Georgeen Theodore
Director, Master of Infrastructure Planning Program New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Newark NJ
Professor Theodore focuses on the relationship between strategic planning and local development
New Jersey Institute of Technology
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Biography
Prior to co-founding Interboro, Georgeen participated and led large-scale mixed-use and waterfront projects nationally and internationally, including the Governors Island Development Framework Plan, San Pedro Waterfront Plan, and Downtown Camden Strategic Development Plan. During the late 1990s, she managed the planning and design of highly complex, large-scale retail projects in Europe and the Middle East, including the Bluewater Shopping Centre outside of London, England and the expansion to the Bur Juman Centre in downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Georgeen is an expert in coordinating complex urban projects that involve many diverse stakeholders, infrastructures and ecosystems. She leads Interboro’s ongoing neighborhood planning and urban design projects in Detroit, including the Campau / Davison / Banglatown Neighborhood Framework Plan and the DTE Energy Campus and Neighborhood Master Plan.
As a full professor with tenure at NJIT in Newark, she has worked with students, advocates, and local leaders on urban design projects that focus on community building and social inclusion in urban development, industrial revitalization, post-disaster planning, and post-Sandy rebuilding. Her students’ work has been nationally and internationally recognized.
As a result of her professional and academic work, Georgeen is an internationally sought-after expert on urban design and resiliency. She lectures globally and is frequently invited to serve as a juror of international urban design competitions. Since 2013, she has proudly served on the editorial review board of the Journal of Architectural Education, the biannual peer-reviewed academic journal of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), where she actively participates in the Design Reviews Committee.
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Newark Neighborhood Frameworks and Priority
2019
Studio worked with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to develop city-wide neighborhood frameworks and priority projects. Two projects were awarded funding by the city and have been selected for implementation in Spring 2020.
Schindler Global Award Competition
2019
Studio took home First-Honorable Mention prize for designing an urban solution for Mumbai’s eastern waterfront, which will have 725 hectares open for development.
Open Space Frameworks for Lycabettus Hill, Athens, Greece
2018
Studio partnered with the City of Athens, Greece, 100 Resilient Cities and Rebuild by Design to create stakeholder-driven open space frameworks for Lycabettus Hill.
Curry Stone Design Prize Social Design Circle
2017
Refugee Resettlement and Community Development Project
2017
Studio partnered with the International Rescue Committee, Church World Service, and Interfaith-RISE to develop strategies for refugee resettlement and community development in New Jersey.
Schindler Global Award Competition
2014
The studio’s work was selected as one of twelve winning submissions in the international juried competition. The submission was subsequently awarded first prize in the 2015 student showcase at the American Planning Association’s Northeast Conference.
$125M Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Rebuild by Design Competition Award Winner
2013-2014
Led the Interboro team in the Housing and Urban Development-sponsored Rebuild by Design competition for Community Development Block Grants for post-Sandy rebuilding on Nassau County’s south shore.
University of Michigan's Networks Studio Expertise Workshop
2013
Rice Design Alliance Spotlight Award
2013
Museum of Modern Art PS1’s Young Architects Program
2011
Architectural League’s Emerging Voices Award
2011
Co-Curator of American Contribution to Rotterdam Architecture Biennale
2008
Juror of 53rd Annual Progressive Architecture Awards
2008
AIA New York Chapter's New Practices Award
2006
Young Architects Award
2005
Education
Harvard University
M.A.
Architecture in Urban Design
Graduated with distinction
Rice University
B.A.
Architecture
Affiliations
- Interboro Partners
Media Appearances
Catalyzing Force
Architect Magazine online
2014-08-21
Georgeen Theodore, AIA, is a principal at Interboro Partners in New York City, along with Tobias Armborst and Daniel D’Oca. Interboro led one of six teams to receive funding through Rebuild by Design, a competition to bolster areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. The Interboro team’s project, Living with the Bay, imagines solutions for the southern shore of Long Island that can be replicated in other coastal areas. “Catalytic design that jump-starts change is a complicated process,” Theodore says, “but it makes for a more robust solution.”
MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program
Architect Magazine online
2011-07-13
The program brief for the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, now entering its second decade as arguably the most high-visibility gig for emerging talent, could be read as “create a cool shade structure in the PS1 museum courtyard and get ready for a dance party.” But in an era when the profession is feeling a bit hungover from the indulgences of formal expression, Interboro’s piece, “Holding Pattern,” takes a refreshingly different approach.
Brooklyn, N.Y.–based partners Daniel D’Oca, Georgeen Theodore, AIA, and Tobias Armborst asked folks in PS1’s Long Island City neighborhood a question: Is there something you need that we could design, use in the summer courtyard installation, then donate in the fall? Their query turned up a mixed-bag of materials, including ping-pong tables, mirrors, and a grove of 60 red oak trees, all of which will be deployed beneath a canopy of rope that stretches across the PS1 courtyard. Their outreach can be seen as a model for young architects who might be frustrated with traditional practice.
Urban Renewal
Architect Magazine online
2009-06-02
What kind of urbanism will President Obama’s stimulus billions buy? For an emerging generation of activist designers, the future of the American city lies not in top-down master plans, but in a fine-grained analysis of the existing fabric.
56th Annual P/A Awards
Architect Magazine online
2009-01-17
...
Georgeen Theodore
A co-founder of New York-based Interboro Partners, Theodore is also an assistant professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Interboro, with its focus on contemporary urban dynamics, has been selected to sub-curate the 2009 International Architecture Bienniale Rotterdam. Appropriately, the theme of the biennial is "Open City."
Event Appearances
Land and the Built Environment
Journalists Forum Harvard University
2015-03-27
Research Grants
Living with the Bay
New York State Governor's Office of Storm Recovery
2014-03-25
The Living with the Bay proposal envisions a “buffered bay” approach. Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge caused most of the damage, and regular stormwater runoff and wastewater overflows continue to degrade the ecosystems that provide natural protections from storm surge.
Strategies for the Barrier Island: The Smart Barrier
Long Island’s barrier islands are among the region’s most vulnerable zones. The proposal envisions protective infrastructure that doubles as an amenity to provide access to the bayshore, while also serving as a landscape where stormwater is stored, cleaned, and replenished.
Strategies for the Marsh: The Eco-Edge
Wetlands—particularly saltwater marshes—buffer coastal communities. However, urban development has negatively affected Nassau County’s critical environment. New marsh islands could reduce wave action, improve bay ecology, and afford new recreational opportunities.
Strategies for the Lowlands: Slow Streams
The areas around Southern Nassau’s north-south tributaries are threatened both by storm surge and rainfall flooding. Addressing these threats could transform rivers into green-blue corridors that store and filter water, provide public space, and offer room for new urban development.
Articles
Otto Neurath: The Language of the Global Polis
Journal of Architectural EducationTheodore, Georgeen
2010
