"EXPLORATION" SYMPOSIUM

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Austin, Texas
Friday, September 8, 1:30-5:30 and 6:30-9:00
Saturday, September 9, 8:30-1:30

Dr. Betty Sue Flowers, Director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, will be the featured dinner speaker during the School of Architecture's annual mini-symposium, September 8-9, 2006. Dr. Flowers, a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin, became the Director of the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in 2002. She hosted "Conversations with Betty Sue Flowers" on the Austin PBS-affiliate and has served as a consultant for NASA, Visiting Advisor to the Secretary of the Navy, Public Director of the American Institute of Architects, and editor of Global Scenarios for Shell International in London and the World Business Council in Geneva (on global sustainable development, on the future of biotechnology, and, in progress, on global water issues). A poet, editor, and business consultant, she is also a member of the Distinguished Teachers Academy at the University of Texas at Austin.

"Exploration" is the fourth in a series of annual continuing education mini-symposia designed to provide a unique learning opportunity to alumni and design professionals. This year's topic, Exploration, will be presented from the perspective of eight widely varying disciplines. Through stimulating, open dialogue among an intentionally small audience (25-30 participants), the mini-symposium will address the idea that for all of us, exploration is a never-ending activity, impacting many aspects of our lives.

The symposium will begin at 1:30 p.m on Friday, September 8. Friday's speakers will include Professor Wilfried Wang, University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture (Exploring Purposeful Design); Susan Rieff, Executive Director, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (Exploring Landscape); Professor Karl Gebhardt, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Astronomy (Exploring Dark Energy); and Professor John McDevitt, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Exploring Medicine and New Technology). Betty Sue Flowers will conclude Friday's conversations with her dinner presentation on the topic of Exploring Governance.

The symposium will continue Saturday morning with Dr. Marie Crane, President & CEO, M. Crane & Associates (Exploring Psychology of Public Relations and Public Opinion); Dr. Louis Ruprecht, Emory University School of Theology (Exploring Religion -- The Vatican's Profano Collection); Robin Rather, CEO, Collective Strength (Exploring Activism); and a summary lunch presentation by Dean Fritz Steiner (Exploring the Common Thread). All presenters are encouraged to participate throughout, further bridging the various disciplines.

Whether it's exploring the bounds of the universe, the possibilities of new technology, or how to reframe a challenge, we are all Explorers. We encourage you to visit the mini-symposium website, http://soa.utexas.edu/events/exploration, for speaker biographies and online registration details. Co-sponsored by AIA Austin, the mini-symposium will be eligible for 9 continuing education learning credits. Space is limited, so we encourage you to register for the symposium as soon as possible.

Events

PLAY

Saturday, August 12
"The Land"
Preview Performance
Goldsmith 3.120, 8:00 p.m.

Dean Fritz Steiner is hosting a preview performance at the School of a new play about the environment. The play, "The Land," will be featured at the 2006 Land Trust Alliance Rally in October.

Written and performed by Texas playwright David Marquis, "The Land" is about love of the natural world. It is about finding and cherishing favorite places on earth. It is about leaving the earth better than we found it. Mr. Marquis is a respected political consultant, a positive community activist, a Master Naturalist, and a distinguished playwright and performer. One of his earlier one-man shows, "I AM A TEACHER," ran for 16 years and played all over the country, including the Kennedy Center.

There is no charge to attend the performance, but reservations are required. Please r.s.v.p before 4:30 p.m. on Friday, August 11, to Judy Parker at 512-471-1922.

SYMPOSIUM

Thursday, August 31, and Friday, September 1
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
2006 Conservation Development Symposium

The Wildflower Center is pleased to announce its 5th Annual Conservation Development Symposium. Conservation development is an exciting and innovative path toward preserving the rural heritage of Texas for future generations while serving the needs of our community. The symposium will provide building and design professionals and community leaders with an improved understanding of alternative approaches to residential development that are both profitable and ecologically sound. This year's symposium will focus on the economic benefits of conservation development. The proposed conservation development ordinance for Travis County will be discussed and much more! For more information and online registration, please visit our website at http:// www.wildflower.org/?nd=cds.

Faculty Scholarship

Site visit to Site 10, located in the interior of the Ancient Crimean Chora. Scott Biehle (UTSOA) in the foreground with Galina Nikolaenko, Deputy director of the National Preserve; Dr. Joseph Carter, Director of the Institute of Classical Archeology, The University of Texas; and ICA conservation consultant Christopher Cleere. Photograph by Hope Hasbrouck.

Hope Hasbrouck, Graduate Advisor in Landscape Architecture; Senior Lecturer Steve Ross; and Graduate Research Assistant Scott Biehle joined The University of Texas Institute of Classical Archeology (ICA) during the summer excavation season in the ancient city of Chersonnesos, located in the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine. The team from the School of Architecture met with representatives from the National Preserve of Ukraine, the Institute of Monument Preservation and Research of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, along with Sevastopol planning officials, conservation archeologists, and paleobotanists to set priorities for the design, development, and execution of an archeological park, near the ancient city of Chersonnesos. The archeological park is located on a preserved 150-hectare fragment of the agricultural countryside established by the Greeks during the 4th-5th century B.C. The agricultural countryside, known as the "Chora," cover's the extent of the Heraklean Peninsula situated on the southwestern coast of Crimea. Professors Ross and Hasbrouck are currently completing the site assessment and feasibility examination, to be followed by the production of a development program and comprehensive management plan.

The collaboration between the UT's Institute for Classical Archeology and the School of Architecture began in the spring of 2006 when Professors Hasbrouck and Ross met with Dean Fritz Steiner and Professor Joseph Carter, Director of UT's Institute of Classical Archeology to discuss the ways in which the School of Architecture can support the planning and design of modern facilities within the context of the ancient Chora.

Panorama of Site 10, located in the interior of the Ancient Crimean Chora, with remains of the ancient Greek road and walls in the foreground. Photograph by Hope Hasbrouck.

The team will return to Ukraine in the spring of 2007 with a group of advanced design students from UTSOA's Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Community and Regional Planning, and Historic Preservation Programs. The design students will produce a comprehensive design for the archeological park with input from ICA, the National Preserve, and the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture. The challenge for students will be the formulation of proposals that maintain the integrity of the academic/archeological mission, support the conservation and interpretative message of the archeological sites established by the Ukrainian National Preserve and ICA, and integrate the preserve(s) into this region of Ukraine that is experiencing rapid development.

"Maymester" in Berlin

Students in back row left to right: Ethan Smith, John Schramek, Margaret Saunders, Emily Scarfe, Edward Kopelson, Front row left to right: John Hart Asher II, Chelsea Livingston, Maya Lin (with daughters in front), Neelu Shruti, and Rachel Brown. Photograph by Mike Minehan.

Participants in the 2006 Maymester course in Berlin taught by Assistant Professor Lois Weinthal were invited to attend a lecture and dinner with architect and artist Maya Lin at the American Academy in Berlin at the Hans Arnhold Center. Ms. Lin covered a chronology of her projects, speaking on the issues of identifying as an artist and an architect--working on memorials, homes, installations, and landscape interventions.

This Maymester course titled "Berlin: A Visual Survey of a Changing Cityscape" is an intensive four-week course that allows students to experience a unique academic opportunity abroad. The students include those in architecture, community and regional planning, landscape architecture, and music. Visits to architectural sites focus on a range of building types such as government buildings, housing, memorials, East German architecture, and museums, with visits to sites such as the Reichstag, the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Museum), the Jewish Museum, and Embassies of the Nordic Countries, in addition to a wide range of cultural institutions.

Students participating in the program include John Hart Asher II, Rachel Brown, Heather Dalrymple, Edward Kopelson, Chelsea Livingston, Margaret Saunders, Emily Scarfe, John Schramek, Neelu Shruti, Ethan Smith, and Ann Tucker.

Ph.D. Student Receives Graham Foundation Award

Timothy Parker, doctoral candidate in architectural history and theory, has been selected to receive the 2006 Carter Manny Award from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. One award is given each year; every school in the U.S. and Canada granting a Ph.D. in the field can nominate one student. The award provides $15,000 for research and travel in support of his dissertation, "The Modern Church in Rome: Architecture, Theology, and Community, 1945-80." Mr. Parker's principal aim in this project is to address the multiple and often conflicting notions of modern identity that converge in the case of modern religious architecture. To ground the work in historical and concrete analysis, he is focusing on parish churches in Rome in the years surrounding the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Having already visited more than forty such churches, he will center the dissertation on six that are exemplary and will reward detailed study. Also, in the spring semester, Mr. Parker will teach a history elective at UT, "The Architecture of Modern Italy: 1750-present."

Two Interior Design Undergraduates Awarded World's Largest Interior Design Scholarships

Two Interior Design Program students received scholarships in the amount of $28,433 from the Angelo Donghia Foundation, a nonprofit organization that awards multiple scholarships each year to interior design students from around the world.

Dessislava Boneva and Garrett Seaman competed against 294 eligible students from 147 programs worldwide accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. Of the 12 universities receiving scholarships this year, UT-Austin is one of only two public universities to receive two scholarships.

To be eligible, students in their junior year must submit both a residential and a commercial project they have designed. Each student must also meet grade point average and portfolio requirements, and they must be nominated by their interior design professors.

Ms. Boneva and Mr. Seaman are the fourth and fifth students from The University of Texas at Austin to win the scholarships. Lisa Pauli was awarded the scholarship in 2003, and Katie Wooley and Sung Mi Kim were awarded scholarships in 2005-2006.

The Donghia Scholarship Foundation was created five years ago under the estate of the late Angelo Donghia, a prominent New York interior designer. The scholarships provide support for the advancement of education in the interior design field and the discovery of causes and methods of treatment for AIDS.

CRP Class Wins APA Student Project Award

The American Planning Association/Central Texas section just announced that its 2005 Student Project of the Year Award winner is the "Rainwater Harvesting System for Residential and Commercial Systems--Seaholm Power Plant and Radiance Community," produced by Professor Kent Butler's fall 2005 urban environmental analysis seminar.

Dr. Butler reports, "Seaholm Power, Ltd., plans to implement a rainwater collection system, much like the project designed by the class. It's rare and an exceptional honor to be on a student team that helped to plan and design a sustainable project that will actually be built."

Class members include Ahmed Abukhater, Ashley Francis, Jason Fryer, Kyle Irons, Andrew Judd, Wonsoo Lee, Nate Meade, Vipin Nambiar, and Maryelaine Sotos.

Studio News

The UTSOA team and friends in India. Class members include Rachel Baxter, Antonia Bowman, Hillary Collins, Greg Esparza, Sarah Hill, Katherine Koenig, Wonsoo Lee, and Sunshine Mathon. Photograph provided by Pankaj Gupta.

Lecturer Pankaj Gupta reports from India that his students (and visitor Associate Professor Carl Matthews) are well and have just completed a 5-day charrette with the north Indian village of Pragpur. The students prepared an urban design analysis for the village, India's first designated "heritage village." The UTSOA team (with Lecturers Gupta and Christine Mueller) assisted the village government in documenting the architecture (some buildings are over 350 years old) and preparing design proposals for new tourism infrastructure.

Prior to their arrival in Pragpur, they visited the cities of New Delhi, Agra, and Chandigarh. Despite the intense security, the Dean of the Chandigarh School of Architecture arranged for the group to be given a private tour of Le Corbusier's Secretariat and Assembly buildings. They also interacted with the students and faculty at the Chandigarh School of Architecture. In New Delhi, they visited 800-year-old tombs, Lutyen's monuments, and the vernacular modernist structures of Joseph Stein.

Alumni Updates

"Marjan," bronze sculpture by Bob Coffee. Photograph provided by Bob Coffee.

Bob Coffee, FAIA [B.Arch. '62], has completed his tribute to "Marjan," the blind and battered African lion, who was a symbol for recovery for the people of Afghanistan. In 2003, Mr. Coffee created a 400-pound bronze sculpture of the lion who survived decades of war in Afghanistan, as well as a 2001 Taliban grenade attack that tore through his face and devastated his home zoo. Marjan had become a symbol of Afghanistan's turbulent history and was the iconic figure for an international fundraising effort to restore the war-torn zoo in Kabul. Sadly, Marjan died of old age in 2002, but not before $500,000 has been raised. Mr. Coffee created the sculpture in Marjan's likeness and delivered it to the North Carolina Zoo Society--the gathering point for the fundraising efforts--in 2004. In May 2006, the statute was transported to its final location, outside the gates of the renewed Kabul Zoo, and was dedicated as a symbol of strength and hope to the Afghan people.

Recently retired from Coffee Crier Schenck and Hammond, Bob Coffee has turned his sculpting and casting hobby into a passion. During the month of August, he and three other central Texas sculptors will exhibit their work in Saltillo, Mexico.

Jason Ramay. Photograph provided by Rasmussen Triebelhorn.

Jason Ramay [M.Arch. '97], Senior Associate at Architects Rasmussen Triebelhorn, AIA/PS, recently became a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited professional. Architects Rasmussen Triebelhorn (ART) is a full service architectural firm based in Tacoma, Washington. ART specializes in municipal/civic architecture including criminal justice, city hall, public safety, education, commercial, and housing projects. According to the United States Green Building Council, "LEED standards emphasize state of the art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality." These benchmarks have been a part of what ART considers "good design" since its inception.

We encourage all alumni to share news with us by submitting updates to Stephanie Palmer at stephanie.palmer@mail.utexas.edu. In addition, if you know of other alumni who may not be receiving this or other SOA publications, please forward their information to Stephanie or encourage them to contact her.

Friends of Architecture

Next week, Friends of Architecture members will make an excursion to Michoacán, Mexico, for a tour of colonial architecture and handmade crafts in the region known as the "Soul of Mexico." If you're missing out on FOA's tour of Michoacán, you will want to watch upcoming issues of eNews for the announcement of the 2006-07 calendar.

As an outreach organization, Friends of Architecture directly supports the initiatives of the School of Architecture by funding programs and activities that enrich our educational quality, further our public outreach efforts, and enhance the overall student experience. In addition to providing this much-needed funding, FOA takes on a public mission of furthering the understanding, appreciation, and accessibility of art, architecture, and design. FOA achieves its mission by providing enriching involvement opportunities through publications, lectures, symposia, exhibitions, and most notably, uniquely tailored educational tours. Led by School of Architecture faculty and other expert guides, FOA tours provide inside access to private residences and other exclusive locations. In order to offer a more personal experience, tour space is always limited, but membership is open to all who share a passion for superior architecture and design.

For more information on previous tours or to make a tax-deductible membership contribution, visit soa.utexas.edu/foa/intro.

Dean's Journal

Major staff changes occured during the past month. Our long-time Assistant Dean for Administration, Raquel Elizondo, retired. She contributed much to the smooth functioning of the School over the past 13 years with her encyclopedic knowledge of University procedures, her quick wit, and her intelligence. Our new Assistant Dean for Administration, Jeff Evelyn, began work on July 17.

Assistant Dean for Development Kris Vetter [B.S.A.S. '92] resigned to move to Dallas, where she has been appointed director of development for the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. During Kris' tenure, we increased our endowments, especially for scholarships. Kris pledged to continue to contribute to the School. We are currently searching for her replacement.

Finally, the director of our Materials Lab, Tara Carlisle, moved to Tempe, Arizona. Tara was the first director of the Materials Lab and did much to build its collection. She placed a special emphasis on sustainable materials. We will miss Raquel, Kris, and Tara greatly and wish them all the best.

After the Landscape Architecture Foundation Board meeting on July 13 and 14, in Washington, D.C., I flew to Dayton, Ohio, to visit my family.

Returning to Austin, I worked on the details of incorporating the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center into the University, as well as various searches and the budget.

I also spent considerable time proofreading galley proofs for two new books. The first is the student edition of Planning and Urban Design Standards, part of Wiley's graphic standards series. Associate Dean Kent Butler is co-editing the student edition. We are working with doctoral student Jin-Oh Kim on web resources for Wiley to accompany the book. The second book, The Essential McHarg (Island Press), is an abridgement of a larger collection of Ian McHarg's writings, To Heal the Earth, that we co-edited and published in 1998. Both books will be out in the fall.

On July 24, the deans met with UT-Austin President Bill Powers and Interim Provost Steve Monti to discuss development planning. President Powers is emphasizing the importance of the campus environment, graduate student support, high-quality faculty, the educational experience, and international programs.

On Monday, I participated in an Envision Central Texas event, led by former Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. Elected officials and other government leaders from the region gathered to discuss the challenges presented by State Highway 130 (http://www.sh130.com/). Officials from the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Texas Department of Transportation, the City of Georgetown, Travis County, CAPCO, and the City of Austin summarized their planning efforts to date. Austin City Manager Toby Futrell pointed out that even with the most optimistic scenarios, taxes from future development in the corridor will not pay for infrastructure costs in lands in areas projected for annexation. Mayor Watson proposed a cooperative structure for the gathered leaders who agreed to continue to meet.

The UT-Austin 2007 SolarD team includes faculty members Sam Randall, Elizabeth Alford, Atila Novoselac, and Steve Ross; and student members Alex Miller, Frank Farkash, Matt Brugman, Rohit Eustace, Matt Weaver, Diana Hun, Patrick Harkin, Adrienne VanTol, Tommy, Joeny Bui, William Padhilla, Danielle Awai, Benjamin Toscher (not all pictured). Photograph courtesy of the SolarD team.

That evening, I participated in an early review of the 2007 Solar Decathlon (http://www.ar.utexas.edu/utsolard/2007/). Students presented their concepts to Advisory Council members Susan Benz [B.Arch. '84], Diane Cheatham, and Diana Keller, as well as Professor Michael Garrison, Assistant Professor Samantha Randall, Assistant Professor Atila Novoselec (from the College of Engineering), and Lecturer Elizabeth Alford. Engineering faculty and students are participating earlier in the process this time. Grant support from the U.S. Department of Energy has enabled the research team leaders to hire graduate assistants. In addition to reviewing their progress, we discussed fund-raising strategies.

As this eNews is going to press, the Austin members of the Venice Biennale team, which has been led by Asociate Professor (and new mom) Nichole Wiedemann and Assistant Professor Jason Sowell, are completing work on the exhibit. We will send it to Berlin, where O'Neil Ford Professor Wilfried Wang and Visiting Associate Professor Barbara Hoidn will coordinate fabrication. The work looks wonderful thanks to the efforts of several dedicated faculty and students. The exhibit will open in early September.

—Fritz Steiner

Contacts

UT-Austin School of Architecture
soa.utexas.edu

Architecture and Planning Student Council + AIA Students
studentorgs.utexas.edu/apscaias/

Dean's Office
512-471-1922, fax 512-471-0716

Center for American Architecture and Design
512-471-9890, christinewong@mail.utexas.edu

Center for Sustainable Development
512-475-8013, utcsd@mail.utexas.edu

Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs
Jeanne Crawford, 512-471-0109, jcraw@mail.utexas.edu

Graduate Program Coordinator
Rosemin Gopaul, 512-471-0134, gopaul@mail.utexas.edu

Publications Editor
Pamela Peters, 512-471-0154, p.peters@mail.utexas.edu

Friends of Architecture Director and Alumni Coordinator
Stephanie Palmer, 512-471-0617, stephanie.palmer@mail.utexas.edu

Career Placement Director
Carrie O'Malley, 512-471-1333, carrie.omalley@austin.utexas.edu

Director of Photography
Charlotte Pickett, c.pickett@mail.utexas.edu

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 School of Architecture
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station B7500
Austin, TX 78712-0222