Nana Last

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PhD
Harvard University, Master of Architecture
Carnegie-Mellon University, B.A.

Biography

My scholarly work constructs theory-based intersections between architecture, art, science and culture in modern and contemporary society. At the center of this undertaking is the conviction that theory, by nature is interdisciplinary, and therefore is a preeminent tool in relating thinking from one realm into another. This has generated three main strains of my research: 1. intersections of architecture and philosophy, 2. research in conceptual art and architecture, and 3. intersections between narrative, technology and science. Current topics include architectural fluidity, cultural relations between architecture and Big Data and work on visualizing intellectual constructs in science and cultural theory.

I teach courses in architecture theory, design studio and doctoral level research. These courses build on my core research as a contemporary, interdisciplinary theorist. My interdisciplinary approach to architecture theory, aims to understand and elucidate architecture’s place in culture as it has developed over the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. The architecture design studios I teach share this interdisciplinary, theory component, and most recently have provided a forum to examine how revolutions in the physical sciences might be addressed within design projects. The PhD research colloquium takes a supra-disciplinary focus on core thesis argument and discourse development and refinement.