Other ACSA Websites

Study Architecture ProPEL

Posts

University of Arizona

/in , /by

Inspiring the Next Generation of Change Makers: An Interview with UArizona School of Architecture Director Ryan E. Smith

 

University of Arizona School of Architecture Director and Professor of Architecture Ryan E. Smith, who is originally from Mesa, Arizona, is a 2002 graduate of the UArizona Bachelor of Architecture program and University of California, Berkeley Master of Architecture program. He has worked for Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Gould Evans Associates, as well as Tucson firms Swaim Associates and Gresham & Beach Architects. He has held academic positions at the University of Oregon, University of Utah and Washington State University, most recently as director of the School of Design and Construction at WSU.

Smith has been teaching, researching and consulting on housing and offsite construction for nearly 20 years. He is the founding past chair and current board member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Offsite Construction Council, a fellow of the Modular Building Institute and a member of the Ivory Innovations in Housing Affordability Board.

In this interview, Smith shares his initial vision for the School of Architecture, discusses the importance of interdisciplinarity for the school and the future of the profession, shares his passions for research on affordable housing and the importance of research in an architectural education, discusses the value of connecting with firms, provides advice to students and more.

Why did you decide to join the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture as the director of the School of Architecture?

First, the University of Arizona is my alma mater. An opportunity to come back to where I learned the value and skills of design and help the next generation be change makers is something I could not pass up. This is a full circle surreal experience. I am grateful for the School of Architecture community embracing me in this role.

The UArizona School of Architecture has earned a reputation for education and research focused on its place—a strong response to this uniqueness of Tucson, the Sonoran Desert and the Southwest with all its complexity, challenges and beauty. The school meets this challenge with a professional education that is both technically competent and creatively driven. I want to participate in this community and work with the faculty, staff and students to progress that mission.

What is your initial vision for the School of Architecture?

We are in a time of great societal need. I believe that architectural education must address the pressing and mounting challenges of climate change, water scarcity and housing affordability. This can be done through engaged research and outreach work, and most especially through interdisciplinarity. I believe that architecture, in addition to being a creative discipline, to have a positive impact on the future of society and planet, should be environmentally responsive, occupant-centered, community-engaged and research-based. I have an initial vision that adds to the professional reputation of the School of Architecture as not only a place for strong professional education, but also a place for excellence in design research, social equity and environmental resilience. I have a vision of UArizona Architecture working with Landscape Architecture, Planning, Design, Engineering, Arts, Health Sciences and other disciplines to chart a future that is inclusive, decolonized and innovative.

Though you have multiple degrees from multiple institutions, is there anything about your experience as a UArizona Bachelor of Architecture student in particular that will inform your role as school director?

The School of Architecture continues its tradition of progressing the land-grant mission and making positive change in the world. Architecture has maximum impact when it responds to place. When I came to school here, I was immersed in material making, community-based projects, technical courses and a passion and vibrancy for architecture and its role in shaping and being shaped by the environment, politics, society and economy of the region. Even at that time, there was a strong emphasis on the intersection of land ethic and material making. My education was not only one of book learning, but also field doing. I am excited to continue that legacy, especially in the post-pandemic despondency we are all experiencing. I look forward to working with faculty, staff, administration and especially students in rekindling and reengaging what I consider the greatest of architectural projects: sheltering and inspiring people.

Tell us about your research on building technology, prefabrication and housing affordability. What most excites you about this research?

When I was working for a firm after graduate school, I was designing a luxury home in the Bay Area. In a moment of reflection, I realized that I did not want to be designing homes for the 1% for the rest of my life, no matter how creative the experience was. I decided to take my interest and skills in technical design and apply them to the study of housing equity. I have since dedicated the better part of nearly 20 years to the question of housing production and the contingent social, environmental and political forces that surround it. This brought me early on to a theory and practice of offsite manufacturing and construction to realize housing affordability. Leveraging the mature and innovative manufacturing practices in other industries for design and construction holds much promise but requires research and dedicated development to realize this potential.

Do you anticipate your research changing now that you’re back in Tucson and directing the School of Architecture?

Southern Arizona is a very different context compared to other places I have worked. The demographics, politics, labor market, material supply chain, development models and procurement practices demand a unique approach to realizing housing delivery. Much of the development models for housing in the Southwest fundamentally and structurally disadvantage certain groups. Furthermore, I moved to Tucson at a time in which the housing market and inflation are creating an untenable situation for renters and first home buyers. My own children in college, for example, are staring into a future where they may not ever own a home. The economic model of the U.S. economy is based on home ownership to build equity and wealth. That system is broken for the rising generation. This should be a topic of concern for architects, but traditionally is not something to which the discipline has paid much attention. I have great interest in researching, teaching and studying how architecture can serve the 99% through advocacy in policy and finance reform as well as design and construction innovation in housing.

How important is research—and learning how to conduct and report on research on the built environment—for architecture students?

I led a research center for many years at the University of Utah and was associate dean for research for a time there. I think the future of architecture is research-based. The UArizona Architecture program has instituted the final three semesters of the B Arch professional education as research-based, coordinated by groups of faculty who lead students in probing timely questions relevant to social and environment justice in the built environment. I am excited to participate with the faculty in this promising structure of design research.

How important is interacting with design and other built environment firms—such as through internships, mentoring, networking events, panels and reviews—for students and for the School of Architecture in general?

The college and the School of Architecture are already doing great things to connect and partner with architecture and built environment professionals. My predecessor, Professor of Architecture Rob Miller, has developed an incredible rapport with Tucson and Phoenix firms, as well as firms throughout the country. He is also introducing me to many alumni and friends of the school in my first few months. My intention is to continue to build these relationships by having professionals teach in the school, as well as fostering the CAPLA Job Interview Fair and internships for our students while encouraging our faculty and students to attend professional events. We are supporting students and faculty in attending the upcoming AIA Arizona 2022 State Conference in October, for example. I am grateful to Rob for the strong legacy he has continued at UArizona Architecture and I hope to continue that tradition.

Interdisciplinarity is important at CAPLA and beyond as we work to solve the grand challenges of the built environment. How can the school and college foster more interdisciplinary work among faculty and students?

My immediate previous position was directing the School of Design and Construction at Washington State University, which was home to programs in architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and construction management. Interdisciplinarity was the modality of the education with an entire shared first year and points of intersection and integration throughout the education between disciplines.

To address the mounting challenges of the 21st century, a systems thinking approach is needed requiring many disciplines, perspectives, communities and expertise. For example, returning to housing, this is a topic that is complex relating to policy, finance and technology. Housing is political and community-engaged and touches on multiple disciplines and expertise. I will be asking the faculty and staff in the school to actively consider how we can address grand challenges, including housing and beyond, amongst the community in the school and college, as well as other disciplines on campus and in the professions.

Do you anticipate teaching in your role as director of the school?

Directing the school demands my full attention at the present. However, I believe that to be an effective leader, I will need and want to get into the classroom and interact with students. I would like to teach housing and technology in the future. This could be in a seminar or lecture format or even in a design studio context. I have also taught professional practice, collaboration and leadership to an interdisciplinary group of designers that was rewarding and stretched my teaching abilities in a positive way. I also enjoy and embrace collaborative and interdisciplinary teaching and will look for those opportunities in the future.

What advice do you have for architecture students?

The discipline of architecture is being redefined every day as the demands of the context—society, environment and economy—change constantly. Therefore, I would advise students to put their preconceptions about architecture aside and keep an open mind when starting their education. There are many different career directions with an architecture education, and our college is also home to undergraduate programs in Sustainable Built Environments and Landscape Architecture, and we participate with College of Engineering in the Architectural Engineering program while partnering with the School of Art and School of Information on a new Bachelor of Arts in Design Arts and Practices. The future of built environment work is at these intersections.

Beyond your leadership, research and related School of Architecture work, what are your passions?

I am attracted to learning about new cultures and places. I have lived in Korea and the United Kingdom and enjoy traveling. I am passionate about housing—so outside of the school, I also advise companies, governments and organizations on housing production and serve on boards related to housing innovation and affordability. I do this work under the auspice of a consulting company named MOD X. I am passionate about trying to solve homelessness. I am a family man with kids and enjoy getting out into the Sonoran Desert with them. I love exercise and making and building projects on the side.

What does the CAPLA experience mean for you?

CAPLA is a community. We are dedicated to social and environmental justice and working to respond to the changing demands of the contemporary world. The education at CAPLA is dynamic, community-engaged, professionally oriented and interdisciplinary.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

/in /by

Architecture students help Lincoln museum explore expansion options-  Tractors. Most Midwesterners have memories associated with them whether it be their first childhood toy; a hot, humid summer of baling hay or a way of life. Over 3,000 guests from as close as next door to as far as India visit University of Nebraska’s Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum every year because of their interest and nostalgia for these mammoth machines. Museum Manager of Exhibits Lance Todd and museum stakeholders would love to see those numbers increase and have partnered with UNL’s College of Architecture to explore expansion options for the museum. The design project was originally planned as a way to kick off the museum’s 100th anniversary scheduled for this summer, however with the COVID pandemic, the celebration has been moved to 2021 but the design process forged ahead with the help of UNL architecture students.

“We have over 30 tractors in our collection, the oldest being a 1910 Minneapolis Ford tractor,” said Todd. “Adding to that collection with additional rare pieces is one of our goals. Additional exhibit and storage space would allow us to have more tractors and more memorabilia than what are actually on display now. It would give us the freedom to rotate things in and out and curate the collection we want. I would love for us to be known for how unique and rare our collection is. We don’t want to be just a collection of antique tractors similar to what you might find at a county fair. We want to be a museum where you’ll find models and unique pieces you won’t find anywhere else.”

Located on UNL’s East Campus, the current museum began as a tractor testing laboratory built to satisfy a 1919 Nebraska law mandating that every model sold in Nebraska must pass specified power and performance standards. It was the first tractor testing facility in the world and became recognized as a museum by the UNL’s Board of Regents in 1998 with a new testing facility located adjacent to the original building.

With over 100 years in operation and not having a major renovation in years, the Architecture Program’s Fabrication And Construction Team (FACT) design/build studio, led by Professor Jeffrey L. Day, FAIA was a welcome strategic partner. Working remotely, the studio spent an intense eight weeks researching, designing and reimagining what the next chapter for this facility would look like.

FACT usually takes on projects that engage creative, non-profit clients and communities in collaborations that span design and construction and have a meaningful impact for all parties involved. “The museum collaboration was a perfect fit for the FACT studio. The project offered our students a unique challenge to design concepts that would not only engage visitors with the past but also the future of agricultural technology. It’s very rewarding for our students to take on projects that don’t have predetermined solutions. Such projects lend to the creative process and stretches the designers’ skills.”

The students were asked to address certain museum criteria and goals. Ideally, this new development would expand the exhibit space by two to three times its current size, transform the aesthetics and accessibility of the facility into a first-class museum with an inviting reception area and office space, develop ways to engage the campus and the public with innovative programming and create additional classroom and learning areas for students and clubs.

The remote studio was split into four design teams, each coming up with creative solutions for the museum to consider. The first team proposed merging new construction with repurposed service buildings for a museum complex; another suggested extending the exhibition beyond the future building and distributing tractors throughout East Campus using a grid of display frames, the third team explored a new building site on East Campus with greater public access and visibility; and the last with a thematic agricultural nod to the museum’s past proposed a complex of buildings with a “living street” for increased community engagement.

“For the short amount of time they were given, I was very impressed with the ideas the students came up with,” Todd said. “It definitely gave us a lot of options to look at moving forward. What we generally do with projects like this is pull from ideas presented by each group and then add it to some of our own ideas, and usually what we come up with is a really unique plan.”

Professor Day said the student concepts were presented to UNL’s Executive Campus Planning Committee and the Aesthetic Review Committee for feedback. “The committee responses were very helpful for the students’ project development,” said Day. “They offered input regarding the pluses and minus of each proposal and suggestions for how each team could advance their designs.” The next phase for the museum project is fundraising and concept refinement.

“FACT would like to assist the museum by developing the student ideas further,” said Day. “We could also look at building some aspect of the student designs such as the display frame exhibits to create visibility for the museum which would do a lot to propel community awareness for the project and fundraising efforts.”

Day explains the students can continue to work on this project as a UCARE assignment, independent study or possible future studio.

“I was really happy with the work the students did for this eight-week remote studio,” Day said. “Ideally, I prefer in-person studio instruction. I think there’s something to be said about making physical things, whether it’s building mock ups in the shop, or models or something like that. However the students made some solid digital designs and concepts for further development that I’m pretty proud of.” Working remotely due to the COVID pandemic presented students some skill strengthening opportunities in adaptability.

“This is my first, fully-remote studio,” said architecture student Sunkist Judson. “Since we didn’t have access to go visit the Larsen Museum and Splinter Labs in person, I feel like we did not get the opportunity to fully experience the space. Looking at images provided by Lance Todd and using Google Earth is one thing, but being there at the site in person is a little different. Personally, I feel more connected when I visit a site.”

However, even with the drawbacks of working remotely, Judson said he wouldn’t want to change his experience. Judson said he really liked working with a real client.

“This is a unique experience for me, and I look forward to see how the next group will take these ideas and elevate them to the next level,” said Judson. “I love we are looking into a project where it might become part of a reality someday, even though it is just the beginning. I love that I get to be a part of this design where we are working for the community and the university.”

University of Arizona

/in , /by

 

Publications

Associate Professor Lisa Schrenk authored “Design Evolution: Art Deco at the Century of Progress International Exposition,” one of five leading essays in the just released book Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America, edited by Robert Bruegmann and published by Yale University Press. To read more about Lisa’s work and the publication http://capla.arizona.edu/awards/lisa-schrenk-essay-published-new-book-chicago-art

Nader Chalfoun, PhD., professor of architecture; Ivan Gaxiola, MS.Arch alumus (2016), and Colby Moeller, architecture lecturer; have recently published their work in the “International Journal of Design and Nature Economics.” The article, “Architectural Implementation of Vegetated Cover from Agriculture and Restoring Human Thermal Comfort and Mitigating the Urban Heat Island Effect in Arid Regions,” is available via www.witpress.com/journals/dne

Assistant Professor Alethia Ida released a book chapter titled “Energetic Forms of Matter” on October 22 in the book publication Reusable and Sustainable Building Materials in Modern Architecture by IGI Global Press, Eds. Gulsa Koch and Bryan Christiansen. https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/book/201930

Assistant Professor Altaf Engineer’s book, Shedding New Light on Art Museum Additions: Front and Back Stage Experiences published by Routledge. https://www.amazon.com/Shedding-New-Light-Museum-Additions/dp/1138215856/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505147667&sr=1-1

Assistant Professor Jonathan Bean’s book, Taste Consumption and Markets: An Interdisciplinary Volume published by Routledge.

Residency

Associate Professor Beth Weinstein received a second Visual Arts Residency at the Cite` International des Arts, in Paris for Spring 2019. www.citedesartsparis.net/

Grants

Assistant Professor Courtney Crosson received National Institute for Transportation & Communities Small Starts grant for the research entitled, “Urban Trasportation System Flood Vulnerability Assesment with Special Reference to Low Income and Minority Neighborhoods” with Dr. Daoqin Tong at ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. http://capla.arizona.edu/awards/courtney-crosson’s-grant-funded-through-nitc

Assistant Professor Alethia Ida received $500,000 from Microsoft for the research entitled, “Cloud Infrastructure Renewal Center (CIRC)” with Microsoft Global Datacenter Design and Engineering, collaborating with Professors Bob Norwood and Dan Kilper of Optical Sciences, and Assistant Professor Kerri Hickenbottom of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/ua-and-microsoft-create-cloud-infrastructure-partnership-train-tomorrows-leaders?utm_source=uanow&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign

Awards

Assistant Professor Anna Koosmann received an Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Core Certificate of Research Excellence for the study entitled, “Evaluating the Impact of the First Filipino Design-Build University Program”. https://www.edra.org/page/2018_core_recipients

Associate Professor Susannah Dickenson’s capstone studio wins Architect Magazine Sloan Award. http://capla.arizona.edu/awards/dickinsons-capstone-studio-wins-sloan-award?utm_source=CAPLA+Connections+-+September+26%2C+18&utm_campaign=September+26%2C+18+Connections&utm_medium=email

2018 AIA Awards

Arizona

Aletheia Ida, Assistant Professor, Research Design Award entitled, “Symbiotic Matter”.

Oscar Lopez of Space Bureau, Associate AIA, Lecturer, Associates Award and Interior Architecture Award for Anello in Tucson, AZ

Dan Hoffman, AIA, Professor of Practice, Educator of the Year Award

Dust partners Jesus Robles Assistant Professor of Practice, and Cade Hayes, former Lecturer, Component Design Award

Western Mountain Region

Oscar Lopez of Space Bureau, Associate AIA, Lecturer, Design Excellence Award for Local Nomad in Phoenix, AZ and Anello in Tucson, AZ

Southern Arizona

Oscar Lopez of Space Bureau, Associate AIA, Lecturer, Interior Architecture Award for Anello in Tucson, AZ

Illinois Institute of Technology

/in /by


Michelangelo Sabatino has been appointed as Rowe Family Dean of the College of Architecture.
Sabatino is an architect, historian, and preservationist whose interdisciplinary research and teaching speaks to the intersection between design, culture, and technology in the built and natural environment. Sabatino earned a professional degree in architecture at the Universita’ Iuav di Venezia and a doctorate in art and architectural history at the University of Toronto. He pursued a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University and has received several other fellowships, the most recent from The Newberry Library in Chicago. Sabatino taught at Yale University and the University of Houston before his appointment to Illinois Tech as professor and director of the PhD Program in Architecture. Sabatino’s newest book, Canada-Modern Architectures in History (2016), was co-authored with Rhodri Windsor-Liscombe.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

/in /by

College of Architecture Students Work with UNMC and MMI on Facility Design Concepts

Nothing is more exciting to a design student than the possibility of their designs actually being used in real-world situations. The work of UNL interior design and architecture students this past semester has set the groundwork for a new facility at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).

When College of Architecture Instructor Sheila Elijah-Barnwell had heard that UNMC was considering a new facility for Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI), a healthcare facility that focuses on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, she jumped at the opportunity. She approached Dr. Wayne Stuberg, Professor and Interim Director of MMI, and Ron Schaefer, Interim Executive Director, Facilities Planning & Construction, with a proposal to involve her students in selecting a site and developing design concepts.

MMI welcomed the idea; in fact, a new facility had been on their radar for several years as part of their strategic campus plan and the idea of involving College of Architecture students in their strategic campus plan seemed like a great idea.

“Since we are part of the training institution of Nebraska, this was an ideal way to have UNMC collaborate with UNL on a project that would benefit the students as well as the families we serve,” said Dr. Stuberg.

“The facility is quite outdated, having first been built in the 50s and having been added on to twice,” commented Dr. Stuberg.

The College of Architecture and its students were equally excited, but they had their work cut out for them. This wasn’t just a weeklong project for these students. They spent a great portion of their semester researching multiple subjects related to this project even before developing design proposals.

In the beginning the students got to know MMI, who MMI was, what services they provided and who their clients were.

Next, students worked on site selection. They analyzed the UNMC campus and presented site proposals to the MMI administrators. Feedback from the MMI team was crucial to the students as they developed their preliminary designs further.

“Since we are multi-faceted in what we do, it was important for the students to understand how we should best be position within the new building,” Dr. Stuberg commented. “From these conversations, the students gained an understanding regarding the relationships between the departments and how to strategically locate those areas that shared clients or education and research interests.”

MMI met with the students again to go over their preliminary plans. 
“We had some key requirements to be carried through for all conceptual plans such as a central reception area,” Dr. Stuberg said.

A centralized location would allow for multi-disciplinary evaluations and reduce the need for the client to move from one departmental area to the next.

The culmination of the entire process came at last in early December when the twelve teams presented their final proposals to the MMI administrators and directors. MMI representatives were impressed by the teams’ creativity and said they had come a long way during this process.

“They needed to understand the needs of a complex population including the clinicians, staff members, researchers, students, clients and client families,” Elijah-Barnwell explained. “They did a great job of processing all those needs and client requirements and created some -thoughtful design proposals.”

“We hit the ground running with our research,” explained Luke Abkes, fifth-year master of architecture student. Abkes said even before he put pen to paper, he did hours of research on the client and the Institution.

MMI was the ideal partner according to the faculty and students.

“MMI was great with communicating their ideas and giving us feedback; they were very generous with their time,” Abkes added. “MMI was as invested in this project as we were which created a mutual excitement for everything that was going on.”

The students appreciated input from outside of the classroom for a different perspective and experience.
“We were excited to finally have a real client and a real building that we were working on and they were excited because they were getting all of these brand new ideas from students who were thinking outside of the box, where as an architect, that they hire in the future, might be a little more bound by budget,” Abkes added.

Interior Design Instructor Stacy Spale thought having a real “client” pushed the students to excel. “The students did great with the client experience. I think the students always care more when it’s a real client, and it has real potential. In five or six years, some of the ideas our students presented might end up in the real new Munroe-Meyer Institute. That’s really exciting and inspiring. It gave them a since of purpose and direction. It’s not just an academic exercise, it has the potential to really change things.”

The average visitor might not understand the level of planning that goes into designing a building and all the considerations that are taken into account. However, these student teams thought of everything down to every material they chose and the reason for it. For example, they chose clear glass in areas where light can inspire people and open up a space and translucent or opaque glass in other areas where privacy was important.

Ashley Wojtalewicz, fourth-year interior design student and Luke Abkes’ interdisciplinary project partner, said the interior design students were assigned to detail out the recreational therapy area and the main lobby space. Both the architectural and the interior design students placed a great amount of consideration into the needs of MMI’s disabled patient population.

“With our material choices, the concept doesn’t really feel clinical at all but yet it still supports clinical activities, and that’s what we were going for as a team, we didn’t want the clients to feel like they were in an institution,” Wojtalewicz added.

Material choices were important to Wojtalewicz for user comfort. For example, many interior designers chose carpet in appropriate spaces not only for comfort but also the acoustics in the room.

Interior design finish materiality was also useful to guide the user through the facility in an intuitive, seamless way, also known as “wayfinding,” which was a common theme woven into many of the student proposals.

“Using materiality, there are different ways that we can give visual cues to the patient; so if they can’t read, they still know where to go,” commented Wojtalewicz. Wayfinding is spatial problem-solving using landmarks or visual cues. The interior design students used their material selections to intuitively lead patients through the building. In one proposal, all blue lines on the floor lead to the front desk and all red lines lead to physical therapy, etc. In another proposal, all the levels of the building have different wall colors to assist the visitor with wayfinding.

Both Wojtalewicz and Abkes, said their instructors were key contributors to the project’s success.

“My instructor, Stacy Spale, has given us really great feedback as we moved through the process,” commented Wojtalewicz. “She has a great deal of background in healthcare design.”

Abkes concurred and added, “My instructor Sheila is actually an adjunct professor who also works at HDR. She’s very well connected with a lot of the healthcare industry around Omaha. She was able to bring in real-world experience.”

From MMI’s standpoint, “It’s a win-win situation,” Dr. Stuberg said.

The students presented themselves and their ideas well and were very professional through the whole project. Dr. Stuberg admitted at times, the students would bring up ideas that MMI hadn’t even thought of yet. Dr. Stuberg said he can see components of the student designs being incorporated into the final facility. He added that their designs and research will definitely be part of the foundational document they give the contracted architectural firm.

When asked if he would partner with the College of Architecture again given a similar opportunity, Dr. Stuberg responded, “I would do this again in a heartbeat!”

University of Oklahoma

/in /by

University of Oklahoma Division of Architecture: October 2014

DesignIntelligence (DI) Magazine has named Director and Professor and Director Hans Butzer, AIA and Assistant Professor and Associate Director of Student Development Dr. Stephanie Pilat as two of DesignIntelligence’s 30 Most Admired Educators for 2015. 

In association with the Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture, Assistant Professor Dr. Catherine Barrett, AIA chaired the 2014 Creating_Making Forum, November 5-7. Sessions, keynote speakers, and student workshops built upon discourse introduced at the inaugural 2010 Creating_Making Forum. Featured speakers included E.B. Min, principal at Min|Day, and Kristen Murray, principal at Olson Kundig Architects. Both Min and Murray collaborated with select students in 1-1/2 day workshops that generated ideas for art installations within downtown Norman’s Main Street.

 

Associate Professor David Boeck, AIA is leading a 4th year studio class to New Orleans this semester to explore the Claiborne Avenue site related to the 2015 NOMA Student Competition. The project allows Architecture and Interior Design students to collaborate with OU’s NOMAS chapter. The 3rd year Interior Design students are designing a restaurant within the complex.

Professor and Director of The Center for Middle Eastern Architecture and Culture Dr. Khosrow Bozorgi recently returned from a sabbatical in the Middle East where he visited, surveyed, and documented 27 architectural sites of various historical nature and size particular to Iranian desert architecture. He is currently working with professional filmmakers in Oklahoma City and New York to assemble and edit hundreds of hours of video into three documentaries focused on courtyard architecture, historical wind catchers, and ancient technology to bring subterranean water to remote locations. For more information about CMEAC, vist: http://www.ou.edu/content/architecture/centers/CMEAC.html

Professor and Director Hans Butzer, AIA, through his practice Butzer Gardner Architects, recently received an Honor Award from AIA Central States Region and an Honor Award AIA Central Oklahoma chapter for the “SLIVR” Building.

Associate Professor and Associate Director of Student Development Marjorie P. Callahan, AIA recently authored Teaching Leadership Skills: “Practice” Coursework in Architecture Education Program in the Journal of Social Sciences Collection. Marjorie was also an invited Conference Facilitator on Leadership Issues at the recent State of Oklahoma Women in Higher Education Conference. She also collaborated with Professor Debra Reisweber on the 2014 published book Sooner State of Mind: Forging Leadership Legacies North of the Red River.

Associate Professor and Associate Director of Curriculum Development Anthony Cricchio, RA and Associate Professor Lee Fithian, AIA helped lead OU’s 2nd annual C5 Capstone Collaborative Competition. Ten interdisciplinary teams, consisting of senior Architecture, Interior Design, and CNS students partnered with JE Dunn Construction and architectural firm ADG. The two-week competition focused on an urban infill rehabilitation scenario in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown. Through the use of BIM and other collaborative technologies, students presented comprehensive and interior concepts along with cost estimates and schedules for the client group.

Director of Small Town Studios Associate Professor and Director of Small Town Studios Ron Frantz, AIA collaborated with the CoA’s Division of Regional and City Planning to host the recent American Planning Association (APA) Oklahoma Chapter Conference. Ron was also a guest speaker in OU’s recent inaugural Placemaking Academy.

Long time DivA supporter and award winning architect John Ward, AIA, principal at TAP Architecture in Oklahoma City, recently joined the faculty as a Professor of Practice.

Associate Professor Jay Yowell, AIA has been working with Hornbeek Blatt Architects on the 21c Museum Hotel in Oklahoma City. New York-based Deborah Berke & Partners are the design architects. The project is an adaptive reuse project transforming the historic Fred Jones building into a boutique hotel that will showcase permanent and rotating artwork.

Additional news includes:

Architecture, Urban Design, and Landscape students are collaborating on a design competition to re-imagine a section of historic Route 66 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Design teams are challenged to change perceptions of the stretch of road by redesigning the streetscape and cultural experience. Teams are also developing new ideas for signage along Route 66 which draw from the legacy of the legendary road’s neon signs. Led by Director of Urban Design Shawn Schaefer and Director of Regional and City Planning Dr. Dawn Jourdan, the faculty team includes Assistant Professor Dr. Stephanie Pilat, Assistant Professor Scott Williams, and Associate Professor Jay Yowell, AIA. The project has been supported by a $10,000 grant from the Signage Foundation, Inc. Each student on the winning team will be awarded a travel grant to support a Spring 2015 trip to Chicago.

Jerri Hodges Bonebrake, Bruce Goff’s long-time assistant, sadly passed away late 2014. The CoA’s Jerri Hodges Bonebrake award will continue to recognize outstanding staff. A newly developed student scholarship in her name is being developed to reward outstanding creative students.

We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. ACSA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.

OKLearn more
WordPress Ads