Mike Nolan, associate professor of architecture, is a computation consultant, musician, sound designer, producer, and composer.
As a consultant, he has run a decades-long practice in helping architects bring new computation technologies into their practices. Recent projects have been in BIM (Building Information Modeling) and VDC (virtual design and construction) for the volumetric modular building sectors, working with offices such as Danny Forster&Architecture, Gluck+, Kliment Halsband Architects, MiTek Corporation, and others.
As an educator, Nolan has been at New York Tech for 36 years, teaching design studios and classes in design computation, construction drawing, GIS, and modern building construction technology. He was hired in 1988 to start a program in design computation. Back then, there were almost no architecture offices using computers and almost no programs in any school for design computation in architecture, other than the very theoretical, high-end work at the MIT Media Lab (started by Nick Negroponte and Jerome Wiesner in 1985). Nolan had been involved with programming on and off since 1971 and, thus, had some experience with a couple of mainframes (DEC-PDP 11s) that were used at that time. The department made the move to PCs as they became available, and has since evolved through the years, just as the profession and technology have evolved. The program now has classes in BIM, VDC, AR, VR, robotics, and AI.
Music has been a part of Nolan’s life since seeing the Beatles in 1964. He has played in clubs as well as major venues such as Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Public Theater, and others. He has served as a composer, musician, musical director, and sound designer for dozens of plays on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in regional theaters. In addition, he has produced music for award-winning music videos and an album that spent a week at the number-one spot on the Billboard World Music chart. Nolan has also designed private recording studios for several well-known musicians.