Audio interview with Brian McGrath, 2016 Jul 7
Scope and Contents
Interviewed by Wendy Scheir, director of the New School Archives, at Parsons School of Design, 2 West 13th Street in New York City, Brian McGrath recounts his childhood in Springfield, Massachusetts, undergraduate studies in architecture at Syracuse University, graduate studies at Princeton University, and professional life as an architect and later as educator. McGrath details the development and evolution of administration, courses and departments in Parsons’ School of Constructed Environments between 1991 and 2016. Of note are his observations on the introduction of computer software into architectural courses at Parsons, his professional work in Thailand, and life in the East Village in the 1980s.
Dates
- 2016 Jul 7
Extent
1093 Megabytes (3 Broadcast Wave files; 01:48:30 duration; includes PDF transcript [not yet created].)
Participant Biography
Brian McGrath was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, into an Irish-American family. He did his undergraduate degrees in architecture and liberal arts at Syracuse University, graduating in 1979. He completed his Master’s of Architecture at Princeton University in 1981. McGrath’s professional career has been a mix of architectural practice and teaching. McGrath’s association with Parsons School of Design began in 1991. At Parsons Brian has held several positions. He served as research chair in Urban Design between 2010 and 2013; between 2013 and 2016, he held the post of professor of Urban Design. In 2016, McGrath completed a three-year term as dean of the School of Constructed Environments. He is also an author and editor of several publications, including Urban Design Ecologies Reader (2013), Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design: Linking Theory and Practice for Sustainable Cities (2013) (with S.T.A. Pickett and Mary Cadenasso), and Cinemetrics: Architectural Drawing Today (2007) (with Jean Gardner).