Julio Diarte, Ph.D.
Julio Diarte, Ph.D.
Julio Diarte is an architect, researcher, and educator with a Ph.D. in architecture from Penn State University. He currently works as a lecturer at UNC Charlotte, College of Arts and Architecture, where he teaches second-year Design Studio and Computational Methods. His research intersects the areas of design for climate change, craft and digital fabrication, and material processes. During his PhD, Julio developed methods and tools to reuse waste cardboard as a construction material for low-cost and sustainable architecture. In his teaching, Julio focuses on developing critical-making skills by engaging students in material-based projects combining low and high-tech tools to design and prototype full-scale components. Julio received the 2020 Engineering for Change (E4C) Research Fellowship in Habitat and 2022 E4C Expert Fellowship, 2019-20 and 2022 Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture Sustainability Faculty Teaching Fellow, and the 2019 John Row Sustainability Champion Award. His research has been published in peer-reviewed conference proceedings and journals about architecture, computational design, and circular economy, including ARCC, CAADRIA, and CAD Futures. His work “Tapping into Urban Recycling for Low-cost/No-cost Housing Solutions: Using Waste Cardboard to Build & Sustain the Resilient City” has been showcased at the 2021 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism.