Skip navigation
City Tech News

About City Tech Menu

City Tech Professor Receives 2016 AIA Award of Excellence

June 27, 2016

Professor Phillip Anzalone, AIA, of City Tech's Architectural Technology Department, was honored with a 2016 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Award of Excellence on June 2 at the Brooklyn + Queens Design Awards Gala at the Vista Skylounge at Four Points in Long Island City, New York. Professor Anzalone and his team from the firm aa64 (Atelier Architecture 64) received the award for the design of Tensegrity Bridge, an entry for RIBA's Salford Meadows pedestrian bridge competition.

The word "tensegrity" is a combination of "tensional" and "integrity" and is often described-in the case of architecture-as floating compression. Tensegrity is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension. The compressed members (bars or struts) do not touch each other and the tensioned members (cables or tendons) delineate the system spatially.

For Professor Anzalone and his team, the Tensegrity Bridge project was an opportunity to research and develop a computational programming process to integrate a system of form finding, structural analysis and physical prototyping of a tensegrity structure through modeling and computational simulations.

The sinuous shape of the strut and cable supports weave around a linear pathway in Tensegrity Bridge, reinforcing the dynamic character of its surrounding context. Through advanced design and manufacturing processes, the system has the ability to embed material and structural intelligence in the adaptive nature of this highly resilient concept, while maintaining the necessary structural, physical and service design conditions.

"This project is an example of the integration of my academic research in computational processes and material systems connecting to work in practice engaging the urban environment and human conditions. Our work consistently strives to combine research and practice into a coherent design," says Professor Anzalone.

Along with aa64 partner Stephanie Bayard, Professor Anzalone has won a number of prestigious awards for the Tensegrity Bridge design including those from the American Institute of Architects and the Society of American Registered Architects.

At City Tech, Professor Anzalone teaches advanced design courses with a focus on materials and systems, digital design, analysis and fabrication, new modes of construction, and the integration of novel technologies. His research includes the incorporation of advanced science and technology into architectural practice, design and construction. To test his theories, Professor Anzalone has built 12 installations in nine different countries exploring how work can be developed and deployed in unfamiliar and uncertain situations. These projects have served as case studies for his research into automation techniques in site-work, designing for temporary or changing conditions, and developing adaptable structures.

Professor Anzalone is a member of the America Institute of Architects, a Board Member of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture, and on the advisory board for a number of industry and academic partners. He holds a Bachelors of Professional Study in Architecture from SUNY Buffalo and a Masters of Architecture from Columbia University.

The Brooklyn + Queens Design Awards (BQDA) has been established to encourage excellence in architectural design, to raise public awareness of the built environment and to honor the architects, owners and builders of significant projects within the two boroughs. It is the goal of the AIA Brooklyn and AIA Queens to promote chapter members and affiliates through the display of their design and service accomplishments.