Hutker Architects Partner Thomas McNeill, AIA, and Senior Designer John DiSalvo, AIA, are serving as studio instructors this semester at Roger Williams University, co-teaching The Dwelling Studio: The Evolution and Re-Invention of Dwelling.

The advanced studio explores how contemporary housing can evolve to better support human wellbeing in a time of rapid cultural, technological, and environmental change. Drawing from research in anthropology, neuroscience, environmental psychology, and evolutionary biology, students are challenged to reconsider the dwelling not as a static object, but as an adaptable framework shaped by fundamental human needs including rest, connection to nature, nourishment, movement, and community.

Grounded in Hutker Architects’ long-standing commitment to designing heirloom homes that endure across generations, the studio asks students to develop scalable, resilient dwelling prototypes that respond to changing patterns of habitation while sustaining the art of living well. The semester will culminate in comprehensive building-scale proposals that integrate program, form, structure, and environmental systems in service of adaptable, human-centered design.

Through this academic collaboration, Hutker Architects continues its engagement with architectural education and the ongoing exploration of how design can meaningfully enhance daily life.