Talking Tall Class

The Talking Tall I (semester 1) class is largely delivered by Dr. Antony Wood, Director of M.TBVU, with some internal (IIT) / guest lecturers. Two IIT professors and three visiting teaching scholars conduct tutorials with students individually on their research projects in the Talking Tall II (semester 2) throughout the semester. See more information on the tutors for the academic year, 2023-24, below.

talking tall I & II, 2023-24 / professors

Antony Wood, Director, M.TBVU, IIT; President, CTBUH

Dr. Antony Wood is President of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), responsible for leading the Council’s thought leadership, research, and academic initiatives. Prior to this, he was CTBUH Chief Executive Officer, from 2006-2022. Wood is a Professor-in-Practice and Director of the Masters in Tall Buildings and Vertical Urbanism program in the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago; and a visiting professor of tall buildings at Tongji University, Shanghai. A UK architect by training, his field of specialization is the design, and in particular the sustainable design, of tall buildings. Prior to becoming an academic, Wood worked as an architect in practice in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and the UK, between 1991-2001. Wood’s PhD dissertation explored the multi-disciplinary aspects of skybridge connections between tall buildings. He is the author of numerous books and papers, and lectures regularly around the world.

Yohan Kim, Assistant Director, M.TBVU, IIT; Academic Coordinator, CTBUH

Dr. Yohan Kim is Assistant Director of the Masters in Tall Buildings and Vertical Urbanism program in the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and Academic Coordinator at Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Kim’s research centers on high-performance building façades, natural ventilation in tall office buildings, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and analysis. His doctoral dissertation, entitled “The Feasibility of Double-Skin Façades (DSFs) to Provide Natural Ventilation in Tall Office Buildings,” investigates the impact of DSF configurations on indoor airflow behavior in tall office buildings and the integration of computational simulation into the design process. His areas of interest include sustainable tall buildings, performance-based façade design, double-skin façades, natural ventilation, parametric design studies, and CFD simulation.

 

talking tall II, spring 2024 / visiting teaching scholars

Daniel Safarik, Director, Research & Thought Leadership; Editor-in-Chief, CTBUH

­­­Daniel Safarik is Editor-in-Chief at CTBUH. His responsibilities include selecting and editing research papers, case studies and features for the CTBUH Journal, representing the Council at events and meetings, and managing content for CTBUH International Conferences. Safarik has co-authored or co-edited several of the Council’s recent technical publications. He served as the Director of the China Office of CTBUH at Tongji University, Shanghai, from 2015 to 2017, spearheading the Council’s efforts to expand influence and membership in China. Trained as an architect and a journalist, he was the director of marketing for Brooks + Scarpa Architects (formerly Pugh + Scarpa Architects) from 2008 to 2011. Safarik has reported on technology or edited for business publications for 16 years, including The Economist Group, Fast Company, Advanced Trading, Individual Investor, the Wall Street Journal and others. He is frequently quoted in the media, which turn to CTBUH for expertise on a range of issues.

Will Miranda, Senior Research Manager, CTBUH

Will Miranda is the Senior Research Manager for the CTBUH Headquarters office in Chicago, and previously a Research Associate for CTBUH Research Office at the IUAV University of Venice, Italy. He has been involved with a number of CTBUH research activities, including “Timber Rising: Mass Timber Engagement Program,” “Creating Industry-Accepted Criteria for Measuring Tall Building Floor Area,” “Study on the Properties of Composite Megacolumns,” etc. Will joined CTBUH in May of 2013, primarily involved in the development of the CTBUH website and database, before moving to Italy in 2016 to provide editorial services and research assistance for the CTBUH Research Office in Venice. In 2019, Will returned the CTBUH headquarters, to spearhead internal research studies and analyses on tall buildings and the urban environment surrounding them. In addition to his analysis work, he also assists in the coordination and management of videos and building drawings produced for the council.

Isaac Work, Building Data Coordinator, CTBUH

Isaac Work joined the Council in May 2022 and is currently a Building Data Coordinator at CTBUH Headquarters. He holds a B.A. in Public Policy, a Master of Public Administration, and a Master of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Commensurate with his academic background, Isaac brings experience in urban design, geographic information systems (GIS), data visualization, and data analysis to CTBUH. From a public planner’s perspective, Isaac identifies with and supports CTBUH’s mission by creating data tools and reports that support sustainable vertical urbanism for policymakers and designers of urban space. While at CTBUH, Isaac has spearheaded publication projects such as The World’s 118 Tallest Buildings (2022), the inaugural edition of the CTBUH Data Handbook (2023), and numerous print and interactive data studies. Beyond CTBUH, Isaac’s passions include cycling, music production, and actively participating in public meetings.