January 26 – April 17

The 2024-2026 Fitzhugh Scott Faculty Fellow, Iris Xiaoxue Ma, will be taking over and transforming part of the Jim Shields Gallery into a ceramic studio/workshop space during the Spring 2026 semester. Iris will use the gallery as a production space for her Fellowship show and a material resource center for all School of Architecture & Urban Planning students.

If you are interested in the process, techniques, tools, and applications of ceramic material, or simply looking for project inspirations, visit her in her ceramics space. Monthly walk-in and workshop hours will be posted on the gallery door.

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April 20 – May 20

Iris Xiaoxue Ma works with foraged local clay in combination with recycled organic aggregates to produce composite ceramic materials. Through the mis-use of analog and digital ceramic tools, Ma’s practice focuses on the production of ambiguous objects that question assumptions of materiality, process, and craft. This exhibition showcases Iris’s teaching and research work from 2025-2026 supported by 51ÁÔĆć SARUP’s Fitzhugh Scott Faculty Fellowship.

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April 23 | 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

This workshop is a hands-on introduction to sequential narrative and story-making with students. At a time where bounding boxes are being drawn around faces, bodies, and buildings to extract data for AI training, how might the meta-structure of framing in comics and the graphic arts help us (literally) reframe the built environment around us? What can the format of sequential narrative lend us in troubling times?

This event invites you to attend to the bounding box, the frame, and the panel as an actor in architectual representation, instigating alternate ways of seeing and representing the world. This event will begin with a mini-lecture and introduction to a series of comic works, followed by an hour of hands-on drawing and conversation. BYO pens and pencils of varying colors and weights.

Biography

Amelyn Ng is an architect, cartoonist, and Assistant Professor of Architecture at Columbia GSAPP. She has previously taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and Rice University, and is a registered architect in the State of Victoria, Australia. Her work contends with relationships between matter and representation, and seeks alternate narratives to the status quo of building. While her creative practice engages themes of waste, material economy, and planetary extraction, her research examines the socio-technical relations of architectural representation with a focus on entanglements between labor, technology, and material conditions.

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An Innovative Cities Lecture

Overland Flow Paths: Managing Big Rain Without Big Tunnels

As extreme rain events become more frequent, communities are rethinking how stormwater moves across urban landscapes. This session explores the use of overland flow paths—subtle, landscape-based features within neighborhoods and public rights-of-way that temporarily store, slow, and convey stormwater without relying on expensive tunnels or lift stations.

Drawing on work by the US firm CIS, international firm Ramboll, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) and examples from Milwaukee, New York City, and Copenhagen, speakers will show how connected networks of parks, streets, and open spaces can reduce flood risk, support climate adaptation provide co-benefits for the community and quietly perform during big storms while remaining largely invisible the rest of the time.

This landscape-based strategy represents a durable, multi-generational investment in climate adaptation and resilience. When designed well, overland flow systems can be largely invisible during dry conditions while significantly reducing flood risk during storms. Learn about policy decisions, phasing, construction aspects and how parks and public spaces can function as stormwater collection and conveyance areas, demonstrating how cities of all sizes can reimagine urban topography to better respond to weather that is increasingly outside of our control.

Biographies

Simon Kates, AICP, WEDG is a senior project manager and climate adaptation planner at Ramboll, with nearly 20 years of experience in climate adaptation, land use, economic development, and sustainability. Simon’s expertise includes creating climate resilience strategies and vulnerability assessments that address coastal flooding, inland precipitation, and urban heat. Throughout his career, Simon has focused on a community-based approach to planning for complex urban challenges and climate resilience. In his current practice, he works closely with project partners, community stakeholders, and technical experts to find multi-functional solutions that mitigate climate impacts while providing community co-benefits. Simon has served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute and is currently teaching a Capstone course on Integrated Watershed Planning at Brooklyn College.

Karen Sands, AICP, is the Program Director for CIS, a national leader in the development and implementation of public infrastructure solutions. Recognized as one of the top 10 Influential Women of Water by Mazars in 2020, Karen’s sustainability career has focused on planning for green infrastructure, water resources, energy conservation and renewables, environmental compliance, and climate change adaptation / mitigation. She integrates forward-looking research and contextual opportunities that enhance the quality of life for people living, working, and playing in cities. Karen uses data analysis and policy analysis to advance innovative environmental solutions. She has worked with and for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District to advance the practice areas of regional stormwater management.

Livestream Details

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May 14

All day

SUPERjury is a day-long review and celebration of the most provocative undergraduate and graduate projects in the school. With projects nominated for consideration by both students and faculty, the goal of SUPERjury is to foster self-reflection and stimulate a conversation about the state of architecture within the school and how our work relates to contemporary issues in practice and the world.

Students selected to participate in the review are recognized with honors and cash prizes. It’s a very significant event for the School of Architecture & Urban Planning.

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The UW-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning offers an opportunity for high school students to experience architecture education through our architecture summer camp, which we have proudly offered for over two decades. 

Our Virtual Architecture Summer Camp is ideal for students interested in architecture, design, and 3D design technologies. Students in grades 9-12, including new high school graduates, will learn the basics of architectural design guided by SARUP faculty member Alex Timmer, supported by SARUP graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Students will be presented with situations for which they will design an architectural solution. They’ll learn how to communicate their design ideas through models, drawings, text and verbal presentation. Workshops will teach students how to use digital modeling tools, read architectural drawings, and document their work through 2D representation.

In-Person Visit (Optional)
On the final day of camp, students and families will have an opportunity (this is optional) to visit Milwaukee in person, take in a few architecture tours, and have lunch at the School of Architecture & Urban Planning. We’d love to show you around if you can join us in Milwaukee!

Registration

A limited number of seats are available until capacity is reached. Our registration system now features a parent/youth portal, and all families need to create an account while enrolling in our summer programming.

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