Maigret promoted to associate professor with tenure in architecture

Trained in ecology and evolutionary biology as well as in architecture, Jen Maigret has brought to her design projects a unique capacity to make complex ecological systems the basis for prize-winning creative work. Her deep knowledge of the Great Lakes watershed has been important not only for large-scale projects like Water+Sheds, an imaginative re-mapping that encompasses the whole Great Lakes Basin, but also for small-scale projects along the Huron River whose designs subtly but forcefully connect to the larger watersheds in which they are embedded. Her project A Dozen Playgrounds for Detroit elementary schools helps inner-city children relate to the larger environment. Jen has been a leader in the college, the university and the profession in re-defining architecture as an interdisciplinary activity that brings together design, social theory and ecology. She is a talented, thoughtful, ambitious design researcher, and a creative, rigorous teacher, as well as a dedicated service provider for both the university and a number of specific community venues.

Prior to her tenure track appointment in 2009, Jen was an assistant professor in architecture at Washington University in St. Louis in 2008-2009 and a Cynthia Weese Teaching Fellow/ Visiting Assistant Professor in 2006-2008. She was also a lecturer at Taubman College in 2005-2006. Jen holds a Master of Architecture with high distinction from the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning (2004), a Master of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Michigan (1996), and a Bachelors of Arts in Biology, Magna Cum Laude from Hartwick College (1994). She is a licensed architect in the State of Michigan, holds National Council of Architectural Registration Boards registration and is a member of the American Institute of Architects. She is a co-founding principal of MAde Studio, LLC with collaborator Maria Arquero de Alarcón, a design research practice established in 2011 focused on the development of environmentally and culturally sound urban design practices. Prior to that partnership she worked as a junior designer at PLY Architecture between 2001-2006 and worked in Natural Areas Preservation at the Department of Parks and Recreation in Ann Arbor from 1997- 2000.