Dean's Journal
On June 15, we submitted our Flight 93 National Memorial Competition Phase 2 design. This entry required an exhausting, exhilarating effort. I learned much from the vision, creativity, and hard work of my colleagues Lecturer Jason Kentner, Karen Lewis of the University of Kentucky, and Visiting Professor Lynn Miller. In particular, Jason displayed incredible creativity and skill in model making. He conceived and built models like nothing I've seen before. Karen exhibited similar talent and acumen on the computer, almost teaching me PhotoShop (which I'm now determined to learn). She imbued all aspects of the design with considerable imagination. Lynn developed a detailed cost estimate for the project, which is estimated to be around $20 million for the "memorial expression" and between $50 and $60 million overall. He and I had fun constructing "ecology diagrams" for the project that included soil types, vegetation, and wildlife. One morning at around 4 a.m., waiting for a print to run in the basement of Sutton, Jason asked with a broad smile, "Fritz, when was the last time you pulled an all-nighter." I think it was when my son Andrew was born 22 years ago. Our entry and the other four finalists will be on exhibit in Somerset, Pennsylvania, until September 25 and can be viewed at http://www.flight93memorialproject.org.
Flight 93 National Memorial Competition team members, from left: Jason Kentner, Karen Lewis, Fritz Steiner, Jennifer Gelber, Megan Taylor, Lynn Miller, Halina Steiner, and Scott Biehle. Photograph by Anna Steiner.
Three architecture and landscape architecture graduate students--Scott Biehle, Jennifer Gelber, and Megan Taylor--contributed their hearts and souls to the project. MLA student Emily Manderson also pitched in. My daughter Halina Steiner donated her time to help with graphic design. Arizona State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design Dean Duke Reiter contributed much to the architectural design of our family chapel. Many School staff were most generous, in particular Raquel Elizondo, Pamela Peters, Mike Farmer, Eric Hepburn, Tisha Alvarado, Mack White, Ray Vargas, and John Vehko. The kind words of encouragement we received from so many of our colleagues and friends of the School were especially heartwarming. We will learn on September 7 if our design is selected for implementation.
In the midst of our Flight 93 competition work, I took a half-day off to participate in an Arts for America Conference panel. The annual conference with some 400 participants was held this year in Austin. I was the respondent for a panel that was moderated by Christina Lanzl of the Massachusetts College of Art and included artist Tim Collins of Carnegie Mellon University, Glenn Eugster of the National Park Service, Elke Berger of Sasaki Associates, and artist Michael Singer from Vermont.
After the Flight 93 materials were submitted, Associate Professor Dean Almy, Assistant Dean Kris Vetter, and I flew to Dallas to meet with School supporters. We continue to discuss the prospect of establishing a Dallas Urban Design Laboratory. I also worked on the School budget for the coming year and on several Envision Central Texas activities.
On Sunday, June 19, I went to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Brandeis University Professor Dan Perlman and I taught a new course, "Ecology and Conservation: A Practical Course for Planners, Architects, Developers, and Citizens," for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. We attracted over 30 students from a broad range of disciplines. Armando Carbonell of the Lincoln Institute was pleased and invited us to teach the course again.
After a day back in Austin working more on the budget and other School matters, I traveled to Washington, D.C., to chair the American Society of Landscape Architecture student awards jury from June 23 to June 26. We received over 220 entries and selected 16 projects for awards. The research and collaborative project categories were especially impressive. The collaborative category is new. Entries included landscape architecture students working with colleagues in architecture, planning, civil engineering, business, ecology, and art. Any student enrolled in a degree program with a student chapter of ASLA is eligible to submit design, planning, research, and collaborative projects.
Fritz Steiner speaking at the International Federation of Landscape Architecture conference, Edinburgh, Scotland. Photograph provided by IFLA.
From Washington, I flew to Edinburgh, Scotland, where I was a keynote speaker at the International Federation of Landscape Architecture (IFLA) conference. The conference was hosted by the Landscape Institute of Great Britain and Heriot-Watt University. I was introduced by Paul Shepheard. I enjoyed seeing Paul and catching up on his activities. He will be with the Amsterdam Academy of Art next year and sends everyone his warm regards. MLA student Phyllis Boyd also attended the IFLA conference. She is an intern in the Edinburgh office of EDAW this summer. It was interesting to walk through Edinburgh's Old Town with its Royal Mile, as well as the Georgian New Town from the 18th century. Another highlight was walking around Enrique Miralles and Benedatta Tagliabue's Scottish Parliament Building. Unfortunately, I couldn't go inside the building because of security concerns generated by the G-8 Summit. The Parliament Building is a bold statement of Scottish nationalism and spirit (and is located across the street from one of the Queen's Scottish residences).
On July 2, the Envirowater 2005 Conference began at the University of Texas at Arlington. The host institutions included the School of Architecture and the Department of Civil Engineering, UT-Arlington, as well as our School of Architecture at UT-Austin. Professor Pat Taylor of UT-Arlington and Professor Hubert van Lier of the University of Wageningen (the Netherlands) were the conference organizers. Envirowater was sponsored by CIGR, an international agricultural engineering organization. Associate Dean Kent Butler was a keynote speaker. His presentation addressed Trinity River planning and development issues [check with Kent if he wants to add anything]. I found a presentation from Spain linking wine and sustainable development especially interesting. I returned back to Austin on July 4 in time for the evening fireworks.
Last week, President Larry Faulkner announced his resignation. He provided strong support for our School. President Faulkner helped me considerably as a new dean, and I will miss him greatly. President Faulkner was a tireless leader and did much to advance the University's mission and stature. I wish him all the best in the coming years.
—Fritz Steiner
Events
Pinhole photograph by Sarah Hill.
EXHIBIT
Through August 12
Visual Resources Collection's Inaugural Image Exhibition:
"Lensless Photography: The Art of the Pinhole"
Visual Resources Collection, Sutton 3.128
The exhibit showcases black and white pinhole photographs taken by students in Lecturer Russell Krepart's fall 2004 Vertical Studio. Various locations, from sites in Marfa, Texas, to a bathroom in Sutton Hall, provided a variety of lighting conditions challenging the students to experiment with pinhole technology and film exposure times. The photos were printed in the School of Architecture's Photo Union Darkroom (http://web.austin.utexas.edu/architecture/facilities/sutton/vrc/photo.html) by class participants. The pinhole cameras constructed by the students are also be displayed.
Scholarship and Awards
An excerpt from the National Design Award package submitted by Sergio Palleroni.
In June, the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum announced the initial winners and finalists of the sixth annual National Design Awards, honoring the most outstanding contributions from the design world in 2005, including the winners of Lifetime Achievement, Corporate Achievement, Design Mind and Design Patron, as well as the three finalists for each of the other six awards for architecture, communications, landscape design, interior design, product, and fashion.
The 2005 National Design Awards jury also chose to grant a Special Jury Commendation to Associate Professor Sergio A. Palleroni, a research fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at The University of Texas at Austin, who runs 10-week-long design/build studios around the world in marginalized communities. Established in 1995 at the University of Washington, these pioneering design/build programs combine innovative architectural training with cross-cultural immersion, social activism, and environmental science. The programs have received numerous national and international awards in education and sustainable design and have been conducted nationally at sites in Washington, Montana, and South Dakota, and across the globe in Mexico, Cuba, and India.
Launched at the White House in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the annual Awards program celebrates design in various disciplines as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world and seeks to increase national awareness of design by educating the public and promoting excellence, innovation, and lasting achievement.
"Lounge!," the recent exhibition at Austin's Arthouse, co-curated by Associate Dean Kevin Alter and Regine Basha, won a 2005 Austin Critics Table Award for "Outstanding Museum Exhibition." The award was presented in a ceremony at the Cap City Comedy Club on June 6.
Critics at this year's 13th annual awards included Austin American-Statesman writers Michael Barnes (arts), Jamie Smith Cantara (theatre), Sondra Lomax (dance), David Mead (music), Tommy O'Malley (theatre), Jeanne Claire van Ryzin (arts), and Holly Williams (dance); and the Austin Chronicle's Heather Barfield (theatre), Rachel Koper (visual art), and Robert Faires (arts).
See more on the exhibition at: http://www.arthousetexas.org/index.php?_page=load_page&_action=load&_id=121.
Alumni Updates
Rhiannon Vassallo's [B.S.I.D. '01] interior design studio, French Kitsch, celebrated its launch on Friday, June 17, with an opening party at the Antique Marketplace on Burnet Road in Austin. Miss Vassallo worked as a residential designer in New York since graduating from the School in May 2001 and recently returned to Austin to start her own retail design business. She specializes in "Interiors with a French Twist" and will be offering consultations for clients.
Tommy Cowan. Photograph provided by Graeber, Simmons & Cowan.
At the May 18 General Session of the American Institute of Architects National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, Tommy Neal Cowan, FAIA [B.Arch. '68 and M.Arch. '70], of Austin, Texas, was elected 2006-2007 treasurer. Mr. Cowan is the first Austinite elected to the National Executive Committee and will represent over 75,000 members while overseeing a 50 million dollar annual budget.
Serving in all leadership positions at AIA Austin and the Texas Society of Architects, Tommy Cowan has been an integral part of restructuring the financial operations of the AIA. As Senior Director from Texas, he serves on the Finance and Audit Committee, and the Scholarship Task Force Committee, and chairs the future Convention Site Selection Committee.
Last June, Mr. Cowan was elevated to the American Institute of Architects prestigious College of Fellows, an honor awarded to members who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved the highest standard of excellence in the profession.
Mr. Cowan is the Chief Financial Officer and a managing principal of Graeber, Simmons, and Cowan Architects since 1978. The 50 person firm specializes in education, governmental, healthcare, banking, and advanced technology projects in Texas.
Jennifer Johnson. Photograph provided by Corgan Associates Inc.
The Dallas Business Journal named Jennifer Johnson [B.S.A.S. '91], a vice president of Corgan Associates Inc., as one of its "40 under 40," an annual contest profiling the best and brightest young business leaders of tomorrow in the Dallas area for their outstanding contributions both in their industry and their community. She and other winners were announced in the June 10 issue of the Dallas Business Journal.
"I'm honored to receive recognition for my efforts," Ms. Johnson said. "Architecture is a highly demanding field with few women who enter and excel after graduation. I enjoy working on projects affecting both the nation and my community, and I hope to encourage other women in architecture to remain on track because it is an exciting and rewarding career."
Ms. Johnson is team manager of the aviation group, the largest team of the four office branches of Corgan Associates. She has worked in most every aspect of the architectural field completing designs nationwide for schools, office buildings, multi-family housing, high-end retail, and aviation projects.
Currently, she is the Architectural Project Manager for Dallas/Fort Worth Airport's Terminal C In-Line Baggage Screening project, which, in total, is the largest automated baggage screening project in the world. She has worked for the past four years on D/FW Airport's new international Terminal D; it is the largest, new post 9/11 terminal, and scheduled to open in July. Corgan's aviation expertise has also taken her to San Antonio International Airport where she is project manager for the new terminal expansion programming and design.
Riley Triggs [B.Arch. '02] was named to the inaugural edition of the "Chancellor's List," a "Who's Who" list of American College Graduate students for his work while in the Rice University post-professional M.Arch. program. Only 1% of the students from the country's 3,000 colleges and universities are honored in the "Chancellor's List."
The purpose of the "Chancellor's List" is to provide recognition for the positive academic achievements of qualified graduate level students, while serving as a portend of future accomplishments both professionally and academically. Every year, professors, deans, and leaders of civic and community service organizations affiliated with post-graduate institutions are invited to nominate outstanding students who have achieved "Chancellor's List" honors, or comparable academic achievement, and have a "B+" average or are in the upper 10% of their classes.
Mr. Triggs has returned to Austin to teach classes in the Design Division of the Art and Art History Department at UT-Austin this coming academic year and to continue work as a principle partner along with co-founder Jonathan Smith [B.Arch. '03] of the design/build research unit Urbanoia Design Group.
Edward Norman Kasparik. Photograph submitted by James Steely.
In Memoriam
Edward Norman Kasparik [MSCRP '78], 62, passed away on Memorial Day, May 30, 2005, in San Diego, California. He was born in Houston, Texas, where he graduated from Jefferson Davis High School. He attended The University of Texas at Austin, earning a master's degree in Community and Regional Planning with emphasis in transportation planning.
After serving as a U.S. Air Force transportation officer in Vietnam where he attained the rank of captain, Mr. Kasparik worked for more than 30 years in railroad and transportation management in Texas and California. He served as state rail planner for the Railroad Commission of Texas, manager of right of way at Austin's Capital Metro, director of high speed rail and planning at the Texas Turnpike Authority, and coordinator of rail and intermodal projects at the Texas Department of Transportation. For the past six years and at the time of his death, he managed rail services for the Coaster commuter train of the North San Diego County Transit District (NCTD).
Mr. Kasparik was a passionate advocate for passenger rail nationwide, and his expertise and integrity were sought and prized in the transportation community. He worked with local officials to prevent the demise of much-needed rail lines, rebuilt portions of railways in the state of Texas, and created innovative methods to keep passenger railroading a viable transportation option in Texas, California, and the nation.
He was a member of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents, the American Public Transportation Association, the Lexington Group of railroad historians, the Sons of Hermann, and numerous other rail advocacy and preservation organizations.
Ed is survived by his wife Rosalind Alexander-Kasparik of San Diego, his parents Doris and Edward F. Kasparik, and sister Karen Henderson of Houston.
We encourage all alumni to share news with us by submitting updates to alumni coordinator 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 those alums to contact her.
SolarD in the News
Cover of July 2005 edition of Columns magazine.
The School's SolarD team is featured in the Dallas AIA July newsletter, Columns,
http://www.dallasaia.org (click on July issue of Columns). The article focuses on the solar decathlon program in general, but photos of the School's entry dominate the front cover!
Meet the SolarD team and watch the progress of the "SNAP House" at http://www.ar.utexas.edu/utsolard/.
Contacts
arch.utexas.edu
Architecture and Planning Student Council + American Institute of Architecture Students website, http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/apscaias/
(area code 512)
Dean's Office, 471-1922, fax 471-0716
Career Placement Director, Sheila Balog, 471-1333, sheila.balog@mail.utexas.edu
Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs, Jeanne Crawford, 471-0109, jcraw@mail.utexas.edu
Graduate Program Coordinator, Rosemin Gopaul, 471-0134, gopaul@mail.utexas.edu
Center for American Architecture and Design, 471-9890, christinewong@mail.utexas.edu
Center for Sustainable Development, 475-8013, utcsd@mail.utexas.edu
Assistant Dean for Development, Kris Muñoz Vetter, 471-6114, kmvetter@mail.utexas.edu
Publications Editor, Pamela Peters, 471-0154, p.peters@mail.utexas.edu
Friends of Architecture Director and Alumni Coordinator, Stephanie Palmer, 471-0617, stephanie.palmer@mail.utexas.edu
Director of Photography, Charlotte Pickett, c.pickett@mail.utexas.edu
Architecture and Planning Library, http://www.lib.utexas.edu/apl/index.html, 495-4620
Mailing Address
The School of Architecture
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station B7500
Austin, TX 78712-0222
Unless otherwise noted, all photographs by Charlotte Pickett, Director of Photography, School of Architecture.
