"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
http://soa.utexas.edu/events/exploration

The School of Architecture's fourth annual mini-symposium will be held September 8-9, and there is still time to register for this continuing education opportunity. 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, the mini-symposium will address the idea that for all of us, exploration is a never-ending activity, impacting many aspects of our lives.

Dr. Betty Sue Flowers, Director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, will be the featured dinner speaker, presenting the topic of Exploring Governance. She will be joined on Friday afternoon by Professor Wilfried Wang, Exploring Purposeful Design; Dr. Marie Crane, Exploring the Psychology of Public Relations and Public Opinion; Professor Karl Gebhardt, Exploring Dark Energy; and Professor John McDevitt, Exploring Medicine and New Technology.

The symposium will continue Saturday morning with Susan Rieff, Exploring Landscape; Robin Rather, 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.

We encourage you to visit the mini-symposium website, http://soa.utexas.edu/events/exploration, for speaker biographies, a symposium agenda, and online registration details.

Co-sponsored by AIA Austin, the mini-symposium will be eligible for eight continuing education learning credits.

UTSOA Team Travels to Venice Biennale

A team of faculty and students from the School of Architecture are on their way to Italy to participate in the 10th International Architecture Exhibition, "Cities, Architecture and Society," to be held September 10 through November 19. The University of Texas at Austin is one of only eight universities worldwide invited to participate in the Venice Biennale, considered the world's premier international design exhibition.

The School of Architecture's exhibit, "Resilient Foundations: The Gulf Coast after Katrina," presents and explores a range of proposals on post-Katrina reconstruction plans that were submitted by various universities and private firms. The exhibit collects the best available information about natural hazards in the region, important resource production areas, ecologically significant lands and valuable cultural resources to suggest the best possible future scenarios for the Gulf Coast.

The University of Texas at Austin homepage (http://www.utexas.edu) will feature information about the exhibition, September 2-10.

Events

SUSTAINABILITY COLLOQUIUM

Friday, September 8
Sutton Hall 2.114, noon to 1:00 p.m.

"Studying Sustainability at UT:
Opportunities for Research and Engagement"

The UT Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) will host the first Sustainability Colloquium on Friday, September 8. The colloquium is a forum for discussion on the diverse range of issues related to sustainability and sustainable development. Professors Kent Butler and Steven Moore and graduate student Andy Karvonen of UT's CSD will present an overview of study and research opportunities in sustainability and sustainable development at UT.

For additional information, contact Andy Karvonen at 512-431-6280 or karvonen@mail.utexas.edu.

Faculty Scholarship and Awards

Community and Regional Planning Assistant Professor Tracy McMillan was featured on the UT-Austin home page August 21-28. In the article titled "Look Both Ways: Health of Children, Community Benefits When Kids Can Walk or Bicycle Safely to School," Vivé Griffith of UT's Office of Public Affairs interviews Dr. McMillan about her research on children's transporation to school. Dr. McMillian is a proponent of having children walk or bike safely to school. She states, "We want to create neighborhood environments that are supportive of more than one transportation mode. That's where community and regional planning comes in."

Professor McMillan is working both locally and at a national level on the issue. She has joined other researchers to set up evaluations for walk-to-school programs across the country, and she’s turning her attention to the process of choosing where new schools in a community are placed. "It's about community, community support, and creating a sense of community," she says. "It's a physical activity issue. It's a mental health issue. It's a traffic safety issue. And it's about children's health."

You can read the entire article at: http://www.utexas.edu/features/2006/school/ index.html

Professor David Heymann was featured as an example of "Lone Star Style" in the August 27 edition of the New York Times' article of that name by Cathy Horyn in the Times' "Style" magazine (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/ style/tmagazine/t_w_1578_1579_well_texas_.html?ex=1157342400&en= a345f490b947edcc&ei=5070&emc=eta1.

Ms. Horyn writes, “There is [an] inescapable fact about Texas. And that is the importance of land in the identity of Texans. ‘Of all the other systems of values, like style, there is till land,’ David Heymann, and associate dean of architecture at the University of Texas, told me one evening in Austin as we drove through a subdivision of McMansions to reach a stunningly modern house that he Is building for a client.” Later she states, “I think Heymann is one of the sanest people I’ve ever met,” and goes on to praise Heymann’s approach to situating some of his buildings so that the inhabitant is in direct dialogue with the unique Texas landscape.

Others Ms. Horyn identifies as contributors to an exemplary "lone star style" include UTSOA Advisory Council members Deedie Rose and Howard Rachofsky, both of Dallas, and alum Bob Harris [M.Arch. '92] of Lake/Flato Architects for his "true vernacular design, combined with a modest sense of luxury" of Austin's Hotel San José.

Perhaps best of all for those living and working in the Lone Star State, Ms. Horyn points to Texas as a possible “template for what might be exciting” in trends in art and architecture, pointing to the ability of Texans to “value what is adventurous,” producing architectural beauties and venues for exciting, bold art and design—what Horyn aptly calls “modernist sugar lumps.”  That combined with the relaxed Western vibe Horyn points to on more than one occasion, and it would seem that Texas, for the moment, has it all.

Anthony Alofsin, Roland Roessner Centennial Professor, has been selected by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy as the 2006 recipient of the Wright Spirit Award in the Professional Category. This award honors an individual who, through artistic, architectural, scholarly, professional, or other endeavors embodies the Spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright. The highest honor given by the Conservancy, it comes in recognition Dr. Alofsin's significant contributions to the study of Frank Lloyd Wright as a scholar, educator, author, and curator, and his work Frank Lloyd Wright: An Index to the Taliesin Correspondence, which has created an invaluable reference tool for Wright scholars and researchers the world over. Previous recipients include Professor Vincent Scully of Yale University. The award will be presented September 16 at the annual meeting, which will be held in Southfield, Michigan.

Lecturer Nik Nikolov and Nicole Blair of Studio 512 have been invited by the Austin American-Statesman to design a house for a selected Austin family as part of the newspaper's initiative to illustrate to readers the effects of the City of Austin's newly-enacted "McMansion" ordinance, which amends city development guidelines by limiting the size, shape, volume, and setbacks for new or renovated residences in most Central Austin neighborhoods. A round table discussion organized by Michael Barnes of the American-Statesman and publication of the project will take place in early September before the ordinance goes into effect on October 1. Others invited to participate include Cindy [B.Arch. '00] and Rick Black [B.Arch. '92] (Rick Black Architect) and Chris Cobb and Kelly Foster (CF Architecture).

Assistant Professor Ulrich Dangel recently attended the Building Technology Educator's Symposium 2006 at the University of Maryland in College Park, where he presented his paper "Building Skins - Design Strategies for Architecture Students." The paper examines how architecture students can be provided with a set of diagramming and evaluation tools that allow them to find appropriate design solutions for building envelopes.

The symposium was an effort to bring together structures instructors, materials and methods instructors, design/build faculty, and any interested in the area of building technology in relation to architectural design education in order to share important and timely information.

Christine Mueller and Pankaj Gupta have just been appointed as sole consultants to the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC). This three-member commission (chaired by Charles Correa) has been entrusted with the task of developing the Urban Design Vision Plan for the next 35 years of growth in New Delhi, including infrastructure, transport, communication, and architecture. The DUAC is also empowered to review all proposed architectural projects exceeding 10,000 square feet to be constructed within the city limits. Ms. Mueller and Mr. Gupta will assist the committee in reviewing all architecture and urban design submittals, and their firm, vir.mueller architects, will propose new design prototypes for existing buildings (such as the Ministerial Bungalows) in Lutyens' Delhi.

Ms. Mueller and Mr. Gupta have been faculty members at UTSOA for the last two years. We look forward to their return in the future.

For the past six months, Senior Lecturer Stephen Ross has been collaborating with Liz Lambert (Hotel San José, Joe's Coffee, Thunderbird Hotel-Marfa) on her newest project, "El Cosmico," in Marfa. (There's a short mention of the project in the August 27 edition of the Sunday New York Times in "Style" section, as well as in this month's Better Homes and Gardens.)

El Cosmico will be built on 15 acres just outside Marfa. The production of El Cosmico will be a true collaboration with Mr. Ross, SOA alum Jack Sanders [M.Arch. '05], and their crew, working with Ms. Lambert, Lake/Flato Architects, and artists (painters, sculptors, musicians, filmmakers). El Cosmico: http://www.myspace. com/elcosmico.

A "See It Before It Gets Built" kick-off event is scheduled for September 22-23 (http://bunkhousemgt.typepad.com/el_cosmico/). The September event will be a big music festival/camp-in/party/bbq on the site. Think Burning Man meets Woodstock meets Kerrville Folk Festival. Continuing the UTSOA collaboration with El Cosmico, Mr. Ross and his partner on this project, Jack Sanders of JWLKR Design Build Adventure, have just formalized an agreement with Ms. Lambert to wrangle a herd of nomadic students, faculty, and alumni to occupy the El Cosmico site a week in advance to design/build (brainstorm/improvise) hammock sleeping clusters, outdoor showers, pool-tubs, shade structures and partitions, and possibly a concierge desk/kissing booth. For more information on this: http://bunkhousemgt.typepad.com/el_cosmico/2006/08/steve_ross_head.html.

This collaboration between Ms. Lambert and the School began when Mr. Ross' Community and Regional Planning class "Research in Land Development" worked on initial strategy stage (programming, development plan, market analysis, branding strategy, site analysis, schematic design, alternative materials and alternative typology investigation, sustainability plan), ultimately using El Cosmico as the class' final project. The collaboration will continue for the fall semester via Lecturer Russell Krepart's advanced design studio.

If interested in volunteering with September event, please contact Steve Ross at slross@mail.utexas.edu.

Alumni Updates

Kara R. Dotter [M.S.H.P. '04], an architectural conservator with Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, was awarded a full scholarship plus living stipend to pursue her Ph.D. beginning this fall at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

After completing her historic preservation degree in 2004, Ms. Dotter finished her Master of Science in Geological Sciences at UT in 2006 with thesis research on the characterization of historic lime mortars using techniques such as polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive spectra analysis (EDS), and backscattered electron imaging (BSE). She presented her results at the 2005 Association for Preservation Technology and 2006 American Institute for Conservation annual conferences and is pursuing publication of the research in a peer-reviewed journal.

Supervised by Dr. Bernard Smith, Ms. Dotter's Ph.D. research will further her studies into historic lime mortars, specifically focusing on identifying the types of information required to develop successful repair mortars, the analytical tools most conducive to collecting such information, and then developing a standardized methodology for lime mortar analysis. The research also will serve to elucidate the effects of weathering on lime mortar in different environments.

Ralf Brand [Ph.D. C.R.P. '03] recently began a new role as lecturer at the University of Manchester's Architectural Research Centre. Mr. Brand received his Ph.D. in Community and Regional Planning under the supervision of Dr. Steven Moore in 2003.

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.

Francisco "Paco" Arumí-Noé Memorial Sundial Competition

To honor the memory of Professor Francisco "Paco" Arumí-Noé, the School of Architecture is proud to announce a competition to design a permanent sundial for the south face of Goldsmith Hall. Each fall, Professor Arumí-Noé would regale his solar geometry students with anecdotes about the disastrous effect that air-conditioning coupled with cheap energy has had on the practice of architecture--creation of mass-amnesia in the profession about how to design with, rather than in opposition to, climate. As an object of beauty and utility that elegantly expresses the relationship of the sun and earth, the sundial seemed to Paco to be an ideal pedagogical tool with which to instill in future generations of architects the importance of working with natural processes.

Paco regularly assigned the design of a sundial as a final project for his Solar Geometry students and worked to garner support for the construction of a student-designed sundial in the empty recessed panel on the south face of Goldsmith Hall. Students began several efforts to realize this goal, but none came to fruition. Nevertheless, Professor Arumí-Noé's dedication to the idea was unflagging. Though we wish he could have lived to see it happen, construction of a sundial that can serve to teach architecture students, indeed all students that pass down Inner-Campus Drive, about the relationship of the sun and earth is a fitting memorial for a man driven by that same purpose.

Professor Arumí-Noé, an unlikely candidate to become a fixture in a school of architecture, will be missed dearly by the many whose lives he touched. A study in contrasts, this ultra-rational physicist was driven by an overwhelming passion for life and beauty. The ideal sundial would embody similar characteristics. It must reflect a set of purely rational physical principles, but should also transcend these principles as a thing of intellectual and physical beauty.

We invite current students, alumni, and others with a connection to Professor Arumí-Noé to submit designs for this memorial sundial competition. A full competition brief may be downloaded at http://soa.utexas.edu/events/ paco_sundial.pdf, and proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. on September 21.

Friends of Architecture

Friends of Architecture recently returned from Michoacán, Mexico, following a week-long tour of colonial architecture organized and led by member Cyndy Severson. Participants visited the historical town centers of Morelia and Pátzcuaro, including 17th and 18th century chapels, museums, and private residences. In addition, the group visited several surrounding colonial towns, admiring the beautiful, mountainous landscapes, studying (and purchasing) amazing regional handicrafts, and experiencing local cultures. See the tour's photo album at: http://soa.utexas.edu/foa/gallery/mexico06.

Highlights of the tour included exclusive visits to the homes and artisan studios of famous sculptor Juan Torres and artists Ana Pellicer and Jim Metcalf and cocktails at the private residence of the owner of the Villa Montaña Hotel and Spa, Count Philippe and Ava de Reiset. Participants also visited the village of Santa Clara del Cobre during their annual Copper Fair, observing the tradition of hammering out amazing copper pieces by hand, and taking in the Festival de Nuestra Señora de Santa Clara de Asis.

In addition, participants were given the opportunity to choose between a tour of painted chapels of the Purépecha villages of Michoacán's Meseta Tarasca or a horseback tour of the ruins of the church of San Juan, rising above the frozen lava of the Paricutín volcano. The groups reunited at the village of Zacán, for a traditional Indian lunch, specially prepared for our group.

FOA's memorable tour of Michoacan -- the "Soul of Mexico" -- concluded with a delicious dinner at Los Juaninos Hotel, taking in an amazing sunset overlooking Morelia's cathedral. If you missed this exclusive tour of Michoacán, you will want to make note of Friends of Architecture's upcoming tour calendar and visit the FOA website (soa.utexas.edu/foa/intro) for membership details.

Friends of Architecture 2006-07 Tour Calendar

• November 2006 - Dallas, Texas
• February 2007 - Ranch Roundup II (Texas)
• March 2007 - Rebuilding New Orleans
• November 2007 - Palm Springs, California

Staff Update

Christine Marcin (Chris) is joining the UTSOA in the position of Executive Assistant, starting September 11. Ms. Marcin has a great deal of experience with UT-Austin and comes to us by way of the Law School and the President's Office. She was the coordinator for President Faulkner's "Commission of 125" a few years ago, and more recently, was Associate Director of Development at the Law School. We are pleased she has chosen to join us.

Dean's Journal

I write this entry while preparing to leave for the opening of the Venice Biennale next week. August has been a busy month getting ready for the Biennale and preparing for the new school year. In preparation for the Biennale, I read Douglas Brinkley's insightful and disturbing hour-by-hour account of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, The Great Deluge. (See related eNews stories at: http://soa.utexas.edu/ news/archive/052506/ and http://soa.utexas.edu/ news/archive/061506/#biennale.)

On August 9, State Representative Mike Kruse, Austan Librach from the City of Austin, Lucy Galbraith of Capital Metro, John Langmore, and I met with Sandrine Milanello of the Congress of the New Urbanism (CNU) at Crú on West Second Street. We discussed organization of the 2008 CNU conference, which will be in Austin. West Second Street has become a vibrant example of "true urbanism" and the first segment of Professor Sinclair Black's "Great Street" vision to be realized. Sinclair planted this seed several years ago, and it is coming alive, thanks to the support of city council, the nurturing of city staff, and the investment of entrepreneurs. Crú is located in a building designed by Sinclair and is part of a six-block downtown plan that he conceived with Professor Larry Speck and others.

On Saturday, August 12, we hosted a performance of "The Land" in the Goldsmith Auditorium. "The Land" provides an experience similar to rain in West Texas -- unusual, refreshing, and welcome. Its author and star, David Marquis, hails from West Texas and builds on that background to enter into a witty, insightful, and thought-provoking dialogue with Mother Nature, who is imaginatively portrayed by Tisha Crear. "The Land" walks us through our multi-layered relationship with nature, including human nature. We are left with the message that it is our responsibility to leave the earth a better place for those who follow.

On Friday, August 18, I moderated an Urban Land Institute panel on urban design excellence. The panel was convened to help Dennis Jerke of Carter & Burgess shape a forthcoming book on the topic. The panel included Ed Feiner of SOM, Mark Johnson of Civitas, Susan Maxman of Maxman Partners, Bill Moorish of the University of Virginia, and Frank Ricks of Looney Ricks Kiss. We explored topics such as: how to recognize environmental assets in urban regions; how to incorporate water, sewer, and transportation infrastructure in urban design; how to enable positive projects; the role of schools in community design; wellness and public health; energy costs; affordable housing near jobs; sustainability; and how to understand and incorporate regional carrying capacity in planning.

On Monday, August 21, we held our faculty retreat, or as we prefer to call it, our "strategic discussion," at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. We were joined by Dean Doug Kelbaugh of the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan. He provided useful information about his college and discussed how it is similar and different. We focused our discussions on how to define quality, the ideal sizes of our programs, and our organizational structure. These ideas will help us prepare for the University's future funding needs, which will likely emphasize academic program support; a core undergraduate experience; graduate student financial aid; faculty recruitment and development; improving the University's campus; selected international programs; and health, science, and engineering research.

At the retreat, we announced the establishment of the Raquel Elizondo Staff Excellence Fund. In honor of our former Assistant Dean Raquel Elizondo, this fund will be used for staff development. Thus far, forty-three faculty, former faculty, and staff members have contributed $6000 to the fund. (If you would like to make a donation, too, please contact me.)

On Monday, I participated in a University Leadership Council retreat at the Blanton Museum of Art. President Bill Powers addressed several "bottlenecks" to achieving the Commission of 125's goal to become the best public university in the nation. He focused on increasing graduate student support and strengthening leadership at the academic unit and research center level. On the topic of state funding, President Powers noted that the University rated 47th overall in the new U.S. News & World Report ranking. However, we rank 104th in funding per student. President Powers noted that we are doing remarkably well given this funding level, but will not be able to sustain excellence without more resources.

On Tuesday, August 29, before flying to Venice, I worked with Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center staff to help implement their merger with the University.

—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