Magdalena Garmaz, Associate Professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, will serve as the Interim Program Chair for the college-wide Bachelors of Environmental Design major. Her two-year term appointment is effective on August 16, 2012.

Auburn University Architecture Thesis student work was recently featured in an exhibition during the first annual ‘Montgomery Street Fair’ on April 21, 2012. The event was produced by Helicity Montgomery, a local non-profit that seeks to be a catalyst for the continued cultural and social development of the City of Montgomery and surrounding areas through arts and community engagement. For several years, Auburn architecture has cultivated a thesis studio that explores the possibilities of the urban revitalization of downtown Montgomery; with each passing year the projects have become more and more relevant to the conversation about how to improve Montgomery’s urban landscape. By working with the City of Montgomery Department of Development and local architects, professors Behzad Nakhjavan and Magdalena Garmaz have immersed their students in tangible issues, shaping the would be hypothetical explorations into increasingly applicable design solutions for Montgomery.   Several Projects have been selected to be showcased further at Department of Development at a reception in early June.

Brandon Block, a May 2012 graduate of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, was one of two top winners in the “Live.Work.Learn” student architecture contest announced at the 2012 AIA National Convention in Washington, DC. Sponsored by Boral Bricks, the contest was planned in collaboration with the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and required students to design a live/work building using brick for 70 percent of the exterior siding. Entries were judged on their excellence in live/work design and creative use of bricks by a panel representing industry leadership in the architecture, brick, and building industries. Block’s winning design was part of his undergraduate comprehensive thesis project developed under the direction of Professor Behzad Nakhjavan.

Dr. Rod Barnett, Chair of the Master of Landscape Architecture program in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, and Dr. Paul Cullen, A Fulbright Scholar visiting from AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand, have collaborated to produce an exhibition entitled “Contingency” on display in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction Gallery. This collaborative project has involved an investigation of a range of urban sites in Auburn and Birmingham, AL and speculations on their possible development and regeneration. Dr. Barnett and Dr. Cullen have used photographs, models, and drawings to present their speculative responses to these sites.

Dean’s Executive Board member, Patrick B. Davis, Jr., FAIA, has been appointed by Governor Robert Bentley to the Alabama Board of Architects.  Davis, member of The College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects, has nearly four decades of experience as an architect specializing in all aspects of healthcare planning and design. He is employed with CMH Architects, Inc., in Birmingham, AL, as Vice President of Healthcare Services.

Donald C. Brown, FAIA, from AIA Montgomery, was elected 2013-14 AIA Vice President. A 1971 graduate of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, Brown is owner and lead principal of Brown Studio Architecture in Montgomery.