The latest edition of Platform magazine is hot off the press. Copies are in the mail to alumni and other subscribers. You can view this issue and the archive of past issues on the new Platform web edition.
Guest edited by UT Austin Director of Sustainability and UTSOA alumnus Jim Walker [MSCRP '98], the themes of this issue are sustainability and the School of Architecture’s centennial anniversary.
The organizing principle for this edition of Platform is “scale.” As sustainability principles vary in their resonance and focal points at different scales (global, regional, local, etc.), the authors were encouraged to explore their perspectives on key issues at given scales in which they have expertise. Additionally, several articles introduce initiatives on campus and in the School of Architecture and highlight the university’s sustainability evolution.
As this issue of Platform was coming together, it was natural to undergo some self-evaluation. As a result, we made a decision to explore a transition away from a printed Platform to an electronic version. Platform will retain its commitment to relevant, engaging, and graphically exciting content. You are invited to design this transition with us. What would you like to see in our new, electronic version? What information is important to you? How do we continue to highlight the contributions of the School of Architecture to our various design and planning disciplines in a new medium?
We would like your feedback. Please share your ideas and suggestions on the Platform blog.
Sitting in Chongqing, a megapolis of over 30 million people with explosive growth, and reading Platform brings back memories about 30 years ago when I was a graduate student and took a studio class under Professor Lawrence Speck.
Since being a licensed architect in Texas and passing the architect’s examination in the Fort Worth Convention center in 1980s in my first attempt, I am amazed as to how much the architect profession has been diluted by other professions. My experience has been that the architect has not been the leader of the development team. The developer and other institutions dictate what will be built with notable exceptions to a few “star” architects. Most architects came late to be in the forefront of the sustainable and energy-efficient design. Right now, LEED and other rating system control the market place in this field. I feel bad that many architects jump on the bandwagon and proudly advertise themselves as LEED AP like other professionals by merely taking a course and passing the examination instead of being proud to be a good architect and practicing sustainable and energy-efficient design that are fundamental in good architecture. I remember taking a course in energy-conscious design at UT, but there was no emphasis of its importance because energy was cheap then. This economy has caused many architects and soon to be architects to be on the dole, but there is no mention in Platform as to how we can overcome this problem and help those who have spent their most productive years at our first-class university with how to market themselves and make a decent living wages. We should teach our students and help them to be marketable in an increasingly competitive and changing architectural environment.
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