Liz McCormick

Liz McCormick is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte School of Architecture. She is a licensed architect, educator, and researcher whose work explores healthy, climatically sensitive, and contextually appropriate building design strategies that connect occupants to outdoor environments while reducing mechanical conditioning dependence.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Design from North Carolina State University
• Master of Science in Building Technology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Bachelor's degrees in architecture and fine arts from Rhode Island School of Design

Mccormick's research investigates the intersection of building design, human health, and environmental sustainability. She develops innovative methods like the custom tabletop hotbox for testing hygrothermal behavior of building materials, inspired by plant biology. Her work emphasizes creating buildings that maintain occupant comfort through passive design rather than mechanical systems, with particular attention to indoor air quality and climate responsiveness in the post-pandemic era.

Her publications reveal a consistent focus on rethinking the relationship between indoor environments and human health, particularly examining how air conditioning has disconnected occupants from local climatic and cultural contexts. Her book Inside OUT synthesizes perspectives from biology, anthropology, and architecture to propose future interventions in building design.

Her notable professional recognitions include:

• 2021 AIAS/ACSA New Faculty Teaching Award for exemplary work in building design, community collaborations, scholarship, and service
• 2021 Buell Center Course Development Prize for her innovative course High-Performance, Low-Tech

Mccormick actively secures research funding, currently serving as lead-PI for an NSF-supported study abroad program to Tanzania continuing through 2026. She has developed educational approaches that bridge theory and practice in sustainable design.

She maintains active professional engagement through memberships in the American Institute of Architects (AIA), AIA Charlotte Committee on the Environment (COTE), National Passive House Alliance (PHAUS), and Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE), while serving as president-elect for the Building Technology Educators Society (BTES) and board member for the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB).