Associate Professor
Director of Undergraduate Architecture Programs
School of Architecture
Doris Sung brings active systems to sustainable design far beyond the simple “greening” of a building. With the belief that buildings can be more sensitive to the changing environment like human skin, she seeks ways to make the building skin dynamic and responsive. Through grant-funded research, she is developing smart materials, such as thermobimetals, to self-ventilate, self-shade, self-structure, self-assemble and self-propel in response to changes in temperatures–all with zero-energy and no controls. More recently, she is rethinking the liminal surface of the façade as part of a city’s infrastructure and designing innovative building products that will improve public health for pedestrians in addition to that of the building occupants.
Juggling between research and teaching at the University of Southern California, Doris publishes, lectures and exhibits internationally while managing to bring her patented inventions to the market. She won the Cooper Hewitt 2021 National Design Award for climate action for her design of the InVert Self-Shading Window. Her TED.com talk has reached 1.25 million views and her list of awards include an ‘Architectural Record’s’ Best Architectural Product Award, Architecture Masterprize, A/N’s Best Products Award, Architizer Z+ awards, National AIA Small Projects Award, ACSA Design Awards, ‘Architect Magazine’ R+D awards, World Technology Award and the [next idea] award from ARS Electronica. She has been named a fellow of Google’s R+D for the Built Environment, the U.S. Artist, the Rockefeller Foundation (Bellagio Center) and the Headlands Center for the Arts.
Doris received her M.Arch. degree from Columbia University and her B.A. degree from Princeton University.
Visit TBM Designs and DOSU Studio Architecture for more information about Doris’ research.
~via School of Architecture faculty bio