Ryan Scavnicky
Assistant Professor of Practice
rscavnicky@marywood.edu
School of Architecture
Courses taught:
Design Studio III ARCH-210Design Studio IV ARCH-220
Video Games and Virtual Architecture ARCH-399KK
Hybrid Representation Lab II IARC-121L
Representation in Adap Reuse of Interior IARC-515
Ryan Scavnicky (Scav) is a storyteller using memes, TikToks, group chats, Twitch broadcasts, Discord servers, print media, and the Extra Office YouTube Channel to create insightful commentary by challenging the status quo of disciplinary boundaries. He has worked as a designer at GBBN in Beijing, studioTECHNE in Cleveland, and Coop-Himmelb[L]au in Vienna. Scav holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati, and a Masters of Science in Design Theory and Pedagogy from SCI-Arc.
In 2021 he was dubbed the “Godfather of Architecture Memes” by Architectural Digest. Coming soon in 2025 is a groundbreaking new book "Architecture and Videogames: Intersecting Worlds," by Routledge. Co-edited with Tatiana Estrina and Vincent Hui, this book lays the foundation of how the architecture and gaming disciplines are sharing new territory together .In 2024 he authored the eponymous essay for a book by the renowned photographer Iwan Baan called "Bread and Circuses: Rome and Las Vegas," by Lars Muller Publishers.
While faculty at SCIArc in 2016, he wrote and produced a series of two films together with Jeffrey Kipnis called Clip Joint. He served for one year as the Visiting Teaching Fellow at the School of Architecture at Taliesin in 2017 where he deepened his commitment to experimental pedagogy. He taught at Kent State University where he won a 2021 research grant for his work on architecture and video games. Scav has held teaching appointments at SCI-Arc, University of Cincinnati, and The Ohio State University.
Book - Editor, Essay Contribution - Architecture and Videogames: Intersecting Worlds. 2025, Routledge.
Book - Essay Contribution - Bread and Circuses: Rome - Las Vegas. Photographs by Iwan Baan. 2024, Lars Muller Publishers.
Essay - Cleveland Browns Dome Stadium Proposal - Architects Newspaper, 2024.
Book - Essay Contribution - A Purple Architecture: Design in the Age of the Physical-Virtual Continuum. 2024, ITC Press.
In 2021 he was dubbed the “Godfather of Architecture Memes” by Architectural Digest. Coming soon in 2025 is a groundbreaking new book "Architecture and Videogames: Intersecting Worlds," by Routledge. Co-edited with Tatiana Estrina and Vincent Hui, this book lays the foundation of how the architecture and gaming disciplines are sharing new territory together .In 2024 he authored the eponymous essay for a book by the renowned photographer Iwan Baan called "Bread and Circuses: Rome and Las Vegas," by Lars Muller Publishers.
While faculty at SCIArc in 2016, he wrote and produced a series of two films together with Jeffrey Kipnis called Clip Joint. He served for one year as the Visiting Teaching Fellow at the School of Architecture at Taliesin in 2017 where he deepened his commitment to experimental pedagogy. He taught at Kent State University where he won a 2021 research grant for his work on architecture and video games. Scav has held teaching appointments at SCI-Arc, University of Cincinnati, and The Ohio State University.
Presentations and Publications
Book - Editor, Essay Contribution - Architecture and Videogames: Intersecting Worlds. 2025, Routledge.
Book - Essay Contribution - Bread and Circuses: Rome - Las Vegas. Photographs by Iwan Baan. 2024, Lars Muller Publishers.
Essay - Cleveland Browns Dome Stadium Proposal - Architects Newspaper, 2024.
Book - Essay Contribution - A Purple Architecture: Design in the Age of the Physical-Virtual Continuum. 2024, ITC Press.