Emily White

Profile

Emily White is an architect working with perceptions of space, invisible atmospheric phenomena, and thin materials ranging from inflatables to sheet metal. She uses techniques borrowed from manufacturing and construction to produce drawings, large-scale installations and building. Emily’s work has been exhibited at the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, The Pasadena Museum of California Art and Materials & Applications. She has lectured and published on topics ranging from manufactured islands to the history of code in fibrous architecture.

Emily holds a Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and a Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College, Columbia University. She has taught design studios at the University of Southern California, Woodbury University, the University of California at Berkeley and SCI-Arc. She joined the faculty of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2015.

Experience

Educational Credentials:

M.Arch, Southern California Institute of Architecture, 2006
B.A., Barnard College, Columbia University, New York NY, 1999

Teaching Experience:

Assistant Professor, Architecture, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA
Lecturer, Southern California Institute of Architecture 
Lecturer, Woodbury University School of Architecture 
Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley, College of Environmental Design 
Lecturer, University of Southern California School of Architecture 

Professional Experience:

Principal, Emily White Projects, San Luis Obispo, CA
Principal, Layer, Venice, CA 
Project Designer, Testa + Weiser, Venice, CA

Licenses/Registration:
Registered Architect, Washington

Scholarship

Selected Publications and Recent Research:

• White, Emily, “Birds in Buildings," Researching Beyond Words Conference, Lyon, France, 2023 
• White, Emily and Erik Sapper, “Big Glue!,” Building Technology Educators Society Conference, 2019 
• White, Emily, “Projection in the Round,” presented at the National Conference on the Beginning Design Student, 2016
• White, Emily, “Point Clouds, Constellations, Coordinates and Other Lists,” presented at TxA Emerging Design and Technology Conference, 2015
• Mount, Christopher, ed, A New Sculpturalism: Contemporary Architecture from Southern California, “Horn of LA,” pp. 246-7, Skira Rizzoli, 2013

Selected Grants:

• Cal Poly Global Teacher-Scholar Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2024
• Harold Hay Environmental Research & Education Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2023
• Research, Scholarly and Creative Activities Grant, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2019
• Faculty Development Grant, Woodbury University, 2009
• Innovation Inside Curriculum Grant, University of Southern California, 2007

Selected Commission and Projects:

• Wavelength, Forth Lauderdale International Airport, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 2017
• Horns, SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME, 2013
• Help Yourself, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, 2013
• Three Horned Beast, Plummer Park, West Hollywood, CA, 2013
• A Loose Horizon, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, CA, 2012
• Cloud, Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA, 2011
• Squid Capsule,  Materials & Applications, Los Angeles, CA, 2010
• Fat Fringe,  The Fix Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 2010

Selected Lectures:

• Adjustments, Media Arts and Technology Seminar, University of California at Santa Barbara, 2023 
• Mini Timber, Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, CA,  2022 
• Panel “Why We Do This: The Power of Art and Technology,” CODAsummit: The Intersection of Art, Technology and Place El Paso Museum of Arts, El Paso, TX, 2019
• Artist talk, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, CA, 2012
• “Out There Doing It,” LA Forum for Architecture & Urban Design, 2011
• “Creating at the Precipice of Control,”, Santa Monica Art Studios, 2011

Updated 10.14.2024