Craig Borum is a Professor at the University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the founding principal at Ply Architecture in Ann Arbor, MI. His professional practice and design research have garnered considerable accolades for their overall quality of design and for research that engages climate and building technology related to architectural construction and sustainability. His work often employs an inventive use of common materials and advanced construction methodologies. Most recently, Borum has focused his research and creative work in relation to construction practices and material logics as they relate to accelerating climate change and extreme weather events as these new conditions challenge predominant modes of urban development, building construction and architectural practice. His work has, and continues to explore the interdependent relationships of architecture and site, and the intersection of geometry and materiality within the scope of grant funded research, international competitions and commissioned projects.
His most recent work "Storm Glass," involves the development of a new building enclosure system that both indexes the immediate weather conditions and predicts shifts in weather patterns two days before they happen. Storm Glass has received numerous awards from an Architect Magazine R+D Award, an American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum, a citation from Architect Magazine 59th Annual P/A Awards Program and most recently an ACSA Faculty Design Award.
Professor Borum is also a member of the design research collective, Metropolitan Futures Group (MFG). MFG was established to address the problem of the notable absence of design in policy processes that affect the organization, form and materiality of constructed environments, and, therefore, issues concerning quality of life. MFG is led by faculty in Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning, and has active collaborations with faculty from Landscape Architecture, Natural Resources and Environment, Public Policy, Social Science, Engineering, Public Health, Water Systems Ecology, Social Research and Transportation.
In addition to his research through the University, Professor Borum his professional work through PLY Architecture ranges from large-scale institutional and commercial projects to private residences to furniture and lighting. In 2007, PLY was named one of "101 of the World's most exciting new architects" by Wallpaper* Magazine, and was a recipient of the Architectural League of New York Young Architects Prize in 2006. His work has been published in numerous journals and monographs including Architecture Magazine, Architectural Record, Metropolis, l'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, Ottagono, A+T, Damdi Press, Azure, Urban Spaces - Squares and Plazas, 1000x Architects of the Americas, Young Americans, Advanced Interior Design, Conceptual Diagrams, and Advanced Public Design.