GROUNDING DESIGN is an architectural design research and consultancy group committed to exploring alternative urban futures, challenging processes of contemporary urbanization, and elevating environments in the constructed landscape.

GROUNDING DESIGN (formerly Haecceitas Studio) is an architectural design research and consultancy group dedicated to responding to contemporary forms of urbanization. We are committed to exploring design strategies through an acute awareness of ecological impact for strengthening our future built environment. We use 'grounding' as both a metaphorical and physical device to better inform the future terrestrial surface here on Earth.

DIRECTOR

Jeffrey S Nesbit is an architect, urbanist, founding director of the research group Grounding Design. His work focuses on processes of urbanization, infrastructure, and the evolution of "technical lands." He received his Doctor of Design degree (DDes) from Harvard University Graduate School of Design where he was also a Research Fellow in the Office for Urbanization.

His experience spanning over a decade includes leading design teams for public architecture and large-scale urban projects, along with leading sponsored design research projects for city governments, local institutions, and NGOs. Currently, Nesbit’s research examines the 20th-century American spaceport complex at the intersection of architecture, infrastructure, and aerospace history. He has written several journal articles and book chapters on infrastructure, urbanization, and the history of technology, and is editor of Nature of Enclosure (Actar, 2022), co-editor of Technical Lands: A Critical Primer (Jovis, 2023), New Geographies 11 Extraterrestrial (Actar, 2019), Chasing the City: Models for Extra-Urban Investigations (Routledge, 2018), Rio de Janeiro: Urban Expansion and Environment (Routledge, 2019), and host of Nature of Enclosure, a podcast series on urbanNext. Nesbit is currently Assistant Professor in History and Theory of Architecture and Urbanism in the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University, and previously taught at several institutions, including Harvard University, Northeastern University, University of North Carolina Charlotte, University of New Mexico, and Texas Tech University. He also holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Texas Tech University.

COLLABORATORS

Aziz Barbar, Design Computation Consultant
Amy Breedlove, Public Activist
Keaton Bruce, Design Research Assistant
Samir Shah, Architect and Housing Consultant
Julia Smachylo, Urban Planning and Ecology Consultant

Former Research Assistants

Andrew Beres
Douglas Cao
John Charbonneau
Lucas Flint
Katerina Gates
Cade Hammers
David Isern
Caleb Lightfoot
William Lyons
Michael Obot
Milad Rocha
Julia Faith Stoltzfus
Robby Stubbs
Quoc Tran

work pedagogy