Syracuse University Trustee and School of Architecture Advisory Board Member Steven Einhorn ’67 and his wife, Sherry Einhorn ’65 (EDU), were honored at the School of Architecture on Feb. 10 at the grand opening of the Einhorn 21st Century Studio. The studio, a prototype for design education conceived to support the widest array of teaching styles and rapidly changing technologies, was made possible by a significant gift from the Einhorns.
From left: Dean Michael Speaks, Dr. Ruth Chen, Steven Einhorn, Sherry Einhorn and Chancellor Kent Syverud at the launch of the Einhorn 21st Century Studio
Attendees included Chancellor Kent Syverud and his wife, Dr. Ruth Chen, along with Provost Eric Spina and architecture faculty members, students and staff.
“We are deeply appreciative of this generous gift that provides a critical opportunity to dramatically rethink how we teach,” said Michael Speaks, dean of the School of Architecture. “Using this studio as a test bed and expanding its results to our other locations, particularly at the new Fisher Center in NYC, we have the opportunity to develop innovative models that will expand our educational offerings domestically and abroad.”
Einhorn is a leader in developing highly profitable, rapidly growing professional service business enterprises. Einhorn founded two internationally recognized firms: a global private equity investment company and a Fortune 50 worldwide technology leader. Now the CEO of Stardog Consulting, he served as both CEO and chairman of EYP Mission Critical Facilities and EYP Architecture and Engineering. He has been honored by his peers with election to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects based upon his design accomplishments and management strategies.
The renovation of the studio, designed by KBL Studio principals Brian Lonsway, a faculty member in the School of Architecture, and Kathleen Brandt, a faculty member in the Department of Design at the College of Visual and Performing Arts, allowed the school to create a space that highlights two of the most important aspects of architectural education: team-based learning and iterative design thinking. The flexibility of the studio fosters opportunities for students to work collaboratively in breakout spaces, while the 3D printer, scanner and other technologies allow students to quickly create a model and continue to refine their designs with each output.
Following the ceremony recognizing the Einhorns, faculty and students presented a demonstration of the new technologies that included the projection of images onto the floor for digital markup and design critiques, interactions with the seamless video wall and the projection of images onto table tops and the creation of a 3D print by the studio’s in house MakerBot.
In addition to the studio, the Einhorns’ gift supports the development of a new website for the school that that will be launched this spring and established the Einhorn Lecture, an annual event at the school devoted to entrepreneurship in architecture. Gregg Pasquarelli, award-winning architect and founder of SHoP Architects, is the inaugural Einhorn lecturer and will speak at Slocum Hall in Syracuse on April 8. SHoP’s recent projects include the Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, winner of an AIA NYC 2013 design award, and the Botswana Innovation Hub in Africa.
