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University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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Steffen Lehmann Named New Director of UNLV School of Architecture


A renowned architectural educator, Lehmann comes to UNLV from the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom.

Nancy J. Uscher, dean of UNLV’s College of Fine Arts, is pleased to welcome architectural designer, educator, researcher, and writer Steffen Lehmann as director of the School of Architecture and professor of architecture. Previously, he served as a professor for sustainable architecture as well as director of the Cluster for Sustainable Cities at the University of Portsmouth.

Born in Stuttgart, West Germany, Lehmann was educated at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and the Technical University of Berlin. Prior to the UK, Lehmann served for 13 years as full professor at leading universities in Australia, where he held a range of senior leadership roles, including as head of school, and leading teams of more than 100 academic faculty. He is the author of 19 books and numerous publications on sustainable architecture and future cities. In 2008, he was appointed a UNESCO chair for sustainable urban development in the Asia-Pacific region.

The founder of Steffen Lehmann Architekten Berlin, he has been teaching advanced design studios at leading universities in six countries since 1991. He became a licensed architect in Berlin in 1993, and in the 1990s was actively involved in the creation of the “New Berlin,” where he was responsible for a number of key buildings in the city center.

“At the School of Architecture, our people are our biggest asset, and I see it as an immense privilege to lead this team,” Lehmann said. “SoA will focus on setting a clear and successful vision for the school’s future aligned with university and college strategies, making the School of Architecture a great place to study and work.”

“The main goal over the next three years for the School of Architecture will be to continue its clear focus on the student experience and teaching excellence to enrich the learning experience,” he continued. “At the same time, we also want to advance research and impact through the development of a strong and supportive research culture to maximize our influential outputs and our positive impact in society.  And, last but not least, growing the school’s internationalization to become recognized internationally as a leader in relevant architectural education in a desert context, providing great opportunities for entrepreneurship and more international students to join. I believe we can capitalize on our unique geographical location. I look forward to working with everyone across all three of the brilliant disciplines in the school.”

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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Professor Earns Emerging Voices Award

There are certain professional accolades that are more coveted than others. The Emerging Voices award from the Architectural League New York annually recognizes rising stars in architecture and design and is highly sought after.  This year’s 2016 Emerging Voices award was given to eight firms including Min | Day and its principals E.B. Min and UNL Architecture Program Director and Professor Jeffery. L. Day.

Min | Day now joins the peerage of others who have earn this prestigious award that has been in existence for over 30 years, firms such as ArandaLasch, David Benjamin / The Living, Neri Oxman, SO – IL, Dlandstudio, el dorado, WORKac, Olson Kundig Architects, Office dA, SHoP Architects, Asymptote Architecture, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Marlon Blackwell Architect, Vincent James Associates, WEISS/MANFREDI, Allied Works, Stan Allen Architect, Morphosis, Steven Holl Architects to name a few. 

This award not only recognizes the architectural work of Day and Min through their practice Min | Day but also College of Architecture FACT (Fabrication And Construction Team) students and designs from their furniture company, mdMOD.

Since the Emerging Voices was awarded through a nomination process, that made the honor even more important to Day.

“Only eight offices were recognized for this award and the fact that it’s a nominated award makes it even more satisfying,” Day explained. “This is a big milestone for us, and it’s an award that is only achieved once in a career. It’s a wonderful accomplishment for our firm.”

Min | Day was established in 2003. The partnership emerged from a friendship that began in graduate school at UC Berkeley. After graduation they started collaborating on projects and competitions. Over the years, their partnership evolved, and it was eventually formalized in 2003 when Day relocated to Omaha. Simultaneously, Day started the FACT student design-build program at UNL which is an allied student practice. FACT frequently collaborates with the firm, giving students real-life experiences with creative clients.

Min | Day currently as two locations, one in San Francisco, California, the other in Omaha, Nebraska. Between the two places, they have a full-time staff of 6 people not including the average 15 FACT students working on collaborations.

“A big part of who we are is the fact we have two sites,” commented Day. “It is not common for a firm of our size to have that, but we turned it into an advantage. We founded Min | Day with the belief that establishing offices in these two cities would yield a perspective that transcends the limitations of regional specificity. Our office combines design-research, academic engagement, commissioned work, furniture design, and student design-build projects to create highly refined yet often imprecise and flexible designs that reflect our unusual structure.”

This environment has fostered a design approach that was given Min | Day its unique and emerging voice.

“We promote an approach to flexibility not as the absence of form but as the presence of unique and carefully considered infrastructure, affording individuals the power to manipulate their own environment while simultaneously instilling a distinct personality derived from our design process,” Day said.

He explains they want their work to participate in a culture and help create a culture, not represent a culture in a mode of a disconnected artist or critic.

“If anything is constant, it’s that our designs are always evolving. Every project is different and unique.”

Over the years, Min and Day’s working relationship has transitioned, meliorated and eventually turned into a synergy that’s hard to replicate.

“I think we are a good design partnership, and we have a similar design sensibility but enough difference that the work is dynamic and constantly evolving,” Day commented. “We challenge each other. We are not always in full agreement, and I think that is what takes our work to a higher level.”

When not working at the firm, Day divides his time with the University of Nebraska and Min lectures part-time at the California College of the Arts.

The Emerging Voices award is not only a great accolade for their firm but also for the universities they work with.

“It shows that the practicing faculty are engaged in their field at a high level and are receiving national and international recognition for their work,” Day commented. “It translates into school pride and more students seeking to be a part of a college that affords them the opportunities and recognition that the College of Architecture and FACT provide.”

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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David Baird, Professor and Director of the UNLV School of Architecture, recently announced that he will step down as Director and return to the faculty starting January 1st, 2016. Over the past 6 years Baird’s administrative accomplishments have been numerous, including the development of a design-construction initiative responsible for placing 2nd in the 2013 Solar Decathlon Competition. The design-build studio is currently designing and constructing modular facilities for the Nevada State Parks. Baird will return to teaching—having more time to devote to his scholarship, artwork, and award winning design + construction firm. 

Yestermorrow Design Build School

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Contact: Kate Stephenson

Executive Director, Yestermorrow Design/Build School

802.496.5545

kate@yestermorrow.org

 

Eric Cook Joins Yestermorrow as Semester Program Director

 

Waitsfield, VT., August 29, 2013—Yestermorrow Design/Build School recently announced the hire of Eric Cook as its Semester Program Director. Mr. Cook will lead the school’s Semester in Sustainable Design/Build, both as teaching faculty and program director. He recently moved to Waitsfield, VT from Salt Lake City, where he ran his own design/build firm, Eric Cook Design/Build, and was partner and project manager of the firm RenovateSALTLAKE.

 

A 2006 graduate of the University of Utah’s Master of Architecture program, Eric also holds a MA in Mathematics from the University of Utah and a BA in Mathematics and Russian from Colby College. In his former role as Project Coordinator for DesignBuildBLUFF, Mr. Cook supported graduate architecture students in designing and building sustainable homes on the Navajo reservation in Bluff, Utah.

 

In directing Yestermorrow’s Semester in Sustainable Design/Build for college students, Eric leads students as they translate theory into practice, ultimately building an architecturally innovative high-performance shelter that they collaboratively design. The Semester in Sustainable Design/Build is based in Montpelier, VT and is offered in partnership with UMass Amherst’s Architecture+Design program.

 

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Yestermorrow Design/Build School was founded in 1980 on the belief that the best built environment depends on the joint cooperation of designers, builders, and homeowners.  The school empowers people to express their values and lifestyle through an integrated design/build process, and to foster a self-awareness that reconnects people to their communities, their natural environment, and to each other.  Yestermorrow’s hands-on workshops, certificate programs, and semester programs are taught by nationally recognized architects, builders, and craftspeople. Classes are for people of all ages and experience levels, from novice to professional.  Learn more at www.yestermorrow.org or call 888-496-5541.

2015 ACSA Gulf Director Board Candidates

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The initial Gulf Regional Director Election (January 2015) was disqualified due to an ineligible candidate. ACSA regrets this error and have taking steps with the Gulf Nominations Committee to conduct a new election. Following is the information and candidates for regional vote in the 2015 ACSA Gulf Regional Director (April/May 2015).

Online Voting
Below is information on the 2015 ACSA Gulf Election, including candidate information. Official ballots were emailed to all full-member ACSA schools’ Faculty Councilors, who are the the voting representatives. Faculty Councilors must complete the online ballot by close of business, May 11, 2015.

2015 ACSA Regional Director Candidates
The Regional Director will serve on the Board for a three-year term, beginning on July 1, 2015. Regional Directors serve as leaders of their regional constituent associations and chair meetings of their respective regional councils. They maintain regional records and have responsibility for the fiscal affairs of the constituent associations, and are accountable to their regional council for these funds. They provide assistance to regional schools and organizations applying for institutional membership. They prepare annual reports of regional activities for publication in the Association’s Annual Report. They participate in the nomination and election of their respective succeeding regional directors; and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the board, Regional Directors also sit on the ACSA board and are required to attend up to three board meetings a year. The links below include campaign statements written by each candidate and short curriculum vitae.

 

2015 GULF DIRECTOR CANDIDATES

           
Francis Elliot Lyn
Florida Atlantic University
                 
Scott L. Ruff
Tulane University


ACSA Election Process
ACSA Bylaws, Article IX, Section 3: Election Process: “Elections shall be held in accordance with the Rules of the Board of Directors. Faculty Councilors of member schools shall be responsible for encouraging colleagues to express their views regarding candidates for Association elections, and shall submit the vote of the member school they represent on behalf of all members of the faculty. The Association shall announce the results of elections and appointments as soon as feasible, consistent with the Rules of the Board of Directors”.

The Faculty Councilor from each ACSA full-member school is the voting representative. Faculty Councilors must complete the online ballot by close of business, May 11, 2015.

 

2015 ACSA Gulf Region Board Election Timeline

April 10, 2015 Online ballots emails to all Gulf Region Full-member Schools, Faculty Councilors
May 11, 2015 Deadline for receipt of online completed ballots
May 15, 2015 Gulf Regional Director (2015-2018) announced

The Faculty Councilor from each ACSA full-member school is the voting representative and must completed the online ballot by close of business, May 11, 2015.  


Contact
Eric Ellis, ACSA Director of Operations and Programs
phone: 202.785.2324
email: eellis@acsa-arch.org

Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico

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Professor Beatriz del Cueto became the first Puerto Rican woman and the second person on the island to receive the Rome Prize Award for 2011 in the category of Architectural Preservation and Conservation. The prize includes a scholarship for a period of six (6) months to two (2) years at the academy in Rome.

Professor Andres Mignucci FAIA has been named Visiting Scholar and Maxfield Lecturer 2011-2012 at the School of Architecture at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Mignucci recently published his book Jesus Eduardo Amaral Architect, a monograph on one of Puerto Rico’s leading modern architects and founder of the School of Architecture at the University of Puerto Rico.

Professor Smyrna Mauras Modesti has joined the faculty this Fall and is the Coordinator of the Interior Design Program.

Professors Yara Maite Colon, Sotirios Kotoulas, Claudia Rosa Lopez, Maria Isabel Oliver, and Nelly Toledo have joined the faculty this Fall. Prof. Colon holds a Ph.D. in History and Theory of Architecture from the Escuela Tecnica Superior d’ Arquitectura de Barcelona; Prof. Kotoulas holds a Masters in Architecture and History and Theory of Architecture from Mc Gill University in Canada; Prof. Claudia Rosa Lopez holds a Master of Fine Arts and Design from Savannah College of Art and Design; Prof. Oliver holds a Masters in Architecture from Columbia University and has taught at the City College of New York, Parsons School of Design, the Cooper Union and the University of Puerto Rico. Prof. Toledo will be conducting the course on Industrial Design. 

Professor Yara Maite Colon was invited to participate on the VII International Congress of Modern History of Architecture in Spain. Colon’s lecture ‘Los principios de Cuadernos de Arquitectura (1944-1950): convicciones entre lineas durante la posguerra’ will be part of the conference regarding the propaganda and manifestos of journals between 1900-1975.

Professor Javier Santiago lectured at the University of Puerto Rico, Recinto de Carolina, on the topics of Interior Design and Social Responsibility, and on a research focused on the quality of life of young Puerto Rican homosexuals. He was awarded a Bronze Award Nude/Body Category fro the 2011 Single Image Contest, Color Photography Magazine.  His photographic work was included in Professor Miguel Rodriguez Casellas article Puertorricanism or living in the surface, published in the Harvard Design Magazine.

Professor Yazmin Crespo was a speaker at the Federation of Caribbean Architecture Association Conference in Ponce.

Professor Francisco de la Cruz was awarded Third Place for the photographic work Art and City at the 2010-2011 Puerto Rico Design Exchange Competition.

Dean Carlos Betancourt has invited professors Yazmin Crespo, Heather Crichfield, Andres Mignucci, Maria Isabel Oliver (coordinator), and Maricelis Ramos, to participate in the new editorial board of the next issue of the Politecnica School of Architecture journal Polimorfo. Former editor Oscar Oliver Didier will be the new editor of the Colegio de Arquitectos y Arquitectos Paisajistas de Puerto Rico journal Entorno, and former editor Marcelo Lopez Dinardi is conducting graduate studies at Columbia University. 

Tulane University

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Maurice Cox, a nationally respected community designer and leader of the public interest design movement, has been named director of the Tulane City Center as well as the new Associate Dean for Community Engagement at the Tulane University School of Architecture in New Orleans. In his new roles, Cox will oversee a wide range of initiatives with Tulane architecture faculty and students throughout the New Orleans community. “I’m arriving at Tulane during a fascinating time in the history of the school of architecture and this city,” said Cox. “New Orleans is in the process of realizing its aspiration to lead the nation in democratic practices of design.”

At Tulane, Cox will be working with the highly successful programs of the Tulane City Center, URBANbuild, the Tulane Regional Urban Design Center, the preservation program and the school’s new Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development program, all which are community outreach design initiatives of the university.

Tulane University

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The Tulane School of Architecture is pleased to announce the appointment of Christopher Calott, AIA as the Director of the Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development Program. Professor Calott will guide the program as it enters its third year, following its highly successful launch under the direction of Alexandra (Sandi) Stroud, AIA. He brings an unusual combination of excellence in his creative work as an architect and urban designer, dedication as a teacher at a number of institutions, and success as a real estate developer and entrepreneur. We are delighted that he is joining an already strong faculty at the Tulane School of Architecture teaching in the exciting area of “regenerative development.” The values associated with sustainability are central to the program’s mission, and Calott will add significant expertise in a number of areas as we develop the skills of the next generation of leaders in this dynamic and growing field.

Christopher Calott is an architect, urban designer, and real estate developer, most recently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His architectural firm, CALOTT + GIFFORD Architecture / Urban Design and his closely connected real estate development firm, INFILL SOLUTIONS: Innovative Urban Design and Development, have produced numerous projects that create urban design solutions and employ dense urban-building typologies using modern forms in mixed-use urban infill developments, and affordable housing in the Southwest. He has pursued significant research in the areas of urbanism, housing, and community-based design practices through published investigations tied to teaching appointments at numerous universities throughout the United States, Mexico, and Latin America. 

 In 2011, Fast Company magazine recognized CALOTT + GIFFORD’s award-winning design practice as one of the “50 brilliant urbanites helping to build the cities of American’s future.” By working as both the architect and developer, his practice has challenged conventional zoning, financing strategies, and modes of development. His innovative work has involved the introduction of new housing types, dense “infill” subdivisions, transit-oriented development, community supported agriculture, vibrant public plazas, and public art to his projects. Calott’s longstanding work and research on informal urbanization patterns and his commitment to design excellence has influenced non-profit affordable housing and publicly financed urban design projects involved with local populations in the Southwest. 

In 2011-2012, Calott received the prestigious Loeb Fellowship at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. He spent the year in residence investigating affordable housing delivery mechanisms, urban design theories, Landscape Urbanism, and Green Infrastructure design strategies, topics that coincided with the work he has pursued throughout his professional and academic career.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (with Honors) in Urban Theory and Design from Brown University, and also studied at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York and the Rhode Island School of Design. He received his Master of Architecture degree from Princeton University. 

In coming to Tulane and the MSRED program, Calott notes that, “Tulane’s MSRED Program is well integrated within the School of Architecture with significant recognition of the critical role that design plays in the development process of a sustainable urban future. The opportunity of living, learning and working on innovative development practices within the vibrant, resilient community of New Orleans at this powerful time is truly unique, an extraordinary experience I am looking forward to with students and faculty colleagues at Tulane.” Calott is uniquely qualified to join the Tulane School of Architecture faculty and students in connecting architecture, real estate development, and preservation in addressing issues of crucial importance to the future development of our nation’s cities. He believes, “that cities are our most sustainable resource, and hold the key to our social, economic, and culturally equitable future, as well as our planet’s environmental protection. Cities also sustain our cultures, as they are our most beautiful and important works of art.” Calott will begin his work with the MSRED program in July.

University of New Mexico

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Geoffrey C. Adams, Associate Professor, has been appointed the new Director of the Architecture Program in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico.  He succeeds Mark C. Childs, Professor, in this position.

Matthew Gines, Lecturer and Director of the Fabrication Lab, launched CRAF+T: The Center for Research in Advanced Fabrication and Technology. The Center’s research focuses on four areas; digital fabrication, building technology + practices, generative design, and enhanced computational processes.

James and Claudia Horn, Lecturers, led the Global Studio, with the recipient of this year’s Marjorie Mead Hooker Visiting Professorship, Will Bruder.  13 students participated in this intensive summer studio program.

Geraldine Forbes-Isais, Professor and Dean,  and Michaele Pride, Professor and Associate Dean for Public Outreach + Engagement, are planning for The Public Interest Design Institute® to provide training to architecture and other design professionals in public interest design with in-depth studies on methods of design related to critical issues faced by communities, September 2011. 

Prof. Pride and Lecturer Garrett Smith, instructed and guided the summer travel program to Switzerland and Italy. 

Noreen Richards has been appointed visiting assistant professor. She is actively creating connections between the architecture program and the University’s Sustainable Studies Program.

Roger Schluntz, professor and former dean at the University of New Mexico, was elected as the President Elect of the organization; he will then serve a two-year term as President effective 2013.

Kristina H. Yu, Assistant Professor, has presented at the conference, Suburbs and the 2010 Census, at George Mason University, School of Policy, two working papers.  She participated in the National Housing Conference: Solutions for Sustainable Communities.  These presentations and participation are related to her ongoing research and new seminar course titled ‘where is housing now?’.

The American Institute of Architects Students chapter on October 27-30, 2011 will host the regional West Quad Conference. The conference is titled, DEP: Dialogue Evolving Process. The conference questions, “How are architects evolving the standardization of the built environment?” Several workshops, tours and structured discussions and development curriculum are planned. The Keynote speakers are John Padilla (Vice-President AIA National), Eddie and Neal Jones (Jones Studio Inc) and Tom Wiscombe (Emergent Architecture).

University of Oklahoma

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A dream course team of Architecture and Interior Design students from the College of Architecture and Visual Communications students from the School of Art and History presented their ideas for a new development in Norman. The semester long project focused on creating easier movement between the University of Oklahoma campus and the city of Norman, which the campus calls home. The dream course was led by Associate Professor of Architecture Hans Butzer, Assistant Professor of Interior Design Janet Biddick, and Assistant Director of Undergraduate Programs at the School of Art and Art History Karen Hayes-Thumann. Read more. 

Meagan Vandecar, a student in OU’s Urban Design studio in Tulsa, is working with the Institute for Quality Communities and Urban Design Studio Director Shawn Schaefer to improve rural communities in Oklahoma. Learn more on her student blog.

A student team in the Division of Landscape Architecture, led by Associate Professor Dr. Reid Coffman, was recognized as a finalist in the International Waterworks Parkitecture Design Competition. See their project.

Inspired by Oklahoma’s own scissor tail, the SkyDance Bridge designed by a collaborative team co-directed by Associate Professor of Architecture Hans Butzer is beginning to take shape in downtown Oklahoma City. See photo below.

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