He completed his Bachelor of Environmental Studies (1989) and Bachelor of Architecture (1992) from the University of Waterloo, and a Master of Architecture from Iowa State University in 1998. His scholarship engages Beginning Design education, and includes a focus on the history and practice of the architectural diagram. His teaching focuses on Beginning Design, writing for architects, and history, including "from Auschwitz to Zapruder: Mapping the Midcentury" - an advanced seminar in Postwar cultural history. He has led international study programs to Rome for more than 20 years.