Sandy Stannard

Areas of Expertise

Profile

Sandy Stannard’s teaching and research revolves around issues of ecological awareness and sensitivity. She teaches advanced design studios and building technology coursework. With grant support, Professor Stannard is working with students on a proposal to transform a Univeristy space into an experiential, interactive lighting education space. Professor Stannard was one of the faculty advisors for Cal Poly’s Solar Decathlon 2005 as well as 2015 entries; both of these Solar Cal Poly projects received third place overall in this U.S. DOE/NREL sponsored international design/build competition. The 2015 Solar Cal Poly project also received a Merit design award from the USGBC [Central Coast chapter]. She was also part of the Carbon Neutral Design (CND) project, a nationwide collaborative project sponsored by the Society of Building Science Educators and the American Institute of Architects [www.tboake.com/carbon-aia/introduction.html]. Professor Stannard was a recipient of a USGBC “Green Innovation” honorable mention award for her work on an “outdoor classroom” for a local elementary school, a project intended to enhance environmental learning in an outdoor setting.

Professor Stannard is a licensed architect in the state of California. She has practiced in the Bay Area and in the Pacific Northwest, including a lighting consultancy at the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco; she currently consults on projects on a case-by case basis. Throughout her teaching career, she has been engaged in grant funded design/build projects with students.

Prior to coming to Cal Poly, Professor Stannard held teaching positions at the University of Idaho and the University of Washington. She also has international teaching experience, co-teaching summer programs at the Sede di Roma in Italy as well as teaching at the Universita degli Studi di Camerino in Ascoli Piceno, Italy.

Professor Stannard studied architecture at UC Berkeley (B.A. Architecture) and University of Washington (M. Arch), with study abroad experiences in Italy and Denmark.

Experience

Educational Credentials: 

M Arch, University of Washington [commendation award for her master’s thesis]
Research Fellowship, Copenhagen, Denmark
BA Arch, University of California, Berkeley [high honors]
Study Abroad [Firenze, Italia], Syracuse University

Teaching Experience:

Professor, Architecture, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA  2009 -present
Professor, Architecture, Università degli Studi di Camerino, Ascoli Piceno - Scuola di Architettura e Design  2010
Associate Professor (with tenure), Architecture, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA  2005-2009
Assistant Professor, Architecture, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA  2001-2005
Visiting Assistant Professor, Architecture, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington  2000
Assistant Professor, Architecture, University of Idaho, Moscow  1996-2000
Teaching Assistant, Architecture, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington  1989-1991

Professional Experience:

Architectural Design, Firm and Private Practice | Licensed Architect  1987-Present
Lighting Consultant , Pacific Energy Center; San Francisco, CA  2000

Licenses/Registration:

Professional Memberships:

Scholarship

Professor Stannard’s scholarship revolves around the themes of environmentally sensitive architectural design

Selected Publications and Recent Research:

• The Next Generation of World Changers, ACSA Annual Conference, 2025
• Thinking Outside the Building, Building Technology Educators Society [BTES], 2021 [paper and online presentation]
• Discere Faciendo: Teaching and Learning Through Making, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture [ACSA] Annual Meeting, 2020 [paper and online presentation]
• Performance Informing Design, Reynolds Symposium, Portland, OR [paper and presentation], 2019
• Performance Informs Design [Ecological Resilience Session], AIA/ACSA Intersections Symposium “Design and Resilience” (New York, NY, 2018).
• INhouse published in Architecture of the Central Coast, Andrew Goodwin, Ed. In partnership with the AIACC, San Luis Obispo, CA, 2018.
• In Praise of Passive: Discovering Passive Design Attributes in Solar Decathlon Projects, American Solar Energy Society, Solar 2017 Conference, Denver, CO [accepted].
• Discovering Passive Design in Solar Decathlon Homes, Passive Low Energy Architecture [PLEA], Edinburgh, Scotland [accepted], 2017.
• Got Section? Society of Building Science Educators Annual Retreat [presentation], 2017
• “Eco-Fab: A Climatic Responsive Alternative to Manufactured Housing,” American Solar Energy Society Annual Conference, 2014.
• “Daylighting is Situational,” submitted for publication in Learning by….an Exchange Experience Between UNICAM and Cal Poly, Rossi, Monica, Ed., 2011.
• “Architecture + Nature: Seven Frames of Reference [a design studio case study],” The Constructed Environments International Conference, Venezia, Italia (accepted), 2010

Selected Grants:

• Cal Poly Teacher/Scholar Mini Grant Program, Lighting Education Space: Artifacts for Exploring Architectural Lighting [$13,020], 2023
• Global Teacher/Scholar Grant, NZEB Italia: Exploring Net Zero Design in an Italian Context, 2023
• Cal Poly CAED Teacher/Scholar Grant, Lighting Education Space: Design Development + Testing, 2023
• Cal Poly CAED Teacher/Scholar Grant, “Lux” Lighting Education Space [$14,411], 2022.
• Cal Poly CAED Teacher/Scholar Grant, Con La Natura In Mente, 2022 [with extension to 2024]
• Cal Poly CAED Teacher/Scholar Grant, Outdoor Learning Environment Prototyping, 2021
• Cal Poly CAED Teacher/Scholar Grant, Enriching and Enhancing Building Technologies Coursework in an Online Environment, 2020
• J. Milham Catalyst Grant/Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education [with Profs. C. Trudell and R. Arens]. “Lighting Education: Deep Learning from Fundamentals to Integration,” a proposal to enhance 2nd and 3rd year technology lighting coursework [$35,000], 2020.
• U.S. Department of Energy, “Solar Decathlon 2015” [Principal Investigator; $50,000]
• CAED Teacher/Scholar ZGF Building Performance Evaluation Grant: Solar Cal Poly - Full-scale Mock-Up for Performance Analysis, [$5,000], 2014.
• Seeds of Change “Share the Good” Grant [$10,000]; design/build funding for outdoor green space, 2013.
• PGE “Bright Ideas” Grant [$5,000]; design/build funding for a local outdoor classroom, 2010.
• Lowe’s “Schoolbox for Education” Grant [$6,000]; design/build funding for a local outdoor classroom, 2010.

Selected Activities:

• National Resilience Initiative, Cal Poly team member [M. McDonald, B. Siembieda, PIs].An AIAF/AIA/ACSA initiative to establish a linked community of design studios to focus on the design of resilient communities, 2016
• Board Member, US Green Building Council, USGBC – C4, 2013 – 2014.
• Panel, “Energy: Make it, Move It, Use It”, CIE Center for Entrepreneurship, 2014.
• AIA + 2030 Professional Series Seminars, 2013.

Selected Awards:

• Metropolis Planet Positive Student Award for my student, Bo Li, 2023.
• California Coalition for Adequate School Housing [CASH] Award for my 5th year student, Travis Koss, 2021Faculty Merit Award (Dept. of Architecture), 2017.
• AIA + ACSA COTE Top Ten for Students award for my 5thyear thesis student, Karin Bjorkman, 2017.
• AIACCC Project of the Month for INhouse/Solar Cal Poly, 2016.
• Solar Decathlon 2015. Department of Energy sponsored design/build competition for up to 20 groups of faculty and students to design, build and compete with a fully solar powered residence. Overall third place winner with specific contest placings: First place (tied): Commuting. Second Place: Market Appeal, Home Life. Third Place: Architecture.
• Cal Poly Distinguished Teaching Award. One of three honored faculty at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 2015.
• Green Innovation Award (honorable mention), Bishop Peak/Teach Outdoor Classroom, USGBC C4 chapter, 2012. Design award for design/build intervention project, completed with Cal Poly architecture students.

Updated 10.21.24