Press Release: Carnegie Mellon Alumnus Wins Highlands Travel Fellowship

Contacts: Pam Wigley / Media Relations / 412-268-1047 / pwigley@andrew.cmu.edu
                Michelle Bard / School of Architecture / mbard@andrew.cmu.edu
 
PITTSBURGH—Alumnus Matthew Scarlett (A'08) is the winner of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture 2014 Delbert C. Highlands Travel Fellowship.

In his winning application, "Fulfilling the Risorgimento: Modernist Colonial Architecture in Asmara," Scarlett proposes to explore the relationship between previously underdocumented modernist colonial architecture in Eritrea's capital city and "well-known masterpieces of Italian modernism in Rome, Milan, Como and other important Italian cities." Scarlett's research will take him to Asmara and other major cities in Eritrea, which is located in the Horn of Africa.

The $12,000 fellowship is named in honor of Professor Delbert Highlands, who taught courses in architectural design, design theory and architectural history at Carnegie Mellon from the 1960s through the first decade of this century. Always urging students to understand and ground their work firmly in particular locales, Highlands is widely recognized as a seminal teacher whose skill and understanding have enriched the education of generations of Carnegie Mellon students.

Following his graduation from CMU, Scarlett received his master's degree in architecture from Harvard's Graduate School of Design (GSD) in May 2013. Several publications have covered his work at the GSD, including "GSD Platform 6," "Interdisciplinary Design: New Lessons from Architecture and Engineering," and "Common Frameworks: Rethinking the Developmental City in China."

Scarlett has worked at architecture offices in Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Dublin and New York. Recently, he worked as a freelance designer for Brooklyn-based nARCHITECTS, where he contributed to the Department of Buildings and bid for "Adapt NYC," a 10-story residential tower that introduced a new model for micro-unit apartments in Manhattan. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg commissioned the project.

Currently at CDR Studio in New York City, Scarlett serves as project manager for all Audi terminals in the eastern region of the United States and manages more than 30 active projects. In addition to his role as project manager, he participates on a design team focused on developing proposals for various international competitions.

The Highlands Fellowship is available to all alumni of the Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture. Past Highlands Fellowship winners have considered the relationship between Gambian vernacular and Louisiana Creole architecture, and the configuration of Byzantine churches converted to Ottoman mosques in Asia Minor.

For more information, go to www.cmu.edu/architecture.
     
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Matthew Scarlett (pictured above) proposes to explore the relationship between previously underdocumented modernist colonial architecture in Eritrea's capital city and "well-known masterpieces of Italian modernism in Rome, Milan, Como and other important Italian cities."