Penn Professors on Writing in Architecture
Annette Fierro
About the Professor
Annette Fierro received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Architecture from Rice University. She is an architect, educator, researcher, and published author.
As a registered architect in the New York State, she formerly worked with Smith-Miller and Hawkinson Architects. Her designs and projects have been published in Assemblage, Architectural Record, Progressive Architecture, and Lotus, among other architectural journals. She also authored The Glass State: The Technology of the Spectable/Paris 1981-1998, discussing the influence of Mitterrand's presidency on the architecture of Paris.
At the University of Pennsylvania, Fierro teaches, coordinates, and supervises first-year graduate design studios, the Master's Thesis program, and PennDesign's study abroad programs in Paris.
Annette Fierro's University Webpage
Personal Writing Process
When first starting to write, Fierro maps out her research on a wall in her home. Using this approach, Annette Fierro synthesizes the research and generates potential themes for her writing. During the actual writing process, Ms. Fierro frequently updates her audience, draws upon past historical knowledge, examines visual resources, and creates cycles of relationships between the various pieces of research. Her current writing concerns the effects of technology in contemporary architecture and urban culture.
Important Criteria for Student Writing
Fierro ranked the following criteria as important for student writing:
- Reasons and evidence
- Organizaiton
- Having original ideas
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