Stephen Michael Sears

Aesthetics, Agriculture, Art, Climate change, Community design, Contemporary practice, Cultural landscape, DEIA, Design communication, Economy, Food, Garden design, Gardening/horticulture, Landscape history, Landscape theory, Logistics, Mapping and modeling, Natural resources, New media, Planning, Public policy, Public space, Regional design, Regionalism, Remediation and reuse, Representation/visualization, Residential landscapes, Resilience, Site design, Sustainability, Teaching and learning, Urban design, Urbanism

Stephen Sears maintains a creative practice that 1) explores relationships and conditions in the built environment, focused on public space, marginal urban territories, and environmental justice actions; 2) correlates issues and impacts of climate change, including food systems, weather patterns, and technologies; 3) conducts geo-humanist studies of midwestern vernacular practices and working landscapes. He teaches studios ranging from foundation site design to advanced-level urban design, techniques in digital representation, and seminars about theory, practice, culture, and media.

Most recently, he has been developing Township, a long-form visual story about midwestern circumstances, and designing a traveling studio in which students will investigate the immediate effects of extreme climate on wild places. His design work, paintings, and photographs have been included in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and Europe. Sears is a Prince’s Charitable Trust Fellow of the American Academy in Rome.