Professor Ali is a leading expert in tall building engineering and architecture.  He is a specialist in seismic and foundations engineering, and has published numerous books, journal articles, and scholarly papers on tall buildings ranging from technology, engineering,and design to urban habitats.  He is best known for his contributions to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and author and co-author of: Architecture of Tall Buildings (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995), Art of the Skyscraper: The Genius of Fazlur Khan (New York: Rizzoli, 2001), Catalyst for Skyscraper Revolution: Lynn S. Beedle: A Legend in his Lifetime (Chicago: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, 2004), and The Skyscraper and the City: Design, Technology and Innovation (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2007).

Professor Armstrong is a recognized expert in tall building design and urbanism.  His research focuses on the role and design of tall buildings in urban habitats.  He has conducted architecture studios and seminars at the graduate level that focus on High-Rise & Habitat.  He has published over 80 scholarly papers on tall buildings, urbanism, and modern and post-modern architecture.  He is the co-author of several books, including: Architecture of Tall Buildings (New York: McGraw–Hill, 1995), The Skyscraper and the City: Design, Technology and Innovation (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2007) and SynergiCity: Reinventing the Post-Industrial City (Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2012).

Professor Thomas Hoepf, FAIA, Principal Design Architect at Teng + Associates, lead a tall building studio which highlights the programmatic requirements of the building along with the architectural objective of aesthetics. The building enclosure is also emphasized with the use of new materials and technology within a generic structural solution. The design responses are site specific and developed with a clear understanding of the building function in relation to the horizontal and vertical plane.

Dr. Abdel Rahman Elbakheit
King Saud University

Peter Ruge
Dessau Institute of Architecture (DIA)

Peter Ruge’s approach to teaching explores new methodologies of programming and optimization. He aims to provide each designer with the ability to select the best concepts from a set of different project ideas. The students learn how to identify the appropriate project parameters through logical reasoning and critical thinking, and develop architectural design strategies that reflect the structured inquiry process.
By recognizing the diverse conditions of each site, criteria can be established that is most important to the project, and design decisions made that closely follow these demands.  As a result, sensitive and informed responses can be realised in the form of multilayered sustainable architectural outcomes.