Fredric M Bell

Rick Bell, through his role at Columbia’s interdisciplinary Center for Buildings, Infrastructure and Public Space, has led research efforts on: Decarbonization of Infrastructure; Social Housing and Open Space; Equity in Infrastructure; Electric Vehicle Charging Stations and Multi-Family Residential; Preservation of Historic Infrastructure; Cybersecurity; and Water Quality Assessment.

As Assistant Commissioner of Architecture and Engineering at the NYC Department of Design and Construction, and as that agency’s Executive Director of Design and Construction Excellence, his research projects included: means and methods of assuring design quality in the provision of public works; sustainability and high-performance design guidelines; active design; accessibility standards and universal design; and design standards for a variety of building typologies, such as libraries.

Serving as Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter and its Center for Architecture, he was engaged with research on the implementation of a shared-bike system in New York; accessibility guidelines; re-envisioning of Lower Manhattan after 9/11; sustainable urbanization; and affordable housing.