The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture is pleased to announce Professor Behnaz Assadi as the inaugural recipient of the John Q. Hejduk Endowment Award for Architectural Research. This fund establishes an annual honorarium supporting exemplary work by faculty of The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture for two years. It is awarded to support practice, scholarship, teaching, or research that reflects diverse voices, ethnicities, trajectories, or communities.

Founded by former dean Nader Tehrani, the endowment’s focus on supporting faculty development is grounded in the legacy and generosity of the architect John Q. Hejduk (1929–2000) who provided opportunities for transformative research and intellectual growth to talented, emerging educators and practitioners throughout his twenty-five-year tenure as dean of the School of Architecture.

Reflecting on the origins of this effort, Tehrani explained: “Having known Hejduk’s impact on the architectural discipline for over forty-five years, it seemed appropriate that we celebrate his notion of the ‘social contract’—of giving back through teaching, by rewarding an exemplary pedagogue who continues his legacy in new guises and formats. It gives me great pleasure to thank everyone who contributed to this endowment, and I find Assadi’s stubborn focus on drawing as a perfect fit to extend a culture that Hejduk lovingly molded for decades at Cooper Union.”

Behnaz Assadi is founding principal and partner of the Toronto-based JA Architecture Studio. In her practice and teaching, she explores landscape architecture’s agency beyond disciplinary confines with an interest in landscape processes and how they relate to the built environment. Using multi-scalar investigations, drawing, and modeling, she integrates ecological literacy with the precision of architectural construction.  

This award not only recognizes Assadi’s work, but also supports her as she carries forward a particular culture of architectural inquiry: “To be the inaugural recipient of an award bearing John Hejduk’s name is both an honor and an invitation. Cooper has a remarkable history of bringing emerging questions back to the core of the discipline, and in doing so, continually expanding the territory of architectural thought. At a moment of profound environmental change, I am especially grateful, as a landscape designer, for the opportunity to extend my own research within this tradition. I can think of few places where this work could feel more at home.”

Please join me in congratulating Behnaz on this exciting opportunity to develop her creative work. Many thanks to all who have already supported this initiative—it will significantly impact the trajectories of young architects and educators for years to come. For those who would like to support the endowment, please visit Cooper Union’s website and indicate John Q. Hejduk Endowment for Architectural Research under Gift Memo.

— Michael Young, Dean
     The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture