
EMERGENT
(adjective) emer•gent | i-ˈmÉ™r-jÉ™nt
+ arising as an effect of complex causes, as a sum of their parts
+ in the process of coming into being, becoming newly formed or
prominent
+ calling for immediate action, requiring urgent action
EMERGENT is a design & research studio working at architecture's intersection with urbanism, landscape, and infrastructure. Fascinated with how emergent patterns, paradigms, and phenomena impact our constructed environments in an era of rapid urbanization, we investigate these spatial conditions by engaging in interdisciplinary work that cuts across multiple scales and forms of representation that are able to speak to a diverse set of audiences & stakeholders.
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Based in New York but operating sensitively in multi-regional contexts around the globe, we believe that it is imperative to carefully ask the right questions before providing solutions. Accordingly, each of our catalogued investigations seeks to examine emerging questions facing our rapidly evolving built environments—believing that design holds vast potential for critiquing and intervening in the cultural, social, ecological, environmental, and infrastructural issues facing our contemporary cities and their landscapes. Armed with both design and the research that frames it, our investigations act as a cog in addressing solutions to these emerging questions.
Our versatile work ranges from design proposals & competitions, to cartographic research mappings & curated exhibitions, to authored books & architectural graphic novels aimed at impacting a wide audience. Collectively, they act as a toolkit of ideas for tackling emergent questions in a rapidly urbanizing world.
Director, Founding Principal
Evan is an architect, urbanist, researcher and educator who is the director of Emergent Studio. He founded the studio following a decade of professional working experience in the architecture & urban design fields, in both the private & public sectors.
In addition to directing Emergent, Evan was recently appointed to the full-time faculty at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) where he teaches as an Assistant Professor of Architecture. Throughout his career, he has...
DECEMBER 2024
+ Evan Shieh contributes to the exhibition Dreaming of our
Roots at Gallery 61, NYIT
+ Evan Shieh featured & profiled in the Winter 2024 edition of
Metropolis Magazine
+ Evan Shieh attends final reviews as an external guest critic
at Parsons School of Design
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NOVEMBER 2024
+ Evan Shieh named the national 2024 Planet Positive
Educator of the Year by Metropolis Magazine
+ Evan Shieh interviewed & profiled in the Fall 2024 / Winter
2025 edition of the New York Tech Magazine
+ Evan Shieh lectures at Harvard GSD’s “In Dialogue” lecture
series hosted by UD:ID
+ Evan Shieh lectures at the Living Well Club of New Jersey
+ Evan Shieh gives an external guest course lecture at Pratt
Institute
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OCTOBER 2024
+ Evan Shieh awarded the Stretto Alumni Achievement Award
at its 2024 Inaugural Gala
+ Evan Shieh publishes Autonomous Urbanism: Towards a
New Transitopia (AR+D, 2024)
+ Autonomous Urbanism (AR+D, 2024) launched as a lecture
at NYIT’s “World Un/Designed” Fall 2024 public lecture series
+ Evan Shieh lectures at the 2024 NYC Architecture Biennale
+ Evan Shieh attends midterm reviews as an external guest
critic at Parsons School of Design
For more recent news, press, and highlights...
Have a design or research project in mind? Looking to collaborate on a joint venture together? Interested in joining our studio?
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We would love to hear from you!
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