Yojairo Lomeli, a lecturer in architecture at Taubman College, recently became the director of the college’s Architecture Preparatory Program (ArcPrep).
ArcPrep provides high school juniors in Detroit’s public high schools with an immersive, semester-long college preparatory course in architecture, urbanism, and studio design. Under the leadership of Lomeli and Anya Sirota, associate dean for academic initiatives, ArcPrep is led by Michigan–Mellon design fellows and supplemented by University of Michigan faculty. Additionally, the program is strengthened through its Detroit partnerships, bringing leading design firms, community advocates, artists, and civic leaders into the classroom.
Since joining Taubman College in 2015, Lomeli has received accolades for excellence in teaching. Three time winner of the Donna M. Salzer Award for Teaching Excellence, three time U-M Golden Apple Award nominee, and co-recipient of the competitive U-M Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize, his approach “has consistently illustrated how a sincere commitment to student experience creates an outstanding environment for learning,” said Sirota.
Lomeli’s research and practice focus on advanced and traditional modes of design and fabrication. His built and speculative projects explore culturally nuanced narratives through a careful consideration of context, craft, and expertise. He brings light to these concerns in the classroom, empowering early designers through experimentation and making, while encouraging high-level outcomes.
Over the past years, Lomeli has made regular contributions to the ArcPrep program through guest workshops and lectures. With a deep, personal knowledge of the Detroit community’s public school system, he carries a wealth of experience to the position, as well as a proven record of helping students chart pathways to higher education.
“As ArcPrep director, he will bring the program to the next level of growth and evolution: expanding blended pedagogical strategies, developing academic and institutional partnerships in Detroit and beyond, and structuring new student engagement opportunities,” said Sirota.
Learn more about ArcPrep.
