Faculty

Profile

Brian McGrath is Professor of Urban Design at Parsons School of Design at The New School and Associate Director of the Tishman Center for Environment and Design. He served as Dean of Parsons School of Constructed Environments from 2013-16. He is an architect with forty years of research and practice. The focus of his work is urban adaptation and change from social justice and ecological resilience perspectives. McGrath was a Principal Investigator in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, where since 2005, he led the Urban Design Working Group. His books include: Genealogy of Bassac, (2022), Patch Atlas, (2021), Urban Design Ecologies Reader, (2012), Digital Modeling for Urban Design (2008), Transparent Cities (1994), Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design:  Linking Theory and Practice for Sustainable Cities (2012), co-edited with Steward Pickett and Mary Cadenasso, Growing Cities in a Shrinking World: The Challenges in India and China (2010), co-edited with Ashok Gurung and Jiyanying Zha, Sensing the 21st Century City (2007) co-edited by Grahame Shane, and Cinemetrics: Architectural Drawing Today (2007) co-authored with Jean Gardner. McGrath served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Thailand in 1998-99 and an India China Institute Fellow in 2006-2008, was Research Director in the joint US-EU exchange program Urbanisms of Inclusion, and Scientific Advisor for Designing Brussels Ecosystem. International Fellow for Research with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2023-24). He received his Master of Architecture from Princeton University and his Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University.

Degrees Held

M. Arch Princeton University

B. Arch. Syracuse University

Recent Publications

Genealogy of Bassac, (2022), Patch Atlas, (2021), Urban Design Ecologies Reader, (2012), Digital Modeling for Urban Design (2008), Transparent Cities (1994), Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design:  Linking Theory and Practice for Sustainable Cities (2012), co-edited with Steward Pickett and Mary Cadenasso, Growing Cities in a Shrinking World: The Challenges in India and China (2010), co-edited with Ashok Gurung and Jiyanying Zha, Sensing the 21st Century City (2007) co-edited by Grahame Shane, and Cinemetrics: Architectural Drawing Today (2007) co-authored with Jean Gardner. 

Research Interests

architecture,data visualization,film,sustainable design,urban design, urban adaptation and change, climate change, environmental justice

Awards And Honors

McGrath served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Thailand (1998-99), an India China Institute Fellow (2006-08) Research Director in the joint US-EU Transatlantic exchange program Urbanisms of Inclusion (2011-14), Scientific Advisor for Brussels Ecosystem Study (2018-19) and International Fellow for Research with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2023-24)

Portfolio

http://www.urban-interface.com/