At the IAUS she did research on the concept of 'place' from a semiotic perspective, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and taught at the Undergraduate Program in Architectural Education, where she was in charge of the pedagogical orientation of the design studios.
Based on this work, in 1977 she was offered a teaching position by John Hejduk, dean of the school of architecture at the Cooper Union.
[2] Agrest started her practice very early on, after her studies in Paris doing experimental and theoretical projects and competitions from 1969 to 1977.
As an architect and urbanist she has been involved in the design and building of projects, with her firm in the US, Asia, Europe and South America, ranging from urban design projects and master plans, institutional and residential buildings to single family houses and interiors that have been received numerous awards.
Recent projects and buildings include John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines, Iowa; Des Moines Vision Plan, second Phase; Green Belt, South Amboy, NJ; International Film Center, Shanghai, China; Master Plan and Urban Design for 5 Sq.
Buildings include Private residence in the West Hollywood Hills; Breukelen Community Center, Brooklyn, New York; Melrose Community Center; Farm Complex in Jose Ignacio, Uruguay; Farm Complex, Renovation and Additions, Sagaponack, New York, etc.
She has since worked on the subject of Nature itself, in writing and teaching and developing since 2009 an advanced research studio which she directs in the MArch II Program at Cooper Union.
Based on her theoretical work on the subject, she was approached in 1993 to create a program at The Whitney Museum of American Art, sponsored by the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Rockefeller Foundation and New York University on film and the city.
In 2014, Agrest was recognized for her work designing the Melrose Community Center, a winning site of Built by Women New York City,[5] a competition launched by the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation during the fall of 2014 to identify outstanding and diverse sites and spaces designed, engineered and built by women.
She has also lectured extensively and participated and been the keynote speaker in conferences and symposiums in North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.