This website uses cookies as well as similar tools and technologies to understand visitors' experiences. By continuing to use this website, you consent to Columbia University's usage of cookies and similar technologies, in accordance with the Columbia University Website Cookie Notice

Lola Ben-Alon

Lola Ben-Alon is an Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP, where she directs the Natural Materials Lab and the Building Technology curriculum. She specializes in socially and environmentally sustainable building materials, construction practices, and engineering-architecture collaborations. Her research and teaching focus on natural earth- and bio-based building materials, their craft, digital fabrication, life cycle, supply chains, and policy. She uses quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate the embodied, thermal, and operational impacts of low-carbon assemblies such as cob, rammed earth, and light straw clay.

Ben-Alon’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Building and Environment, Construction and Building Materials, Journal of Green Building, and Automation in Construction. Her work has been exhibited at the London Craft Week, Craft Contemporary Museum in Los Angeles, the Indian Ceramics Triennial, Tallinn Architecture Biennale, the Center for Mediterranean Architecture in Greece, the Architecture Center Houston, the Material Matters Fair during the London Design Festival, and the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art, and has been featured and reviewed at Metropolis, Designboom, ArchDaily, and The Architect’s Newspaper. In 2024, Ben-Alon was awarded the Architectural League of New York Prize.

Ben-Alon holds a Ph.D. from the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University, a B.S. in Structural Engineering, and an M.S. in Construction Management from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Ben-Alon also completed the Curatorial Studies and Exhibition Design Program at the Technion. She currently serves on the board of ACSA’s Technology | Architecture + Design, and Elsevier’s Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.

Material Variance Symposium

The Material Variance Symposium connects material design researchers, building scientists, and artists to discuss the reciprocal impacts of species and form, and the defiance against refinement, exploitation, and technocratic establishments.

The Material Variance Symposium was organized by Lola Ben-Alon with the Natural Materials Lab. Curatorial support for this event was provided by Kaeli Alika Streeter, the Building Tech Sequence Teaching Associate. Ronald Rael (UC Berkeley) delivered a keynote lecture for the event titled “Salt y Glue and Mud y Robots.

GSAPP Conversations:
Natural Materials Mini Series with Lola Ben-Alon

Columbia GSAPP · Natural Materials

Tech Talks

Tech Talks is a new lecture series hosted by the Building Tech Sequence focusing on the implications of materials, cities, and ethics. The Spring 2021 speaker line-up includes:

Timothy Beatley on “Biophilic Cities,” January 26, 2021
Matt Mehalik on “Sustainable Community Development,” February 9, 2021
Ronald Rael on “Interventions of the Border Region,” March 9, 2021
Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth on “Healthy Building Materials,” March 10, 2021

Courses

Course	Semester	Title	Student Work	Instructor	Syllabus	Requirements & Sequence	Location & Time	Session & Points	Call No.
A4111‑1	Fall 2025	TECH I, ENVIRONMENTS IN ARCH		Lola Ben-Alon		TECH REQUIRED, MARCH I Building Science & Technology Requirement Architecture Required	114 AVERY TU 9 AM - 12 PM	FULL SEMESTER 3 Points	10682