures.

ARCHITECTURALDESIGN-AD

New year, new beginnings 📌. It's been great welcoming everyone to CED, and we wish you a successful year ahead!
08/26/2026

New year, new beginnings 📌. It's been great welcoming everyone to CED, and we wish you a successful year ahead!

We’re delighted to announce that Emmett Zeifman is joining the Department of Architecture this fall as assistant profess...
08/25/2026

We’re delighted to announce that Emmett Zeifman is joining the Department of Architecture this fall as assistant professor. Principal of NOUNS, Zeifman has a record of editorial and curatorial work that brings archival research into contemporary discourse on the future of design.

“The faculty and I share the opinion that Emmett’s unique combination of architectural practice, design criticism, and editorial experience will be extremely valuable to the school and lead us into new territories vital in contemporary practice,” said Lisa Iwamoto, chair of the Department of Architecture.

Zeifman recently guest-edited Log 64: Toward a Newer Brutalism, or the Undecorated Shed and curated the Harvard Graduate School of Design exhibition Towards a Newer Brutalism: Solar Pavilions, Appliance Houses and Other Topologies of Contemporary Life, which looked at connections between contemporary practice and the New Brutalist ideas of the postwar period.

He has held teaching positions at Harvard GSD, Columbia GSAPP, and Sci-Arc, among others, and his design work and criticism have been widely exhibited and published. He holds a MPhil from the University of Cambridge, MArch from the Yale University School of Architecture, and BA in English literature from McGill University in Montreal.

Read more: https://ced.berkeley.edu/news/emmett-zeifman-joins-department-of-architecture

Please join us in welcoming Emmett Zeifman to the College of Environmental Design!

Images:

1 – Emmett Zeifman, UC Berkeley, 2026.
2 – Emmett Zeifman, Homage to the Smithsons, Lisbon, 2021.
3 – Towards a Newer Brutalism: Solar Pavilions, Appliance Houses and Other Topologies of Contemporary Life, Harvard GSD, 2024, installation view. Photo: Justin Knight.
4 – Silverlake ADU, with Alfie Koetter, 2018.
5 – Log 64: Toward a Newer Brutalism, or the Undecorated Shed.

UC Berkeley Architecture nounstudio

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230 Bauer Wurster Hall, #1820
Berkeley, CA
94720

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 10pm
Tuesday 8am - 10pm
Wednesday 8am - 10pm
Thursday 8am - 10pm
Friday 8am - 10pm
Saturday 9am - 10pm
Sunday 9am - 10pm

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