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Michael J. Crosbie

Michael J. Crosbie headshot

Professor

Architecture

College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture
860.768.4755 HJG W205A
Education

PhD, Catholic University

MArch, Catholic University

BS, Catholic University


Michael J. Crosbie, PhD, FAIA, has made significant contributions in the fields of architectural journalism, research, teaching, and practice.

Having served as an editor at Architecture: The AIA Journal, Progressive Architecture, ArchitectureWeek.com, and is editor-in-chief of Faith & Form, a quarterly journal on religious art and architecture, he is also a frequent contributor to Architectural Record and writes about architecture and design for the Hartford Courant.

While he has appeared as an architectural expert on The History Channel, he is also the author of more than 20 books on architecture (including five books for children) and has edited and contributed to more than 20 others. Crosbie's work is also frequently featured on CommonEdge.

Additionally, he has served as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University and Catholic University and has lectured and served as a visiting critic at architecture schools in North America and abroad, including the University of California (Berkeley), the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and the Moscow Architectural Institute.

Crosbie is a registered architect in the State of Connecticut and has practiced with Centerbrook Architects & Planners and Steven Winter Associates.

Service

Connecting with community is part of the mission of the Department of Architecture. We encourage our students to view their work as architects as part of a professional obligation to the community. Working with neighborhood groups, providing design and construction services to people in need, or working on design projects based in real neighborhoods with real problems are some of the ways that our students have become involved with community outreach.

  • University, College, and Department committees.
  • Community outreach with the University Elementary Magnet School.
  • Service to the profession through involvement in the American Institute of Architects at national and local levels.

Memberships

  • Elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects
  • Edward S. Frey Memorial Award from the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art & Architecture, American Institute of Architects
  • American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Medal
  • American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Certificate
  • Catholic University of America Alumni Achievement Award
  • Who’s Who in the World, 2000, 2003
  • Who’s Who in America, 1999-2001
  • Who’s Who in the East, 1999-2000, 2003
  • Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, 1999-2001, 2003
  • Who’s Who in Business and Industry, 1999-2000, 2003
  • William H. Donaldson Award for Editorial Achievement
  • Jesse H. Neal Merit Certificate for Editorial Achievement
  • Jesse H. Neal Award for Editorial Achievement
  • Honorary Diploma, Novosibirsk Institute of Architecture, Russia

Crosbie's primary area of expertise is architectural criticism and commentary. Over the course of his career as an architectural critic and teacher, he has focused mostly on the following areas: architectural technology; housing; architectural education; sustainability; the architectural profession.

Books

  • Editor, Rehabbing Flooded Houses: A Guide for Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2007.
  • Living Together: Multi-Family Housing Today, Mulgrave: Images Publishing Group, 2007.
  • Houses of God: Religious Architecture for a New Millennium, Mulgrave: Images Publishing Group, 2006.
  • Curtain Walls: Recent Developments from Cesar Pelli & Associates, Berlin: Birkhäuser Verlag AG, 2005.
  • Editor, with Donald Watson, Time-Saver Standards for Architectural Design: Technical Data for Professional Practice, Eighth Edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Publications, 2004.
  • Editor, A Community Guide to Basic and Cost-Saving Construction in the American Southwest, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2004.
  • Architecture for the Gods, Book II (Introduction by John Wesley Cook), Mulgrave: Images Publishing Group, 2003.
  • The Art of Sharing: New Directions in Multi-Family Housing (Introduction by Michael Pyatok), Mulgrave: Images Publishing Group, 2003.
  • Editor, Home Rehab Handbook, New York: McGraw-Hill Publications, 2002.
  • Editor, Community Builder’s Guide to Factory-Built Housing, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2002.
  • Generating Context: The Practice of Perry Dean Rogers & Partners, Berlin: Birkhäuser Verlag AG, 2001.
  • Editor, A Basic Guide to Fair Housing Accessibility, Peter Stratton, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
  • When Change Is Set in Stone: An Analysis of Seven Academic Libraries by Perry Dean Rogers & Partners, co-authored with Damon Hickey, American Library Association, 2001.
  • Editor, with Joseph DeChiara, Time-Saver Standards for Building Types, Fourth Edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Publications, 2001.
  • Petronas Towers: The Architecture of High Construction, co-authored with Cesar Pelli, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
  • Arches to Zigzags: An Architecture ABC, co-authored with Steve and Kit Rosenthal, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000.
  • Architecture for the Gods, (Introduction by Richard Vosko), Mulgrave: Images Publishing Group, 1999.
  • Editor, Manufactured Home Installation Training Manual, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1999.
  • Cesar Pelli: Recent Themes, Berlin: Birkhäuser Verlag AG, 1998.
  • Editor,The Passive Solar Design and Construction Handbook, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
  • Principal Author, with Dale Perry and Thomas Smith, Wind Design Basics for Practicing Architects, Washington, D.C.: American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1997.
  • Senior Editor, with Donald Watson and John Hancock Callander, Time-Saver Standards for Architectural Data, Seventh Edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Publications, 1997.
  • Architecture Animals, co-authored with Steve Rosenthal, Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press/John Wiley & Sons, 1995.
  • Green Architecture: A Guide to Sustainable Design, Washington, D.C.: AIA Press, 1994.
  • Architecture Colors, with Steve Rosenthal, Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press/John Wiley & Sons, 1993.
  • Architecture Counts, co-authored with Steve Rosenthal, Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press/John Wiley & Sons, 1993.
  • Architecture Shapes, co-authored with Steve Rosenthal, Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press/John Wiley & Sons, 1993.
  • Centerbrook: Reinventing American Architecture, Washington, D.C.: AIA Press/Rockport, 1993.
  • The Jersey Devil Design/Build Book, Ogden, Utah: Peregrine Smith, 1985.

Book Chapters

  • “Contemporary Trends in Sacred Architecture,” in Theology in Built Environments, Sigurd Bergmann, Editor; New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2009, pp. 59-67.
  • “Paul Rudolph on Yale’s A&A,” in Writings on Architecture: Paul Rudolph, Yale School of Architecture, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009, pp. 139-148.
  • “Architecture for the Spirit,” in Architecture: Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future, Edited by Nancy Solomon, Washington, D.C.: The American Institute of Architects, 2008, pp. 314-334.
  • “Back to the Center,” Introduction to Architectural Excellence, William T. Baker, Mulgrave: Images Publishing Group, 2008, pp. 14-15.
  • “On SITE’s Delight,” essay in SITE: Identity in Density, Mulgrave: Images Publishing Group, 2005, pp. 158-161.
  • Preface to “Sacred Meaning in the Christian Art of the Middle Ages,” Stephen M. Fliegel, Sacred Landmarks Monograph, Cleveland: Center for Sacred Landmarks, 2004.
  • “A Conversation with Cesar Pelli,” Cesar Pelli, Mulgrave: Images Publishing Group, 1993.
  • “Architecture: Best New Buildings,” in Collier’s International Yearbook 1990, New York: MacMillan Educational Company, 1990, pp. 120-121.
  • “Pattern-Book Architecture,” in Encyclopedia of Architecture, Design, Engineering & Construction, Joseph A. Wilkes, Editor, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1989, pp. 686-697.

Articles

  • Peer Reviewed Articles
    • “Why Write?” in Journal of Architectural Education (Vol. 62, Issue 3, February 2009), p. 10.
    • “Assessing Architectural Education’s ‘Crown Jewel,’” International Journal of Architectural Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, July 2007, pp. 106-108.
    • “Pushing the Envelope of American Housing,” Architectural Research Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1999, pp. 297-301.
  • Non-Peer Reviewed Articles
    • “Paul Rudolph: Citizen of the Model City,” Constructs: Yale School of Architecture (Vol. 11, No. 2, Spring 2009), p. 8.
    • “The Schools: How They’re Failing the Profession,” Progressive Architecture, September 1995 (Vol. 75, No. 9), pp. 47-51, 94, 96.
    • “AIA: Worth the Price of Admission?” Progressive Architecture, April 1994 (Vol. 74, No. 4), pp. 60-65, 100, 102.
    • “Dissecting the Salk” in Progressive Architecture, October 1993 (Vol. 73, No. 10), pp. 40-47.

Conference Presentations

  • Peer Reviewed Conference Presentations
  • “Greening God’s House: Connections Between Ecology, Theology, and Architecture,” Inaugural Conference of the Forum on Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality, Mount Angel Abbey, Portland, OR, March 24-26, 2009.
  • “Making Connections: Innovative Integration of Utilities in Panelized Housing Design,” Paper Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Northeast Regional Conference, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, September 26, 2008.
  • Session Chair, “Ritual and Perception in Sacred Urban Space,” at the conference “Cities and Gods,” Department of Classics and Archaeology, St. John’s College, University of Durham, Durham, England, July 2007.
  • “Sacred Places/Spaces: Tradition & Transcendence,” International Conference on Heological Aesthetics, Denver, Colorado, May 2006.

Non-Peer Reviewed Conference Presentations

  • Symposium Panelist, “Writing and Rhetoric in Practice,” University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture and Design, October 6, 2008.
  • “The Artistry and Greening of Our Churches,” Conference Keynote Speaker, “Social Trends in Designing for Worship,” The Duke Endowment, Charlotte, NC, September 2007.
  • Presentation on Trends in Sacred Architecture, AIA/Minnesota Annual Convention, Minneapolis, November 2006.
  • Presentation on Contemporary Religious Architecture, American Institute of Architects Annual Convention, Chicago, June 2004.
  • Presentation on PATH Housing Technology, 2004 Housing Summit, San Antonio, Texas, June 2004.
  • Conference Moderator, “Trends in Architectural Education and Practice,” American Institute of Architects / St. Louis, April 2004.
  • Presentation on “Petronas Towers,” Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente, Guadalajara, México, May 2003.
  • Presentation on Housing Rehabilitation, 2002 Housing Summit, San Antonio, Texas, November 2002.
  • Presentation on Wall Technology, HUD Housing Conference, El Paso, Texas, September 2002.
  • Presentation on Housing Technology, 2001 Housing Summit, San Antonio, Texas, March 2001.
  • Presentation on High-Performance Commercial Buildings, EnvironDesign5 Conference, Atlanta, April 2001.
  • Presentation on the Building America Program, Affordable Comfort Conference, Chicago, April 1999.
  • Keynote Address, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Southern Conference, February 1996.
  • Plenary Session Address, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Regional Conference, Ball State University, School of Architecture, November 1995.
  • Keynote Address, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada conference on Innovative Practice, September 1995.
  • Moderator and Panelist, "Publishing Architectural Work," Build Boston Conference, November 1989 -1995.
  • Panelist, "Technics Roundtable: Defining Practice Issues" Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Construction Materials and Technology Institute Conference, University of Pennsylvania, August 1985.

Published Conference Presentations

  • “Making Connections: Innovative Integration of Utilities in Panelized Housing Design,” in Without a Hitch: New Directions in Prefabricated Architecture, Proceedings for 2008 Northeast Fall Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, held at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Edited by Peggy Clouston, Ray Kinoshita Mann, Stephen Schreiber, University of Massachusetts, 2009, pp. 186-204.
  • “Innovative Practice in an ‘Interesting’ Time,” in Innovative Practice: The Regional Sessions, The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, 1996, pp. 1-8.