Interior Architecture faculty members are professional architects and designers in addition to passionate educators. They conduct important research for the field on topics such as sustainability and experimental design.

Faculty Highlights

• Dave Broz is a Visiting Professor and has led the creation of over 7 million square feet of new buildings and renovations at clients across the globe, with many of his projects receiving design awards. He has been recognized for his commitment to service by being awarded The Buckminster Fuller AIA Illinois Service Award, Crain’s Chicago 2021 Most Notable Not Profit Board Leaders, and the University of Kansas Alumni Service Award.

  As a prolific public speaker, Dave has presented at dozens of conferences across the Globe and has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Kansas, Illinois Institute of Technology, Florida State University, St Mary’s College, and now Columbia College Chicago. Dave lives and teaches that designers have the ability AND the responsibility to make our world a better place through their design vision.

• Tim Cozzens is an Associate Professor with over 40 years of professional design experience across numerous project typologies and is president of workshop/Cozzens, a design-build studio specializing in custom spaces and objects. He has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Notre Dame, Penland School of Crafts, and Northern Illinois University. Previous professional design experience includes positions at Perkins + Will, Swanke Hayden Connell, DesignBridge, The Environments Group, and ISD Incorporated.

• Rene Kingis an Assistant Professor and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Wisconsin; an experience which ignited her passion for urban environments. Her teaching interests are wide-ranging, covering various aspects of design; civic engagement, social justice, story-telling, and participatory design.

  Seeking enhanced impact, she has cultivated partnerships with a wide spectrum of civic institutions in Chicago and her hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin. These partnerships are rooted in her commitment to engaging future users in participatory design processes. René is also the co-founder of the Chicago Pattern Project and the founder of Pattern Squared, an innovative initiative focused on exploring the communities we inhabit to generate artifacts that stimulate conversations surrounding community, environmental attachment and placemaking. Through these collaborative efforts, she aims to foster enthusiasm, engagement, and a deep sense of agency throughout the design journey. Her ultimate goal is to co-create spaces that genuinely mirror the distinct needs and aspirations of the communities they are intended to serve. Her dedication to community involvement and the creation of meaningful, community-centered spaces is at the heart of her work.

• Rebecca Midden is an Assistant Professor and Chicago based designer. Throughout her career, Rebecca has successfully completed a diverse array of architectural and design projects. Her portfolio includes the design and planning of corporate headquarters, mixed-use residential towers, private residences, and luxury hotels. In addition, her practice includes interdisciplinary explorations, with an interest in making the invisible visible as it pertains to our emotional and psychological experiences in spatial environments. These explorations are experienced through art installations, object design, and landscape projects.

  Rebecca is the founder of Dutch Miller Design, a multidisciplinary practice based in Chicago with projects nationwide. Rebecca received a MArch from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010 and she received a BA from Bowling Green State University in Art History in 2003.

• Lucy Trimarco is an Assistant Professor, an NCIDQ Registered Interior Designer by the State of Illinois, and certified as a LEED AP ID+C professional. Previous design experience with architecture firms includes VOA Associates, OWP&P, Partner by Design, The Environments Group, Fitzgerald APD and as a consultant to Perkins &Will, Lieber Group, TKA Partners and McCann Associates. She holds a Master of Science in Product Design & Development from Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design with Honors from The International Academy of Design & Technology.

  Guided by empathy and inclusivity in collaboration, Lucy has developed interiors for commercial offices, showrooms, and healthcare institutions. Her most recent Chicago projects are Bloomer Chocolate’s Corporate Office and Thomas West Hair Salon. In her current role at Columbia College Chicago, she is working to integrate more DEI content strategies into student projects and investigating how to integrate new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) into the classroom.