Tom Verebes
Title: Professor
Department: Architecture
Campus: Long Island
Area(s) of Expertise: Architectural Design; Urbanism; History/Theory of Technology and Urbanism
Education Credentials: Ph.D.; Grad Dip (Design); Research Certificate; B.Arch.; B.Sc. (Arch.)
Joined New York Tech: 2018
Tom Verebes, Ph.D., is the director of his design practice, OCEAN CN, based in New York. He has previously directed OCEAN offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, and London. His former academic roles include serving as associate dean for academic affairs at New York Tech from 2018 to 2020, associate dean for teaching and learning as well as associate professor at the University of Hong Kong, co-director of the Design Research Lab at the AA in London, and most recently before joining New York Tech as the founding provost of Turenscape Academy. In addition, Verebes served as a guest professor at Akademie der Buildenden Künste ABK Stuttgart from 2004 to 2006, and has held visiting professor roles at University of Pennsylvania, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse University, RMIT University, Singapore University of Technology & Design SUTD, and University of Tokyo. He has directed AA Visiting School programs, including AAVS Shanghai for 12 consecutive years, from 2007 to 2018, as well as AAVS Xixinan in 2017 and AAVS Shenzhen in 2018.
Verebes received his Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Science (Arch.) from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, a Research Certificate from the Laboratory of Primary Studies in Architecture in Paris, a Grad Dip (Design) from the Architectural Association in London, and a Ph.D. from RMIT in Melbourne, Australia. He has more than 160 publications, cited over 275 times, including Beyond the Envelope: 21 Pioneering Architectural Projects From the Early 21st Century | 21 Interviews with their Architects, (ORO, 2024); The Urbanism Reader: Design, Technology, Culture, and the Future of Cities, co-authored with Stefan Al (Bloomsbury, 2025); Masterplanning the Adaptive City: Computational Urbanism in the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2013); Shanghai Ten Folio (ORO, 2017); a guest-edited issue of AD titled "Mass Customised Cities" (Wiley, 2015); and DRL X: A Design Research Compendium (AA Publications, 2008). Verebes' work has been exhibited in more than 50 venues worldwide, and he has lectured extensively in Asia, Europe, North America, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Recent Projects/Research
- Linping Digital and Smart City, Hangzhou, China; Invited Competition proposal (2024).
- Design research project, "Feeding New York", invited to participate in the Tallinn Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism; in collaboration with Associate Professor Marcella Del Signore, and Graduate Assistants in MS.AUD (2023).
- Designed and exhibited research on urban photogrammetry, "Four Short Stories About Hong Kong", exhibited in the 2019 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism.
- Façade design, Shenzhen Genzon Science Park, China (2017).
- Design direction of Xiangmi Park, Shenzhen, China, International Competition organized by Shenzhen Civic Government (2014-2015).
- Direction and conception of a 600-meter-long façade design, Yubei Wholesale Market, Chongqing, China (2014).
- Creative direction, conceptual design, and presentation production coordination, Umekita Second Development Area, Osaka Station, Japan, International Invited Limited Design Competition (2013).
- Design of landscape, car park, and signage of Kid's Dream, Baoding, Hebei Province, China (2013-14).
Professional Honors and Awards
- Member, Medical Architecture & Culture Committee, Architecture & Culture Society of China, Beijing (2018).
- Honorary Member, Asia Designers Communication Platform, Hong Kong (2017).
- Honorary Academic Chairman for Outstanding Achievement, Crystal CG Education, Beijing (2012).
- Finalist, Liantang /Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point Terminal Building Competition, Hong Kong/Shenzhen (2011).
- Visiting Research Fellow, Key State Laboratory of Architecture, Science & Technology, Xi'an (2009).
- Second Prize, OCEAN D, Palisades National Park Mountain Hut Design Competition, Palisades, Calif. (2004).
Courses Taught at New York Tech
- ARCH 362 History and Theory of the City, B.Arch Program
- ARCH 402 Community Design Studio, B.Arch Program
- ARCH 701 Urban Design Studio, MS in Architecture, Urban Design Program
- ARCH 703 Urban Design Studio, MS in Architecture, Urban Design Program
Electives:
- ARCH 291 AI in Architecture: Concepts, Methods and Ethics, B.Arch Program
- ARCH 361 Urbanism & Anti-Urbanism, B.Arch Program
- ARCH 791 Beyond the Envelope, M.Arch Program
- ARCH 791 The Ground, M.Arch Program