STUDENT LOUNGE DESIGN COMPETITION
The Architecture and Planning Student Lounge is slated for a major renovation, thanks to a gracious grant from University Cooperative Society President George Mitchell. All students in the School of Architecture are invited to participate, individually or in teams, in a competition to redesign the Student Lounge at the east end of Sutton Hall. The selection jury will consist of students and faculty in the School. There will be financial awards for the first, second, and third place winners; the winning design will be incorporated into the remodeling project, which is expected to be completed shortly after the winter semester break.
Competition details are posted on the School's website at: http://soa.utexas.edu/competition/lounge. The deadline for submittals is October 16.
Events
LECTURE
Friday, October 13
Lisa Switkin
Field Operations
New York, New York
Goldsmith 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
"Hardscape_Softscape"
Lisa Tziona Switkin is a senior associate at Field Operations, an innovative award-wining landscape architecture, urban design, and urban ecology practice based in New York City founded in 1998 by James Corner. Lisa received a B.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois and an M.L.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently the design project manager and senior designer for the High Line (with Diller Scofidio + Renfro) and the Manhattanville Campus Plan for Columbia University (with SOM and Renzo Piano Building Workshop).
LECTURE
Monday, October 16
Marcelo Villafane
Rosario, Argentina
O'Neil Ford Lecture
Goldsmith 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
"30 Years’ Work"
LECTURE
Thursday, October 19
Rafael Iglesia
Rosario, Argentina
O'Neil Ford Lecture
Jessen Auditorium, 5:00 p.m.
"When the Problem is the Solution"
LECTURE
Monday, October 23
Constance Adams
Architect/Space Architect,
Operations Integration Engineer,
International Space Station Program
Houston, Texas
Goldsmith 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
"Space Architecture: Crafting the Mothership"
Constance Adams is a specialist in high-performance architecture and design innovation, particularly in the area of architecture for human spaceflight. Currently performing operations integration for the International Space Station, her work as an architectural consultant to NASA and Lockheed Martin has sensitized her to issues of human-machine interface, sustainable systems, the importance of biomimetic design, and the need for new ways of mitigating risk in the design and building professions.
LECTURE
Monday, October 30
Ethel Buisson
Studio Ethel Buisson
Montreuil, France
Goldsmith 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
EXHIBIT
October 9-31
Eladio Dieste:
A Principled Builder
Mebane Gallery, Goldsmith Hall
Sponsored by Escobedo Construction
Photographs by Yoshihiro Asada. Curated by Stanford Anderson.
Co-sponsored by AIA Austin, all lectures and symposia will be eligible for continuing education learning credits.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE OPEN HOUSE
October 30
GOL 2.308, Dean's Conference Room
The Graduate Program in Landscape Architecture will be hosting an Open House for prospective applicants on October 30, 2006. The program will include remarks from Dean Steiner, a review of the program mission, and a panel on portfolio preparation. To view the day's agenda and download a registration form, visit: http://soa.utexas.edu/la/openhouse. Registration deadline is October 21.
EXHIBIT
Terrace Housing of Belgravia, London, England, 1820s-40s, architect Thomas Cubitt. Photograph by R. James Coote.
September 11, 2006, through January 12, 2007
Visual Resources Collection
Sutton 3.128 (Monday-Friday, 8-5)
"Through the Eyes of an Architect:
Images from R. James Coote's Travels"
"Through the Eyes of an Architect: Images from R. James Coote's Travels" features digital prints from selected 35mm slides donated to the Visual Resources Collection (VRC) by Professor Emeritus R. James Coote. Along with almost two thousand slides from his personal collection, Professor Coote provided thorough descriptions of each image facilitating the creation of online catalog records; the entire donation is in the process of being digitized and will be available online for use by the University community.
From 1965-2000, Professor Emeritus Coote taught architectural design and architectural history courses to undergraduate and graduate students at The University of Texas at Austin.
CENTER FORUMS
The Center for American Architecture and Design hosts a Friday Forum Series from 12:00 to 1:30 in the Center's Battle Hall Conference Room (room 101).
Throughout the fall and spring semesters, faculty, visitors, and graduate students at the School of Architecture offer their latest work up for freewheeling discussion and debate, with subjects varying from architectural practice, design, design theory, to the arts, planning, and the politics and economics of development.
The idea is for faculty and students to meet in an informal atmosphere to debate and freely discuss topics "hot" on the minds of the speakers. Visit the Center website (http://www.utexas.edu/architecture/center/lunch_forums/) for updates. The remaining fall 2006 schedule includes:
The Friday Forum is also webcast live from http://www.utexas.edu/architecture/center/lunch_forums/, and you are invited to call in live with questions or comments during the discussion at 512-471-9890.
FALL 2006 FILM SERIES
Nik Nikolov and Studio Cinemarchitecture, in association with the UT-Austin School of Architecture, present the fall 2006 film series. All screenings will take place on Wednesdays in GOL 3.120, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Upcoming films include:
October 18
ESCAPIST FUTURISM: MOONRAKER (1979)
dir. Lewis Gilbert, prod. design by Ken Adam
November 1
FUTURE HOMES: GATTACA (1979)
dir. Andrew Niccol, prod. design by Jan Roelfs
November 15
NEOBOURGEOIS SPACE: PLAYTIME (1967)
dir. Jacques Tati, prod. design by Eugène Roman
November 29
AMBIVALENT URBANISM: EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
dir. George Lucas
TBA
IDEAL DOMESTICITY: THE WOMEN (1939)
dir. George Cukor, prod. design by Cedric Gibbons
FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP
Associate Professor Carl Matthew's article (with Caroline Hill and Peter Dedek) on current technology trends and practices in interior design education, "Keeping Tabs on Technology," was published in the September 2006 issue of Interiors and Sources.
Dean Fritz Steiner and Texas Senatorial candidate Kirk Watson were featured on a recent episode of KLRU-TV's local cultural affairs series, Austin Now. The episode focused on two projects that will have a huge impact on the future of the region--the Mueller Redevelopment and State Highway 130 (http://www.sh130.com/).
Steiner and Watson discussed the opportunities and challenges of the development along the new SH 130 Corridor east of Austin with Austin Now host Tom Spencer. (Spencer is teaching a "Native Plants" course at the School this fall.)
Assistant Professor Jason Sowell and architecture graduate student Rachel Brown participated in an October 4 panel discussion on the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans hosted by the Graduate Business Council at the McCombs School. The panel offered perspectives from the areas of business, policy, and design.
Professor Sowell and Ms. Brown presented results from their research project that looked at the ways in which city planning, designing a better levee system, and flood protection program and building construction can play a part in making New Orleans safer in the future. One aspect of a flood protection system Sowell pointed to was returning the natural wetlands system to the New Orleans area, which was effectively killed by the levee system put in by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The panel was moderated by Kevin Watts of the Graduate Business Council, an MBA student organization. Panel participants included John Butler, director of the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship and the IC2 Institute at UT-Austin; Tomas Aguilar, representing the Workers Defense project; and Don Baylor of the Center for Public Priorities Project.
ALUMNI NEWS
TSA ALUMNI RECEPTION
Thursday, November 2
Hyatt Regency Dallas
6:30 p.m.
This year's annual Texas Society of Architects convention will be held in Dallas. Even if you are not planning to attend the TSA convention, all alumni of the School of Architecture are invited to attend a reception at the Hyatt Regency Dallas @ Reunion on Thursday, November 2, beginning at 6:30 pm. We hope you will plan to join your fellow alumni and Dean Steiner at this event. Printed invitations have been sent via mail. To r.s.v.p. and/or update your mailing address, visit us online at http://soa.utexas.edu/alumni/tsa. Please contact Stephanie Palmer at 512-471-0617 or stephanie.palmer@mail.utexas.edu with questions.
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.
STUDENT NEWS
Dessislava Boneva, fourth year interior design student, was selected as one of three national finalists for the 2006 Brinkman Interior Design Scholarship. She presented a portfolio of her work to jurors in August and will be provided an all-expense-paid trip to New York City to present to a second-round panel of jurors. The winner of that round will receive $5000, to be presented at Contract magazine's Interiors Awards Breakfast in January 2007. Dessislava is a current holder of the Angelo Donghia Senior Scholarship of $28,500.
Last summer, Lindsey Jones, AIAS President and fourth-year interior design student, and Amor Saldana, AIAS Vice President and fourth-year architecture student, attended the 2006 Grassroots conference in Washington, D.C. Grassroots is the American Institute of Architecture Student's annual four-day leadership conference. Each year, an average of 150 leaders from the nation’s design and architecture schools come together for three purposes: to be taught the principles of leadership, to discuss the issues facing architecture students, and to connect to other student leaders and create a network of resources and friendships.
Friends of Architecture
David and Kathy Escobedo Pool House. Photograph © Paul Bardagjy.
Friends of Architecture is now taking reservations for a revived tour of Hill Country ranches, "Ranch Roundup II." If you missed FOA's sold-out tour of Hill Country ranches last February (http://web.austin.utexas.edu/architecture/
enews/archive/2006-02-16/#foa), you'll want to make your reservation early for this unique architectural experience.
On Saturday, November 11, Professor David Heymann will lead Friends of Architecture's exclusive tour. In addition to a drive through beautiful Texas Hill Country, he will take us to private ranches by Lou Kimball Architect, Escobedo Construction, Overland Partners, and others. Space on the tour is limited. To register, contact FOA Director Stephanie Palmer at stephanie.palmer@mail.utexas.edu or 512-471-0617.
For information on Friends of Architecture membership, visit us online at soa.utexas.edu/foa/intro.
Dean's Journal
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; detail view of the wetland pond. The pond is rich with aquatic native flora and is frequented by a variety of water-loving fauna, including dragonflies, turtles, and the occasional snake. Photograph by Ronald Sprouse.
On Thursday evening, September 28, we formally welcomed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to The University of Texas at Austin. (The Center officially became an Organized Research Unit of the College of Natural Sciences and the School of Architecture on September 1.) UT System Board of Regents Chair James Huffines and UT-Austin President Bill Powers, remarked about the significance of the Center with Mrs. Lyndon Baines Johnson looking on. As President Powers concluded, Mrs. Johnson gave a "hook 'em horns" sign in approval.
Lucy Baines Johnson described the importance of the Wildflower Center and the University to Mrs. Johnson and their family. She called the Wildflower Center her mother's "third child." Wildflower Center Director Susan Rieff noted that the sole concern of the staff about the merger was "that they wouldn't be working for Mrs. Johnson any longer."
In her remarks, College of Natural Sciences Dean Mary Ann Rankin said that the staff should not be concerned because "all of us at the University now work for Mrs. Johnson."
The College of Natural Sciences and the Wildflower Center Advisory Council members attended the ceremony, as did the School's Advisory Council Chair Susan Benz [B.Arch. '84]. Associate Professor Richard Cleary and Assistant Professors Hope Hasbrouck and Jason Sowell also joined the festivities.
The next morning, I attended the Wildflower Center Advisory Council meeting as an ex-officio member, transitioning with the former Board of Trustees to our new role as part of the University. Former School Advisory Council members Rick Archer [B.Arch. ‘79] and Betsy Barlow Rogers also joined the new Wildflower Council. Rick and his Overland colleagues designed the Wildflower Center, while Betsy's family ranch is outside Johnson City. As a result, both expressed a deep connection to the mission of the Wildflower Center.
Later on Friday, I participated in the inaugeration of our new University President as part of the UT@123 ceremony. Associate Dean Kevin Alter also represented the School in the colorful procession opening the event. President Powers laid out an ambitious agenda for the University that included promoting academic excellence in all disciplines and increasing student and faculty diversity. He noted that we need to expand our support of graduate students and increase funding for academic departments. President Powers used the Department of History as an example of high quality. History Professor David M. Oshinsky received a Pulitzer Prize this year for his book, Polio: An American Story.
On Saturday, I joined President Powers in his box for the Sam Houston State football game. Since the game was not much of a contest, there was plenty of time for talk. Former Mayor Kirk Watson and his son were also in the box. We discussed our Envision Central Texas and State Highway 130 planning activities. The next day, the Austin American-Statesman featured a comprehensive, front-page story about the State Highway 130 project.
Southwest view of the new Prairie View A&M University School of Architecture model. Designed by Michael Rotondi, Roto Architects. Photograph provided by Roto Architects.
On Monday, October 2, I joined the other Texas architecture deans at the Prairie View A&M School of Architecture. Dean Ikhlas Sabouni hosted us in her wonderful new building designed by Michael Rotondi. We discussed the deans' panel at the upcoming Texas Society of Architects conference, as well as the growing role of green design in our schools. Both Prairie View A&M and the University of Houston are searching for faculty members to bolster their sustainable design offerings. In addition, the deans described our research initiatives, explored possible collaboration among the schools, discussed the challenges of faculty performance evaluations, and outlined critical issues facing each school.
On Tuesday, October 3, I met with the Envision Central Texas Executive Committee. We spent some time focusing on the growth expected just inside the City of Austin. Currently, over 925,000 people live inside the city limits and within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction zone. With an annual growth rate of 3.5%, we can expect one million more people inside the city by 2030. The city is exploring ways to focus and densify growth consistent with the Envision Central Texas vision. Outside the city, similar growth is expected in the adjacent counties and cities.
After Envision Central Texas, I attended a School faculty meeting. We continued to discuss several topics raised at our fall retreat.
Later in the day, I met Hill County Conservancy Executive Director George Cofer at Dirty Martin's to discuss open space initiatives in the region. Afterwards, I joined several others at Louie's 106 for dinner with Carl Westmoreland, the featured speaker at the Heritage Society of Austin's annual awards luncheon (and a former planning professor of mine at the University of Cincinnati).
The next morning, October 4, I met first with landscape architecture students about our accreditation review and then with the School's administrative team.
I attended the Heritage Society's awards lunch with Historic Preservation Program Director Michael Holleran and many alumni and friends of the School. Professor Emeritus Wayne Bell moderated the awards presentations, which included David Graeber [B.Arch. '55] receiving a Preservation Merit Award.
Carl Westmoreland then described his efforts to establish the Mt. Auburn Good Housing Foundation and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. He stressed the importance of preserving culture with buildings and neighborhoods, especially minority cultures, as part of historic presservation efforts.
Later that day, I flew to Minneapolis for the Landscape Architecture Foundation board meeting and the annual conference of the American Society of Landscape Architects. The big news at the conference was the shortage of landscape architecture graduates and the significant jump in salaries. (ASLA reports that landscape architect salaries are up by 20 percent, with the Pacific region being the top-earning region. See ASLA's press release on salaries and the landscape architect shortage at http://www.asla.org/press/2006/release100706.htm.)
I returned to Austin on October 11, where I met Professor Rui Yang of the College of Architecture and Planning, Tsinghua University, Beijing. Professor Yang gave two lectures at the School during his visit to Austin.
—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 University of Texas at Austin
School of Architecture
1 University Station B7500
Austin, TX 78712-0222
