Ute Poerschke

Ute Poerschke, professor and associate department head for graduate education, teaches architectural design and technical systems integration/comprehensive studio.

Prior to her tenure at Penn State, she taught design, construction, and environmentally responsible architecture at the Technical Universities of Berlin and Munich (1999–2005) and completed her doctoral degree in architectural theory at the Technical University of Cottbus in 2005.

She is a licensed architect and licensed urban planner in Germany, an international member of the American Institute of Architects, and a LEED-accredited professional. Poerschke is a principal of the firm Friedrich-Poerschke-Zwink Architekten | Stadtplaner in Munich, Germany, and co-editor of the architectural journal Wolkenkuckucksheim | Cloud-Cuckoo-Land.

Poerschke’s research focuses on the relationship of architecture and technology, the theory of functionalism, and the interpretation of how architects integrate aspects of technology with expression in architectural projects and education. Most of her recent work focuses on the high modernism of the 1920s to 1960s, particularly on how architects responded to the progressing lighting and heating, cooling, and ventilation science, technology and engineering of the time.

• Architectural Design III (B.Arch.)
• Architectural Design IV (B.Arch.)
• Technical Systems Integration
• Environmentally Conscious Design
• Architectural Design III (M.Arch.)
• Architectural Design IV (M.Arch.)

• Jewish National Fund USA Faculty Fellowship

• Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS) Graduate Faculty Teaching Award

• George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Honorable Mention in the 2011 NCARB Prize Program for Creative Integration of Practice and Education in the Academy

• AIA BIM Award Category "Academic Program and Curriculum Development"
• Autodesk BIM Experience Award

AWARDS IN ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITIONS

• Children Daycare Center Stutzwinkel in Straubing, D, with FPZ-Architekten, 2nd prize

• Youth Center in Landsberg am Lech, D, with FPZ-Architekten, 1st prize

• Robert-Boehringer-Schule (middle school) in Winnenden, D, with FPZ-Architekten, 1st prize

• City Hall in Altbach, D, with FPZ-Architekten, honorable mention

• Werdenfels Museum in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, D, with FPZ-Architekten, 3rd prize
• Fritz-Beck-Schule (middle school) in Landsberg, D, with FPZ-Architekten, runner-up

• Dahlmann Schle (highschool) in Frankfurt, D, 4th prize

• City Center Neufinsing, D, urban planning competition, with FPZ-Architekten, honorable mention
• Senior Center and its Urban Context in Gundelsheim, D, with FPZ-Architekten, 2nd prize
• Elementary School with Gymnasium, Natatorium, and Day Care Center in Frankfurt, D, with FPZ-Architekten, 2nd prize

• Student Hostel in Augsburg, D, with FPZ-Architekten, 5th prize

• Enlargement of the Veitsburg (Youth Hostel) in Ravensburg, D, with FPZ-Architekten, runner-up

• Bridge in Salzburg, A, with FPZ-Architekten, 3rd rank 2006 Penn State Faculty Charrette, 3rd prize

• Archives in Essen, D, with FPZ-Architekten, runner–up

• Refectory in Martinsried, D, with FPZ-Architekten, 5th prize

• City Center in Regensburg, D, with S. Zwink, 4th prize

• Housing in Munich, D, with K. Friedrich, S. Hoff, and S. Zwink, 1st prize

• Horticultural Show in Riem, D, with D. Straub (L.Arch.), runner–up

• Housing in Weißenfels, D, (Eurpoan 5), 1st prize

PUBLICATIONS IN ARCHITECTURAL THEORY

• Poerschke, U., “Architectural Design and Doctoral Research.” In: Federica Goffi and Ryan Stec: InterVIEWS: Insights and Introspection on Doctoral Research in Architecture. New York: Routledge 2020, 221-230.

• Poerschke, U., Rim, D., Pei, G., Mirhosseini, H., “The ‘Air-Wall’: Re-Evaluating a Mid-Twentieth Century Four-Sided Double-Skin Façade.” In: TAD Technology | Architecture, and Design, vol. 3 (2019), no. 2, pp. 200-210. ISSN 2475-1448. https://doi.org/10.1080/24751448.2019.1640538.
• Poerschke U., Purdy, D. (eds.), Bauhaus Transfers, theme issue of Wolkenkuckucksheim | Cloud-Cuckoo-Land. International Journal of Architectural Theory, vol. 24 (2019) no. 39, 245 p. ISSN 1430-8363.
• Poerschke, U., “Der Funktionsbegriff am Bauhaus.” In: Die Schweizer Avantgarde und das Bauhaus, edited by Gregor Grämiger, Ita Heinze-Greenberg, Lothar Schmitt, Zurich: gta-Verlag 2019, 121–131.

• Poerschke, U.: "Data-Driven Design in HIgh Modernism: Ludwig Hilberseimer's Solar Orientation Studies," in Happiness. EAAE ARCC Conference Proceedings 2018, Philadelphia, pp. 124–132.

• Poerschke, U.: "Ringen um Worte, Klären der Ideen: Rationalismus und Funktionalismus" and "Vom Landschaftsorientierten Siedlungsbau zum Zeilenbau: Städtebau in der Weimarer Republik," in: T. Rosani (ed.): Luoghi del Moderno 1920–1950 Klares Bauen, Bolzano: La Fabbrica del Tempo, pp. 20–27 and 118–125.
• Poerschke, U.: "Conceptual History and Architectural Theory," in Poerschke, U. and Feldhusen, S. (ed.): Theorie der Architektur. Zeitgenössische Positionen (Theory of Architecture. Contemporary Positions). Basel: Birkhäuser.

• Poerschke, U.: Architectural Theory of Modernism. Relating Functions and Forms. Translation and Modification by Steven Lindberg and Ute Poerschke of Funktionen und Formen (see below). New York: Routledge.
• Poerschke, U., Feldhusen, S. (ed.): Mixings in Architecture and Landscape Architecture, theme issue of Wolkenkuckucksheim | Cloud-Cuckoo-Land, vol. 21, nr. 35.
• Poerschke, U., Pisciotta, H., Goldberg, D., Ling, M., Goad, L., Hadighi, M.: "Making the Glass House Habitable. The Debate on Transparency and A. William Hajjar's Contribution in the Mid-Twentieth Century" and "The 'Air-Wall': A Mid-Twentieth-Century Double-Skin Facade by A. William Hajjar," 2016 Facade Tectonics Congress Proceedings, pp. 291–299 and 473–482.

• Poerschke, U., Feldhusen, S. (ed.): Between Architecture and Landscape Architecture, theme issue of Wolkenkuckucksheim | Cloud-Cuckoo-Land, vol. 20, nr. 34.

• Poerschke, U., Schürer, O. (ed.): Theorizing Technology in Architecture and Urbanism, theme issue of Wolkenkuckucksheim | Cloud-Cuckoo-Land, vol. 19, nr. 33.
• Poerschke, U.: Funktionen und Formen, Architekturtheorie der Moderne. Bielefeld: Transcript.

• Poerschke, U.: "On Concrete Materiality in Architecture," Architectural Research Quarterly ARQ, vol. 17, nr. 2, pp. 149–56.

• Poerschke, U., Führ, E. (ed.), Purpose, Function, Use in Architecture and Urbanism, theme issue of Wolkenkuckucksheim | Cloud-Cuckoo-Land, vol. 17, nr. 1.
• Poerschke, U.: "Architecture as a Mathematical Function: Reflections on Gottfried Semper," Nexus Network Journal: Architecture and Mathematics, vol. 14, nr. 1, pp. 119–234.

• Poerschke, U.: "Francesco Milizia e l'idea di funzione e rappresentazione," in: Marco Russo (ed.): Francesco Milizia e il teatro del suo tempo: Architettura, Musica, Scena, Acustica; Trento: Editrice Universita di Trento, pp. 89–102.
• Poerschke, U.: "Architektur als mathematische Funktion. Überlegungen zu Gottfried Semper," in: M. Eggers (ed.): Von Ähnlichleiten und Unterschieden. Vergleich, Analogie, Klassifikation in Wissenschaft und Literatur; Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, pp. 119–39.

• Poerschke, U.: "'Stein nicht Stein? Holz nicht Holz?' - Zur konkreten Materialität von Architektur," in: Wolkenkuckucksheim | Cloud-Cuckoo-Land, vol. 14, nr. 1: Das Konkrete und die Architektur/Concreteness in Architecture, edited by S. Hauser and C. Dreyer.
• Poerschke, U.: "Form-Funktion-Verknüpfungen in der Architektur (Form-Function-Relationships in Architecture)," in: S. Muhr; W. Windorf (ed.): Wahrheit und Wahrhaftigkeit in der Kunst von der frühen Neuzeit bis heute, Berlin: Reimer, pp. 73–84.
• Poerschke, U.: "Transfer wissenschaftlicher Funktionsbegriffe in die Architekturtheorie des 18.Jahrhunderts (The Transfer of Scientific Terms of Function to 18th Century Architectural Theory)," in: M. Eggers; M. Rothe (ed.): Wissenschaftsgeschichte als Begriffsgeschichte, Bielefeld: Transcript, pp. 193–211.

• Poerschke, U.: "Hannes Meyer - Connecting Poetics and Ethics," Proceedings of the Conference "Reconciling Poetics and Ethics in Architecture" at the Canadian Centre for Architecture CCA and McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
• Poerschke, U.: "Über architektonische Strukturen - Architectural Structures," in: D. Eberle; P. Simmendinger: Von der Stadt zum Haus. Eine Entwurfslehre - From City to House. A Design Theory, Zürich: gta, pp. 82–95.
• Poerschke, U.: "Rethinking Function," Proceedings of the ARCC/EAAE 2006 Conference at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 206–13.

PUBLICATIONS ON ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS DESIGN

• Poerschke, U.: "The Sun for All: Social Equity and the Debate on the Best Solar Orientation of High Modernist Housing," in: M. Couceiro da Costa, F. Roseta, J. Pestana Lages, and S. Couceiro da Costa (eds.): Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges. Proceedings of the 10th EAAE/ARCC International Conference, Boca Raton/London/New York/London: CRC Press, pp. 367–373.

• Poerschke, U.: "Solar Buildings in the 1920s: The Discourse on Best Sun Orientation in Modern Housing," 2015 SOLAR Conference Proceedings.

• Poerschke, U., Gampfer, S. (ed.), Environmentally Conscious Architecture, special issue of Buildings, editorial pp. 766–770.
• Rekstad N.M., Srebric J., Poerschke U.: "Microcliamte Analyses for the Design of Building-Integrated Wind Turbines," in: Chimay Anumba and Ali M. Memari (ed.): AEI 2013. Building Solutions for Architectural Engineering, pp. 604–613.

• Leicht R., Messner J., Poerschke U.: "INVOLVE: Developing Interactive Workspaces that impact Communication and Task Performance when using Virtual Prototypes," Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering.

• Poerschke, U. (ed.): "Wind Turbine Integration in Architecture and the Built Environment," exhibition catalog, State College (85 pages). See also: wind.psu.edu.
• Poerschke, U.; Kalisperis, L.; Santamouris, M.; Spanou, A.: "Design Approaches for Upgrading Historically Significant Architecture Toward Zero-Energy: The Republic of Cyprus Presidential Palace," in: M. Bodart and A. Evrard (ed.): Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture PLEA, Presses Universitaires de Louvain, pp.527–532.
• Poerschke, U.; Woollen, M.; Stewart, S.; Srebric, J.; Murtha, T.: "Design Investigations on Building-Integrated Wind Energy: Lessons from an Architecture Studio," Proceedings of the 2011 American Solar Energy Society (ASES) Conference, Raleigh, NC, pp.955–962.

• Poerschke, U.: "Simulationsprogramme für Umweltsensitives Entwerfen - Simulation Applications for Environmentally Sensitive Design," in: Bauhaus Universität Weimar (ed.): Proceedings of the 2nd Bauhaus Solar Conference, Weimar (CD-ROM).
• Bambardekar, S.; Poerschke, U.: "The Architect as Performer of Energy Simulation in the Early Design Stage," in: P. Strachan, N. Kelly, M. Kummert (ed.): Building Simulation 2009: Proceedings of the 11th International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) Conference at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, pp. 1306–1313.

• Poerschke, U.; Kalisperis, L.: "Integrating Energy Simulation Applications and Building Information Modeling in the Design Studio," in: Roaf, S., Bairstow, A. (ed.): The Oxford Conference. A Re-Evaluation of Education in Architecture, Southampton: WITPress, pp. 307–310.

• Poerschke, U.; Kalisperis, L.: "BIM: Defining Opportunities for Environmentally Sensitive Design," in: Wittkopf, St., Tan, B. (ed.): Sun, Wind and Architecture. The Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture PLEA, Singapore, pp. 302–308.

PUBLICATIONS ON TEACHING ARCHITECTURE

• Iulo L., Gorby C., Poerschke U., Kalisperis L., Woollen M.: "Environmentally Conscious Design - Educating Future Architects," International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education IJSHE, vol. 14, nr. 4, pp. 434–448.

• Messner, J.; Holland, R.; Poerschke, U.; Parfitt, K.; Pihlak, M.: "Educating the Master Building Team: Leveraging BIM to Enable the Development of Collaborative Knowledge,: in: BIM in Academia, edited by Peggy Deamer and Phillip G. Bernstein, New Haven: Yale School of Architecture, pp.57–67.
• Pihlak, M., Deamer, P., Holland, R., Poerschke, U., Messner, J., Parfitt, K.: “Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the Impact on Design Quality,” In: Journal of Architectural Engineering Technology JAET, vol.1, nr.101.

• Poerschke, U.; Holland, R.; Messner, J.; Pihlak, M.: "BIM Collaboration Across Six Disciplines," in: Tizani, W. (ed.): Proceedings of the 2010 International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering; Nottingham: University of Nottingham Press, pp.575–580.
• Committee for Environmentally Conscious Architecture; Iulo, L.; Poerschke, U.: "Innovation in Education: Implementing Environmentally Conscious Design in Architecture Curricula," in: Anumba, C., et al. (ed.): Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Innovation in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC); Loughborough, UK, pp.487–496.

• Poerschke, U.: "Teaching the Relation of Environmental Sensitivity and Conceptual Design," in: Wittkopf, St.; Tan, B. (ed.): Sun, Wind and Architecture. The Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture PLEA, Singapore, pp. 699–705

• 2020–present Member, Society of Architectural Historians
• 2015–present Member of BDA (German Association of Architects)
• 2013–present Member of MAIV (Munich Society of Architects and Engineers)
• 2008–present Member of Society of Building Science Educators

• 2009–present, LEED AP, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional
• 2008–present, Licensed Urban Planner, Bavarian Chamber of Architects, Germany
• 2007–present, Associate International Architect, American Institute of Architects
• 1996–present Licensed Architect, Bavarian Chamber of Architects, Germany

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