Turner Contemporary, proposed international venue for the visual arts in Margate in Kent, England. Designed by Snøhetta. James Dodson [B.Arch. '95], of Snøhetta, is a visiting lecturer at the School for the spring semester.

3 February 2006

Dean's Journal

Frequently, I am asked about the size of the School. For years, we remained at around 600 students, half undergraduate, half graduate. Since 2001, we have grown to nearly 700 students, maintaining the undergraduate-graduate balance. Of the 685 majors in the fall 2005 semester, 259 were undergraduates in architecture and 58 in interior design. Our Master of Architecture, first professional degree program, increased from 87 students in 2001 to 145 this past fall. The Community and Regional Planning Program grew from 79 to 101 students during the same period, including 13 Ph.D. students. Our new Master of Landscape Architecture program now has 36 students.

Women outnumbered men in our student body 387 to 298 in the fall 2005 semester. We have experienced a modest positive growth in African-American students and now have 18 students, compared to 12 in 2001. We also have 61 Hispanic, 62 Asian-American, and 4 American-Indian students. In the fall, 58 international students were enrolled in our programs, including 46 graduate students.

Since fall 2001, the number of semester credit hours produced by the School faculty has increased from 6,161 to 8,537 this past fall. During this period, our full-time equivalent faculty has also increased from 43.59 to 47.86. We have advanced average tenure-track and tenured faculty salaries by almost $14,000 over the past five years, bringing us closer to university and peer averages, but still below where they should be. Unfortunately, the University has provided scant raises for our valuable lecturer positions and staff raises have been modest.

We have maintained one of the lowest student/faculty ratios on campus (13.45 to 1). These ratios are extremely important for the School's studio culture.

To increase faculty and staff salaries and our faculty and staff size and maintain low studio/faculty ratios, I have advocated differential tuition. Our proposed differential tuition has been approved, although at a lower level than I recommended. In addition, $150 of each semester's increase will be devoted to rising energy costs, lowering what can be used in the School.

Undergraduate resident tuition for School of Architecture students will increase $400 per semester (including the $150 energy charge) to $3,912 (the current rate is $3,512). Continuing undergraduate non-resident tuition will rise to $8,125 per semester, with new non-resident undergraduates charged $8,561. (The current rate for new non-resident undergraduate students is $7,974.) Only the Schools of Business and Pharmacy had higher percentage increases. Still, our undergraduate tuition will remain one of the lowest on campus.

Graduate resident tuition will rise to $3,961 per semester, including the $150 energy charge, from its current $3,575. Continuing non-resident graduate students will be charged $7,712 per semester, with new non-resident graduate students charged $8,148. (The current cost for new non-resident graduate students is $7,633.) These increases were among the lowest on a percentage basis on campus. However, the graduate tuition will be among the highest.

Except for the energy charge and financial aid set-asides, we do not yet know the financial consequences of these raises. We expect that they will help improve salaries and expand our technical support in the future.

I took a 6:30 am flight to Dallas on Wednesday, January 25, to participate in a site design workshop for the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. The workshop was held at the offices of Good Fulton & Farrell. Advisory Council members Deedie Rose and Howard Rachofsky participated. The focus of the workshop was the most recent site plan by Michel Devigne Paysagistes, represented by Justine Miething of Paris. Some of the other participating designers included: Deb Mitchell of JJR (the landscape architects of record), Spencer de Grey of Norman Foster & Partners (architects of the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House), Joshua Prince Ramus of OMA (architects of Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre), Claire Kahn of WET Design (fountain designers), and Duncan Fulton of Good Fulton & Farrell (architects of record).

After the workshop, I joined Assistant Dean Kris Vetter. We met with individuals about possible support for our architectural history program and our Dallas Urban Lab initiative.

Entry to the Meredith house, designed by Miró Rivera Architects. Photograph provided by Patrick Y. Wong.

On Thursday and Friday, January 26 and 27, I attended meetings of the planning committee, executive committee, and board of directors of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. On Thursday evening, Lynn and Tom Meredith hosted a dinner for the board. Miró Rivera Architects designed the Meredith's lake house.

The Lady Bird Wildflower Center Board meeting overlapped with the Spring University Leadership Retreat, which I attended Friday afternoon. Outgoing UT-Austin President Larry Faulkner noted that we need to begin to prepare for the next capital campaign. As we move away from public financing of the University toward more private financing, President Faulkner urged us to be mindful of the challenges for affordability, diversity, and access. He reviewed common concerns expressed by college and school strategic planning efforts, including space, undergraduate and graduate student support, faculty support, and program unit leadership support. President Faulkner also described several pan-institutional needs such as libraries, IT, student support, space, athletics, and international programs. Assistant Dean Vetter and I are working with the central administration, the Advisory Council, and the faculty to revise our strategic plan for this next capital campaign.

Following President Faulkner, incoming President Bill Powers emphasized the importance of institutional strategic planning. He said we need to take the message of the value of higher education to the citizens of Texas. President Powers stated that we want all our academic programs to be highly regarded across the nation and around the world. He underscored that diversity is necessary for such leadership and we need a faculty and student body that is similar to the composition of Texas. President Powers also said we need to bring the richness of the University's resources to our undergraduates.

Concurrent with the University Leadership Retreat, the Texas Society of Architects Board of Directors met in Goldsmith Hall. A panel of deans was a featured event. Associate Dean Kevin Alter represented the School on this panel. After the retreat, I attended a reception for the TSA Board at the TSA's headquarters on North Congress.

That evening, I attended a dinner in honor of LBJ School Interim Dean Bob Inman. The dinner was held on the 10th floor of the LBJ Library. Larry Faulkner and Lucy Baines Johnson were among those who saluted Admiral Inman's contributions as interim dean.

On Monday, January 30, I participated in a farewell reception for Larry Faulkner at the Erwin Center. Former Assistant Dean Marjie French (now Vice President of Development at UT-Dallas) also attended the crowded reception. On Tuesday, I attended a lunch talk by Roberta Gratz, sponsored by the Downtown Austin Alliance and Preservation Texas. An award-winning journalist and urban critic, Ms. Gratz is the author of Cities Back from the Edge.

Wednesday, February 1, was Bill Powers' first day as UT-Austin president. The deans met with him and Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson for breakfast in the Stark Library to begin his term. President Powers emphasized the role of deans in providing academic leadership for the University.

Later that day, the various implementation committees of Envision Central Texas met to discuss our progress. Now that I am ECT chair, I no longer co-chair the Transportation and Land Use Implementation Committee. However, I remain involved in its activities, including planning for State Highway 130. Also on Wednesday, I introduced the lecture by James Dodson [B.Arch. '95] of Snøhetta.

On Thursday, I flew to Philadelphia for a conference "Rebuilding Urban Places after Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina" at the University of Pennsylvania. I was invited to moderate a session on "Making Places Less Vulnerable." I also co-authored a paper, which was presented by Barbara Faga of EDAW, on our Gulf Coast sensitive areas mapping project. Other speakers including Marc Morial, former Mayor of New Orleans and CEO of the National Urban League; Witold Rybczynski, author and Penn professor; Marilyn Jordon Taylor, SOM partner and ULI president; Reed Kroloff [M.Arch. '86], dean of Tulane University School of Architecture; and Nick Spitzer, producer of NPR's American Routes.

Events

EXHIBIT

February 6-10
Center for Mexican American Studies: 35th Year Anniversary
Mebane Gallery, Goldsmith Hall

Model for the Southwest Key Corporate Headquarters building, presently starting construction. Image provided by Cotera + Reed Architects.

LECTURE

Friday, February 10
Juan Cotera
Cotera + Reed Architects
Austin, Texas

Lecture: "Practicing Accountability: Latina/o Architects, the Latina/o Community and Institutions of Higher Learning"
Goldsmith Hall 3.120, 5 p.m.
A reception will follow the lecture in the Mebane Gallery.

This lecture will examine a number of aspects related to the notion of socially responsible architecture. What does it mean to develop an architecture that is responsive to a specific culture? What are the implications of such an approach with respect to style and design? What is the responsibility of schools of architecture to explore the relationship between culture and design in terms of minority cultures? And should institutions of higher learning promote modern (with a lower case m) architecture and eschew style and "order."

Juan Cotera studied Civil Engineering at Texas Western College, now the University of Texas El Paso, and holds a B. Arch. from The University of Texas at Austin (1968), where he also completed coursework for a Masters in Community and Regional Planning (1969).

In 1972, Mr. Cotera joined the Austin firm of his former dean, Alan Taniguchi. In 1975, he founded his first firm, which eventually became Cotera, Kolar, Negrete and Reed (CKNR). During his 27-year tenure as a CKNR founding partner, the firm grew to 27 employees and Mr. Cotera was involved in the design of over 120 projects in central and south Texas, including the Austin Convention Center, the Hilton Convention Center Hotel, the new Austin Airport Terminal, and the Robert Johnson State Office Building. In 2003 Mr. Cotera, together with his partner Phillip Reed, founded Cotera + Reed Architects, a small firm focused on design innovation.

Design>Build>Texas house, Johnson City. Photograph by Paul Bardagjy.

OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, February 11
Design>Build>Texas Open House
Johnson City
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The School of Architecture is hosting an Open House at the Design>Build>Texas house in Johnson City on Saturday, February 11, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The students and faculty who designed and built this demonstration house will be on hand to give tours and answer questions. For more information about the project, please visit www.designbuildtexas.com.

Tours will leave at the top of every hour. The tour is free, but reservations are required.

To reserve, please contact the School by email at SOA-ug@austin.utexas.edu, and we will send you a confirmation letter and a map. We hope to see you on Saturday, February 11.

Image provided by Leven Betts Studio.

LECTURE

Monday, February 13
David Leven and Stella Betts
Leven Betts Studio
New York, New York
Patillo Centennial Lecture

Lecture: "LINEweights"
Goldsmith Hall 3.120, 5 p.m.
A reception will follow the lecture in the Mebane Gallery.

The lecture will delineate patterns and forms of site that are synthesized in their architecture and interiors.

Stella Betts and David Leven created Leven Betts Studio in 1997 in New York City. The practice has focused primarily on projects relating to issues of the city and has recently completed several houses in New York state. Leven Betts Studio has won a variety of awards ranging from New York City AIA awards, an International Design magazine design review award, the Chicago Prize of the Chicago Architecture Club, runners-up for the Metropolis Next Generation Award, and has been published widely in design magazines and books on design. Both principals teach architectural design. Ms. Betts teaches graduate thesis studio at Parsons School of Design, and Mr. Leven teaches fourth-year design at the City College of New York.

EXHIBIT

February 13 - March 10
LINEweights
Leven Betts Studio
Mebane Gallery, Goldsmith Hall

LECTURE

Monday, February 20
George Wheeler
Columbia University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, New York
Jahn Lecture Series in Historic Preservation

Goldsmith Hall 3.120, 5 p.m.

George Wheeler has worked in the Metropolitan Museum since 1979 and is currently Research Scientist in the newly created Science Group. He specializes in the field of stone conservation and has published extensively on related topics. He is also the Director of Conservation Research in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. He was a 1997 American Academy of Rome Fellow.

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 spring 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.

Francisco "Paco" Arumí-Noé. Photograph by Dana Norman.

Explore UT and
All-Class Reunion

On Saturday, March 4, 2006, the School of Architecture will host our third annual All-Class Reunion. Once again, we encourage alumni to return to campus for the University's annual "Explore UT" open house, followed by a reception for all School of Architecture alumni.

As a very special part of this year's reunion, we will also pay tribute to Professor Francisco "Paco" Arumí-Noé, who passed away this past September. We were touched by the responses we received from our alumni regarding Paco's sudden passing, and we hope that his commemoration during the All-Class Reunion will justly honor his many achievements and be an inviting opportunity for us to all convey our respects. In anticipation of this tribute, please visit http://www.utexas.edu/architecture/memorial/paco/ to post your memories of Paco, so we may incorporate them into our evening.

We hope you will mark your calendars for "Explore UT" and the All-Class Reunion, beginning at 5:00 p.m. Additional details will be available in upcoming issues of eNews and in a forthcoming invitation. For questions regarding March 4 events, or to update your contact information, contact Stephanie Palmer at 512-471-0617 or stephanie.palmer@mail.utexas.edu.

Envisioning Dallas Symposium
May 2, 2006, Dallas Arboretum

The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture will host its third annual "Future of Texas City-Regions Symposium," Envisioning Dallas: From Triangle to Trinity on Tuesday, May 2, 2006, at the Dallas Arboretum. This year, we will gather together local civic leaders as well as local, regional, and national experts in three key areas—transportation, open space/recreation, and livability—to discuss the implications of future growth on this important Texas city-region. Key speakers will include Gail Thomas, representing the Trinity Trust; Karl Zavitkovsky, Director, Economic Development, City of Dallas; and Robert Decherd, Belo Corporation.

The Envisioning Dallas symposium is part of an exciting new initiative to establish the Dallas Urban Laboratory, a UT-Austin led urban design workshop in Dallas in the spring of 2007. The Dallas Urban Laboratory will bring the University's faculty and students to Dallas each spring and summer to conduct design explorations and local research into such large urban design issues as the relationship between our health and the built environment, affordable housing, and expanding mass transit. Students in the spring studio will also have the opportunity to co-op half-time with local partner firms.

To register for this symposium and learn more about the Dallas Urban Laboratory or how you can become a partner firm, please visit our website at http://www.utexas.edu/architecture/events/envisioningdallas/.

Faculty Scholarship

 

Associate Professor Danilo Udovicki-Selb and doctoral candidate Vladimir Kulic were each invited to present a paper at the International Docomomo conference in Ankara, Turkey, September 27-29 (http://www.archi.Fr./DOCOMOMO/). Their papers are titled, respectively, "In the Shadow of Stalin: Kislovodsk, Moisei Ginzburg's Last Architecture" and "Shifting Otherness(Esc): Foreign Perceptions of Yugoslav Architecture 1950-1980."

 

Associate Dean Louise Harpman has been named a Faculty Fellow of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service. The Fellows serve as advisers to the RGK Center and also help to identify potential collaborative projects between the RGK Center and their respective academic units. The RGK Center works with Faculty Fellows to co-sponsor research projects, provide administrative grant support, and offer advice on project fundraising.

 

Visiting Associate Professor Sergio Palleroni will be a featured presenter at the Aspen Design Summit, June 20-23. The Summit is a multi-disciplinary retreat where design thinking and the design process are used to craft solutions and commit participants to actions that improve the quality of life worldwide. Presenters will introduce a challenge that is directly relevant to their work and a global issue. Each challenge will become the focus of concurrent Aspen Action Studios—small, multi-disciplinary workshops based on the design studio experience.

At the Summit, design will be presented as a tool to inform and inspire innovative leadership across society. The Summit will demonstrate, celebrate, and foster positive global action through strategic alliances between the design community and business, civic, educational, and cultural leaders. Summit presentations will feature case studies from leaders in sustainable communities, education innovation, and social entrepreneurship.

 

Associate Professor Juan Miró, a native of Barcelona, was featured in the "Barcelona: Design Report 2005" published by the Italian journal I Giornale de l'Architettura. The report, a comprehensive study of the state of design in Catalonia, includes a selection of the most significant projects produced by Catalan architects and by foreign architects working in Barcelona, ranging from product and interior design to buildings and urban design. Professor Miró and the work of his firm, Miró Rivera Architects, was presented as an example of international work produced by Catalan architects.

Alumni Updates

Residence, Annie Street, Austin, Texas, Designed by Bercy Chen Studio. Photograph by Mike Osborne.

 

The architectural firm, Bercy Chen Studio (http://www.bcarc.com), which is led by graduates Tomas Bercy [B.Arch. '00 and B.S. Arch.Eng. '00] and Calvin Chen [B.Arch. '98], has been awarded the prestigious Emerging Voices award by the Architectural League of New York for 2006. This annual award recognizes young architects with a distinctive position in the field. Tom Lessel [B.S. Arch.Eng. '98 and M.Arch. '05] is also a member of the firm. The firm's work includes residential and commercial projects.

Previous winners of this award who are affiliated with the School of Architecture include Professor Lawrence Speck, Associate Professor David Heymann, and Associate Dean Louise Harpman.

"Welcome Garden," designed by Gregory Thomas.

 

Gregory Thomas [B.Arch. '85] will be featured this weekend on KLRU's "Central Texas Gardener." In addition to a segment featuring one of his projects, host Tom Spencer will have a short talk with Mr. Thomas about garden design and his work. For a list of airtimes, visit, http://www.klru.org/Schedule/ ViewProgram.asp?VsnID=135815. Or, to view the segment online, visit http://www.klru.org/ctg/ featuredgarden/index.asp.

Cover, Synchronizing Science and Technology with Human Behaviour, by Ralf Brand.

 

Ralf Brand's [Ph.D. C.R.P. '03] latest book, Synchronizing Science and Technology with Human Behaviour, was just released by Earthscan Publishers. The book is a result of his doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Dr. Steven Moore. For more information on the book, visit http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/ 618/.

 

Andrew J. Spurgin [M.S.C.R.P. '01] has accepted a new position as Senior Development Planner in the San Antonio office of Drenner & Golden Stuart Wolff, LLP. He has been a practicing planner in both the private and public sectors for seven years. As Senior Planner for the City of San Antonio, Mr. Spurgin managed various neighborhood and urban design projects and was actively involved with the revision of the City's Unified Development Code. Before moving to San Antonio, Mr. Spurgin worked at a law firm representing property owners and developers in the Austin area. Prior to that, he worked as a transportation planner for the City of New York. Mr. Spurgin's primary interests include initiatives that promote urban design and historic preservation as well as transportation planning.

At Drenner & Golden Stuart Wolff, Mr. Spurgin represents owners and developers in development planning, municipal approvals, entitlements, and environmental issues. He assists with the management of zoning, subdivision, site plan, building permit, and variance request processes for owners/developers.

 

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.

Friends of Architecture

Studio 25, designed by Emily Little Architects. Photograph by Patrick Y. Wong.

Friends of Architecture is touring Hill Country Ranches with Larry Speck this weekend! If you missed the opportunity to join this exclusive tour, you'll want to pre-register as soon as possible for FOA's other outstanding tours. Contact FOA Director Stephanie Palmer at 512-471-0617 or stephanie.palmer@mail.utexas.edu to sign up for or renew your Friends of Architecture membership and to pre-register for the March 25 San Antonio tour, designed by Gilbert Mathews, and Larry Doll's "Modernist Tour of France and Switzerland," June 21-July 1. FOA tours are for members only, and space is limited.

For membership information, visit our webpage at http://web.austin.utexas.edu/architecture/outreach/foa/ main.html.

Staff News

Architecture and Planning Library Head Librarian Janine Henri co-wrote, with Kathryn Brackney, an article titled "Revising NAAB Condition 8: Information Resources" that was published in ACSANews: Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, vol. 35, no. 3, November 2005.

Contacts

UT-Austin School of Architecture website, arch.utexas.edu

Architecture and Planning Student Council + AIA Students website, http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/apscaias/

(area code 512)

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

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

Assistant Dean for Development, Kris Muñoz Vetter, 471-6114, kmvetter@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

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

Career Placement Director, Sheila Balog, 471-1333, sheila.balog@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