LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ACCREDITATION REVIEW

The Graduate Program in Landscape Architecture went through its full accreditation review this week by members of the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board. This is a watershed event in the history of the School. The program, which graduated its first class last spring, has made a strong start. Over the last few years the School has brought in three core faculty: Assistant Professor Hope Hasbrouck, Assistant Professor Jason Sowell, and Associate Professor Mirka Benes. They have done a remarkable job building the program, educating the students, and preparing for accreditation. As part of the accreditation process, a representative exhibition of all the design studio work and related course material produced over the last three years in landscape architecture was held in the School. It was an impressive showing of the strength of the program, its students, and alumni. Students graduating from the Program are already highly sought after, working all over the country. The Program has already begun to contribute to the trans-disciplinary dialogue within the School, raising awareness of the role of landscape within the professions of architecture and planning. Congratulations to the faculty and students in landscape architecture for having achieved so much in so little time.

Events

LECTURE

Monday, October 30
Ethel Buisson
Studio Ethel Buisson
Montreuil, France
Goldsmith 3.120, 5:00 p.m.

"Case Study House Program:
A Story of a Living American Design Laboratory"

Ethel Buisson graduated in architecture from Princeton University and studied at the Ecole Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris. She has taught at UTSOA and is currently a faculty member at the school of architecture in Lille, France. She has her own practice and specializes in exhibition design. She also practices architectural photography.

Wednesday, November 8
Jerry van Eyck
West 8
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Goldsmith 3.120, 5:00 p.m.
Sponsored by the Dallas Urban Laboratory

Monday, November 13
Dietmar Eberle
Baumschlager + Eberle
Lochau, Austria
Goldsmith 3.120, 5:00 p.m.

Monday, November 20
Ulrich Dangel
The University of Texas at Austin
Goldsmith 3.120, 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 21
Francisco Mangado
Pamplona, Spain
Location TBA

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.

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.

SYMPOSIUM

November 16
Design--E2 Forum
KLRU's Austin City Limits Studio

Cameron Sinclair, Executive Director, Architecture for Humanity; Susan Szenasy, Editor, Metropolis magazine.

Co-sponsored by AIA Austin, all lectures and symposia will be eligible for continuing education learning credits.

EXHIBIT

November 8 - December 2
Baukunst
Contemporary Architecture in Vorarlberg, Austria
Mebane Gallery, Goldsmith Hall

Curated by Ulrich Dangel.

EXHIBIT

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.

EXHIBIT

Through February 2007
Architecture & Planning Library
Battle Hall

"Landscape Representation and the Education of Landscape Architects"

Selections from the collections of Associate Professor Mirka Benes and the Architecture & Planning Library's Special Collections.

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:

• November 10, Simon Atkinson
• December 1, Timothy Parker

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:

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 Dean Louise Harpman's firm, Specht Harpman, recently completed a project at St. Edward's University, which was published in Architectural Record's annual review of outstanding university projects. Jayne Merkel's article, "Hitting the Books," features projects at Yale University, University of Massachusetts, University of Cincinnati, and St. Edward's University.

Visiting Associate Professor Sergio Palleroni's article, "Building to Learn/Learning to Build," was just published in OZ, the nationally recognized journal produced by students in Kansas State University's College of Architecture, Planning, and Design.

ALUMNI NEWS

The architectural team of Michael Jacobs [M.Arch. '95] and Diane Jacobs of Holly Street Studio have received distinction as one of Southwest Contractor magazine's Best of 2006 award winners for their design for the Heard Museum West in Surprise, Arizona. The annual competition recognizes construction and design excellence in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. The 7,000-square-foot Heard Museum West was created by the architectural team from Holly Street Studio in Phoenix as a result of a partnership with the city of Surprise and the Heard Museum. Architectural details include deep recesses, open covered walkways, and canopy structures designed to enhance the transition from indoor to outdoor space. Landscaped seating areas feature native plants and water collecting devices. The museum's location on city-owned land reinforces the city's commitment to recreation, education, arts, sports, and civic activities. Built in the emerging Surprise Center, the museum is surrounded by Surprise Lake, the 25-court Surprise Racquet Center, the Surprise Public Library and is across the street from the Surprise Recreation campus on Bullard Avenue. The area will also be home to the public safety building, also under construction, and the new Surprise City Hall, scheduled to open in 2008. Each project will be featured in the December 2006 issue of Southwest Contractor. Holly Street Studio will receive its award on Thursday, December 14, during an awards breakfast at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix.

Martha Bennett's [B.Arch. '75] firm, Bennett Wagner & Grody Architects, received the 2006 AIA Denver Honor Award (highest design award), as well as the first annual AIA Denver Sustainability Award for the renovation of the Byron Rogers Courthouse in Denver, Colorado. Additionally, her firm received the People's Choice Award for the Colorado Academy Music Building. Past President of AIA Denver, Ms. Bennett is currently serving on the National AIA150 Oversight Committee.

On a personal note, her son, Bennett Powell, a current Community and Regional Planning graduate student, is engaged to Ashleigh Snyder, daughter of Carol Boerder [B.Arch. '74].

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

Barbara Brown, a second-year Community and Regional Planning Ph.D. student, has been selected as the 2007 winner of the Donald Schön Award for Excellence in Learning from Practice by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). She has been invited to present her paper, "Participatory Action Research in Architectural Education: Building Research from the Ground Up," at the annual meeting of the ACSP in Fort Worth in April and will receive a $1,000 stipend. Brown's research was conducted as the first Luce Fellow at the School. This three-year project, sponsored by the Henry Luce Foundation, supports the creation of the UT Graduate Portfolio Program in Sustainability, directed by Professor Steven Moore, and the Sustainable Design and Development Workshop directed by Visiting Associate Professor Sergio Palleroni.

Friends of Architecture

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

During the past two weeks, at 7:46 a.m. EST on October 17 to be precise, the 300,000,000th American arrived either by birth or immigration. Statistically, our 300,000,000th American is probably a Latino male.

Before our nation crossed this population threshold, the School's Advisory Council met on Friday, October 13. Led by chair Mike McCall [M.Arch. '80], the Council reviewed various School activities including the 2007 Solar Decathlon, our Venice Biennale exhibit, and the Design E² public television series. Joined by faculty representatives Professor Larry Speck and Associate Professor Vince Snyder, the Council discussed strategies to support graduate studies, the Dallas Urban Laboratory, community service learning, exhibitions, lectures, publications, faculty development, and Solar Decathlon. That evening, the Advisory Council had dinner with faculty and students at the home of Paul Hilliard and Danny Hamilton, designed by Brian Dillard. At the dinner, we thanked Susan Benz [B. Arch. '84] for her dedication, leadership, and service during her two-year term as Chair and awarded her with a framed watercolor by Professor Larry Doll.

Before dinner, many of the Council members attended a School lecture by Lisa Switkin of Field Operations. She described the design of the High Line Project in New York City. She and her colleagues are creating a new linear green space through the lower west side of Manhattan.

The next day, I attended the Baylor football game with Council members Sally Fly and John Nyfeler. Baylor put up a spirited challenge in the first quarter, before the Longhorns took control, and the rains came after half-time.

On Sunday, I flew to Detroit to participate in the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning retreat. Professor Dana Cuff from UCLA joined me as a second guest from outside the college. I was struck by the similarities of challenges and opportunities that Texas and Michigan higher education share. There are differences, too. For example, their endowment is about three times higher than ours, but so is their tuition. Also, their architecture faculty have much more limited opportunities for design commissions in metropolitan Detroit than are available in Central Texas.

Architecture is celebrating its centennial at Michigan this year, while planning is in its 60th year. Both programs are four years older than ours at Texas, although architecture courses began at Michigan in 1876. The University is preparing for its next capital campaign, and the Taubman College is planning its strategies to increase its endowment and other resources.

We spent considerable time discussing ideas for advancing a design culture and for fostering closer ties between architecture and planning. Their studio faculty also devote considerable time to teaching and would like more time for their scholarship. Several Michigan faculty advocate expanding the college's international, urban design, and sustainable development offerings. The faculty's enthusiasm and collegiality are impressive.

From Detroit, I flew to snowy Denver on Tuesday, October 17, for the Urban Land Institute Conference. After various Sustainable Development Council activities Tuesday night, I participated in the council meetings all day Wednesday at the former Stapleton Airport. Developed by Forest City Enterprises and designed by Peter Calthorpe, EDAW, and others, Stapleton encompasses 4,700 acres (7.5 square miles) and is planned for 12,000 homes, 13 million square feet of commercial space, and 1,100 acres of parks and open space. At the conference, Peter Calthorpe received the J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, the first architect to be so honored.

Forest City personnel described how sustainability was addressed at Stapleton (see http://www.stapletondenver.com and http://www.forestcity.net). They addressed community-building efforts, green-building initiatives, and economic benefits. Their attempt to green a retail power center, called Northfield, at Stapleton was especially innovative (http://www.northfieldstapleton.com).

Representations from the Lowry Air Force Base reuse and the Gates Rubber Factory redevelopment teams also presented to the ULI Sustainable Development Council. The three-square-mile Lowry community is near Stapleton, and both projects have many parallels to the redevelopment of the Mueller Airport in Austin. The Gates project involves the conversion of a brownfield site into a transit-oriented development. We also heard about ULI sustainability research in Europe.

Back in Austin, I participated in a Sustainable Sites Initiative conference call. The initiative is creating LEED-like standards for landscapes. Participants include the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the U.S. Botanic Garden, and the U.S. Green Building Council. Also on Thursday, October 19, I attended an Envision Central Texas executive committee meeting, and later, a poetic lecture by Rafael Iglesia from Argentina. He described his architectural projects in his hometown of Rosario. We experimented with a Spanish translation for the lecture in Jessen Auditorium.

On Sunday, October 22, the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board site visitation arrived until Wednesday, October 25. Our Master of Landscape Architecture degree is being considered for advancement from candidacy status to full accreditation. The site visit team included Jack Ahern, chair of the University of Massachusetts Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning; Marcha Johnson, Trustee, New York City Parks and Recreation Department; and Dixon Hanna, Associate Provost for Academic Planning, Resources, and Space at Virginia Tech. They will submit their recommendations to LAAB. Accreditation represents an important milestone for our Landscape Architecture Program.

—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