M. Brian Tichenor AIA has just completed the restoration of a four-acre Thomas Church garden in Pebble Beach, and is in the final stages of planning for the first large residence built to Passivhaus standards in Monterey County.

Adjunct Associate Professor, Gerdo Aquino, is President of SWA, and Principal at the Los Angeles studio.   He recently co-authored a book, published by Birkhauser/Actar, entitled Landscape Infrastructure: Case Studies by SWA.   For the fall/winter of 2011 he lectured at GSD Harvard, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and the University of Virginia on “Transportational Futures” and Landscape Infrastructure.  He has recently been awarded the 2011 Westside Prize Merit Award, Open Space Category for Milton Street Park, Marina Del Rey, CA.  He is currently working on the recently awarded Shanghai Disney Project (Residential, Dining and Entertainment Area), a pedestrian streetscape in El Paso, Texas, and a linear urban park along Ballona Creek in Marina Del Rey.  Gerdo will be speaking on a panel on October 28th at the ULI Conference entitled: From Eye Sore to “A Must See:” Creating Urban Parks from Thin Air and Adding Real Estate Value.

Visiting Assistant Professor Ying-Yu Hung is Managing Principal of SWA Los Angeles, and co-founder of the Infrastructure Research Initiative (I.R.I.S.), recently co-authoring the book “Landscape Infrastructure: Case Studies by SWA”, published by Birkhauser/Actar.  She was a finalist for the 2011 ULI Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific Competition for Gubei Pedestrian Promenade in Shanghai, China.  Hung is an active lecturer and recently presented a panel on the topic of landscape infrastructure at this year’s National American Planning Association conference held in Boston and CELA in Los Angeles.  In the fall/winter of 2011 she lectured at GSD Harvard, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and the University of Virginia on “Transportational Futures” and Landscape Infrastructure.   In August, SWA Los Angeles won 2nd Place in the 2016 Rio Olympic Competition in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.  Her current projects include the Fuyang Riverfront Concept Master Plan in China.

Adjunct Assistant Professor Eric Haas, AIA received a Preservation Design Award from the California Preservation Foundation for the restoration of R.M. Schindler’s Bubeshko Apartments. He also presented the project on the panel “Renovating an Icon” at Dwell on Design 2011 in Los Angeles.

Professor Marc Schiler tested and evaluated the reflective and specular implications of using a foamed aluminum material on the exterior of the LUMA Foundation in Arles, France, designed by Frank Gehry.  Gehry continues to push the envelope in using new materials.  Professor Schiler also documented the interesting instances of solar convergence over the span of a day at the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas, designed by Rafael Vinoly.  Preliminary results were presented at the Facades Tectonics conference at USC.  

Visiting Assistant Professor Kristine Mun has been invited to participate in the LA Downtown Artwalk event from October 13-18, 2011. She will be showcasing her Studio402 projects, entitled “Architecture and the Logic Machine: Behavior and Material Application”

Assistant Professor Karen M. Kensek is organizing the sixth annual BIM conference to be held in Los Angeles on July 13, 2012.

Faculty members Doris Sung and Rob Ley were awarded the 2011 AIA National Upjohn Grant to support ongoing research that their respective design offices have engaged dealing with responsive materials within architecture.  Both Rob and Doris have separately received support from previous Upjohn Grants, this year’s award marks the first time that they will be working together on a new project.

Lecturer Carlo Aiello co-edited the new book ‘Evolo Skyscrapers’ which is an investigation on the future of vertical density. The publication was presented last September at the 2011 Interior Design Show West (IDSWest) in Vancouver. It received instant praise by the public and critics.

Assistant Professor Ken Breisch has been asked to join the “Los Angeles Architecture, 1940-1990″ Exhibition Advisory Committee for the Getty Research Institute, as well as the Los Angeles Arboretum Preservation Advisory Group, and the Survey LA Review Committee.

Adjunct Professor Veronica G. Galen, Assoc. AIA, IES, LEED AP BD+C, designed the lighing for the Silver Award winning Dream Home 2011 Custom Contemporary Home of the Year and Best Whole House Remodel for residential projects with Kollin Altomare Architects, and was part of the team awarded an Illuminating Engineering Society of North America Award of Merit for the lighting design of Chase Bank Colorado Boulevard.

Adjunct Professor Regula Campbell AIA authored a presentation in June at the International Federation of Landscape Architecture World Congress: “Scales of Nature”, Zurich, Switzerland on the topic:  Biodiversity in the City: Enrichment for Urban Life and Work – “Making It Personal, Making It Real”.

Adjunct Professor Doug Campbell ASLA will be recognized by the Government of Hangzhou, China this October for his contribution to the region’s “Quality of Life” through his design of  a recently completed sustainable new town re-visioning a former  industrial site in the City’s northern district.

An exhibition featuring design work addressing the proposed USC/Hybrid High Charter School by School of Architecture Associate Professor Chuck Lagreco’s 2011 spring topic studio students will be on display at a reception in the new Rossier School of Education Computing Center – part of a continuing collaboration on educational facilities by the two schools focusing on the neighborhoods around the campus.

Studio work on the Owens Lake dust mitigation project influenced the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to hire three local landscape architecture firms to be part of the current phase of design and construction for over 2.7 square miles of the lake. He has also joined the team in an advanced research capacity.

Architecture Lecturer, Christine Lampert’s firm,  Lampert Dias Architects, Inc.  has just finished the construction administration phase for the 8000 square foot San Clemente Senior’s Community Center that they designed in downtown San Clemente. The Center officially opened on Monday October 3, 2011.

Cory Ticktin, A.I.A. who is a Design Principal with AECOM in Los Angeles currently oversees the Studio’s International work in Asia. Mr. Ticktin is currently working on a number of projects in Asia including a 130,000 M² Mixed-Use commercial development in Bangkok, Thailand currently under construction, a 45,000 M² Corporate Headquarters for Unilever also in Bangkok, an 80 meter tall office tower in Bangalore, India, two 130 meter tall residential towers also in Bangalore and a 100 meter tall residential tower in Pune, India.

Associate Professor Trudi Sandmeier is the new Director of USC Graduate Historic Preservation Programs. She recently curated an L.A. Food Noir film event at the historic Orpheum Theatre and will be both a panelist and moderator for the upcoming Historic Preservation Symposium at Cornell University.

Ed Woll reports that construction is substantially complete for Young Burlington Apartments (affordable supportive housing for young people) in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood and 60% complete for Jovenes Houses (transitional housing for disadvantaged youth) in East Los  Angeles.  Projects on the boards include developments in Eagle Rock and in Pomona providing affordable supportive housing for families, seniors and homeless veterans.  The projects in Eagle Rock and Pomona will have substantial urban-farming components.

Victor Regnier FAIA, Vice Dean + Professor of Architecture will present the keynote address for the 14th Annual Sarnat Symposium on Geriatric Care in Los Angeles, CA.  In November, he will keynote the Caser Foundation International Conference on Architectural Design and Long Term Care in Madrid, Spain.

Gary Paige’s architecture project, “Type Variant Houses” and artwork, “Ruled Surfaces” is the subject of an exhibition entitled “Other Works” at the School of Architecture at UC Berkeley, along with architects Wes Jones and IDEA Office partners Eric Kahn and Russell Thomsen.

Michael Hricak, FAIA, Adjunct Associate Professor, served as a panelist and presented a talk on urban design and public health to a gathering of elected leaders, city managers and agency officials and staff from 88 municipalities and at the Los Angeles 2011 BIKE SUMMIT, sponsored by LA County Department of Public Health, and hosted by the City of Long Beach.

Professor James Steele is organizing a Symposium called the “Critics Forum” about the History of USC School of Architecture, which will also appear as a book in a years time, and he is eagerly anticipating the publication of a monograph on Sidney Eisenshtat that he edited for the USC School of Architecture Guild Press, in May.

Vinayak Bharne has been named a contributing editor of Kyoto Journal in Japan. He will serve as the south Asian commentator providing perspectives on architecture, urbanism & cultural anthropology. He is also contributing a chapter in the forthcoming book “Planning Los Angeles” (APA Planners Press 2012).

Lecturer Mina Chow, AIA, NCARB, dZI Media, Inc. have completed their “rough cut” for a new web series on innovative architecture.  The series was created with the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s office with Prof. Jim Steele and Getty Research Institute Wim de Witt as humanities advisors.  You may view the “rough cut” at: http://vimeo.com/29752344

Assistant Professor Victor Jones and the Watts House Project were awarded a 2011 Graham Grant to complete work for the Watts House Project’s Platform fence, pocket park, and façade improvement. He will be a visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome in December to pursue research on the Italian Structural Engineer, Sergio Musmeci. He delivered a project presentation “Cultivating Cultures” at the 2011 ACSA Fall Conference / Houston entitled “Local Identities Global Challenges”

Douglas Noble, FAIA, Ph.D., is organizing the 8th FACADE TECTONICS conference, to be held in Los Angeles June 28-July 1, 2012.  The Call for papers is at:  http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~dnoble/facadetectonics8.htm

Adjunct Associate Professor Michael Hricak, FAIA, and his Venice based design firm recently received city approval for an innovative hotel and conference center to be built in Redondo Beach, California which promises to set new standards for design and sustainability in this beachside community. 

Prof Graeme M. Morland recently delivered lecture demonstration entitled, “SKETCHING WITHOUT FEAR” on the occasion of USC’s “GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY with the ARTS” annual event. For many people, picking up a pencil to sketch what they see is intimidating and disappointing as the resultant image bears little resemblance to the subject before them.  Invariably, this moment of frustration is translated as failure and they are persuaded that they cannot draw. This “crash course” was designed to alay these fears by demonstration and guidance, walking novice students through the process of constructing a drawing, establishing “datums”, understanding the rudiments of perspective, the limits of “vision”, graphic heirarchy, and the basics of skiagraphy.

The work of lecturer Rebecca Lowry will be on display at Los Angeles Gallery g825, opening October 15, and at Cain Schulte Gallery in San Francisco, opening November 3. The LA show will present a new body of work, focussing on representations of music, while the SF show will present a broad sampling of work from the last three years. 

Visiting Professor Jennifer Siegal was awarded a Visions and Voices grant to produce the symposium Motopia: A New Age for Modular Construction to be held at USC on November, 2, 2011. Find out more at  http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/113/event/893725.