Renowned landscape architect and planner Drew Wensley has been appointed a visiting professor of practice in the University of Tennessee, College of Architecture and Design.
Wensley is chief executive officer of Canada-based Moriyama & Teshima, a globally recognized planning and landscape architecture firm. He will visit the College of Architecture and Design numerous times a semester, and work remotely with faculty and students on various projects.
“Drew is a great addition to the Landscape Architecture Program for several reasons, not the least of which is his firm’s global reach,” said Gale Fulton, chair of the UT Landscape Architecture program. “His wide range of professional experiences, including large-scale planning projects and exquisitely detailed built works from South America to the Middle East, will add a new dimension to the local and regional work in which our faculty and students are currently engaged.”
UT professor of practice positions are set up so faculty can provide detailed hands-on education in specific areas. There are about twelve such positions across various UT colleges. Wensley will relay his experiences and his professional practice activities through topics taught in the Landscape Architecture Program’s design studios.
Wensley has contributed to some of the largest and most significant city building and environmental restoration initiatives in the Middle East, Asia, and North America. In 2001, he started the vision and implementation of the Wadi Hanifah Comprehensive Development Plan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a bio-renewal effort producing a 120-kilometer-long oasis with forty-two kilometers of recreational trails, three lakes, six parks, and nearly 40,000 trees.
The project marked a shift in how environmental systems and natural resources are treated and preserved and their importance in building strong sustainable cities in the future. As a result, Wensley presented the plan to the Council for Sustainable Development and Delegates at the United Nations in New York as a leading example of sustainable urban renewal.
Wensley’s consulting work with Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM), a leading urban planning, architecture, and engineering firm, on urban planning initiatives around the world led to his involvement with Philip Enquist, the UT Governor’s Chair for High Performance Energy Practices in Urban Environments. Wensley is a contributing partner in the Governor’s Chair’s collaboration between SOM, UT, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to research and create solutions for resilient cities.
“Developing more resilient cities requires this highly integrated partnership among numerous disciplines, and I am excited that UT is becoming a hub for this type of research and practice,” Fulton said. “Graduates of our program will benefit greatly in their future careers as a result of these opportunities and experiences.”
As a leader at Moriyama & Teshima, Wensley has contributed to more than $1.2 billion of construction internationally. Projects include the new campus plan for Kuwait University, a new home for 40,000 students, and the Comprehensive Environmental Plan for the city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia. In Canada, projects include Calgary’s East Village Riverwalk, the Lakehead University Campus Plan, the Havergal College Campus Plan, the Canadian War Museum, and ongoing work with His Highness the Aga Khan in Toronto and Ottawa.
Wensley is a graduate of Ryerson University in Canada. His design drawings are housed at the Ontario Archives in Toronto and were recently exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen, Denmark. For more information about Wensley, visit the faculty profile pageof the UT Landscape Architecture Program website.
In the five years since a massive earthquake rocked the island nation of Haiti, UT faculty and students have helped the country’s rebuilding efforts by designing a secondary school, housing, and a clinic that are now in various stages of construction.
Next up: the design of preschools to address the education needs of the country’s youngest citizens.
“Since 2010, UT’s Haiti projects have given students hands-on experience in creating designs for real spaces and real people that bring about change,” said Ali Alsaleh, a fifth-year architecture major who took part in a fall 2014 Haiti studio class. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the earthquake.
“In architecture and design studios, our clients are usually hypothetical,” said Alsaleh, who helped design one of the preschools that will be built.
He traveled to Haiti in the fall with a UT team to learn more about the country and its needs.
“Our involvement in Haiti has actually had real outcomes. We got to speak to the actual people who will be using our buildings. It made me realize that architecture can help rebuild a community and refocused my passion for architecture as a humanitarian field.”
The UT Haiti Project, led by the College of Architecture and Design and a collaboration between various UT programs, has made students more sensitive to cross-cultural differences, how to respond to the needs of others, and how to work well across disciplines, said Architecture Professor John McRae, who helped launch the project.
“That’s important in their overall professional development,” he said.
UT has partnered with the Haiti Development Fund and its executive director, Jean Thomas, on all its projects. The organization pays for the construction of the buildings, and members of the UT Haiti Project provide some oversight, McRae said.
Knoxville nonprofit HaitiServe helped defray the cost of travel for UT faculty and students.
A look at the UT-designed Haiti projects and their status:
L’Exode Secondary School: UT faculty and students in spring 2011 designed a three-phase school master plan, which will serve students in grades seven to twelve. The first phase of construction— five first-story classrooms, restrooms, and the cafeteria-meeting hall—was completed in 2012, and the school welcomed its first students that fall. The school is in Fond-des-Blancs, seventy miles outside the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.
This month, construction begins on the second phase of the school—an outdoor athletic stadium. The school will eventually include more classrooms, a library and dormitories. It currently has 100 students and will eventually serve up to 500 children.
Housing: In spring 2012, the UT Haiti Project designed fourteen houses for the Fond-des-Blancs community. So far, one has been constructed. The home currently houses participants of the Caleb Fellows Program, which trains young men and then sends them out into the community to provide leadership and be catalysts for change.
Medical clinic: In spring 2013, the College of Architecture and Design, in partnership with the College of Nursing, US organization Friends of Fort Liberte, and Knoxville architect Chris King, designed an addition and the complete overhaul of a medical clinic in Fort Liberte, a community about eleven miles from the Dominican Republic border. Funds are currently being raised for the work.
New gate: In spring 2014, the Haiti Project designed a new steel gate for the L’Exode Secondary School. Local artist Preston Farabow built it, and he and McRae will go to Haiti in May to install it.
LIFEHouse guidebook: UT created the book to address the urgent need for adequate building standards in the country and emphasize the lesser-known relationship between housing design and disease prevention. The book will be translated into French, English, and Creole, and will showcase how Haitians can build secure and healthy homes using local materials and methods.
Preschools: In fall 2014, the Haiti studio designed a preschool for Fond-des-Blancs that will serve up to 450 youngsters. A group of architecture students and faculty, along with Robyn Brookshire, director of the UT Early Learning Center, traveled to Haiti to learn more about the country’s early childhood education system to help them come up with the design. Based on the work done in the fall 2014 studio, students in a fall 2015 studio course will design more preschools for rural Haitian communities.
Haiti disaster response master’s thesis: A master’s thesis project by Mallory Barga proposed new direction for rebuilding and transitional housing in the country. Barga’s project, which won the College of Architecture and Design’s top award in spring 2014, provided input for the work done in the Haiti studio in fall 2014. A copy was sent to the Haiti Development Fund.
“We’ve tried to capture the vision of what everyone hopes is a new Haiti,” McRae said.
Learn more about the Haiti Project on its website.
Mississippi State University’s School of Architecture and Building Construction Science Program, in cooperation with the Architecture and Construction Alliance (A+CA) announce the Integrated Project Delivery Theater. This interactive symposium is designed to introduce the exciting but complex world of Integrated Practice.
The two-day symposium features the project team responsible for the commission, design, and construction of the New Orleans Bio Innovation Center, a LEED Gold building. Featured presenters include Jose Alvarez, AIA, LEED AP, Project Architect and Principle with the 2014 AIA Firm of the Year Eskew+Dumez+Ripple; Kevin N. Overton, LEED AP BD+C, Senior Project Manager for Turner Construction Company; and Brian Bozeman, LEED AP, Executive Director ADAMS, (client’s representative) for the New Orleans Bio Innovation Center. Coupled with this dynamic project team, integrated practice educators Assistant Professor Michele M. Herrmann, Esq.; Assistant Professor Emily M. McGlohn, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP; and Associate Professor Hans C. Herrmann, AIA, NCARB, LEED Green Assoc. will offer an exceptional educational opportunity. The unique interactive theater-like presentation includes problem-based learning activities and illustrative visual and verbal presentations designed to generate synthetic comprehension of IPD. The A+CA, through its generous sponsorship, has enabled the MSU faculty to develop this special event. As a critical component to the symposium’s success, the A+CA and MSU School of Architecture and Building Construction Science Program invite students and faculty members from all programs of study engaged in Integrated Project Delivery to attend. The symposium will be held in Giles Hall on the MSU campus in charming Starkville, MS.
Symposium Date: January 29–30, 2015 Location: School of Architecture Giles Hall, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762 Local Accommodations: Hotel Chester, Downtown Starkville, MS
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students will host the largest architecture student conference of the year in Nashville this winter.
Architecture students from around the country will attend workshops and seminars led by professionals, lectures by world-renowned guests and networking events that will help them better prepare for the profession. AIAS is an independent nonprofit student-run organization dedicated to providing programs, information and resources on issues critical to architectural education. It has been in existence for six decades.
This is the first time the forum is being held in Tennessee.
“This year, AIAS Forum will put the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the city of Nashville in the spotlight,” said Breanna Weaver, forum conference chair and former UT AIAS chapter president. “I think it’s hard for us to mask our pride and enthusiasm as we prepare to present our school and the region to the rest of the architecture community. We’re making our mark on a tradition that has spanned almost 60 years.”
The 2014 theme is Reverb, a play on the spirit of the Music City. Selection to host the forum was competitive. It required a formal bid, a vote by AIAS members; financial backing from the home university; and a presentation to the AIAS’s National Board of Directors, the Council of Presidents and the AIAS general body at the 2012 forum.
The AIAS Forum will showcase the architectural side of Nashville and Tennessee through city walks, architecture firm visits and museum tours. It also will feature a New Year’s Eve Beaux Arts ball.
“UT students have been working on this for over two years, so we are more than ready to get people registered and let the fun begin,” Weaver said.
The conference also will mark the 10th anniversary of AIAS’s philanthropy, Freedom by Design, which provides accessibility solutions for community members with disabilities. All projects are completely designed, planned and constructed by AIAS members. The UT Freedom by Design chapter is one of the most widely regarded programs in the country and just completed its third major project this past spring.
More information about the AIAS Forum is available through at http://www.aiasforum2014.com or on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for “AIASForum2014.”
UT Architecture and Design Improving Facilities with $2.5M Dedicated to Updated Labs, New Building
The College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is improving its facilities over the next year through renovations and upgrades to the Art and Architecture Building and its newly acquired facility in downtown Knoxville.
A total of $2.5 million is being dedicated to mechanical upgrades, design lab equipment and state-of-the-art digital fabrication tools to create new collaborative environments throughout the Art and Architecture Building. It will feature study areas for students, lighting upgrades, updated restrooms, a redesigned Student Services Center, upgraded student breakout labs and state-of-the-art digital panel displays for group projects, as well as two new kitchenettes designed by students.
Advanced design laboratories, or studios, will feature 400 new student work stations to replace decades-old equipment. Each student will have a work space with a new desk, chair, storage system, lighting and computer monitors for design projects.
“Through our exceptional faculty and their nationally recognized work, our college is emerging as a leader in the areas of sustainability and urbanization,” said Scott Poole, dean of the college. “Our goal is to create the best teaching and learning environments for our students and faculty through new spaces and equipment on par with contemporary design practice. We want our students to be excited, inspired and proud of our facilities.”
The College of Architecture and Design is home to three disciplines—architecture, interior design and landscape architecture. This fall, the college will welcome its most diverse incoming class in recent years with students hailing from 12 states and five countries.
As part of the renovations, $250,000 of the total sum will go toward a new design laboratory for the incoming Governor’s Chair—a research team led by Phil Enquist from internationally recognized architecture, engineering and design firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP. Over five years, the team will investigate regenerative energy strategies and urban density through a joint appointment between UT and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The Governor’s Chair work will occur in the college’s recently acquired 20,000 square-foot fabrication facility and design studio at 525 N. Gay St., referred to as the Fab Lab. The facility will have more than $600,000 in new equipment, including computer-aided design and manufacturing machinery such as computer numerically controlled mills, laser cutters, 3D printers and robotics. High-performance metal fabrication materials including digital lathes and mills will complement the college’s existing wood shop equipment in the Art and Architecture Building.
“Our new facilities provide us with the capacity to realize projects that were beyond our reach in the past,” Poole said. “I am excited by the possibilities. We are convinced that our new facilities will enable our faculty and students to achieve new levels of excellence.”
The improvements are part of the changes that have occurred under the college’s new administration, which has been reshaped since 2011. Over the last three years, they have created an office for student services and advising, acquired new furniture and workspaces for students, improved staff work areas, created new spaces for the growing leadership and faculty, removed graffiti in the building and refurbished the building’s primary auditorium.
The college also has helped bring about a research partnership with furnisher Herman-Miller to create an advanced design studio lab for students and established a new gallery with storefront exhibits at the college’s 500 S. Gay Street Downtown Studio.
Jason Young has been named the new director of the School of Architecture of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He becomes acting director on August 1.
Young, a researcher specializing in contemporary conditions of American urbanism, brings over twenty years of teaching experience to the College of Architecture and Design. He comes to Knoxville from the University of Michigan, where he was an associate professor in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
“We are very excited by the appointment ofJason Young,” said Scott Poole, dean of the College of Architecture and Design. “He has a strong national reputation, and brings a breadth of experience from one of the top architecture programs in the country.”
In addition to teaching at Michigan, where he was named the Helmet F. Stern Professor by its Institute for Humanities, Young was, in fall 2013, the Howard A. Friedman Visiting Associate Professor of Practice at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior, he taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Schwerpunkt Holz in Murau, Austria, and Catholic University of America.
“I am excited for the opportunity to lead the School of Architecture into the future, taking the strong foundation established by dedicated students, faculty, and administrators as a starting point for advancement,” said Young. “In relationship to the larger context of the university and state, I look forward to making contributions to the intellectual environment at the university and advocating for architecture and design excellence in Tennessee.”
The UT School of Architecture is home to professionally-accredited undergraduate and graduate architecture programs. It is frequently cited as one of the best schools for architecture in the South, achieving national acclaim and research funding for such projects as its Living Light Solar House, Appalachia Project, Green Oak Project, and New Norris House, winner of numerous national awards including the prestigious ‘Top 10 Green Project’ from the American Institute of Architects Committee for the Environment in 2013.
“Director Young comes to our college at an exciting time in its history,” said Poole. “We recently established an unprecedented partnership between industry, research, and academia – the Governor’s Chair in Energy and Urbanism – with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and SOM, one of the largest and most respected design firms in the world. We also are kicking off the new year with $2M in facilities upgrades, including a new fabrication laboratory in the heart of downtown Knoxville.”
As a licensed builder in Michigan, Young is the founder ofYARD,a design and build practice with “a nice collection of built work with close attention to detail,” said Young. Before founding YARD, Young was co-founder and partner of WETSU, a design and build practice in Ann Arbor. WETSU received an Honorable Mention in Interior Design Magazine’s Design Review in 2001, was recognized by Wallpaper* magazine as one of twenty-five notable emerging practices worldwide in 2003, and received an Honor Award from Contract Magazine in 2005.
Young earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1990, and Master of Architecture from Rice University in 1992.
To learn more about Director Jason Young and the UT School of Architecture, please visithttp://archdesign.utk.edu/.
Mark DeKay was promoted to Full Professor of the School of Architecture.
Katherine Ambroziak was promoted to Associate Professor of Architecture by the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees.
Lisa Mullikin was named the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Research of the College of Architecture and Design.
Philip Enquist, partner in charge of urban design and planning and leader of the City Design Practice at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, has been named the 16th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill is one of the world’s leading urban planning, architecture and engineering firms.
Enquist and a select research team will serve as Governor’s Chair for High Performance Energy Practices in Urban Environments and will be affiliated with and administer projects through the UT College of Architecture and Design.
The Governor’s Chair team will be a research partnership among many designers at the firm who specialize in sustainable urbanism and high-performance buildings. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill’s City Design Practice is the world’s most highly awarded urban planning group.
The contract between ORNL, UT and the design firm is pending.
“This position will surely lead to innovative discoveries and enhance our reputation as a leader in the field of design and urban environments,” said UT Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “This is yet another step toward our university becoming a Top 25 research institution.”
The Governor’s Chair was selected following a national search. Only those candidates from firms with a research division and capable of providing a collaborative team as part of their appointment were considered.
“Enquist and his studios have improved the quality and efficiency of city living on five continents,” said Scott Poole, dean of the College of Architecture and Design. “Skidmore, Owings and Merrill has erected the tallest man-made structures in the world, created advanced building technologies and material systems and been central to the planning of cities across the world.”
Funded by the state of Tennessee and ORNL, the Governor’s Chair program attracts top researchers to broaden and enhance the unique research partnership that exists between the state’s flagship university and the nation’s largest multi-program laboratory.
Poole noted that by 2015, more than 80 percent of the U.S. population will be living in urban areas. This creates multiple environmental challenges that will be solved by a combination of cultural shifts and technological advances in the fields of regional planning, architecture, engineering and the building sciences.
“High-performance buildings in dense urban settings will be a key feature of a better, more secure energy feature, and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill is a world leader in this area,” Poole said.
The Governor’s Chair will use ORNL’s Build¬ing Technologies Research and Integration Center. The center aims to push new energy-efficient building products to the market.
“The creation of this position is further evidence of the commitment Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee have to lending their nationally recognized expertise to advance sustainability on a local and global scale,” said Martin Keller, ORNL’s associate lab director for energy and environmental sciences.
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and its team of designers will promote innovative energy practices for new and existing buildings in urban areas, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, create the foundation for new UT graduate programs and develop new models for the contemporary construction industry.
Enquist is an authority on holistic city building. His global experience includes city revitalization throughout China, the Canary Wharf Master Plan in London and National Planning Development Strategies for the Kingdom of Bahrain. Enquist leads SOM’s pro bono initiative, begun in 2009, to develop a 100-year design vision for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region.
In the U.S., his work includes numerous planning strategies for leading universities, the Chicago Central Area Plan, the Millennium Park Master Plan in Chicago and the District of Columbia Height Master Plan Modeling Analysis.
“The new Governor’s Chair will be a catalyst for change, bringing new re¬search in emerging clean energy technologies and sustainable practices to traditional urban design practices,” Poole said. “The Chair will lead the development of new forms of urban design practice. Its applied research will be a powerful contributor to urban development and economic growth of the state of Tennessee and the region. “
UT Knoxville currently has 14 of the 16 positions in the statewide program.
Through the Smart Communities Initiative, UT will partner faculty and students with cities, counties, special districts, and other municipal groups to engage in real-world problem solving aimed at improving the region’s economy, environmental sustainability, and social integrity.
The goals of the SCI are to help students gain real-world experience and make valuable contacts in the community. It will be a component of UT’s new Quality Enhancement Plan, which in turn is an important part of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Colleges reaccreditation process.
The city of Cleveland, Tennessee, has been chosen as the first partner city for UT’s new service-learning program, the Smart Communities Initiative. The partnership begins this fall.
The University of Tennessee is investing in downtown Knoxville by renovating and furnishing a historic North Gay Street property for a new fabrication lab, studio, and gallery.
UT is leasing the 20,000-square-foot building known as the Jewel at 525 North Gay Street for several College of Architecture and Design programs. The building’s glass storefront will house a new studio and gallery, and two floors of industrial space will be designated for a fabrication laboratory known as the UT Fab Lab.
The first year will involve $680,000 in renovations and the installation of equipment and furnishings.
“Our new space on North Gay will allow us to continue to have a presence in downtown Knoxville during this exciting moment in the city’s revitalization,” said Scott Poole, dean. “We hope that our college can partner with the city and together envision a more beautiful, more ecologically balanced, and more livable urban environment.”
The building is just two miles from the campus and is accessible to students by public transportation. The project will serve as a living example of architectural preservation and sustainable urbanization.
“The skylighted space beyond the storefront is ideal for our new state-of-the-art fabrication facility that will feature 3D printers, laser cutters, and robotics in addition to standard metal and woodworking equipment,” said Poole. “The new technologies, in particular, will allow our students to work with 21st century tools, discovering both their limitations and the hidden potential of this equipment.”
This initiative is part of a comprehensive effort to improve the college’s learning and teaching environments.
Numerous college faculty have been involved in regional forums and development plans, including those for the Plan East Tennessee (PlanET) Consortium, an initiative supported by a grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In Clay County, Kentucky, flooding or ice frequently blocks access to emergency services. If a tornado hit the area, shelter would also be hard to find. A group of UT faculty members and students is trying to change this situation.
The effort known as Appalachia UTK is made possible through a $1.5 million grant over three years from the US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Over three years, the group aims to have a comprehensive assessment of the community’s health status, living conditions, and disaster readiness and vulnerability; an enhancement of overall wellness, including structural safety of homes and buildings; and the development of a community that has sufficient disaster preparedness training and resources. The project members will write grants to pay for costly updates and work with UT students and volunteers to implement solutions.
Clay County is an isolated area ranked 119th out of 120 Kentucky counties on major health indicators. Much of the population is ill-equipped to deal with a disaster because of poor housing, few shelters, inadequate sanitation, limited public resources, poverty, and lack of disaster education and essential reserves of food and water.
Participants from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture and Design are John McRae and J. David Matthews.
Tricia Stuth, who was instrumental in the design of a nationally recognized energy sustainable project, the New Norris House, has received the James R. Cox Professorship.
The three-year award provides Tricia Stuth a stipend to be used at her discretion. Stuth is an associate professor in the College of Architecture and Design. She is a licensed architect.
The award is named for Knoxville native James R. Cox, whose gifts to the university through his sister and nephew, Charlotte and Jim Musgraves, helped establish the professorships in 2002 for faculty in the arts, theater, biological and physical sciences, architecture, and forestry studies. Recipients are chosen by a committee for their excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.
Stuth led the design, construction, and evaluation of the New Norris House, which is now one of the most energy-efficient homes in Tennessee. It recently was named one of the nation’s top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE).
The New Norris House is also one of the first in Tennessee to earn the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes platinum certification from the US Green Building Council. The house was developed by UT students in conjunction with Stuth and other UT faculty members.
Stuth and her husband, Ted Shelton, an associate professor of architecture, also have designed and built two homes in North Knoxville and preserved a third.
The project, Ghost Houses, drew the attention of international architecture and design publication Dwell. The homes were featured in the magazine last year. The project also received an American Institute of Architects National Small Projects Award.
Stuth is director of her college’s Design/Build/Evaluate Initiative (DBEI), a multi-disciplinary learning program. She spearheaded successful efforts last year for the initiative to be co-funded by the UT Office of Research.
Over the last three years, Stuth and her collaborators have received national awards including the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture’s National Design/Build Award and an honorable mention for the main award given by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. She also received the New Faculty Teaching Award given jointly by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the American Institute of Architecture Students.
Thomas K. Davis, an associate professor of architecture, has received a national award for his exemplary engagement and outreach scholarship. This was one of eight granted in the nation.
Thomas K. Davis’s program, which focuses on outreach partnerships in greater Nashville, was selected by a panel of university engagement administrators through the C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Award and the Engagement Scholarship/W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award program. The awards program seeks colleges and universities that have redesigned their learning, discovery, and engagement functions to become more involved with their communities.
Davis received a plaque at the National Outreach Scholarship Conference and was recognized during the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities’ annual meeting.
This is the third consecutive year UT has received an exemplary proposal award.
The first initiative of the partnership was producing “The Plan of Nashville,” a two-and-a-half-year project that developed a community-based vision and design principles for metropolitan Nashville’s urban core. The plan has been extended through Davis’ urban design courses, which, to date, have enrolled more than 200 students in addressing civic design issues in Middle Tennessee. The work was centered through the UT College of Architecture and Design’s partnership with the Nashville Civic Design Center.
First Endowed Professorship Named in UT College of Architecture and Design History
The at the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has named Lawrence Scarpa, an internationally celebrated architect, as its BarberMcMurry Professor, the first endowed professorship in the college’s history.
Scarpa, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), will teach a design studio and seminar during the 2014 spring semester.
Following the 2014 studio, Scarpa will give a UT student an internship or full-time position at his Los Angeles-based firm, Brooks + Scarpa.
Scarpa will also deliver a lecture and exhibit his work during the UT Church Memorial Lecture Series. A publication documenting the seminar will be produced.
As the design principal in charge, Scarpa leads an architectural practice that has received more than 50 major design awards. They include the National Firm Award from the AIA in 2010, and five AIA Committee on the Environment-Top Ten Green Building Project Awards. Scarpa also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Interior Design Magazine in 2009.
The BarberMcMurry Professorship was established to promote design excellence through teaching by a visiting professor, an internationally or nationally recognized practicing architect. It is the result of two gifts—a bequest from Charles I. Barber, one of Knoxville’s most respected architects, and another from his firm, BarberMcMurry architects. In 2011, the firm’s leaders, Kelly Headden and Charles Griffin, UT architecture alumni, matched the Barber gift to produce the $1 million endowment.
The position is also part of Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek’s vision to create more endowed chairs and professorships across the UT campus.
In the last two decades, Scarpa has taught at several universities. He currently is a professor of architecture at the University of Southern California, where he was named the John Jerde Distinguished Professor in 2011. In 2012, he was a visiting professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
The state of Tennessee is selling one of the greenest homes in the state – the New Norris House.
The American Institute of Architects and its Committee on the Environment (AIA COTE) named the New Norris House one of the nation’s top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design in 2013. It also is one of the first buildings in Tennessee to earn the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes Platinum certification, the highest standard for sustainability.
The New Norris House has received other recognitions, including a 2013 Design Build Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, a 2012 Residential Architect Merit Award for Single-Family Housing, and the 2011 Prize for Creative Integration of Practice and Education from the National Council of Architectural Registration Board. It also won the 2009 Environmental Protection Agency’s People, Prosperity and the Planet Sustainable Design Competition
The house is a technologically advanced reinterpretation of the historic homes first built by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933 as part of the Norris Dam project. It has become a nationally recognized model for efficient and sustainable living.
The UT College of Architecture and Design led the project, which was executed in cooperation with the community to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Norris community. Four other UT departments and a variety of corporate and industry partners supported the project. The project was launched with support from a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability.
Julie Beckman, the award-winning designer of the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial and the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial, has been appointed director of student services for UT’s College of Architecture and Design.
In her new role, Beckman will provide leadership for essential student academic services that align with national best practices. She will be charged with developing partnerships with various industries to facilitate opportunities for students to gain practical experience. Beckman also will teach lower-division courses as needed.
She is a founding partner of KBAS with husband, Keith Kaseman. The firm’s awards include the Project of the Year from McGraw Hill Construction Magazine, a National Honor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies and the Philament Award from the Illumination Engineering Society of North America, all in 2008. The firm also received a Design-Build Excellence Award from the Design-Build Institute of America in 2011 and a National Medal of Service from the American Institute of Architects in 2012.
She comes to UT from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a lecturer in the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Beckman earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bryn Mawr College and Master of Architecture from Columbia University.
Thomas K. Davis, an associate professor of architecture, has received a national award for his exemplary engagement and outreach scholarship. This was one of eight granted in the nation.
Thomas K. Davis’s program, which focuses on outreach partnerships in greater Nashville, was selected by a panel of university engagement administrators through the C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Award and the Engagement Scholarship/W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award program. The awards program seeks colleges and universities that have redesigned their learning, discovery, and engagement functions to become more involved with their communities.
Davis received a plaque at the National Outreach Scholarship Conference and was recognized during the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities’ annual meeting.
This is the third consecutive year UT has received an exemplary proposal award.
The first initiative of the partnership was producing “The Plan of Nashville,” a two-and-a-half-year project that developed a community-based vision and design principles for metropolitan Nashville’s urban core. The plan has been extended through Davis’ urban design courses, which, to date, have enrolled more than 200 students in addressing civic design issues in Middle Tennessee. The work was centered through the UT College of Architecture and Design’s partnership with the Nashville Civic Design Center. In Clay County, Kentucky, flooding or ice frequently blocks access to emergency services. If a tornado hit the area, shelter would also be hard to find. A group of UT faculty members and students is trying to change this situation.
The effort known as Appalachia UTK is made possible through a $1.5 million grant over three years from the US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Over three years, the group aims to have a comprehensive assessment of the community’s health status, living conditions, and disaster readiness and vulnerability; an enhancement of overall wellness, including structural safety of homes and buildings; and the development of a community that has sufficient disaster preparedness training and resources. The project members will write grants to pay for costly updates and work with UT students and volunteers to implement solutions.
Clay County is an isolated area ranked 119th out of 120 Kentucky counties on major health indicators. Much of the population is ill-equipped to deal with a disaster because of poor housing, few shelters, inadequate sanitation, limited public resources, poverty, and lack of disaster education and essential reserves of food and water.
Participants from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture and Design are John McRae and J. David Matthews.
UT Solar-Powered House Begins Tour Across Tennessee as Educational Exhibition
Knoxville — Living Light, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s state-of-the-art, zero-energy house, will open its doors to the public this week, marking the beginning of the Tennessee Tour, an educational exhibition that will travel across the state.
Living Light will be open from noon to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays in November and December at the UT Gardens, 2431 Joe Johnson Drive, Knoxville.
Living Light is a functioning energy-efficient, solar-powered house that competed in late September at the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon on the Mall in Washington, DC. The house placed eighth overall in the competition, and earned commendable, high-standing marks in the fields of architecture, energy-efficient appliances, and engineering.
It also tied for first place in the Energy Balance Contest, garnering perfect marks for achieving a net-zero energy balance throughout the competition.
With the house’s return from Washington, DC, the Tennessee Tour launches as a teaching tool for children, industry professionals, and homeowners to learn about cutting-edge sustainable science, technology, and design.
Starting in Knoxville and continuing to cities in Tennessee, including Nashville, Memphis, Oak Ridge, and Chattanooga, the home will be open for public tours and learning events throughout the year.
“The house incorporates the historical design of the cantilever barn of Appalachia, while showcasing modern home technologies,” said Diane Bossart, research associate and project manager of the Tennessee Tour. “We are very excited to share this home with people in Tennessee, so they may consider implementing energy-saving techniques and more sustainable materials in their homes and businesses.”
The Tennessee Tour is a joint effort of the UT College of Architecture and Design and the UT Institute of Agriculture Office of Extension. It showcases the work of more than 200 students and nine academic programs from the University, as well as the sponsorship and involvement of alumni, business and industry partners of the Living Light project.
The Galley House, a design submission developed by Architecture and Interior Architecture students Mary Win McCarthy, Ashley Clark and Peter McInish,was selected from a pool of over 100 submissions for one of five top prizes in the2011-2012 The Sustainable Home / Habitat for Humanity Student Design Competition. The School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (APLA) student team was co-sponsored by APLA Architecture Professors Justin Miller and Robert Sproull, Jr. In addition to receiving a $1500 cash prize for the “Best use of Vinyl” award, the team will have their design exhibited the ACSA 101st Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA, in March 2013, and at the American Institute of Architects’ National Convention in Denver, CO, in June 2013. The competition was administered by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Vinyl Institute.
Courtney Brett, a 2007 graduate of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, was named the AIA’s youngest active member by the American Institute of Architects this year. Beginning her college career at Auburn when she was just 16, Brett was recruited by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in New York out of college. Currently Brett is involved with her own firm, Casburn Brett Architecture, in Daphne, Alabama.
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.
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