STUDENT HONORS AND AWARDS
Alpha Rho Chi George "So" Whitten Scholastic Achievement Award, won this year by the UT-Austin Chapter.
The UT-Austin Chapter of Alpha Rho Chi has received the 2008 George "So" Whitten Scholastic Achievement Award, which recognizes the active chapter that has demonstrated the most outstanding academic accomplishment of the school year. It is designed to encourage the individual and collective scholastic efforts of Alpha Rho Chi members and support the setting of high academic and professional excellence standards and goals for the chapters. Recognition of the award is in the form of a rotating plaque, engraved with the chapter name of the annual winners.
The criteria used in determining the award include grade point averages, academic and professional awards received by individual members, and other supporting documentation of scholastic achievements.
Alpha Rho Chi is the national professional co-ed fraternity for architecture and the allied arts. The UT chapter, Dinocrates, was one of the original 10 chapters, but had been inactive since 1975. It was re-chartered in 2005, and now has 29 active members and 5 alumni. Dinocrates also just won the bid to host the national leadership conference in October.
Alpha Rho Chi derives its name from the first three letters of the Greek spelling of the word "architecture"--alpha (A), rho (P) and chi (X).
Second-year Historic Preservation Program graduate student Cynthia Martin has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Zedler Mill Foundation and was chosen as Chairperson of the Historic Preservation Commission for the mill.
When first on campus, Cynthia was assigned to do a preservation plan as an individual class project. It was suggested that she check out Preservation Texas' "Most Endangered Places" list for ideas and in doing so came across Zedler Mill. Julianne Fletcher, Executive Director of Preservation Texas at that time, accompanied Cynthia to the mill in Luling and introduced her to a group of local townspeople working to restore the mill. The Town of Luling had purchased the mill site and planned to restore it as a museum and create a public park.
While working on her project, she got to know and love the town. Her preservation plan was favorably received by the Zedler Mill Foundation Board of Directors, and she was invited to attend their monthly meetings.
The mill recently received a private unrestricted donation of $1,000,000 and Federal support of $200,000. When those large donations came through, it meant that work on the mill could begin in earnest. The project includes restoration of the mill, building a pavilion on the site, and the developing the site as a park.
Ahmed Abukhater's paper, "Assessment of Equity in the Middle East Water Allocation: The Case of the Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty," won the ACSP Marsha Ritzdorf Award.
Community and Regional Planning Program Ph.D. student Ahmed Abukhater received the 2008 Cactus Goodfellow Award, presented by the UT-Austin Cactus Yearbook, for his substantial contributions to The University of Texas at Austin.
He also received the Marsha Ritzdorf Award, presented by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), for the best paper and superior scholarship on Diversity, Social Justice and the Role of Women in Planning. He will present his winning paper, "Assessment of Equity in the Middle East Water Allocation: The Case of the Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty," at the 2008 ACSP National Conference in Chicago.
His paper, "GIS as a Planning Support System for Effective Growth Management: Identifying, Ranking, and Evaluating Suitable Sites for Low-Density Residential Development," won the National Paper Competition Award from the American Planning Association (APA), Information Technology Division - Best Paper in Information Technology, Planning, and Economic Development. The award was presented at the APA National Conference in Philadelphia and was featured in the the APA newspaper InfoText. The paper, which was presented at the ESRI International User Conference 2007, utilizes cutting-edge GIS multiple criteria evaluation (MCE) technologies to conduct smart land use analysis.
Community and Regional Planning Program student Brandy Carroll was selected by the Board of Regents of the Eno Transportation Foundation as an Eno Transportation Fellow and to participate in the 16th annual Eno Leadership Development Conference in Washington, D.C., May 19-22.
The Eno Transportation Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving all modes of transportation--ground, air, and water--with the mission of cultivating creative and visionary leadership. The Leadership Development Conference provides a first-hand look at how transportation policy is developed and implemented. Eno Fellows will meet with top government officials, leaders of associations, and members of Congress and their staffs.
SUPPORT UTSOA
STUDENT LEADERSHIP LOUNGE
University Co-op President George Mitchell gathers with UTSOA students and members of the University Co-op Board of Directors and staff to celebrate the opening of the new Student Leadership Lounge in Sutton Hall. Photo by Stacy Manning.
Thanks to a generous grant of $63,000 from the University Co-op, the students of the School of Architecture have a beautiful new Student Leadership Lounge in Sutton Hall. Because of the growth of our student population and limitations on campus space, the former student lounge (the Box Atheneum in Goldsmith Hall) was converted into studio spaces for classes. The new student lounge will provide a much needed space for students and groups to meet, study, work on projects, rest, and be entertained.
On March 24, students, faculty members, and members of the University Co-op Board of Directors and staff gathered for a reception and ceremony to honor the Co-op for their gift to create the Student Leadership Lounge. President and CEO George Mitchell was in attendance, along with Board Chairman Dr. Michael Granof, Board Members Charlotte Berson, Dr. Marvin Hackert, and Michael Orona, and James Kielty, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of the Co-op. A portion of the gift funded an in-house design competition for the lounge, won by UTSOA students Michael Bricker and Hillary Collins.
The School of Architecture has greatly benefited over the years from the support of the University Co-op, and we are extremely thankful for their support of the Student Leadership Lounge. To learn more about the University Co-op, visit their website.
ALLEY FLAT INITIATIVE
Image courtesy of BaSiC Initiative (Building Sustainable Communities).
University of Texas at Austin alum Perry Lorenz has generously donated $18,700 to support the Alley Flat Initiative in the School of Architecture. A project of Professor Steven Moore and Adjunct Associate Professor Sergio Palleroni, the Alley Flat Initiative proposes a new sustainable, affordable housing alternative for all Austinites by creating innovative designs as well as methods of financing and home ownership that benefit all neighborhoods in Austin. Mr. Lorenz's gift is especially vital in helping the program meet a matching grant goal of $35,000 to the School of Architecture from the Oak Hill Foundation. We extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Lorenz for his investment in this worthy project.
If you would like to learn more about the Alley Flat Initiative, please visit their web site. If you are interested in providing support for the program, please contact Teresa Carr at the School of Architecture's Center for Sustainable Development at teresacarr@mail.utexas.edu.
FRIENDS OF ARCHITECTURE
View of Freeway Park, Seattle.
Make your reservations now for FOA's upcoming Seattle tour on July 17-20, 2008. Professor Larry Speck will serve as our guide for a walking tour of vibrant and lively downtown Seattle.
The tour itinerary includes visits to:
- The Seattle Art Museum in the first phase of expansion and re-design by Brad Cloepfil from Allied Works
- Olympic Sculpture Park by Weiss Manfredi
- Experience Music Project designed by Frank Gehry
- Seattle Public Library by OMA (Rem Koolhaas) with LMN Architects
- City Hall by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Bassetti Architects
- St. Ignatius Chapel designed by Steven Holl
- Freeway Park by Lawrence Halprin
Spaces are filling quickly, so log on to the Friends of Architecture website for membership details and tour registration.
Friends of Architecture would like to thank our Corporate Silver members and supporters Curtis & Windham Architects and Lucifer Lighting Company.
Events
For the latest updates, check out the online UTSOA Calendar.
EXHIBIT
House on Arthur Lane, Austin, Texas, exploded axonometric, drawn by Jonathan Smith [B.Arch. '03] of Lake|Flato Architects from the original construction drawings by A.D. Stenger.
March 26 through April 25
Mebane Gallery
Goldsmith Hall
"A.D. Stenger: Designer | Builder"
Arthur Dallas [A.D.] Stenger [1922-2002] was a larger-than-life character who was a developer, architect, and builder in Austin, Texas, beginning in the late 1940s while still enrolled in the University of Texas School of Architecture. A.D. Stenger began building his houses for many of the creative Austinites of the 1950s and 60s, including many UT faculty as well as legendary Austin humorists John Henry Faulk and Cactus Pryor, and movers and shakers such as Sue and Frank McBee, founders of Tracor, Austin's first high-technology company. Stenger found that in order to build for his creative middle class clients, he had to take on the role of developer, architect, and builder, a condition that has recently returned to Austin architecture.
A Central Texas parallel to the work of the California home builder Joseph Eichler, the homes Stenger designed and built had modern sensibilities with "homey comfort," and were a response to a demand for affordable, modern design. The contemporary resurgence of the affordable modern home, not only in Austin, but also across the country, is due to a similar confluence of conditions present in the city in the 1950s. These conditions include the reversal of the American Institute of Architects' policy against architects' acting as both builder and designer, a body of young, energetic, and frustrated architects who use design-build as a way to get their ideas into the world, and a hip, aesthetically conscious middle class clientele looking for alternatives to mass-market homes.
Along with original documentation on several of the Stenger houses, the exhibit features five of his houses with new architectural models and rendered drawings alongside historic drawings, newspaper articles, and photographs, as well as video of Stenger's polar bear hunting expedition to the Arctic Circle.
Presented by UTSOA and the Design Division of the Department of Art and Art History.
Sponsored by Miller Blueprint; The Marye Company; King's Hobby; Jay Farrell, AIA; and the Heritage Society of Austin.
For more information, visit www.austinfieldoffice.com/Stenger or contact Riley Triggs at r.triggs@mail.utexas.edu.
LECTURE
Monday, March 31
Goldsmith Hall 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
Marcelo Ferraz
Co-Director, Brasil Arquitetura
São Paulo, Brazil
Sponsored by the O'Neil Ford Chair
Architectural Action
Marcelo Ferraz will discuss architectural action in his professional practice and present recent work concerning intervention in a built heritage.
Ferraz graduated from the São Paulo Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU-USP) in 1978. He is co-director of the practice Brasil Arquitetura together with Franisco Fanucci. The practice has realised a number of prize-winning projects including the Gelbes Viertel in Berlin and Villa Isabella in Finland. Projects in Brazil include the Polytheama Theatre, the Museum of Japanese Immigration, the Afro-Brazil Museum, and the Rodin Museum of Bahia.
Brasil Arquitetura recently won a competition for the construction of the Shalom Synagogue in São Paulo and the first prize of the VII International Architecture Biennale of São Paulo. The studio is working on projects for the Theatre and Commercial Centre Bela Vista, the Railway Museum Mooca, the Praça das Artes addition to the Municipal Theatre, all in São Paulo; the Bread Museum in Ilópolis and the Vila Nova Esperança residential and community development in Salvador. The book Brasil Arquitetura Studio was published in 2005 and contains a range of projects by the practice.
LECTURE
Wednesday, April 2
Goldsmith Hall 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
Milton Braga
MMBB Arquitetos
São Paulo, Brazil
Sponsored by the O'Neil Ford Chair
"MMBB: recent work"
Milton Braga will present recent projects of MMBB featuring speculative work based on academic research the partners carry out on the relationship between infrastructure and urban design. He will also present built work, mostly of small scale, that engages these speculative ideas.
Braga graduated from the São Paulo Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU-USP) in 1986, received a master's degree there in 1999 and a Ph.D. in 2006. He has been teaching at the FAU-USP since 2001 and previously taught at São Judas Tadeu University--São Paulo and at the University Braz Cubas--Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil.
He was a founding partner of MMBB Arquitetos in 1991. The office has collaborated regularly with Paulo Mendes da Rocha since 1995. He previously worked with Eduardo de Almeida Arquitetos Associados and Aflalo & Gasperini Arquitetos Associados in São Paulo and with Tectus Computer Graphics in London.
LECTURE
Monday, April 7
Goldsmith Hall 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
Eero Koivisto
Sweden
Sponsored by the Swedish Excellence Endowment
LECTURE
Monday, April 14
Goldsmith Hall 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
Antoine Picon
Cambridge
Sponsored by the Herbert Greene Lectureship
LECTURE
Wednesday, April 23
Goldsmith Hall 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
Petra Blaisse
The Netherlands
Sponsored by the Brightman York Lectureship
CENTER LUNCH FORUM SERIES
The Center for American Architecture and Design hosts a Friday Lunch Forum Series from 12:00 to 1:30 in the Battle Hall Conference Room (room 101).
The aim of the series is for faculty and students to meet in an informal atmosphere to debate topics and to share ideas about history, practice, theory, and new directions for architecture. Forum topics/titles are confirmed a week prior to each forum date. Visit the Center web site for updates. The spring 2008 schedule includes:
- April 4, Mirka Beneš
- April 19, Keenan Smith
The Friday Forum is also webcast live (visit the Center's web site), and you are invited to call in live with questions or comments during the discussion at 512.471.9890.
CITY FORUM SERIES
City Forum is an urban issues speaker series hosted by the School's Community and Regional Planning Program. The bi-monthly program features discussions of contemporary urban issues with national and local perspectives.
City Forum will meet this Friday, March 28, at a special time and place: Thompson Conference Center (TCC) Room 2.110, from 11:30 until 1:00.
- March 28, Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs First; author, The Great American Jobs Scam
For a parking map and driving instructions, visit the TCC web site. Parking for the TCC will be available in the UT Manor Parking Garage at a reduced rate ($4.00/day instead of $8.00). To receive a discount parking coupon, attendees should bring their parking stub to the reception desk in the TCC lobby between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Attendees coming from campus are encouraged to walk or take the Forty Acres Shuttle.
The City Forum schedule is available at: http://www.utcityforum.org. For more information on the City Forum Speaker Series or to be added to the email list, contact Anna Glover at glover16@yahoo.com.
EXHIBIT
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C., 1981. Source: Mirka Beneš.
February 1, 2008, through August 15, 2008
Visual Resources Collection
Sutton Hall 3.128 (Monday-Friday, 8-5)
"Landscape Architecture's History:
Marrying Research and Teaching through the Camera's Eye"
During the course of her academic career, Professor Mirka Beneš has documented a wide range of landscapes and supporting materials such as rare prints, maps, drawings, and written documents. From Professor Beneš' extensive slide collection, a group of almost 8,000 teaching slides--used in support of her two lecture courses in the history and theories of landscape architecture--were selected, cataloged, and digitized by the school's Visual Resources Collection (VRC). The selection of images in this exhibit represents a small sampling of images selected from the group that are available for use by the university community as part of the VRC's online Image Collection.
Mirka Beneš is Associate Professor in the School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin, which she joined in 2006. Her teaching covers the whole history of landscape architecture and gardens, and she publishes on Baroque Rome, Italian and French gardens, agrarian landscapes, and modernist landscape architecture. From 1988 to 2005, she taught at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.
FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARDS
Associate Professor Bob Paterson coordinated efforts to create the Quality Growth Toolbox for Envision Central Texas (ECT). ECT is pleased to offer the Quality Growth Toolbox to cities, counties, planning commissions, private sector representatives, public entities, and communities throughout the region to help plan for the future in ways that will preserve and enhance our natural resources, economic vitality, social equity, and overall quality of living.
The Quality Growth Toolbox was created in partnership with the UT-Austin School of Architecture and is a collection of more than 100 resources, models, best practices, and other tools designed to assist communities as they plan for growth. The toolbox is currently in a "beta" or test mode, and we welcome your suggestions for improvements.
Professor Michael Garrison presented the keynote address at the Louisiana Chapter U. S. Green Building Council conference in Shreveport, Louisiana, on March 13, 2008.
Lady Bird Lake Trail's latest improvement, the first new restroom on the trail in almost 30 years, designed by Miró Rivera Architects. Photo by Paul Bardagjy.
Miró Rivera Architects (MRA), Associate Professor Juan Miró and Miguel Rivera, principals, donated their time and services to create a public restroom for the Lady Bird Lake Trail.
MRA went beyond the programmatic needs of a restroom to add a sculptural element to one of Austin's most frequentled public spaces. The design integrates with the landscape and uses low-maintenance materials and simple means of construction. Corten steel panels are spaced closly enough to provide privacy, but open enough to allow the free flow of air through the structure and out of the ventilated roof.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on March 19. The restroom is located where Rainey Street connects into the trail area.
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department completed major site work and project support was provided by a variety of donors including the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and the Moody Foundation. The Town Lake Trail Foundation provided addional funding and project management.
ALUMNI NEWS
CLASS OF 1958 REUNION
Calling all members of the School of Architecture Class of 1958!
The Texas Exes is hosting a three-day reunion event on April 30-May 2 here on the UT campus. A full packet of information (including a schedule of each day's events) will be coming to you by mail, or you may visit the reunion website to begin making your plans.
During the three-day reunion, you will have an opportunity to visit the School of Architecture, hear updates on the school's programs, and visit with faculty and students.
If you have questions about the 50-Year Alumni Reunion events or haven't received your packet of information, please don't hesitate to contact Whitney Airaudi at 512.471.3808 or toll free at 1.888.628.0003.
ALUMNI UPDATES
Bob Brendle [B.Arch. '71], a Vice President and designer in the Dallas office of HOK, an international architecture firm, was a member of a six-person team that was one of only four teams selected from over 80 entries in a statewide competition to design an affordable, modular house for Hurricane Rita survivors who lost their homes in Southeast Texas. The competition was sponsored by the Texas Society of Architects, Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, Housing Texas, Covenant Community Capital, and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. The winning entries will be built by volunteers and the future owners in the coast area. Information on the competition and the winning design is available at texashousing.org.
Jim Walker, 2008 Envision Central Texas Chair.
On March 7, Envision Central Texas Chair Jim Walker, AICP [MSCRP '98], executive director of the Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project, was named 2008 Austinite of the Year Under 40 by the Young Women's Alliance and the Young Men's Business League. In additon to serving on the ECT Board of Directors for six years, Walker has served as a spokesperson for the Mueller Neighborhood Coalition while stewarding the community vision for the 700-acre redevelopment of Austin's former airport based on new urbanist principals. He is also on the board of Liveable City and previously, the Austin Neighborhoods Council. Walker is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners and was recently appointed as a Research Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at UT-Austin.
ALUMNI CONNECTIONS
The School of Architecture is continuing its effort to find (and maintain) the most accurate contact information for all of our alumni. From young alumni receptions to 50-year reunions, and everything in between, we hope you will stay in touch. Would you like to mentor a student? Do you need to hire a fellow Longhorn? Looking for networking or continuing education opportunities? We can help, but we need to know how to reach you!
Alumni may update their records and contact preferences and search for fellow graduates by logging on to the University's online alumni directory.
Thanks for helping us improve our relationship with you. We look forward to hearing from you!
CONTACTS
In this fast-paced world, there's a lot of news to keep up with. We know you are doing great things, and we rely on you to not only share your stories, but to also keep us up-to-date on your contact information so that we can share our stories with you. Alumni, please send your news and contact updates to our new Associate Director of Constituent and Alumni Relations, Stacy Manning at smanning@austin.utexas.edu. Students, faculty, and staff may send updates to eNews editor Pamela Peters at p.peters@mail.utexas.edu.
UT-Austin School of Architecture
soa.utexas.edu
Dean's Office
512.471.1922, fax 512.471.0716
Center for American Architecture and Design
christinewong@mail.utexas.edu, 512-471-9890
Center for Sustainable Development
teresacarr@mail.utexas.edu, 512.475.7995
Assistant Dean for Development
Julie Hooper, jhooper@austin.utexas.edu, 512.471.6114
Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs
Jeanne Crawford, jcraw@mail.utexas.edu, 512.471.0109
Graduate Program Coordinator
Rosemin Gopaul, gopaul@austin.utexas.edu, 512.471.0134
Associate Director of Constituent Relations and Alumni Relations,
Stacy Manning, smanning@austin.utexas.edu, 512.471.0617
Director, Career Services Center
Carrie O'Malley, carrie.omalley@austin.utexas.edu, 512.471.1333
Publications Editor
Pamela Peters, p.peters@mail.utexas.edu, 512.471.0154
Events Coordinator
Barbara Terrell, bdt@mail.utexas.edu, 512.471.8187
Materials Lab
http://soa.utexas.edu/matlab, 512.232.5969
Visual Resources Collection
http://soa.utexas.edu/vrc/, 512.471.0143
Architecture and Planning Library
www.lib.utexas.edu/apl/, 512.495.4620
Webmaster
Christopher Rankin, crankin@mail.utexas.edu, 512.495.4620
UTSOA Mailing Address
The University of Texas at Austin
School of Architecture
1 University Station B7500
Austin, TX 78712-0222
