Book Talk: Claying Architecture, Making Machine and Material Kin

The Center for Architecture is pleased to host a roundtable discussion celebrating the book launch of Claying Architecture: Making Machine and Material Kin (ORO Editions/Applied Research + Design Publishing, 2026 ) edited by Shelby Doyle, Frank Melendez, Jonathan A. Scelsa, and Kelley Van Dyck Murphy. This publication presents a curated collection of essays, interviews, and projects from leading architects, designers, and researchers who are analyzing the role of clay 3D printing in contemporary architecture. The book blends research, theory, and practice to highlight how this ancient material is being reimagined through 3D printing, robotic fabrication, and innovative construction techniques. The roundtable event and book launch, sponsored by the Pratt School of Architecture, will bring together the voices of the editors, several of the book's 30 guest contributors, and respondent Lola Ben-Alon to discuss why clay has become a protagonist in contemporary architecture as an agent capable of binding new kinships between processes, environments, and culture.

Speakers:
Shelby Doyle, AIA, LEED AP, Associate Professor of Architecture, Iowa State University; Co-founder, ISU Computation & Construction Lab
Frank Melendez, Founding Partner, bioMATTERS LLC; Associate Professor and Chair, School of Architecture at the Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York, CUNY
Jonathan A. Scelsa, AIA, FAAR, Founding Partner, OP – Architecture Landscape; Professor of Architectural Design and Technology, Pratt Institute
Kelley Van Dyck Murphy, Associate Professor of Architecture, Sam Fox School, Washington University in St. Louis; Founding Partner, AVV A

Respondents:
Lola Ben-Alon, PhD, Assistant Professor, Columbia GSAPP; Director, Natural Materials Lab, Columbia GSAPP

About the Speakers:
Shelby Doyle is a registered architect and Associate Professor of Architecture where she is Director of Graduate Education at Iowa State University College of Design and co-founder of the ISU Computation & Construction Lab.

Frank Melendez is an architectural designer, educator, and researcher. He is a founding partner of bioMATTERS, LLC, a design studio focusing on 3D printed and robotically manufactured biomaterials. Melendez is an Associate Professor and Chair of the School of Architecture at the Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York, CUNY.

Jonathan A. Scelsa is a Registered Architect in the State of New York, a founding partner of the New York-based practice, OP – Architecture Landscape, and a Professor of Architectural Design and Technology at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

Kelley Van Dyck Murphy is an architectural designer, educator, and researcher. She is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the Sam Fox School at Washington University in St. Louis and a founding partner of the St. Louis-based architecture practice, AVV A.

Lola Ben-Alon PhD is an Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP, where she directs the Natural Materials Lab and the Building Technology curriculum. Her research and teaching focus on natural earth- and bio-based building materials, their craft, digital fabrication, life cycle, supply chains, and policy.