FAITH KOSIOR ’25
Kosior helping build a better world with architectural acumen
Faith Kosior’s journey into architecture began about as far away from Clemson University as one can go: Australia. During a visit in 2017, her view of the Sydney Opera House ignited an appreciation for design, but her dive at the Great Barrier Reef left her dismayed. Instead of the vibrant colors and diverse wildlife she expected to see, she witnessed what looked like an underwater wasteland.
“The excitement I had felt for this excursion over the past two weeks quickly turned to despair as I realized the extent of the reef’s damage,” she recalls. By the time she arrived at Clemson’s School of Architecture, her despair had turned into a passion for sustainable design.
During a summer internship at Yale University, Kosior learned that up to 988 million birds die from glass collisions nationwide each year. When she returned to Clemson the next fall, her design for a New York skyscraper focused on preventing bird deaths with an elegant solution: “fritting.”
“Bird fritting is a type of ceramic enamel that is made from finely ground glass, and it is baked onto glass to form a ceramic coating,” she explains. “Fritting can be applied as dots, lines or other patterns so that they are visible to birds but are relatively transparent to humans.”
During her senior year, her interests and research experiences culminated in her favorite project: the Biophilic Gateway, which was her design for a visitor center in Carson, Washington, in the Wind River Trust. It aims to meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge, which includes incorporating a net-positive water purification system, locally sourced materials, eliminating on-site material waste and other eco-friendly objectives.
Like many architecture students before her, Kosior counts her time at the Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research and Urban Studies in Genoa, Italy, as her most memorable Clemson Experience. “I was able to live and experience new cultures and all types of architecture, practice my sketching skills, continue my passion for taking photos and make lifelong friendships,” she says.
After graduation, Kosior joined Newman Architects in New Haven, Connecticut, as an architectural associate.
FUN FACT: In Spring 2025, Kosior earned the Phi Kappa Phi Certificate of Merit from the College of Architecture, Art and Construction, one of the College’s two highest awards for academic achievement and noteworthy contributions
