International Studies in Vernacular Architecture

Yenny Gunawan is the Head of Research and Design Development at Center for Adaptation and Resilience Environmental Design Studies (CAREDs) and founder of Nenun Ruang, an education platform for progressive architecture and craftsmanship design in Indonesia. She obtained her MA in International Studies in Vernacular Architecture, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK and a Bachelor of Architecture Engineering from Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, Indonesia. She has researched and published papers on vernacular architecture. She has been working with rural communities, from West Sumba, South Sulawesi, South Kalimantan, Central Java, West to North Sumatra through various projects; such as schools design, building community shelter, and research-based spatial planning for traditional communities. Her current project is Tectonic Culture in relation to Learning by Making and Emergency Evacuation Shelter Design. Apart from the local communities, she has worked experiences with trans-national professionals from Japan, UK, Peru, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. She has also led workshops, research, art installations, exhibitions, design projects and symposiums.

BS Environmental Design, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 1995 MA International Studies in Vernacular Architecture/Architectural Regeneration and Development ,Oxford Brookes University 2000 PhD Geography, Kansas State University, Manhattan 2012 Melissa Malouf Belz has a PhD in geography with interests in the cultural landscape, and how and why places change. Her research has focused on the enduring and declining traditions of architectural woodcarving and vernacular design in the Indian Himalaya. Melissa spent 10 years working in the field of architecture and international development with projects focused on appropriate and sustainable construction, and preservation. She worked in Mexico’s border region for U.S. non-profits, in Mongolia for the United Nations Development Program, and for a US National Historic District. Melissa is now Associate Teaching Professor in Integrative and Global Studies, at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in a program that guides students in STEAM fields through research projects geared towards building holistic thinking and global literacy, supported by a global network of community partnerships.