Ceara O’Leary, AIA, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon. Her practice, research and teaching focus on the community-engaged design of equitable neighborhood spaces. As an architect, planner and educator, Ceara's areas of focus include the design of inclusive neighborhood spaces transforming underutilized assets, public realm and urban design centering local culture at the corridor and neighborhood scale, and planning projects at the intersection of policy and community resilience. Current projects continue a trajectory of work with partners in Detroit, including design and planning for cultural and climate resilience micro districts and a “placemaking” initiative along a recovering commercial corridor.
Previously, Ceara was Co-Executive Director of the Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC), a multidisciplinary nonprofit design office and team of architects, landscape designers and planners working with community partners across Detroit who traditionally lack access to design resources. At DCDC, Ceara led collaborative community design and planning projects ranging in scale from the reactivation of community buildings and pocket parks on formerly vacant land to neighborhood plans and design guidelines, all rooted in Detroit’s unique character, opportunities and challenges. Ceara was also a Professor of Practice at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture and Community Development, teaching public interest design and community development courses. Ceara joined the DCDC in 2012 as an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow. Previously, Ceara worked with bcWORKSHOP in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio in Biloxi, Mississippi. Ceara graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with Masters degrees in Architecture and City & Regional Planning and she earned her undergraduate degree from Brown University.
University of California, Berkeley, Master of Architecture and Master of City & Regional Planning, 2010 Concentration in Housing, Community, and Economic Development. Thesis: Inhabiting Neutral Ground: Creating Community Space in Post-Katrina New Orleans. Sandy Hirshen Prize for Socially Responsible Architecture.
Brown University, B.A. Architectural Studies, 2006, magna cum laude. Honors Thesis: Low-Cost Housing on the California-Mexico Border: Alternative Architectural Solutions. Coursework at the University of Barcelona.
2022-2023 COURSES
Introductory Architectural Design Studio III, ARCH 383
Community Design, Seminar, ARCH 431/531
Sustainable City Year Program, Architectural Design Studio, ARCH 484
Architectural Contexts: Place and Culture, ARCH 430/530
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
“Community Resilience Hubs: Social and Emergency Infrastructure in Detroit’s Neighborhoods.” Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 111th Annual Meeting, In Commons, 2023 (accepted).
“Unpacking Engagement: Strategies for Context-Specific Community-Driven Design.” Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture,110th Annual Meeting: Empower, 2022.
“Collaborative Community Practice: Evaluating Partnerships and Pedagogy.” Expanding the View: 109th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting, 2021.
“Towards a More Connected Field of Community Development Education: Encouraging Community Well-Being Through an Engaged Symposium.” Stanard, V., Hains, K., Knobloch, N., O’Leary, C., Reinhard, A., Hains, B., & Rios, M. International Journal of Community Well-Being. 2021
“Shared, Offsite and Green: Leveraging Neighborhood Stormwater Infrastructure,” Dichotomy Student Journal, University of Detroit Mercy, 2020.
“Bridging Needs with Research through Action-Oriented Community Design,” CONVERGE COVID-19 Working Groups for Public Health and Social Sciences Research Agenda-Setting Paper, co-authored with Jeff Carney, Ann Yoachim, et al., 2020.
RECENT PRESENTATIONS
“Integrating Engagement: Lessons for meaningful community design processes,” American Institute of Architects A’22, Chicago, June 2022.
“Planning for Community Resilience in Detroit Neighborhoods,” Environmental Design Research Association, EDRA53 Conference, June 2022.
“Pedagogies for Designing Spatial Justice,” Symposium with University of Oregon Spatial Justice Fellows, Environmental Design Research Association, EDRA52 Conference, May 2021, invited moderator.
“Scaling Community Open Space: Lessons for Leveraging Vacant Land.” Environmental Design Research Association, EDRA52 Conference, May 2021.
“Collaborative Community Practice: Evaluating Partnerships and Pedagogy.” Expanding the View: 109th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting, April 2021.
“Value-Based Education: A Case for Biased Pedagogies and Practices in Detroit,” Environmental Design Research Association 51st Annual Conference, co-authored with Claudia Bernasconi and Virginia Stanard, April 2020.
RECENT PROFESSIONAL SERVICE, LEADERSHIP & BOARDS
AIA Housing Knowledge Community Advisory Group Executive Board, 2019 Chair, 2015-present
AIA Minnesota Housing Design Awards Jury, 2022
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Equitable Development Resource Advisory Panel, 2021-2022
United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Racial Equity Fund Workgroup, 2021-2022
Mayors Innovation Project + AIA Blueprint For Better Eastpointe Mayor’s Innovation Project, 2021-2022
American Institute of Architects Housing Awards, Jury Chair, 2021
Mayors Institute for City Design (MICD) Design Tank, University of Hawaii Community Design Center, 2021