University of South Florida

School of Architecture & Community Design

USF College of Design, Art & Performance

Steven Cooke

cooke-steven

Associate Professor of Architecture
Phone: (813) 974-6019
Email: cooke@usf.edu

Steven Arthur Cooke, architect, and Associate Professor in the USF School of Architecture & Community Design teaches architectural design, design theory, and architectural technology courses. His research focus is “the care of making”, design benevolence and critical making - the aspect of care given to making events and things.

He holds a Bachelor of Design degree in Architecture from the University of Florida and a Master of Architecture degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech).

Cooke has received three teaching awards:  the USF Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor Award, given in recognition to a USF graduate faculty member who demonstrates the highest level of quality in the mentoring of graduate students; the USF Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) Award, which rewards teaching productivity and excellence; and the Outstanding Professor of Architecture Award, for teaching and mentoring excellence in the USF School of Architecture and Community Design.

In addition to his teaching awards, he has also been recognized with the following design awards:

  • The Eduardo Garcia Design Award,  presented by the Florida Central Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, given to “promote design excellence by recognizing young architects with talent, enthusiasm, and dedication.” 
  • Fourth Place Award - President's House Design Competition (State Competition) for the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL (with Timothy Woods).
  • Citation Award “International Conceptual Furniture Competition”; Chair, published in Progressive Architecture, May 1982.  Work exhibited at NEOCON, Chicago.
  • Honorable mention in the Rosenthal Mathildenhohe Youth Prize -international student competition for his design of a lamp, exhibited in Darmstadt, Germany.

As part of his research activities professor Cooke continues to work on research related to “the care of making” - design benevolence and critical making.  He received a USF CDAP Research Grant for this investigation and continues to teach a complementary course with the same name. 

Cooke was co-principal investigator for the “Rapid Deployment Emergency Shelter - Wind Resistant Modular Buildings in FRP”. This was an investigation of emergency shelters for the Office of Naval Research - Center for Disaster Management (CDMHA, USF), with a study of the use of the advanced material FRP (fiber-reinforced polymer).  This was a joint study with USF’s Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the School of Architecture & Community Design.

He was also Principal Investigator for the State of Florida’s “Study of the Use of Relocatable Classrooms in the Public School Districts of Florida”. He received a grant from the FL Department of Education to examine the learning environment, economic considerations, and construction technologies of relocatable instructional environments.

Following this research, he designed a new prototype for classroom design which is relocatable and related to the Florida environment, receiving a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, - Grants for Design Innovation program, and designed A New Relocatable Classroom for Florida.  He went on to patent the project and holds Patent #D385042.

In 1995 he was Project Architect, working with Lee Stefanakos, chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department in the USF Electric Vehicle and Renewable Energy Research and Development Program, responsible for architectural design of the first electric vehicle solar charging station and test facility in the United States.

In 1999 as Field Architect, he accompanied Dr. James Strange, archeologist, USF prolific scholar and teacher of religious studies on an archeological dig, “Excavations at Sepphoris,” Israel.  Cooke was responsible for field measurements and CAD documentation of excavation work on the 1st century basilica in Sepphoris, Israel, the ancient Roman capital of Galilee. 

Some notable presentations (invited speaker) include:

  • Hawaii International Conference on the Arts and Humanities, paper presentation – The Care of Making – Towards a Theory of Design Benevolence.
  • American Institute of Architects AIA Tampa Bay chapter, Lecture: The Care of Making (Presentation of popular course of same name).
  • Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, Annual Conference: “Architecture and Education”: Form and Philosophy in Campus Design; title: “Two Views of Polis in the Academical Villages of Jefferson and Wright.”
  • "A Symposium on 21st Century Teaching Technologies", University of South Florida
  • "Beyond Bricks and Mortar", West Central Florida Area Agency on Aging
  • "Ferrari Symposium: Architecture and Industrial Design", Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • "Florida Educational Facilities Planners Association Annual Meeting", Boca Raton, FL.
  • In 1979 he was invited by then President Carter to the White House to present an innovative energy efficient prefabricated house that he and UF peer Michael Flanders had designed after graduating from University of Florida. This prototype was developed further while he was a graduate student at Virginia Polytechnic University (Virginia Tech).

Cooke has served as program director for USF SACD Education Abroad programs in Italy since 2003.

He is also serving, or has served, in the following capacity:

  • USF Honors and Awards Council, Member and was Chairman last two years, 2006-2009
  • Research Committee, College of Design, Art & Performance, CDAP. 2012-2017
  • Tenure and Promotion Committee, CDAP. 2008-2010; 2013-2017
  • Tenure and Promotion Committee, School of Architecture and Community Design (SACD).        1998- present.
  • Faculty Search Committee SACD, Chair of six different faculty searches for SACD
  • Admissions Committee,  SACD. 1990 – present
  • Faculty Advisor for Architecture College Council, SACD. 1990-2012
  • Hillsborough County Board of Sign Appeals, Member then Vice-Chairman, 1991 - 2003
  • Team Garcia selection committee for the AIA Garcia Award 1992-present

Professor Cooke is a registered architect in the state of Florida (Professional Registration #0010129)