Syracuse School of Architecture>
05.16.13 Jean-François Bédard appointed new chair of Syracuse Architecture graduate programs
Syracuse University School of Architecture announces the appointment of Associate Professor Jean-Francois Bedard to the position of chair of the school's graduate programs, effective July 1, 2013. Bedard has taught at Syracuse since fall 2005 and was awarded tenure in May 2013. In spring 2012 he was honored by Syracuse University with a Meredith Teaching Recognition Award for his significant contributions to teaching at the School.
Jean-Francois Bedard is an architectural historian specializing in the theory and practice of French architecture during the eighteenth century. His teaching has focused on the social rituals and political values of court society in relation to architecture, decoration, and ornament. He has investigated the parallels between rhetoric and architectural design, the invention of the modern architect, and the interrelationship between architecture, ornament, and fashion in the 'spectacular' politics of the Ancien Regime. Previously, from 1991-1995, Bedard was Assistant Curator in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.
'Iam very pleased that Professor Bedard has accepted the School's invitation to serve as the next chair of the graduate program,' says interim dean Randall Korman. 'His distinction as a teacher and scholar will certainly come to bear as his vision for the growth and development of the graduate programs evolves. We are fortunate to have him serve in this new rold.'
'I am grateful for this exceptional opportunity and for the trust interim dean Korman and incoming dean Speaks have placed in me,' says Bedard. 'I look forward to providing leadership to the program and continuing to foster the ideas inspired by my predecessors. Under Dean Speaks's leadership, I hope to expand the reach and the breath of our graduate programs. My goal is to equip future practitioners with the disciplinary skills, technological knowledge, and broad world view required to practice architecture today.'
Jean-Francois Bedard received Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees from McGill University, Montreal. He completed doctoral studies in 2003 at Columbia University. His dissertation centered on the domestic work of the French architect Gilles-Marie Oppenord (167201742), a preeminent figure of the French Regency. Bedard has developed aspects of this research as a J. Paul Getty Postdoctoral Fellow in the History of Art and the Humanities, a Visiting Scholar at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, and a Visiting Scholar at the Institut d'histoire de l'art in Paris. His Decorative Games: Ornament, Rhetoric, and Noble Culture in the Work of Gilles-Marie Oppenord (2011 University of Delaware Press) traces the importance of noble rituals in the creative process of a court architect such as Oppenord.
Bedard follows Francisco Sanin, Chair of Graduate Programs since fall 2010. Sanin played an instrumental role in expanding the scope of the program to include urban issues on a global scale through short-term travel studios, student participation in international design competitions, and providing students opportunities to engage with internationally renowned practitioners such as Teddy Cruz, Jing Liu and Florian Idenburg (SO-IL), Pier Vittorio Aureli and Martino Tattara (DOGMA), and Ana Dzokic‡ and Marc Neelen (STEALTH). A recent collaboration with UPSTATE: at Syracuse Architecture brought architects Axel Timm and Andreas Krauth of Raumlabor Berlin to Syracuse to design and build a mobile 'monster truck' multi-use structure for the community.
'Under Professor Sanin's three-year stewardship,' says Korman, 'applications to the the M.Arch I program have increased dramatically along with enrollments. The quality of the entering students has improved and the range of programming has widened to include workshops, symposia, exhibitions and special guest speakers enriching the academic and social life at Slocum.'
Professor Sanin, who steps down this summer, will take a leave from the School to pursue a range of global projects. He will be lead designer for a series of urban design strategies in the towns of the state of Antioquia in Colombia (Sergio Fajardo, Governor). Additionally, at the invitation of Jorge Perez Jaramillo, Director of Urban Planning in Medellin, Sanin will document the city's intellectual history and urban transformation over thirty years. In Mexico, Sanin is the urban designer for the area surrounding the Universidad Tecnologico de Monterrey. Working in collaboration with Iroje Architects and Planners (Seoul, South Kores), Sanin is working on a master plan for the city of Pingdu, China. Sanin was also selected by Seung H Sang as consultant to a new urban development in Seoul, one of the last informal settlements in the city.
05.15.13 Student Exhibition at The Warehouse Explores Future of I-81 Downtown
Syracuse University School of Architecture and UPSTATE: a Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate announce 'Alt-81,' an exhibition of work by Syracuse University students exploring post 2017 possibilities for the I-81 corridor that runs through downtown Syracuse. The exhibition is the result of two Syracuse University courses taught this spring. A joint research project, both courses addressed the question of what kind of development along the I-81 corridor would be best positioned to serve Syracuse and how the future of the viaduct can play a role in transforming the city. The exhibition will be held at The Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse, NY. An opening reception on May 20, 2pm at 6 pm, is free and open to the public. The projects will be on display for passersby in the Warehouse windows on W. Fayette Street through the end of June.
A site of intense interest, the I-81 viaduct reaches the end of its functional life in 2017. New York State Department of Transportation officials are getting closer to deciding the future of this stretch of the expressway, including rebuilding the section of highway or replacing the elevated viaduct with a boulevard. An open house hosted by the state Department of Transportation and the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council is scheduled for May 21 at the Oncenter in Syracuse. Traffic studies and proposals will be presented.
The design studio led by Jonathan Solomon, Associate Dean at Syracuse Architecture, and Joe Sisko, Assistant Director of UPSTATE involved six design teams testing opportunities for the corridor and adjacent sites. The studio included four workshops with the participation of city and state officials, experts on the viaduct, transportation planners, architects, and urban designers. Projects for both the neighborhood and the upstate region, including retail, entertainment, open space, and housing proposals were presented. A real estate seminar taught by UPSTATE: Director Marc Norman and Research Fellow Peggy Tully worked in parallel, engaging students from the School of Architecture and Whitman School of Management, tackling the issue of funding development in and around the corridor. Students looked at precedents, funding mechanisms, ownership structures, and the redevelopment potential of the surrounding area.
04.12.13 Meredith Professor Jonathan Massey, Aggregate Collaborative, awarded Connection Grant
The Aggregate Architectural History Collaborative - a group of thirteen architectural historians that includes Syracuse Architecture Associate Professor, Syracuse University Meredith Professor Jonathan Massey, has received a Connection Grant from Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The generous funding will allow the group to launch Aggregate Online at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto in fall 2013.
Aggregate Online is designed as a web-based platform for the production, peer review, and multimedia publication of innovative scholarship. It will advance the collaborative peer interaction on which the group was founded and will open this process to broader participation by scholars and students, creating a public forum for research in architectural history and theory. (Harvard Graduate School of Design)
04.11.13 Lori Brown to keynote at Melbourne's 'Transform' event
The University of Melbourne and Parlour -- an Australian group dedicated to gender, equity and architecture -- have chosen Syracuse Architecture Associate Professor Lori Brown to deliver the keynote lecture at their conference, 'Transform: Altering the Future of Architecture,' to be held in Melbourne on May 30. Brown's lecture will culminate a day of discussion and debate by a wide range of architectural researchers, practitioners, and workplace experts about gender, agency and remaking the profession. Lori Brown works at the intersections of architecture, art, geography, and women's studies, and is involved in architectural practice, research and teaching. She has curated, organized and participated in feminist practices, an international group of women designers and architects whose work engages feminist methodologies which was recently published as an edited book, Feminist Practices: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Women in Architecture (London: Ashgate, 2011). She is currently working on the book Contested Space: Abortion Clinics, Women's Shelters and Hospitals (Ashgate), which investigates how legislation affects politicized and securitized spaces.
04.03.13 Asst. Prof. Yutaka Sho / GAC wins Brunner Grant
Syracuse Architecture Assistant Professor Yutaka Sho, co-founder of General Architecture Collaborative (GAC), was awarded this year’s Arnold Brunner Grant from the New York Center for Architecture for her project entitled “Sustainable Housing in Rwanda.†The grant will allow GAC to build a full prototype home in Masoro, and will represent the first implementation of Earthbags as a construction technique in Rwanda, adding a low-cost, low-carbon footprint and low-tech housing option to an environment with serious housing needs.
04.02.13 Assoc. Prof. Michael Pelken appointed Visiting Professor at Nanjing University
Associate Professor P. Michael Pelken has been appointed as Visiting Professor at the Nanjing University School of Architecture and Urban Planning in Nanjing, China. The appointment is following an invited presentation at the CHAMPS 2011 International Conference hosted by Nanjing University, and a shared course offering at NJU during the summer last year in collaboration with his research partner Dr. J. Zhang from the SU LC Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science.
The interdisciplinary course work between architecture an engineering that will be offered again during the summer this year, is based on the methodology of the Department of Energy funded software development of the 'Virtual Design Studio.' The design and simulation platform that is currently in the programming and prototyping stage is intended to facilitate an optimized design process of sustainable, low energy and high IEQ buildings.
Two articles describing the development in depth from the architecture and engineering perspective, 'Virtual Design Studio - Part 1: Interdisciplinary Design Processes' (by P.M. Pelken), and 'Virtual Design Studio - Part 2: System Integration' (by J. Zhang), have been accepted for publication in Building Simulation - An international Journal published by Tsinghua University Press (China) in collaboration with Springer Publishers (Germany).
One of his recent project developments in the research area of Integrated Wind Technologies has been published in Architectural Record in an article that includes the design for the wind and solar powered 'Turbine House' presented on the online opening page. The building proposal is a residential scale architectural application of his patented efficiency principle for the enhanced use of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines. The article by Peter Fairley describes the general understanding and future potential for the use of Building Integrated Wind Power:
03.19.13 Michael Speaks named Dean of Syracuse Architecture
Syracuse University Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric F. Spina today announced the appointment of Michael A. Speaks to the position of dean of the School of Architecture. Speaks is the current dean of the College of Design at the University of Kentucky, where he is also a professor of architecture. The appointment concludes a national search to replace former Dean Mark Robbins, who stepped down last spring. Speaks will assume his position on July 1.
The former director of the graduate program at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles, Speaks has taught in the graphic design department at the Yale School of Art, and in the architecture schools at Harvard University, Columbia University, The University of Michigan, UCLA, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., and the Berlage Institute and TU Delft, in the Netherlands. Speaks has published and lectured internationally on contemporary art, architecture, urban design and scenario planning. His essays and exhibitions in the 1990s were among the first to introduce a new generation of Dutch architects and planners to a broader audience in North America.
'I am thrilled to join the Syracuse University School of Architecture, among the most highly regarded programs in the U.S. and, indeed, in the world,' Speaks says. 'It is a distinct honor to follow those esteemed deans and school leaders who came before me and who put the school on such a strong foundation. Working with faculty, staff and students, and exploring new opportunities on the horizon, I am confident that together we will build upon and enhance the reputation and standing of this truly great school of architecture.'
SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor indicates that Speaks is perfectly positioned to build upon the School of Architecture's tremendous foundation. 'As a scholar and leader in design education, Michael emphasizes innovative approaches and interdisciplinary connections focused on real-world problem solving, particularly on addressing the challenges of older industrial cities--emphases that align perfectly with SU's strengths. We're pleased to have been able to attract him here and we know he'll hit the ground running.'
Speaks has played an important role in recent debates about city branding and alternative models of city planning, authoring a number of essays and advisory studies, as well as overseeing scenario studies commissioned by city and regional governments in the U.S. and in Europe. Speaks has been at the center of debates about the role innovation and prototyping play in design and has written a series of influential essays that argue for the importance of what he calls 'design intelligence,' or the various forms of design knowledge generated during design but which are often overlooked in favor of 'the design.'
Such intelligence, Speaks argues, offers an important area for design research, especially in an increasingly knowledge-based economy.
'The search committee and I are deeply impressed with Michael's scholarship and leadership, as well as his vision for integrating multiple perspectives in the design process,' says Spina. 'I believe that his demonstrated record of entrepreneurial leadership make him the ideal candidate to work with the faculty and staff to advance the school in a highly dynamic time both for higher education and the architecture profession. I look forward to the connections that will continue to grow with other disciplines across SU's schools and colleges, as well as with external partners from the local to the global.'
Speaks was founding editor of the cultural journal Polygraph, and former senior editor at Any in New York, where he also edited the book series, 'Writing Architecture,' published by MIT Press. In addition, he served for many years on the editorial advisory board of a+u in Japan, and as a contributing editor for Architectural Record.
Originally from Mississippi, Speaks earned his B.A. from the University of Mississippi and his Ph.D. from Duke University.
02.27.13 SUL student work exhibition at New London Architecture
'Field Explorations,' an exhibition of student work by students in the spring 2013 Syracuse University School of Architecture London program, will be held from March 18 - April 18 at the New London Architecture - London's Centre for the Built Environment. Hand drawings have the capability to transform a place into a vision, a view into the perception, ephemerality, and atmosphere of a space. The exhibition offers a broad overview of architecture, art and urbanism in London, its historic context, development, and character through original analytical hand drawings by the students. The subjects of study range from urban morphology to a sequence of urban spaces, single buildings, and details of materiality and structure. The exhibition is the outcome of the field studies work as part of the London program's Survey of British Architecture course offering.
01.24.13 Architecture/urban design to receive Summer@Syracuse funding
Summer@Syracuse announces the recipients of the Innovative Summer Program Development Fund (ISPDF) for summer 2013. The fund provides financial support to encourage faculty and departments to design and deliver new summer courses and programs.
Fourteen program submissions, representing nine schools/colleges across campus, were chosen to receive funding (up to $20,000) to develop or advance long-term growth of summer curricula.
Among those selected is the School of Architecture, which will offer a course that focuses on a unique view and hands-on experience. The course intersects the architecture and urban planning disciplines with local examples of urban revitalization by engaging policy makers, developers and funders. Led by Marc Norman, director of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research and Real Estate at the School of Architecture, the students will create new models for affordable, high-performance homes in urban residential neighborhoods.
The Innovative Summer Program Development Fund is administered through University College. For more information, contact Chris Cofer, executive director of SU’s Summer@Syracuse at 443-1988 or clcofer@syr.edu. (Eileen Jevis, SU News)
01.09.13 'Movement on Main' competition: Three teams chosen to advance
In late December, competition advisors reviewed many considered and competitive proposals by talented interdisciplinary teams comprised of professionals from Europe, Asia and North America. The three teams chosen to join the two pre-selected teams for Stage Two of the competition are: Coen + Partners, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn.; Stoss Landscape Urbanism of
Boston, Mass., with Howeler + Yoon Architecture, LLP, Nitsch Engineering, Inc. and Dr. Angie Cradock, Sc. D.; and King and King Architects of Syracuse, N.Y., with Urban Movement Design and The Alchemical Nursery.
The two preselected teams are Marpillero Pollak Architects of New York, N.Y., and peg office of landscape + architecture of Philadelphia, Pa., with Sp(a)de Architecture Barton & Loguidice, P.C. Engineering.
Movement on Main seeks to elaborate on the street's role as an agent of social and recreational life. This unique and innovative street redesign, planned for Wyoming Street on Syracuseu's Near West Side, will create a new public gathering place that encourages the community to engage in their neighborhood's emergent creative life through a variety of movement and new technologies.
Each of the selected teams will be given a $15,000 stipend and have eight weeks to develop designs for a buildable active urban street. The winner will be decided by a distinguished jury representing the design disciplines, health services, sports and human dynamics, economic development, planning, construction and the neighborhood including Richard Weller, chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and Marc Norman, Director of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate at Syracuse University.
This competition is enabled by generous funding by The Educational Foundation of America.
For submission requirements, schedule, information on the selection process, and a full list of sponsors, visit the competition website at http://movementonmain.com
01.09.13 Evening with Francisco Sanin slated for Van Alen
On Saturday, January 12, from 5 - 6 pm, Designcircuit will be presenting an evening with Syracuse Architecture professor and graduate chair Francisco Sanin at Van Alen Books, discussing the relationship between Form and Politics. The talk will look into emerging urban design strategies and practices in Asia and Latin America, through his ongoing projects in Mexico, Columbia and Korea. Come join us for a critical conversation about the value of process and the primacy of form as an activator of social processes; bringing to light new forms of practice that redefine both disciplinary concerns and boundaries of Architecture and Urbanism. Van Alen Bookstore, 30 W 22nd St, New York, New York; Free and open to the public
11.05.12 Architecture grad students win Honorable Mention in Cleveland Design Competition
Second-year graduate students Danielle Lax, Joshua Graham, Ying Zheng, and Yuan Yuan received an Honorable Mention in the 2012 Cleveland Design Competition: Transforming the Bridge for their project entry, 'conscious fields: a neo-op social landscape.' Winners were announced on October 26 at an awards reception and exhibition held inside the West Catacombs of the Detroit Superior Bridge. Competition entrants were challenged to re-imagine the abandoned lower streetcar level of Cleveland's Detroit Superior Bridge as a dynamic public space, performance venues and pedestrian experience. At the beginning of 2012, a group of local Cleveland designers and business leaders launched an initiative called 'The Bridge Project' to raise public awareness about the potential of The Bridge and to engage the community for input on opening the lower level for public use. The Cleveland Design Competition partnered with The Bridge Project to engage designers to propose compelling visions for the permanent use of The Bridge, public access into and passage through the lower level of The Bridge and connectivity to surrounding neighborhoods.
09.18.12 On OWS anniversary, PLACES publishes Massey/Snyder article
On the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Design Observer's PLACES published two articles written by architecture historian Jonathan Massey, Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence at Syracuse Architecture, and Brett Snyder, Assistant Professor for Design, University of California, Davis, and co-principal of Cheng + Snyder. 'Occupying Wall Street: Places and Spaces of Political Action' and ' Mapping Liberty Plaza' show how Occupy tested and transformed the rules governing public space and political life.
09.12.12 Syr Arch represented at Venice Biennale 2012
Every two years, the world's top architectural designers and thousands of visitors converge on Venice for the world's premiere architectural design exhibition. The 13th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, "Common Ground," organized by internationally renowned architect Sir David Chipperfield, focuses on the ways in which architects and designers contribute to a place and a community through collaboration with builders and clients, with future users and the general public. The exhibition, which runs through Nov. 25, features pavilions representing more than 50 countries and includes individual projects from such luminaries as Zaha Hadid and Herzog and de Meuron.
This year, two projects - one from a Syracuse Architecture faculty member and the other by two graduate students - are part of the U.S. Pavilion, "Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good." The pavilion features projects initiated by architects, designers, planners and everyday citizens aimed at bringing positive change to the urban realm.
Spatial ConTXTs is a three-part, text message-based urban installation series that students in Assistant Professor Anda French's (French2D) classes explored to determine how an emerging form of common mobile communication can shape a new use and understanding of public space. One project included middle school students from Syracuse Schools and resulted in an urban video project in downtown Syracuse. Recent Syracuse Architecture grads Nilus Klingel G'12 and Stephen Klimek G'12 established Storefront: Syracuse in 2011, an abandoned storefront in Syracuse's State Tower Building that is now a student-operated hub for urban design exploration. Fostering lively exchange between the design community, city residents and nonprofit and government sectors on issues pertinent to civic life, events include exhibitions, lectures, workshops and social gatherings.
"Our students and faculty have creatively aligned with the city and campus in a wide range of initiatives that engage the community and foster a vibrant urban environment. It's an honor to have our school's creative work and commitment to the local Syracuse community recognized on a global scale," says Syracuse Architecture Interim Dean Randall Korman.
07.25.12 Syracuse AIAS chapter receives two national honors
The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) has awarded the Syracuse University chapter two of its highest honors - the Chapter Honor Award and the Chapter President Honor Award. The Chapter President Honor Award went to Syracuse University School of Architecture student Christopher DePalma '13, AIAS president from 2010-11. Awards were formally announced on July 22 at the AIAS National Grassroots Leadership Conference in Alexandria, Va., and will be conferred at the AIAS FORUM to be held in Savannah, Ga., from Dec. 29-Jan. 1.
AIAS is a nationally run student organization, acting as the official voice of architecture students in both the educational system and the profession. Each year, AIAS honors individuals and groups for their exemplary work in areas such as leadership, collaboration, scholarship and service. The AIAS Honor Awards were developed to publicly recognize outstanding achievements by students, educators and practitioners who have exhibited an exemplary commitment to the education and development of architecture students.
The Chapter Honor Award is bestowed upon an AIAS Chapter for its consistent growth and stability while providing outstanding educational and professional programs to its members and others. The Chapter President Honor Award is awarded each year to an AIAS chapter president for his/her outstanding leadership, dedication and commitment to the consistent growth and development of the AIAS chapter at his/her school.
"This group of students and the organization that they have nurtured and grown over the past few years has been a pleasure to watch and advise," says Syracuse Architecture Associate Professor Brian Lonsway, AIAS faculty adviser. "In the past three years our local chapter has not only hosted important events such as the Fall 2010 Quad Conference 'Reclaiming Architecture,' but made significant contributions to student life at the school in smaller ways. The leaders and members initiated the establishment of the Syracuse-based Freedom by Design chapter to design and build small-scale projects for individuals at the local level faced with physical, mental and/or financial challenges, and nurtured ongoing public discourse about urban design issues through the establishment of the Storefront: Syracuse center downtown."
"Chris DePalma was passionately dedicated to the success of the organization and promoted the visibility of the chapter in countless ways," Lonsway says. “His maturity in working with school administration and faculty demonstrated a professionalism that is not common among students. Chris worked tirelessly to bring visibility to an organization that had, until that point, but a modest impact on the everyday life of the school. He brought visibility at both the local and national levels."
"I am honored to receive this award and very proud of AIAS Syracuse, whose many active team members foster provocative ideas and real-world change on a regular basis," says DePalma. "The growth over the past four years to now being recognized as the most active and progressive chapter in the nation is remarkable and only possible because of our incredible team of leaders. We advocate for design that has tangible meaning, and these awards serve as a milestone for the relevance of student architectural activism in our Syracuse community."
07.17.12 UPSTATE: Director Marc Norman to serve on 'Affordable Housing' design team
Syracuse Architecture's new director of UPSTATE: Center for Design, Research and Real Estate, will serve on the design team for the the 3rd Annual Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute. The 2012 Institute will convene July 17-19 at Parsons The New School for Design. The Institute's goal is to conceptualize a new approach to housing development: communities of opportunity, viewing housing as a networked solution to the challenges our neighborhoods face by ensuring that residents have access to health care, education, social and cultural networks, transportation, employment, and environmental systems. The 2012 AHDLI will explore this concept of opportunity and discuss how to design, develop and implement projects that will allow individuals and families to thrive.
Marc Norman is trained as an Urban Planner and has worked in the field of community development and finance for over 15 years. With degrees in Political Economics (U.C. Berkeley, B.A. 1989) and Urban Planning (UCLA, M.A. 1992), he has developed and financed over 2,000 units of housing totaling more than $400 million in total development costs. Norman has worked for for- and non-profit organizations committed to community development and affordable housing. Norman teaches courses on real estate and housing policy in the School of Architecture and implements initiatives at UPSTATE: in collaboration with city, state, and university partners.
07.11.12 Grad students Dincer Savaskan, Gizem Bayhan receive Hon. Mention in Turkey design competition
M.Arch students Dincer Savaskan '13 and Gizem Bayhan '14 have received "First Honorable Mention Place" in the Cesme Town Center waterfront and facades competition organized by the Izmir, Turkey Chamber of Commerce. They have been awarded $6,000 USD. Their project focuses on design improvements for the waterfront of Cesme town center which has suffered from lack of continuity. Cesme is a coastal town in western Turkey. It is a popular holidiay resort and, in recent years, has become one of Turkey's most prominent centers of international tourism.
06.15.12 Hong Kong's Jonathan D. Solomon appointed associate dean effective July 1
Syracuse University School of Architecture has announced the appointment of Jonathan D. Solomon as associate dean and associate professor, effective July 1.
In his new role, Solomon will work with the dean to develop and implement the mission of the school and help to define its strategic academic vision. In addition, he will develop new academic initiatives to achieve greater integration of research, teaching and global programs within the increasingly interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial milieu of the University, while sustaining the excellence and diversity of its programs, faculty and students.
"Jonathan's breadth of experience in the area of contemporary architecture on a global scale and his ability to negotiate between divergent constituencies will be a tremendous asset to the future of the school's program," says Mark Robbins, dean of the School of Architecture.
An American architect based in Hong Kong, Solomon has been an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong, where he led its department of architecture as acting head from 2009-2012. His research and creative work explores public space and the contemporary city from the scale of the individual building to the urban plan, including projects such as Ooi Botos Gallery - a converted Hong Kong shophouse - to publications such as "13 Projects for the Sheridan Expressway" and "306090 books," a series he co-founded in 2001. His new co-authored book, "Cities Without Ground," explores the relationship between climate and public space in the unique three-dimensional urbanism of Hong Kong. Curatorial projects include "Workshopping" in the U.S. Pavilion at the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale.
Solomon has lectured and exhibited his work in North America, Europe and Asia, and has previously taught design at the City College of New York and at the University at Buffalo as a Barnham Fellow. Solomon received his bachelor of arts in urban studies from Columbia University, and his master of architecture and certificate in media and modernity from Princeton University.
"I look forward to playing an active role in the future of the School of Architecture at Syracuse University," says Solomon. "I'v long had respect for the initiatives fostered by Dean Mark Robbins and look forward to new challenges and opportunities within the school."
Solomon follows Syracuse Architecture Professor Randall Korman, who has been associate dean since 2009. Korman will take on the role of acting dean on July 1.
06.14.12 Deutsche Bank VP Marc Norman named director of UPSTATE:
Marc Norman has been named the new director of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate at the Syracuse University School of Architecture, effective July 1.
UPSTATE initiates and implements projects that focus on the importance of design and innovation in reconceiving the city of Syracuse, the upstate New York region and the post-industrial city. The center engages a coalition of academic, foundation and municipal partners involving architecture, infrastructure design, real estate and planning, and has worked on a number of projects in the city, including the Syracuse Connective Corridor, the Near Westside Master Plan and affordable green homes built in the Near Westside neighborhood - the result of an international design competition sponsored by UPSTATE: along with the Syracuse Center of Excellence and Home HeadQuarters, Inc.
"We are very fortunate to have someone with Marc's experience and commitment to lead UPSTATE as a center for the new American city," says Mark Robbins, dean of the School of Architecture." "I am confident he will continue to build upon the coalitions within the University, in the city of Syracuse and elsewhere, transforming urban communities through built projects, design research and scholarship."
UPSTATE also engages students and faculty through studios offered at the School of Architecture and hosts public events on the critical role of design and innovation as a catalyst in the revitalization of cities, including "Formerly Urban: Projecting Rust Belt Futures," a conference on the strategies for creating urbanity in weak-market cities.
"Since its inception, I have watched the reach and productivity of UPSTATE grow, so it is a privilege to be able to build off of the work of Mark Robbins, Julia Czerniak and others who have strengthened the role of good design and community development in the debate," says Norman.
Norman is a vice president in the Community Development Finance Group at Deutsche Bank in New York City, where he provides loans and investments to organizations serving low-income communities throughout the United States. Before joining Deutsche Bank, Norman was a managing director at Duvernay + Brooks, a real estate development and finance consulting firm in New York City that specializes in helping governmental agencies and private developers execute mixed income and mixed use urban revitalization. Before moving to New York, he worked as a project manager for Skid Row Housing Trust, a community development corporation in Los Angeles. Norman serves on several boards, including CAMBA Housing Ventures and Citizens Union Foundation. He has familiarity with Syracuse, having taught real estate development in the School of Architecture and written for upstate publications. Norman holds a B.A. in political economics from University of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in urban planning from UCLA.
Norman follows Julia Czerniak, UPSTATE's inaugural director and Syracuse Architecture professor.
05.16.12 Randall Korman named interim dean of Syracuse Architecture
Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric F. Spina today named Associate Dean Randall Korman as interim dean-designate of the School of Architecture. Korman will assume the interim deanship on July 1, when School of Architecture Dean Mark Robbins will depart the University and begin his new position as executive director of the International Center of Photography in New York City.
Spina received considerable input from the School's faculty and staff regarding the interim dean position, with Korman receiving very strong support from his colleagues for this position.
"Randall Korman is superbly positioned to lead the School of Architecture at this time of transition," says Spina. "He has proven himself time and again to his colleagues within the School and across campus through his outstanding work in leadership roles over the course of his three decades here. With exceptional breadth and depth of experience, keen intellect, and characteristic collegiality, we know he will maintain the impressive momentum built by the faculty and Dean Robbins as we conduct an international search for a new leader of the School."
A faculty member at the School for more than 30 years, Korman has taught at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate programs. In 2009, he was named associate dean, serving as a senior member of the dean's cabinet and helping advance the school's academic and fiscal agendas. From 2005-08, he served as interim associate dean and has also headed both the undergraduate (1990-96) and graduate (1982-89) architecture programs.
Korman has played a significant role in support of architectural study abroad. Between1980-82, he established the Syracuse University Florence Architecture Program, and served as the SU Florence Center director and resident chair in 1989-90. In 2001-2003 he returned to Florence to direct the architecture program and oversee the move to new studio facilities. In 2007, he was instrumental in establishing the Syracuse Architecture Program in London. He has also organized and run short-term study programs in Austria, Great Britain and Russia, and has been a visiting professor at Kanto Gakuin University in Yokohama, Japan.
During a leave in the spring of 2009, Korman was the Batza Visiting Professor of Art and History at Colgate University. The Batza chair was established in 1997 and is awarded every two years to distinguished artists and art historians who serve as visiting faculty members for one semester; Korman was the first architect to receive this prestigious award.
Korman received his baccalaureate degree in architecture from the Cooper Union and a master’s degree in advanced architectural design from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Between 1972-1974 he was a post-graduate intern at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City and worked in the architectural offices of Kenneth Frampton, Peter Eisenman and Michael Graves. He established his own practice, Randall Korman, Architect, in 1975, with a range of work including commercial, institutional and residential projects. He is a registered architect in New York and Pennsylvania and has an N.C.A.R.B. certificate.
Dr. Spina plans to meet with the Architecture faculty next week to discuss the dean search process, which is expected to commence immediately. (Sara Miller, Assoc. Dir., Natl. Media Relations )
05.03.12 Dean Mark Robbins accepts position as executive director at ICP
Mark Robbins, dean of Syracuse University's School of Architecture and senior adviser on architecture and urban initiatives at the University, has been named executive director of the International Center of Photography (ICP), as announced by the ICP board of trustees. Robbins, who since 2004 has served as dean of the School of Architecture, will depart the University and begin his new position at the ICP in New York City on July 1.
The ICP, founded in 1974 as an institution dedicated to photography, occupies a vital and central place in contemporary culture as it reflects and influences social change. Through its educational and community programs, ICP embraces photography's ability to open new opportunities for personal and aesthetic expression, transform popular culture and continually evolve to incorporate new technologies.
More: bit.ly/IyxONc
04.19.12 M.Arch student Joe Wood wins first prize in international Civitas competition
Civic action group CIVITAS has announced winners of its international design-ideas competition for "Reimagining the Waterfront" of NYC's East River. Syracuse Architecture grad student Joe Wood (New Jersey) has won first-place and has been awarded $5,000 for his "reimagination" design, "3X: 300% More Esplanade." CIVITAS received over 90 submissions representing 25 countries. Jurors representing the architecture profession included Billie Tsien, Rob Rogers, Jack Travis, Warren James, Signe Nielson, and Adam Yarinsky. Joe's design, along with other winners, will be exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York from June 6 through September 2012.
04.19.12 Dean Robbins to participate in Van Alen 'Re-Cycle' panel
On Thursday, April 19 at 6:00 p.m. at Van Alen Institute in NYC, Dean Mark Robbins will join Rome's MAXXI senior curator Pippo Ciorra, Ada Tolla of LOT-EK, and Elisabetta Terragni of Studio Terragni to participate in a panel discussion on the practice of recycling as "one of the greatest generators of creative innovation." The discussion coincides with the Institute's celebration of the U.S. release of "Re-Cycle: Strategies for Architecture, City, and Planet," the catalog for the major exhibition at MAXXi devoted to exemplary projects involving the recycling of architecture, cities, and landscapes together with works by artists, photographers, and media producers.
04.16.12 Massey and Bédard receive high teaching honors
Two Syracuse Architecture faculty received high honors from Syracuse University for their outstanding teaching efforts. The pair were honored on April 5 at a special ceremony at the Goldstein Center, attended by Chancellor Nancy Cantor and Vice Chancellor Eric Spina.
Associate Professor Jonathan Massey received the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorship for Teaching Excellence at Syracuse University. Massey is a historian who focuses on the time, space, and place of architecture design using cases, blogs, and fieldwork. His Meredith project, Learning through Engaged Urban History Research, will bring together his teaching, scholarship, professional development, and public scholarship to create an interdisciplinary experience engaging students, faculty, scholars, and community members to investigate urban history in upstate New York. Massey hopes to launch a campus-wide conversation about the making of metropolitan America" and publish the work of his project as a history of upstate New York since the New Deal.
Assistant Professor Jean Francois Bedard has received a 2012 Meredith Teaching Recognition Award, part of the Meredith Professorship Program at Syracuse University. He was selected for his significant contributions to teaching and learning at Syracuse Architecture. "Being selected for a Teaching Recognition Award is an especially significant honor, given the exceptional teachers who were nominated this year," says Bronwyn Adam's, Syracuse University Director of Faculty Development.
03.16.12 Design Observer features profile of UPSTATE design center
As part of Design Observer's series of profiles of university design centers, Places Journal editor Nancy Levinson talked recently with Julia Czerniak and UPSTATE assistant director Joe Sisko. The interview includes Julia's and Joe's thoughts about how the center was started, recent projects, the City's response to the challenges of being a shrinking city, and UPSTATE:'s chief goals. An online slide show highlights projects that include Near Westside housing built as a result of the From the Ground Up housing competition, the new WCNY/ProLiteracy project at the old Case Supply warehouse, and Connective Corridor development.,
03.15.12 Alum firm Fiedler Marciano lauded for SubCat work
NYC alumni firm Fiedler Marciano (Mark Fiedler '86 and Martin Marciano '86) has received an AIANY 2012 Architecture Merit Award for its transformation of 219 West Street, Syracuse into SubCat Music Studios, a state-of-the-art recording facility, While the choice of location may seem ironic for a recording studio - surrounded by train tracks and busy Armory Square traffic - the design effectively dealt with the acoustical challenges while serving as a cultural hub. Interior Design magazine included a feature on SubCat, "Good Vibrations," in its February 1, 2012 issue. Online version features a slide show.
03.06.12 UPSTATE: Director /Assoc. Prof. Julia Czerniak receives Alumni Award from Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - Julia Czerniak, associate professor of architecture at Syracuse University, is the recipient of the College of Arts and Architecture 2012 Alumni Award in Landscape Architecture. The annual award recognizes alumni for outstanding professional and creative achievements. Czerniak will be honored at a ceremony on Friday, March 30, 2012, at 3:30 p.m. in Esber Recital Hall, Music Building I, on the University Park campus.
Czerniak, who received her B.S. in Landscape Architecture from Penn State in 1984, is the inaugural director of UPSTATE, an interdisciplinary center for design, research, and real estate that addresses environmental and economic challenges and strengthens the impact of planning and architecture in Syracuse and the surrounding communities. A registered architect and landscape architect, she is the founder and principal of her design firm, CLEAR, and has won numerous awards. Most recently, her collaborations have won the Syracuse Connective Corridor competition; artNET Public Art competition in Toledo, Ohio; and the Pittsburgh Charm Bracelet competition, which meshed existing historic North Side cultural institutions with art and architecture features to improve the physical and visual connections to the surrounding neighborhoods.er work as a designer is complemented by a body of writing. Czerniak is editor of three books: Large Parks (Princeton Architectural Press, 2007) and Case: Downsview Park Toronto (Prestel and Harvard Design School, 2001), which focus on contemporary design approaches to public parks and the relationship between landscape and cities; and Formerly Urban: Projecting Rust Belt Futures, to be published later this year.
Her work as a designer is complemented by a body of writing. Czerniak is editor of three books: Large Parks (Princeton Architectural Press, 2007) and Case: Downsview Park Toronto (Prestel and Harvard Design School, 2001), which focus on contemporary design approaches to public parks and the relationship between landscape and cities; and Formerly Urban: Projecting Rust Belt Futures, to be published later this year.
03.05.12 Lori Brown a 'Women in Architecture' panelist at Van Alen Books
Van Alen Books hosts book launches, discussions, and panels engaging themes of architecture, design, and public space. In March, Syracuse Architecture Associate Professor Lori Brown will join in two panel discussions focused on women in architecture.
Wednesday, March 7, 7:00 P.M.
Lori Brown, Yolande Daniels, Olympia Kazi, and Catherine Seavitt
Women in Architecture: Design Research
Lori Brown returns to continue Van Alen Institute's Women in Architecture month with a conversation on design research. Joined by Van Alen director Olympia Kazi, principal of Studio Sumo Yolande Daniels, and landscape architect Catherine Seavitt, Brown will lead a panel on females' lead investigations in the design field with three women whose research spans design in the public realm, social systems and technologies of difference, and sea level rise in urban regions.
March 21, 7:00 P.M.
Lori Brown, Peggy Deamer, Dagmar Richter, and Despina Stratigakos
Women in Architecture: Pedagogy
For the second of our Women in Architecture panels, Lori Brown is joined by Dagmar Richter, Chair of Pratt Institute Undergraduate Architecture Department, Despina Stratigakos, Professor at University of Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, and Peggy Deamer, Professor at Yale University School of Architecture, for a conversation on the state of architectural pedagogy.
All events take place at Van Alen Books, 30 W. 22nd Street, on the ground floor between 5th and 6th Avenues in Manhattan.
02.16.12 New York Magazine features Nathan Andrew Brown '15 project
The February 6, 2012 issue of New York Magazine includes a feature, "A Park to Remember a Plague," highlighting the winners of the Architizer Aids Memorial Competition. Second-year undergrad student Nathan Andrew Brown's project, "The Sea of Lights," although not a winner among the 475 entries, was highlighted as one of the most outstanding submissions by New York Magazine. The proposed site is .38 acres next to St. Vincent's, bounded by Seventh Avenue, Greenwich Avenue, and West 12th Street. Brown proposed a "forest of light-boxes that would look celebratory at night and like a graveyard by day - a theatrical scene that could look poetic under the right conditions, but doesn't exactly invite the neighbors tro bring a newspaper or lunch."
02.15.12 "Housing and the 99 Percent" essay by Jonathan Massey in Design Observer
"Housing and the 99 Percent," an essay by Syracuse Architecture Associate Professor Jonathan Massey, has been published in the February 14 edition of Design Observer. "Occupy Wall Street and We Are the 99 Percent have spread rapidly, capturing and personifying the national unease about deepening economic inequality and the waning of the American dream. Architectural historian Jonathan Massey explores how housing-- along with the various governmental and banking policies that structured home ownership across the decades --has worked to reflect and mediate, to promote and endanger that dream."
12.15.11 Architect Magazine: Dean Mark Robbins an "Orange Agent"
The December 2011 issue of ARCHITECT features an article by Adam Mazmanian and Brad Lynch (a recent Syracuse Architecture visiting critic) on the role Dean Mark Robbins has played in positioning the school as an agent of change in the city of Syracuse. The article states that "The School of Architecture has positioned itself as a center for development of Syracuse's decaying urban core and as an intellectual laboratory for imagining the reinvigoration of shrinking postindustrial cities." The renovation of the old Dunk & Bright Furniture warehouse on E. Fayette Street as an interim home for Syracuse Architecture was a spark for the area which has since experienced further development: King + King Architects moved into a renovated building across from the Warehouse; the University is involved in Near Westside neighborhood development; Syracuse Architecture spearheaded the building of three new homes that are LEED certified; the old Lincoln Supply Building renovation has yielded live-work spaces for artists.
12.08.11 'Feminist Practices' by Lori Brown released today by Ashgate
Today marks the official launch of Feminist Practices: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Women in Architecture, edited by Syracuse Architecture Associate Professor Lori Brown (Ashgate). Ashgate provides the following description: "Women continue to be extremely under-epresented in the architectural profession. Despite equal numbers of male and female students entering architectural studies, there is at least 17-25% attrition of female students and not all remaining become practicing architects. In both the academic and the professional fields of architecture, positions of power and authority are almost entirely male, and as such, the profession is defined by a heterosexual, Eurasian male perspective.
This book argues that it is vital for all architectural students and practitioners to be exposed to a diversity of contemporary architectural practices, as this might provide a first step into broadening awareness and transforming architectural engagement. It considers the relationships between feminist methodologies and the various approaches toward design and their impact upon our understanding and relationship to the built environment. In doing so, this collection challenges two conventional ideas: firstly, the definition of architecture and secondly, what constitutes a feminist practice.
This collection of up-and-coming female architects and designers use a wide range of local and global examples of their work to question different aspects of these two conventional ideas. While focusing on feminist perspectives, the book offers insights into many different issues, concerns and interpretations of architecture, proposing through these types of engagement, architecture can become more culturally, politically and environmentally relevant. This 'next generation' of architects claim feminism as their own and through doing so, help define what feminism means and how it is evolving in the 21st century."
A book signing for Lori Brown's book is being planned for the spring at Syracuse Architecture. Details forthcoming.
12.08.11 DesignIntelligence: Mark Linder one of 'most 25 admired educators of 2012'
In their recent November/December issue including the "Best Architecture & Design Schools of 2012," DesignIntelligence has included Associate Professor on its list of 25 most admired educators for 2012. "Each year, DesignIntelligence honors excellence in education and education administration by naming 25 exemplary professionals in these fields. The 2012 class of education role models was selected by DesignIntelligence staff with extensive input from thousands of design professionals, academic department heads, and students. Educators and administrators from the disciplines of architecture, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture are considered for inclusion."
Mark Linder is a noted theorist and critic and co-directs the Transdisciplinary Media Studio. His book, Nothing Less than Literal: Architecture after Minimalism (MIT 2004), examines the role of architecture in the emergence of minimal art in the 1960s. A new project, provisionally titled That's Brutal, places the literalist strategies of minimal art in the broader historical context of post-WW II modernism, from the work of Walter Segal, John Hejduk and New Brutalism in the 1950s to the post-minimalist practices of architects and artists including Herzog & de Meuron, Peter Eisenman, Glen Seator, Bernd and Hilla Becher, James Carpenter, Neutelings Reidijk Architects and others.
Linder served as chair of Syracuse Architecture graduate programs from 2005-2010 and was recently the Max Fisher visiting professor at the University of Michigan. Linder has also taught at Harvard, the University of Illinois-Chicago, Rice University, the Illinois Institute of Technology, RISD, and UCLA. His research focuses on transdisciplinary exchanges between art and architecture and he maintains a design practice as a principal in CLEAR.
In August 2011 Linder was named the inaugural Syracuse University Chancellor's Fellow in the Humanities. This position marks the critical place of architecture within the humanities.
12.07.11 Thalo Magazine interviews Dean Mark Robbins
The December issue of Thalo features "Syracuse Architecture Students Get Real," an interview with Dean Mark Robbins regarding the success of the Syracuse Architecture program and its role in creating affordable, sustainable homes in Syracuse.
11.15.11 Center for Architecture 6th annual Arch Schools Exhibition features Syracuse program
The annual exhibition showcases exemplary student work from 14 New York area schools: The City College of New York, Columbia University, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Cornell University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New York Institute of Technology, Parsons the New School for Design, Pratt Institute, Princeton University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse University, State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University.
The schools of architecture Deans will discuss current design directions in architectural education on November 19 at the Center. They will also focus on issues of the public discourse of architecture and the legibility of architecture to the public.
11.10.11 Event to celebrate LEED certification of three 'From the Ground Up' homes
Just about two years ago, three vacant infill sites on Syracuse's Near Westside remarkably represented a new vision for one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. These once-forgotten residential lots would become the sites for three new sustainable homes as part of the "From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes" international design competition, sponsored by the Syracuse University School of Architecture, Home HeadQuarters Inc. and the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE).
On Friday, Nov. 11, this realized vision and further achievement in sustainability will be celebrated as each of these homes receives LEED certification, established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the nation's pre-eminent program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.
The recognition ceremony at the residence at 621 Otisco St. in Syracuse will begin at 2:30 p.m. and will include representatives from SU; the SU School of Architecture, and UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research and Real Estate at the School of Architecture; Home HeadQuarters; SyracuseCoE; Near Westside Initiative; government officials; as well as USGBC president, CEO and founding chairman S. Richard Fedrizzi G'87, and the homes' design teams and project collaborators.
The three Near Westside homes receiving LEED certification are: TED (621 Otisco St.), earning the highest LEED Platinum-level certification; Live Work Home (317 Marcellus St.), also earning LEED Platinum-level certification; and R-House (623 Otisco St.), earning LEED Gold-level certification
The "From the Ground Up" development project focuses on demonstrating the value of design within a typically underserved and demographically diverse community, incorporating the most advanced thinking about design, sustainability and cost-effective building practices for the single-family house. The three design firms Onion Flats, Philadelphia; Cook + Fox/Terrapin Bright Green, New York and Washington, D.C; and Architectural Research Office and Della Valle Bernheimer, New York - are leaders in the field of sustainable design, and were winners of the "From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes" international design competition.
"Achieving LEED certification for these homes on the Near West Side is a watershed moment for the neighborhood,"says SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. "The community of experts that coalesced to envision and conduct "From the Ground Up,"and then see the construction through to completion exemplifies the power of cross-sector collaborations of which neighborhood residents are crucial partnersto find solutions to some of the greatest challenges globally by working on them together locally."
"These intensely collaborative projects required commitment to the development of affordable single family homes that few cities have seen," says Mark Robbins, dean of the School of Architecture. "The challenges presented by this level of innovation and high expectation for construction and design could not have been met without broad agreement about the goals of the work and the unwavering commitment of the architects and the partners who co-sponsored this initiative."
"The Near Westside neighborhood has seen many important developments over the last 200 years, including the construction of the Erie Canal and first railroads in Syracuse, the growth of manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution and the rebirth of a vacant Franklin Automobile plant with the arrival of Carrier Corp.," says Ed Bogucz, SyracuseCoE executive director. "Over the last 50 years, the neighborhood has experienced steady disinvestment as jobs and population moved to the suburbs. Earning top LEED ratings for these three pioneering new homes sends a clear signal to the world that Syracuse's Near Westside will be a healthy, vibrant neighborhood for future generations."
"These homes serve as a beacon for the future in the Near Westside. They are striking, green and liked and appreciated by the residents in the neighborhood," says Marilyn Higgins, SU's vice president of community engagement and economic development.
"As a resident and native of Central New York, I am professionally and personally thrilled that the three 'From The Ground Up' houses have earned LEED certification," says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO & founding chair of USGBC. "These projects are outstanding examples of how human systems can integrate with natural systems to have powerfully positive impacts on the residents who live in these homes, the natural and human landscapes that surround them and the entire region's well-being. I warmly applaud the design teams, Home HeadQuarters, the Syracuse University School of Architecture and the SyracuseCoE for demonstrating an international example that will inspire and nurture generations to come."
The renovation of the properties was made possible in part through a 2007 $13.8 million investment in the Near Westside and its Syracuse Arts, Technology & Design Quarter. This investment was the result of SU receiving loan forgiveness from the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) and Empire State Development Corp., allowing the $13.8 million loan repayment to go toward this community rehabilitative effort. This investment allows SU's UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research and Real Estate to provide world-class urban redesign services to this project and the SyracuseCoE to incubate new green technology businesses and jobs for the area.
"It is exciting news that the 'From the Ground Up Homes' initiative has been given LEED certification. Central New York is fortunate to have the commitment of organizations like Syracuse University, the Center of Excellence and Home HeadQuarters, helping to restore the Near West Side of our city to its former prominence through programs like this one," says Senator John A. DeFrancisco.
"This project is an excellent example of how public and private investment together can revitalize our community. Achieving LEED certification and incorporating green features into these homes is representative of the region's leadership in sustainability, and I commend Syracuse University, the Center of Excellence and all of their partners on their leadership," says Senator David J. Valesky.
"I am pleased to see that 'From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes' is recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as a program that creates sustainable homes in one of Syracuse's oldest neighborhoods," says Assemblyman William Magnarelli. "The project is truly remarkable in that it transformed vacant lots on the city's near West Side into cutting-edge, environmentally friendly houses."
"These homes embody the spirit and creativity of the Near Westside and the City of Syracuse," says Syracuse Mayor Stephanie A. Miner. "The architectural style and environmental sensitivity of the homes will inspire people in our community to imagine what is possible in a city that commits itself to innovation."
TED, by Onion Flats, including Andropogon Associates, Rivera Structural Design, and MaGrann Associates, is designed to be built in three different ways: stick framing, modular construction or structurally insulated panels (SIPs).The structure combines a thick shell and active solar heating to create an energy-efficient house. The heating system uses water heated through solar-tubing panels mounted on the roof and radiant tubing in all floors. The three-story, gabled-roof structure creates an atrium to pull heat out of the home during the summer months, making a space that is efficient year-round. The versatile design can easily be transformed into a two- to four-bedroom, a duplex or a home office/studio with residence above.
Live Work Home, by Cook + Fox and Terrapin Bright Green, is a single-story with a flat roof design that is highly flexible and can be transformed throughout the life of the home to accommodate the changing needs of the residents, including a family with children, extended family unit or students and can easily be converted to function as a home-based small business or artist's studio. The house is constructed of structural insulated panels (SIPs) and is heated passively. Adjustable reflective screening and skylights fill the interior of the space with dappled lighting.
R-House, by Architectural Research Office and Della Valle Bernheimer, is a two-story house that transforms a typical gabled roof into a simple folded surface that recalls the appearance and scale of neighboring houses. Its flexible layout can accommodate two, three or four bedrooms all within the same shell. The passive solar strategy of the R-House utilizes a well-insulated envelope, airtight construction, an efficient small heating system, controlled ventilation and windows that optimize solar gain, requiring a negligible amount of energy - equivalent to that used by a hair dryer - for heating.
Designers and architects worked collaboratively with the three partner groups and with Near Westside residents to bring these homes to fruition. Home HeadQuarters Inc. is committed to creating housing opportunities in the Near Westside neighborhood and throughout Syracuse, and SyracuseCoE is developing and testing "green" technologies that promote human health, creativity, comfort and ecosystem sustainability.
UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research and Real Estate was instrumental in assembling nationally recognized professionals with expertise in architecture, landscape architecture and sustainable design to bring the most current thinking on urban revitalization to the project.
The development of these houses is part of the Syracuse Art, Life, Technology (SALT) District of the Near Westside, which is directed by the Near Westside Initiative Inc. (NWSI), a not-for-profit organization. The NWSI leverages the resources of Syracuse University, the state, the city, private foundations, businesses, not-for-profit corporations and neighborhood residents to achieve its goals. A creative community focusing on art and culture is envisioned that will foster economic development, jobs and stability for the neighborhood and city as well as rich academic experiences for SU students. Current NWSI initiatives include the development of mixed use spaces in vacant warehouses such as the Lincoln Supply Warehouse. Additional support for the competition and programming was provided by The Central New York Community Foundation and the Community Preservation Corp. (Sara Miller)
10.26.11 Winners of ACSA100 "Being Resourceful" competition include ARC 308 students Branson Wright and Mark Shahlamian
Two students from Assoc. Prof. Brian Lonsay's ARC308 Comprehensive Design studio are on the list of winners released today by ACSA. The pair's "Central New York Food Center_Food Stage" project was one of five winners of the online competition that is an ARCHIVE100 project. ARCHIVE is an Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Project in support of their 100-Year Anniversary
From the announcement of winners, "One of the unique qualities of ARCHIVE competitions is that submissions not only present quality of work, but topic, and, for the Being Resourceful jury, it resulted in a spirited discussion about systems, priorities, and the context of projects themselves. Toby Snyder found the top submissions impressive with the scale of their imagination and enjoyed how many investigated the role of the designer itself in relationship to local issues, materials, and processes. Lisa Tilder supported entries that both developed complex arguments and proposed strong design or, in some cases, provoked possible futures. Kristina Hill reinforced the importance of connecting to outside systems, and from a landscape perspective, this meant a more complex or wider palette beyond what architecture students typically engage.
As infrastructure defines a center in the design world and landscape and architecture work more closely together with engineers, politicians, communities and funding sources, these selected projects show how the academic context is providing a platform for students and faculty to be powerfully in the real mix, tackling ambitious goals, and seeing the big picture. Congratulations to our five winners and three honorable mentions!"
10.18.11 Advisory Board member David Rockwell '79 selected for Gehry 'Strategic Alliance'
Gehry Technologies (GT), a global leader in applying technology to building industry challenges, today announced that Co-founder and Chairman, Frank Gehry, has brought together the world's most distinguished architects and designers to form a strategic alliance furthering his vision to transform the building industry and the practice of design. As part of today's announcement, this core group of renowned architects will also serve on Gehry Technologies' board of advisors.
The alliance intends to enable new approaches to design through technology, to create more effective industry processes and a higher quality built environment. By applying and innovating new technology solutions to old problems such as waste, delay, and miscommunication, this new alliance will lead the process change that the AEC industry needs to confront future challenges. The group represents a new type of professional organization for the 21st century, one which embraces the possibility of technology to empower design. The alliance will work together to drive technology innovations that support the central role of design in the creation of culture.
This group will work collectively with GT to realize and demonstrate better ways of achieving project outcomes: higher quality, more efficient, and cost effective projects. Most importantly, the alliance wants to ensure a context for professional work where the best designs and the best facilities can be realized. GT's management team - led by CEO Dayne Myers - will be bolstered with the unprecedented experience and strategic guidance of the world's leading architects, builders and visionaries. They will test, use and support emerging GT innovations and high-profile projects; participate in marketing and public relations initiatives; and catalyze AEC industry change.
Initial Alliance and Board members include Syracuse Architecture Advisory Board member David Rockwell '79 of the Rockwell Group, as well as David Childs, Massimo Colomban, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn, Laurie Olin, Wolf D. Prix, Moshe Safdie, Matthias Schuler, Patrik Schumacher, Ben van Berkel, and Richard Saul Wurman.
10.14.11 NYC alum firm Fiedler Marciano an "artistic catalyst" for Syracuse
A recent online feature @ArchNewsNow.com, "When a Train Rumbles Past this Recording Studio, Nobody Hears It: SubCat Studios by Fiedler Marciano Architecture," highlights the latest contributions of Mark Fiedler B.Arch '86 and Martin Marciano B.Arch '86 as "artistic catalysts for the local (Syracuse) community." The new home for SubCat Studios, an established independent recording facilty in Syracuse's SALT District, "surmounts the daunting challenges of a chaotic urban environment that includes an active freight railway located just 40 feet away. SubCat is the anchor tenant of 219 West, a cultural redevelopment project in downtown Syracuse designed by Fiedler Marciano. Fiedler marciano Architecture gave the structure facing downtown and Armory Square "a bold new identity by re-cladding the stair tower in a lightweight skin of perforated corrugated metal panels, and adding a new extension to the entry lobby wrapped in multi-colored glass panels."
10.14.11 Michael Kelly '98 receives AIA Philadelphia 2011 Young Architect Award
At its annual Design Awards Presentation and Ceremony Oct. 6, 2011, at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, AIA Philadelphia presented Michael Kelly, AIA, LEED AP, of KCBA Architects with the 2011 Young Architect Award.
In the tradition of the American Institute of Architects' College of Fellows, AIA Philadelphia's Steering Committee of Fellows seeks to identify and recognize a young architect of exceptional achievement for past accomplishment and future promise. A successful candidate must, through the materials presented to the Committee, display distinction in one, two or all three of the following categories:
- Practice: through design excellence, leadership, management and/or specialized technical expertise;
- Education: through teaching, publications and/or research;
- Service: through exemplary service and contributions to the profession and/or society.
A candidate may choose to focus on a depth or breadth of contribution(s) or exhibit a broad complement of activities in practice, education and/or service.
"I am honored to receive the AIA Philadelphia Young Architect of the Year Award," Kelly says of receiving the award. "The practice of architecture has provided me with wonderful opportunities for both professional and personal fulfillment. I am excited by this award's potential to support my efforts to heighten awareness of the profession and the importance of mentoring young architects."
A native of Allentown, Kelly studied architecture at Syracuse University and began his career in 1998 at Dagit Saylor Architects. Currently at KCBA Architects, he has worked on a great diversity of projects primarily in the educational and religious markets. In addition to his work at KCBA, Kelly is active in his local community and serves as Chalfont Borough Planning Commission Chairman. Kelly's involvement with the AIA includes serving as co-chair of AIA Philadelphia's Regional Architects Committee as well as a number of previous endeavors including the AIA Young Architects Forum Regional Liaison, National Associates Committee Mainstream Director, and AIA Pennsylvania's Regional Associate Director.
"The jury was very impressed with the content of Michael's submission," says Mary Werner DeNadai, chair of the Steering Committee of Fellows. "But what convinced the jury to select him for the award was Michael's longtime and avid contribution to the profession through his involvement with the AIA's Associate members on both the state and local level."
10.13.11 Francisco Sanin completes work for Gwangju Biennale 2011
Francisco Sanin, Syracuse Architecture graduate chair, has recently had work implemented in the South Korean city of Gwangju for the opening of its 2011 Design Biennale. The theme of this year's work is "Design is design is not design." By grouping selected products and practices within the curatorial categories of thematic, named, un-named, communities, and biennale city, the exhibition looks to challenge how one defines designed, "seeking to (re)place and (re)name the fundamental issues of contemporary design."
Sanin's scope of work included the creation of large scale planning concepts for the five galleries, choreographing movement and sequence for the user, while simultaneously balancing how the particular needs of the curators and their exhibits would work together. The spatial planning and the interior series of pavilions constructed were seen from the beginning as crucial to the experience and a physical manifestation of the message of the biennale itself. Additionally, Sanin was also contracted to create a permanent outdoor folly (pavilion) reacting to existing urban conditions around the city of Gwangju. The folly, which is one of ten deployed around the city, joins nine others, designed by other notable practitioners such as Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Dominique Perrault, and Atelier Bow-Wow. The Biennale runs from September 2 to October 23, 2011 in Gwangju, 270 km south of the capital city Seoul.
10.12.11 ABC's 'Extreme Makeover' to feature home designed by Jaime Machado '86 (MAG)
On October 16 at 8:oo p.m. ET, ABC's "Extreme Makeover" show will feature a home built in Crawford, NY for the Korvai family, designed by Syracuse Architecture alum Jaime Machado '86 of MAG Designs. The home is designed to meet the special needs of a girl with dwarfism.
10.11.11 Dean Mark Robbins a "Curse and Vision" panelist at UCLA's Hammer Museum
Mark Robbins participated in a panel discussion at the Hammer Museum on October 10 called "Curse and Vision: The Future of Westwood Village." Westwood Village is the retail district adjoining UCLA - a place that appears to be a model of "smart urbanism" but which has been in serious decline over the past three decades. cityLAB has undertaken a year-long study of the Village at this auspicious moment when opportunity and desperation could combine into an exciting vision for the future. Two designers agreed to lead teams to rethink the Village according to very different scenarios: Neil Denari will undertake the "Car-Lite Village," and Roger Sherman will create Westwood as "Artful Living." This panel was the first public airing of their projects.
09.08.11 Yale art critic Sarah Oppenheimer to open SOA fall lecture series
Artist Sarah Oppenheimer, known for challenging one's perceptions of physical space within existing structures, will deliver the lecture "Stable Objects: Unstable Spaces," at the Syracuse University School of Architecture on Thursday, Sept. 15, at 5 p.m. in Slocum Hall Auditorium. Her talk, co-sponsored by SU's College of Visual and Performing Arts, is free and open to the public.
"Oppenheimer's work typically uses architectural interventions to examine how we perceive space. Her installations often create disorienting or puzzling illusions that lead the viewer to question what s/he thought they knew about their position or orientation within a building," says Tyler Green, art critic for ARTINFO.
Oppenheimer received a B.A. from Brown University in 1995 and an M.F.A. in painting from Yale University in 1999. She joined the Yale faculty in 2003 and was appointed critic in painting/printmaking in 2005.
Recent projects include an installation at Baltimore Museum of Art - her first permanent commission at a major American museum; "MF-142" at Annely Juda, London; "VP-41" at Art Unlimited, Basel; and "Automatic Cities" at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego.
Her work has also been at the Brown University Cognitive Science Building (permanent commission); Museum of Art and Design, New York City; The Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Skulpturens Hus, Stockholm; Saint Louis Art Museum; and the Youkobo Art Space,Tokyo.
She is the recipient of a Rome Prize Fellowship 2010-11, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship 2009, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship 2007, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Art 2007, an NYFA fellowship (in the category of Architecture/Environmental Structures) 2006, and a Rema Hort Mann Foundation Fellowship 2003.
08.10.11 Luke Carnahan '09, Ryan Doyle '09, and Tyler Caine '05 win Gowanus Lowline competition
Three Syracuse Architecture alumni and team member Brandon Specketer recently competed in the Gowanus Lowline competition, organized by Gowanus by Design. Their Gowanus Flowlands project won top prize. The theme of this inaugural competition was framed in the following question: How do you define connection(s) relative to the Gowanus Canal (located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, geographically on the westernmost portion of Long Island) and secondly, how is this understanding realized?
One of the competition objectives was to generate a discourse about urban issues that are currently relevant to the Gowanus Canal Community. The competition was designed to generate a spectrum of possible solutions. The jury was interested in designers who explored their own design sensibilities while tackling complex urban challenges specific to the canal.
Says Caine, "The design problem centered around the Gowanus Canal, an industrial relic that sits as one
of the most polluted sites in the country. The goal was to outline a direction to transform the neighborhood into a pedestrian-driven community while providing remediation for the canal and its surroundings. I ended up pulling together a team with three colleagues and three of us hail from Syracuse Architecture. As it turns out, we ended up winning the competition!"
07.26.11 Freedom by Design group completes second design/build project
Team captain Hilary Barlow reports that the School's Freedom by Design group has now comnpleted an interactive ramp and deck space for Syracuse resident Paul Halko. Halko suffers from IBM, a rare autoimmune disease which attacks the muscles. His condition made it nearly impossible to exit his home without a ramp. Before the FBD team intervened, the only way for Paul to access the outdoors was to be carried out.
FBD students confronted this accessibility issue by creating a personalized solution to meet Paul's needs. The space design allows Paul to actively engage in outdoor gardening through a series of stepped terraces along the ramp. The height of each terrace is custom designed according to the height of Paul when in his wheelchair, The garden terraces serve as a wall which wraps the ramp, unified by the orientation of the deck's dimensional lumber which spills over the garden "wall," along the ramp, to the railings where the lumber is then juxtaposed to create transparencye. A planter box wall provides counter space along the deck area, allowing Halko to view baseball games that take place in the field across from his backyard.
This is the FBD team's second design/build pr oject since the chapter's establishment in fall 2009. FBD is a nationally based student-run initiative where architecture students and those of related fields resolve accessibility issues by designing small-home modifications for those faced with physical, mental, and financial struggles.
The Freedom team financed the entire project through their own fundraising efforts as well as support from the Chancellor's Scholarship in Action initiative. Syracuse AIAS (American Institute of Architecture Students) hosted "Freedom by the Mic" this spring, an open mic an karaoke event featuring both faculty and student performers.
The group has shown its passion for challenging the typical notion of a ramp throughout the entire process. Through design critiques, working on construction drawings, site visits, and learning construction first-hand, the team has created a positive impact within the Syracuse community and SU campus. With plans to build another project this August and the start of a new school year, there's no telling how the FBD team will re-think other notions of accessibility.
07.13.11 Dean Robbins completes Guest/Host workshop with INDA students in Bangkok
Dean Mark Robbins is completing an intensive nine-day workshop with students from the International Program in Design and Architecture (INDA) at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, A reception for the installation project, Guest/Host, will be held at the No Space Gallery at RCA on Thursday, July 14 from 6-8pm. The project is the outcome of the workshop that focused on issues of public space, art, and communication. Students assisted Robbins in digital production for the exhibition and produced individual documentation of domestic spaces.
Robbins has used the homes of students in various sections of Bangkok as the site for this photographic work. At each home, a student has received Robbins and classmates in the dining room set for a formal meal. The relative positions of the guests at the table change in the series of images and the interaction between GUEST and HOST remain ambiguous. These staged domestic scenes are then projected onto digital LED billboards and monitors on the exterior and throughout Siam Square, one of Bangkok's central malls.
The project relocates the dining room of the private home to the hyper-saturated urban condition of Bangkok, returning in a way to a condition in which the seams between public and private, daily life and commerce are often less discreet. In a part of the city in which every surface seemingly trumpets celebrityh and sales, the images of Guest/Host are less spectacular and anonymous. Desire is not directed at an immediate sale or product placement, perhaps replaced by questions about consumption, politics, and cultural identity. (Contact: Kamonsin Chathurattaphol 085-920-7901)
06.21.11 Mark Linder named inaugural Chancellor's Fellow in the Humanities
Mark Linder, Syracuse Architecture associate professor, has been named the inaugural Chancellor's Fellow in the Humanities beginning in August 2011. This position marks the critical place of architecture within the humanities. It will offer new avenues for programming with the Humanities Center at Syracuse University, aiming to foster discussion and interaction between multiple fields at the University and with partners in other academic and cultural institutions.
In this first year of the fellowship, Linder will collaborate with Gregg Lambert, Dean's Professor of the Humanities and founding director of the Humanities Center, to organize a series of public events - lectures, seminars, panel discussions, interviews - featuring notable intellectual and cultural figures in the arts and humanities. A seminar will serve as a hub for this activity and the course and the collateral events will focus on a shared transdisciplinary topic. "Images"will be the topic for 2011-12.
"This is an important opportunity for Mark to address his ongoing commitment and interest in collaboration across disciplines," Dean Mark Robbins. "We look forward to the programming that will be developed, exemplifying the critical role of interdisciplinary studies in the future of higher education."
Events will take place in Syracuse and at locations within the Syracuse University global network by utilizing advance videoconferencing resources. The content and conversations generated by each year’s events will be extended through a publication or exhibition.
Mark Linder is a noted theorist and critic and co-directs the Transdisciplinary Media Studio. His book, Nothing Less than Literal: Architecture after Minimalism (MIT 2004), examines the role of architecture in the emergence of minimal art in the 1960s. A new project, provisionally titled That's Brutal, places the literalist strategies of minimal art in the broader historical context of post-WW II modernism, from the work of Walter Segal, John Hejduk and New Brutalism in the 1950s to the post-minimalist practices of architects and artists including Herzog & de Meuron, Peter Eisenman, Glen Seator, Bernd and Hilla Becher, James Carpenter, Neutelings Reidijk Architects and others.
Linder served as chair of Syracuse Architecture graduate programs from 2005-2010 and was recently the Max Fisher visiting professor at the University of Michigan. Linder has also taught at Harvard, the University of Illinois-Chicago, Rice University, the Illinois Institute of Technology, RISD, and UCLA. His research focuses on transdisciplinary exchanges between art and architecture and he maintains a design practice as a principal in CLEAR.
05.10.11 Dincer Savaskan G'12 wins Honorable Mention in 'YTONG Roofs and Sustainability Competition'
Second-year grad student Dincer Savaskan has won an Honorable Mention ($3,000 prize) in the "YTONG Roofs and Sustainability Competition" organized by Ytong and the Chamber of Architects, Istanbul, Turkey. Savaskan's project was one of 68 projects submitted. The competition was about re-purposing a building in the city and exploring an innovative way to renovate the existing roof. Savaskan adapted Pot in Pot (Zeer Pot) technology into the roofs for his project, and recommended a food bank for the use of his building. The work of several important architectural offices in Turkey were among the award winners for the competition. Competition projects are going to be on display at UIA 2011 in Tokyo, at the 24th World Congress of Architecture.
05.06.11 Brian Lonsway's collaborative 'Syracuse Eats' project part of NYC's Festival of Ideas for the New City
"Syracuse Eats," a collaborative work of Kathleen Brandt, Syracuse Architecture Associate Professor Brian Lonsway, and Matt Potteiger on CNY Food Systems will be appearing this weekend, on May 7, in New York City as part of the New Museum's Festival of Ideas for the New City. The work of Brandt, Lonsway, and Potteiger, represents the outcome of a multi-year transcisiplinary collaboration between SU's Department of Design, the School of Architecture, and the Landscape Architecture Program at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
The Festival is a first for New York City and will demonstrate the power of the creative community to imagine the city of the future, May 4-8, 2011. Influential speakers will lead the discussions, from keynote speaker Rem Koolhaas, artist Vito Acconci, artist and musician David Byrne, Studio 360's Kurt Andersen, founding partner of Diller Scofidio + Renfro Elizabeth Hiller, and many others. The Bowery will serve as athe spine of the Festival, with Cooper Union and the New Museum acting as anchors and hubs for conversation, discussion, learning, and action.
"Syracuse Eats" explores the capacity of community-engaged design to transform CNY's food systems and enhance local food cultures in the mega-region. Their current efforts are focused on the enabling of large-scale aggregation of local food for distribution to anchor institutions like Universitities in CNY. Their work will be exhibited as part of the "Green My Bodega and Foodshed Market: Mapping Present and Imagined Food Systems" presentation on May 7th from 11:00-7:00, on the Bowery in Lower Manhattan.
04.29.11 Nilus Klingel '11 and Stephen Klimek '11 named Engageament Fellows
Fifth-year Syracuse Architecture students Nilus Klingel and Stephen Klimek are among twenty-one Syracuse University seniors selected as the 2011 Engagement Fellows, a yearlong program supported by the Kauffman Foundation that assists with securing local employment and arranges remitted tuition for courses at SU with professional and faculty mentors.
The Fellows will participate in local projects or ventures that incorporate the principles of SU's Scholarship in Action vision, allowing them to explore innovative ways to help create sustainable development in Central New York.
Selection of the 21 fellows was based on their academic record, their history in experiential learning, an in-depth interview, a faculty or professional recommendation and assurance that they were on track to graduate.
"These students continue to be the best and brightest of the Syracuse University graduates [for 2011] and instead of taking a job in Boston or Los Angeles, they chose to stay in Syracuse, starting new companies or working locally," says Bruce Kingma, SU associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation."To revitalize the Central New York economy we need new ideas, new actions and new strategies. The Engagement Fellows program is one of these new strategies--keeping young, educated, creative and talented graduates in Central New York, making a difference."
Stephen Klimek will work in the SU Community Engagement and Economic Development Office on the Near Westside Neighborhood Plan, and also The Front, a service for transforming abandoned storefronts into prime destinations for small and startup businesses in Syracuse.
Nilus Klingel will work with UPSTATE (an interdisciplinary center for design, research and real estate founded at the SU School of Architecture) and also The Front, a service for transforming abandoned storefronts into prime destinations for small and startup businesses in Syracuse.
04.14.11 Sinéad Mac Namara honored by SU for teaching excellence
Sinead Mac Namara, assistant professor of structural engineering in the School of Architecture is one of eight Syracuse University faculty members chosen to receive a 2011Teaching Recognition Award. She received her award at a reception being held in honor of the award-winners last evening.
Mac Namara is recognized for accomplishing a feat that no one before her teaching the structures component of the architecture curriculum was able to do: melding two cultures of engineering and architecture to excite students in both fields with the potential of thinking about architecture through engineering, and engineering through architecture.
She has also engaged in groundbreaking research in this area, receiving with her colleague Clare Olsen a National Science Foundation grant in support of their experimental teaching with students of architecture and engineering.
Since she holds a joint appointment in architecture and the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, Mac Namara's students and the University benefit from her energetic 'bridging of the gap' between these fields of study. She does this by allowing each field to influence the other. She actively engages the students in practical design and structural projects, which they must build with their own hands using simple materials in order to explore particular structural forces at play.
Having seen what the architecture students could do with a more intuitive entry point into their structural curriculum, Mac Namara continues to critically look at the engineering side of her teaching. She established the first engineering lecture series at SU, bringing exemplars in the profession to highlight creativity and innovation in contemporary engineering practice.
Noted as being an extremely talented teacher, she has also exceeded expectations in creating an interdisciplinary environment in which students learn to think creatively and to explore innovatively.
04.11.11 The Front wins $5K SU student start-up award
The Front, a service for renovating abandoned storefronts into prime real estate and securing long-term tenants, run by Nilus Klingel '11, and Stephen Klimek '11, is one of twelve Syracuse University student startups who received a combined $70,000 in seed funding at the second annual Emerging Talk conference on April 1 at the AXA Towers, Syracuse. The Front received $5,000.
Student companies pitched to panels of judges composed of alumni, entrepreneurs and faculty at The Tech Garden. The selected companies range from products that allow devices to be wirelessly controlled to a variety of mobile apps to the renovation of old store fronts. The companies include an interdisciplinary mix of student talent representing a diverse range of majors, including civil engineering, media management, finance, computer science, information management, advertising, real estate, psychology, accounting and architecture.
The Ray von Dran Awards, previously the Orange Tree Fund, are part of the Raymond von Dran Innovative and Disruptive Entrepreneurship Accelerator (IDEA) and provide seed funding to help SU student entrepreneurs launch their ventures.
"The judges were impressed again this year with the quality of business ideas, talent and excitement in our student entrepreneurs," says Syracuse University Associate Provost for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Bruce Kingma. "The Ray von Dran IDEA Awards will allow student companies to take their idea or business to the next level and do it right here in Central New York. We're keeping the incredible talent that we have at SU in Syracuse."
Funding is awarded to student companies to cover startup expenses incurred in the summer, typically while student teams are working at the Tech Garden in downtown Syracuse. Student expenses may include salaries of company owners and employees, space rental, marketing, legal, website and proof-of-concept development.
"The Ray von Dran IDEA Award gives us the incredible opportunity to get program development and testing for our first mobile app done within the next few months, and get it out in the world to help people sooner," says Ramcharran, Lujo co-founder. "Our team's goal is to help people improve their health, and pitching and talking to potential customers at Emerging Talk and receiving enormously positive feedback made us realize the magnitude of our work."
The Ray von Dran IDEA Award recipients were recognized during Emerging Talk, an event that pulled together more than 130 student entrepreneurs from universities and colleges across Central New York, as well as business members and others interested in entrepreneurship. Thirty five student companies took part in the student venture showcase, where they had the opportunity to talk about their venture with investors, faculty, students and community members.
The Ray von Dran IDEA Awards are supported by the IDEA Fund, established and endowed by Gisela von Dran, as well as alumni, donors, SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor and the Kauffman Foundation via Enitiative, a collaborative partnership that provides contacts, resources and funding support for entrepreneurial projects, while uniting faculty and students of Central New York academic institutions and members of the community.
04.08.11 SYR3 charrette to explore design strategies for Syracuse railway corridor
SYR3, a 3-day interdisciplinary charrette on the revitalization of the Syracuse railway corridor, takes place today, Ap ril 8 through Sunday, April 10. Led by UPSTATE: Fellow Trevor Lee and Syracuse Architecture Assistant Professor Vasilena Vassilev, the effort also includes a team of SOA, Whitman, and SUNY ESF faculty and students. The goal of the charrette is to initiate a discourse to activate strategic economic, ecological and urban design strategies for the Syracuse railway corridor that will facilitate its reintroduction into the City's civic fabric.
04.06.11 Arch students engage community in texting dialogue on future of Syracuse
From April 11-17, anyone with a cell phone in the Syracuse community who passes through one of four downtown public spaces can participate in a mobile messaging, public engagement experiment. Students in Syracuse University School of Architecture's "Spatial ConTXT" class, taught by assistant professor Anda French, are creating a dialogue within the city, prompted by the simple but very powerful questions of Syracuse youth.
A large, brightly colored, vinyl sign designed and installed by architecture students on a tree in each satellite location will encourage passersby to text, Tweet or email answers to one of these four questions (one question posted per location):
What do you like about Syracuse?
What do you want to be?
What should we do with the abandoned houses?
Why smoke?
The questions for the signs were created by seventh and eighth graders in the Say Yes to Education program at Roberts School during a workshop held in spring 2010, where SU students asked the children what issues were important to them regarding the city's future.
Signs will be posted at the following locations:
The Armory Square plaza at South Franklin and Walton streets;
The plaza at Washington and South Salina streets (White Memorial Building);
The park at South Warren and East Fayette streets
The park at Westcott and South Beech streets
During the evening of May 4, a compilation of the community's responses to the questions will be on display for the public via video projection on the Everson Museum exterior. Each individual who answers a question will receive an automatically generated response inviting him/her to view the massive video display at the Everson.
"This project challenges how the use of mobile media can make a collective impact on the way we use public spaces for exchange of ideas, and the creation of new communities around these exchanges," says French.
"We're very interested in what young people are thinking about the future," says third-year architecture student Tiesha Shirrell McNeal. "The use of social media as a tool for expression in this setting is ideal."
This project is the result of an Imagining America grant, and support from the Syracuse University School of Architecture, Say Yes to Education, and Urban Video Project (UVP).
03.23.11 Timothy Stenson named new Undergraduate Chair
Professor Timothy Stenson has been appointed the new chair of the undergraduate program at the Syracuse University School of Architecture, effective July 1, 2011, Dean Mark Robbins has announced. Prior to coming to Syracuse Architecture in 2005, Stenson taught at the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan. His teaching encompasses design studios, advanced fabrication, furniture design and technology.
"Tim's research interests and his commitment to the development of design pedagogy make him an ideal choice to lead the undergraduate program,"ays Robbins. "We look forward to the ways in which this will inflect the undergraduate curriculum as it continues to grow and evolve."
Stenson's design research focuses on sustainable high performance houses. He has completed a series of projects supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems. Current projects include the study of design processes in architecture and engineering with the aim of optimizing low-energy building systems.
Stenson's creative work spans a broad range of scales and media from furniture to urban design, and graphite on paper to folded steel. His work has been exhibited and published widely and received numerous design awards, including the AIA National Award for Excellence in Collegiate Urban Design in 1992, two faculty design awards from the ACSA in 2001 and 2003, the Best in Show and a Merit Award from Inform Magazine in 2003, and a design award from the Philadelphia AIA in 2009. In 2004, Stenson was featured in ID Magazine (International Design) as part of the ID 50.
"I look forward to building on the work of my predecessors in fostering excellence in design teaching that is the foundation of the Syracuse undergraduate program,"says Stenson.
Stenson follows Jonathan Massey, chair of the undergraduate program since 2007. "During Jonathan's tenure, the program has excelled in its intellectual rigor and the level of experimentation, which also saw an increase in selectivity as well as diversity in our student body," says Robbins.
Massey will take a research leave to work on a book addressing the ways that architecture manages our consumption of resources, ranging from energy and water to time and risk. With colleagues at SU, he is also engaged in two ongoing initiatives: the Transdisciplinary Media Studio, a project that uses digital media to sponsor new modes of collaborative research, teaching, and learning across disciplines; and a digital edition of the drawings and papers of Marcel Breuer housed at the Syracuse University Library. His previous book, "Crystal and Arabesque: Claude Bragdon, Ornament, and Modern Architecture," was published in 2009 by the University of Pittsburgh Press.
03.21.11 Fifth-year student Stephen Klimek cited in ARCHITECT Magazine
In the "Architect's Perspective" segment of the March 2011 ARCHITECT Magazine (page 32), AIA National President Clark Manus FAIA cites an article Klimek wrote for the fall 2010 CRIT (AIAS) magazine.
03.18.11 Disaster in Japan hits home for Architecture professor Yutaka Sho
On Wednesday, March 16, Assistant Professor Yutaka/s ties to Japan, and her interest and involvement in Japan relief efforts were highlighted in an interview conducted by Channels 9 & 10 and, on Match 17, by the Syracuse Post Standard.
Channel 10 reports, "With the rest of the world, Sho has watched in horror as her homeland was rocked by a massive earthquake and then a killer tsunami. 'There's no electricity. There's no gas. The transportation has been cut off. Ports have been jammed,' Sho said."
Sho has put out a call for contributions and assistance to agencies providing relief to those in need and those still in harm's way, and "asks for the world's patience and assistance as Japan itself works to recover."
03.02.11 Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu organize D + T Workshop and reviews
On Friday, March 4, from 3 - 6 pm in Slocum Gallery, the Syracuse Architecture M.Arch 1 program will hold a Design and Technology (D+T) Workshop review. Architects Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu of SO-IL (Solid Objectives - Idenburg Liu), NYC organized the workshop and will run the reviews. D+T Workshops are a key feature of the M.Arch 1 program. All first- and second-year students and their faculty participate in these events that reinforce the need to integrate all aspects of the core curriculum. Working in teams, students focus on ways design ambition can be provoked by advanced technology, from mechanical or building systems to digital media and fabrication. Most im portant, the workshop experience prepares students to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world that demands innovation and intellectual agility.
Florian Idenburg was born in the Netherlands and holds a Master of Science in Architecture from Delft University of Technology. He is a licensed architect in the Netherlands and an International Associate of the American Institute of Architects. Between 2000 and 2007 he worked at SANAA where he became Senior Associate charged with the design and realization of a performing arts center in Almere, the Netherlands, and two internationally acclaimed museums. With SO-IL, Idenburg created an office that focuses on the development of new ideas and their viability in the world.He recognizes the merit in combining practice with academia, as such cross-pollination stimulates innovation. Through his endeavors he has become a recognized voice in both worlds.
A native of China, Jing Liu received her education in China, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S., concluding with a Master of Architecture from Tulane University School of Architecture. She has worked extensively in Asia. Starting in New Orleans, she helped establish the Tulane Regional Urban Design Center and worked on their inaugural projects for new town planning in Yangtze Delta, China. In 2008, she co-founded SO-IL with Idenburg, whom she met while working at SANAA. Lieu is deeply interested in the urban environment in Asia and writes for Chinese publications such as Urban Flux. She lectures frequently on the topics of current global socio-economic instabilities and ecologically sensitive conditions.
D+T workshop schedule:
Tuesday, March 1, 4 - 6 p.m.
Jing Liu will introduce the workshop in person, distribute the reading list, and answer questions.
Wednesday, March 2, 6 - 8 p.m.
Midweek review via Skype with SO-IL regarding work in-process.
Thursday, March 3
Teams will finalize their designs and prepare presentation materials.
Friday, March 4, 3 - 6 p.m.
Final Presentations and Discussion of work: Florian and Jing with all student teams and the graduate architecture faculty in the Gallery.
02.18.11 Exhibition from the Breuer archives at Syracuse Architecture
The exhibition "Marcel Breuer and Postwar America"opened on Feb. 15 in the Slocum Gallery at the Syracuse University School of Architecture. The show was curated by Syracuse architecture students as part of a seminar on the Bauhaus architect taught by visiting professor Barry Bergdoll, the Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art, with Jonathan Massey, Syracuse Architecture associate professor and undergraduate chair. The exhibition is the outcome of their work in the extensive Breuer archive at the Syracuse University Library Special Collections Research Center (SCRC). It features images of 120 drawings, as well as photographs, documenting 13 of Breuer's major postwar buildings and projects. Full-scale reproductions highlight themes that characterized some of Breuer's lesser-known major work and document his responses to the needs and opportunities of postwar American society.
Breuer (1902-1981) was a leading figure among the second generation of modernist architects, whose striking designs for furniture, houses, institutions and commercial buildings helped to set the shape and style of modernity in Europe and the United States, leading Time magazine to characterize him as one of the "form givers of the 20th century." His works include the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
The exhibition runs through March 29 with a closing reception on March 22 at 6:30 p.m. in the Slocum Gallery. The reception follows a lecture by Pippo Ciorra, senior curator at the MAXXI Architettura, Rome, in the Slocum Auditorium at 5 p.m. Students and faculty will give a series of gallery talks focusing on key themes within the exhibition:
Thursday, Feb. 17, 5:15 pm: Designing the Breuer Exhibition
Thursday, Feb. 24, 5:15 pm: The Materials of Modern Architecture
Thursday, March 3, 5:15 pm: Symbolizing Postwar Institutions
Tuesday, March 8, 5:15 pm: Designs for Modern Communities
Thursday, March 24, 5:15: Creating a Digital Archive
"Breuer's archive is a great resource for understanding how modern architecture transformed between the 1920s to the 1970s. As the students worked through parts of the collection, they found drawings that illuminate the way Breuer gave form to the materials, institutions and communities of postwar America," says Bergdoll.
"The experience of working with a scholar of Bergdoll's stature doing primary research drawing on archival materials provided a vivid academic experience. We are delighted to partner with the University Library to generate this project, "says Mark Robbins, dean of the School of Architecture.
"This exhibition demonstrates the capacity of collaboration to activate the potential of the research university," says Massey. "Connecting students with the Breuer archive and its archivists allowed them to do primary research and generate new knowledge about modern architecture."
Along with Bergdoll and Massey, staff from the SCRC assisted students with the development of the show. The installation was designed by Jon Lott, assistant professor and principal of PARA-Project. Graphic design is by Brett Snyder, assistant professor and principal of Cheng + Snyder.
"Marcel Breuer and Postwar America" was produced and supported by the School of Architecture as part of a collaboration with the Syracuse University Library and its SCRC, directed by Sean Quimby. In 2009, the library received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to create a digital edition of part of Breuer's papers, which he began donating to the University in 1964. The SCRC is completing a web design for the digital edition of the archive, planned for release in December 2011, allowing students, architects and scholars around the world to continue the research initiated with the current exhibition.
"I am pleased that the library's NEH grant enabled us to bring Breuer' work to light and provided the spark for this ongoing partnership with architecture faculty and students," says Suzanne Thorin, dean of the University Library.
02.17.11 Architecture, engineering students collaborate on shell structures on Quad
Students of the special topics course "Shell Structures" conducted an experiment building "hanging forms" in the Kenneth A. Shaw Quad outside the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, on Tuesday, Feb. 15. "Shell structures," ACR 500-6/ECS 500-3, is an interdisciplinary course funded by the National Science Foundation, aimed at fostering dialogue and collaboration between architecture and engineering students. And "hanging forms" is but one of a series of experiments conducted by the students.
The course studies shell structures as an instance where architecture aesthetics and engineering solutions converge perfectly. "In shells, the thing you see and the thing that holds the building are one and the same. And you need both engineering and architecture to make them work," says Sinead MacNamara, assistant professor of structural engineering in the School of Architecture, instructor for the course and an engineer herself.
Under the guidance of MacNamara and assistant professor Clare Olsen, students created hanging forms, the idea being that a form that works in pure tension, when flipped over and inverted, results in a form that works in pure compression. Six teams of three students each used a rudimentary combination of fabric, water, wood and nails to build the forms.
For participating students, the interdisciplinary nature of the project was especially appealing. "Architecture and engineering can't be separated in a real career. So it is very important to have the ability to have a conversation between engineering and architecture people," says participant Jaehyun Kim, a second-year architecture student.
Moreover, the experiment was an exercise in promoting collaboration between the two disciplines. For MacNamara, collaboration entails more than simply working in groups. "The idea behind this course is that when you collaborate with a team member from another discipline, they are bringing something to the table that you don't have and vice versa. That actually requires a lot of trust on part of the students,"she says.
For the students, the experiment was an opportunity to gain exposure to the manner in which both disciplines approach design. "The architecture students have been trained to think creatively, whereas we have been trained to get the answer to the problem," says Rachael Ashton, a participating civil engineering student. Ashton also believes that team members from both the disciplines made an equal contribution to the experiment. It's not like one person is bringing more to the table. It's a collaboration of knowledge," she adds.
Students of both disciplines walk away with a richer perspective as a result of such experiments. On one hand, engineering education benefits from enhanced innovation and creativity. On the other hand, architecture students understand the significance of what MacNamara terms the "importance of technical rigor in design creativity." "Architecture students could come up with shapes. But the trick is to come up with a shape you can build. And that's where engineering comes in,"she says.
For the students, the hanging forms experiment was more than a tedious academic project. "It was a fun project. It is not like you had to memorize things or do calculations. We are figuring out things by experimenting ourselves. That's the most fun part of this project," says Kim. (Mukta Phatak)
02.14.11 Clare Olsen and Brett Snyder chosen as Kauffman Professors of Entrepreneurship at SU
As part of the Syracuse University Enitiative, established in 2007 by the Kauffman Foundation to infuse entrepreneurship across the curriculum, a cross-disciplinary group of 28 faculty have been selected as Kauffman Professors of Entrepreneurhip and Innovation. Assistant Professors Clare Olsen and Brett Snyder are part of this distinguished group of individuals "who have been instrumental in spreading entrepreneurship across the Syracuse University campus," says Bruce Kingma, associate provost of entrepreneurship and innovation. The KPEI will participate in the first Dean's Summit on Entrepreneurship at SU, and meet 2-3 times a semester to network with other faculty across campus. In addition, KPEI will be eligible to apply for matching funding for travel to conferences and workshops in entrepreneurship and innovation, and travel for guest classroom speakers. "We're arming the KPEI to be ambassadors for entrepreneuship and innovation to energize the students," says Kingma.
02.03.11 UPSTATE: design center to host civic engagement gatherings
Two events this spring offer opportunity for informal exchange of ideas related to university / city engagement and growth. Hosted by UPSTATE: Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate at Syracuse Architecture, two "mixers" are slated at the center's office @ The Warehouse, Suite 130, 350 West Fayette Street, in Syracuse's Armory Square district. Each event includes a a short talk and opportunity for discussion. Drinks and appetizers will be served.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011, 5 - 7 pm
"Town Gown Works: Advancing Collaboration"
Dave Nutting (Chairman & CEO, VIP Structures, Inc.)
Fred Stelle (Principal, Stelle Architects)
Tim Stenson (Associate Professor, Syracuse University)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 5 - 7 pm
"Engaging the City: a Conversation About Public/Private Partnerships"
Paul Driscoll (Commissioner, Dept. of Neighborhood & Business Development, City of Syracuse)
Marilyn Higgins (VP, Community Engagement & Economic Development, Syracuse University)
02.02,11 Jonathan Massey to speak at Columbia's American Studies Seminar
On Thursday, February 3, 2011, undergraduate chair and associate professor Jonathan Massey will deliver the lecture "Sustainability as Risk Management, from Buckminster Fuller to Norman Foster," the third event of the 2010-2011 Columbia University American Studies Seminar Series. The theme for this year's seminar series is "The Greening of American Studies."
Different sustainable design practices reflect disparate ethical frameworks, politics, and ways of managing change. Jonathan Massey will analyze the methods and implications of the technocratic approach pioneered by designer Buckminster Fuller and practiced today by architect Sir Norman Foster. In works such as the Dymaxion House project (1928) and the U.S. Pavilion for Expo 67 (1967), Fuller developed resource-conserving designs that addressed the threats to capitalism and liberal governance posed by both internal tensions and the external challenge of Soviet communism. Examining the recent Swiss Re Building in London ("the Gherkin", Massey will show how Foster has adapted Fuller's Cold War strategies to help corporations and states manage the risks and opportunities of climate change and ecological modernization.
Lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Faculty House, Columbia University, 64 Morningside Drive, NYC.
01.28.11 TdMS spring 2011 "spatial information" events scheduled
As part of this semester's focus on spatial information and the city, theTransdisciplinary Media Studio (tdms.syr.edu) offers five events at the Warehouse that are open to the campus community:
Friday January 28, 1-3pm, Warehouse Auditorium: Joint Meeting and Panel Discussion
Gregg Lambert, Mark Linder, Brian Lonsway, Jonathan Massey, Don Mitchell, Jonnell Robinson, Anthony Rotolo
Friday February 4, 1-3pm: Antoine Picon (Streamed live from Cambridge; Viewing location TBD)
Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Friday February 11, 3-5pm, 018 Eggers: Rina Ghose
Associate Professor of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Friday March 4, 1-3pm, Warehouse Auditorium: Aaron Sprecher
Assistant Professor of Architecture, McGill University; Partner of Open Source Architecture
Friday March 25, 1-3pm, Slocum Auditorium: Dana Cuff
Professor of Architecture and Director of cityLAB, UCLA
The Transdisciplinary Media Studio (TdMS) is a collaborative design studio that uses digital media to foster multi-directional teaching and research collaborations among partners from different disciplines. It proceeds from the observation that evolving paradigms in computing technology enable new models and effects of disciplinary collaboration. By serving as enabler, repository, and resource for these new types of collaborations, the TdMS seeks to broaden design-related discourses while at the same time forging new transdisciplinary projects intimately focused on pressing concerns in today's social contexts.
Begun in 2009, the TdMS is built around revolving annual topics, sponsoring teaching collaborations, public events, and visiting guests around these topics. It is our goal, by seeding these annual projects, and collecting and disseminating their ongoing work, to help advance longer-term transdisciplinary work at Syracuse University and beyond.
01.24.11 Dean Robbins to moderate "Out of Practice" panel at Cooper Union
On January 26, the Architectural League of NY will present "Out of Practice," an exploration of the current work of NYC architectural firm ShOP. Gregg Pasquarelli, founding partner with Christopher Sharples, Coren Sharples, Kimberly Holden, and William Sharples, will present the office's current projects with a focus on how the firm seeks to reinvent the business model of architectural practice. Syracuse Architecture dean Mark Robbins will moderate. The event will be held Wednesday, January 26, 7pm in The Great Hall @ The Cooper Union, 7 East 7th St, NYC.
01.14.11 FXFOWLE exhibition to feature digital works of Prof. Bruce Coleman
"Compositions," an exhibition of digitally generated designs created by Syracuse Architecture professor Bruce M. Coleman, will be held in the gallery of FXFOWLE Architects, 22 West 19th St., 11th Floor, New York City, from Jan. 20-March 11. The exhibition is free and open to the public during regular business hours, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Coleman specializes in the area of computer-aided design. "Compositions" is a collection of work created by Coleman over a period of 15 years, exploring the possibilities implicit in Renaissance painting and made explicit in the Cubist style. Coleman is heavily influenced by many modern painters, an exploration that began while a student in New York City attending gallery openings of the works of Morris Lewis, Friedal Zubas and others. Coleman also cites the work of Max Bill, Hans Hofmann, Barnett Newman, Richard Diebenkorn and fellow architect/painter Jeffrey Hildner as important influences.
Coleman received a bachelor of architecture degree from Cornell University in 1967. He has worked with Joseph Cerutti & Associates, Architects in Cleveland, and spent 10 years as an architect with Werner Seligmann & Associates in Cortland, N.Y. Coleman began teaching at Syracuse University in 1976, and has been in private practice since 1979. He was instrumental in setting up the IBM CAD lab at Syracuse University School of Architecture, the first CAD facility on campus devoted to the building professions. His writings have been published in Progressive Architecture and in Rivista in Italy. He is currently working on a monograph on the work of Seligmann.
Founded 32 years ago, FXFOWLE Architects is an architectural, interior design, planning, and urban design firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. The firm's diverse portfolio of work has garnered international recognition for its design quality, technical innovation, and environmental responsibility. In 2010, FXFOWLE was named Firm of the Year by the American Institute of Architects - New York State, and was recognized by Inc. as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America.
FXFOWLE's culture of supporting community and diverse forms of expression extends to the arts: the firm's central reception area also functions as an art gallery, in which every two months an exhibition of artwork in various media by emerging or established artists is displayed.
01.13.11 Brendan Rose G'10 named first Syracuse Public Artist in Residence
The public art of local resident Brendan Rose G'10 began with one giant open hand, palm raised, as a gesture of peaceful greeting and welcome. The nine-foot-tall sculpture (in photo), which sits in front of Syracuse's City Hall Commons on East Washington Street, earned Rose, an alumnus of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, a special place in the local art community.
As the first Syracuse Public Artist in Residence (SPAR), Rose will have 12 months to realize his vision of art as a community-driven activity, one that relies on the ears almost as much as the eyes. "You'e gotta listen to it all," he says. "The challenge is-how do you filter that through your own artistic sensibilities to produce something?"
For the past five years, Rose, an artist and architect, has worked on art as community activity with projects such as the "Art Shark" in Lipe Art Park on West Fayette St. The shark, his thesis work for his master's degree in architecture, is a sculpture made of concrete, steel and fabric canopies that stands in the center of the park.
The idea of creating a SPAR was initiated, in part, by Maarten Jacobs and Dominic Robinson, members of 40 Below, an initiative of Centerstate CEO. Jacobs has been active as part of the 40 Below Public Arts Task Force for several years, working to diversify opportunities for artists in the community.
"Brendan was selected as the inaugural SPAR largely due to his proven track record of working collaboratively with a variety of community participants to imagine, design and create provocative public art,"says Jacobs.
In his appointment as SPAR, Rose will work on two public art projects. With major streetscape construction slated to occur this year along University Avenue and portions of East Genesee Street, including enhancements to Forman Park and areas adjacent to The Warehouse, Robbi Farschman, director of the Connective Corridor, was eager to include public art in the mix.
"When I read the SPAR proposal, I could see the vision and knew exactly how we could help,"she says. With funding from a grant for public art provided by the Empire State Development Corp., the Connective Corridor will cover labor and material costs for Rose's two public art pieces. At year's end, these pieces will be placed along the route.
Rose will also work with SU industrial design students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts during "Environments," a course this semester that will teach students to see the deeper meaning of an object. Where most courses are bound to studio space, Rose will be working in a double-height storefront in the State Tower Building, which will enable the public to see the artwork come to life in real time.
During the process, Rose will also take to the streets to gather feedback and invite people to participate in construction of the public art pieces. As his work comes together, he will also seek partnerships with other local artists, balancing their opinions with those of city residents, who will ultimately own the sculptures. I've never had (so many) resources going into a piece before,"he says.
There is still a need for approximately $15,000 in funding, to cover Rose's residency, as well as the costs of an exhibition and publication at its conclusion.
Rose earned a master's degree in architecture from SU. His thesis work explored architectural competency based on the architect's capacity to collaboratively execute full-scale design work within urban environments. Prior to his master's studies, he designed and constructed a residence in Fenner, N.Y., which integrated contemporary, energy-efficient design into the rural landscape through local materials, formal language and traditional arts and crafts practices. From 2002-05, Rose worked professionally at the Miller/Hull Partnership in Seattle, where he specialized in sustainable design and construction.
For more information, contact Farschman at (315) 443-4137 or rfarschm@syr.edu.
11.23.10 Wind turbine firm joins Syracuse Architecture & SU Engineering in clean energy collaborative
Syracuse University and Impact Technologies Group of Syracuse have formed an alliance to convert Central New York winds into kilowatts. The SU School of Architecture and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) are joining with the company to develop innovative wind turbines and bring to market wind- and solar-powered street lights.
By next spring, the new Clean Energy Collaborative expects to have prototypes on area roofs and in public spaces, tapping the energy of the winds.
"Working with Impact Technologies, we will combine resources to develop new designs with higher efficiencies and sustainable energy savings," says Professor Michael Pelken of the School of Architecture. "This is also a learning opportunity that will include research assistants from both departments."
SU and the company both have patents and patents pending on additional designs and they expect to merge their ideas and technologies. One aspect of the work is the new light poles that integrate wind, solar energy and new LED lamps to illuminate streets, parking lots and pedestrian paths.
The 'Self-Sustaining Street Light' concept was created by Professors Pelken and Thong Dang. Under their guidance, an SU engineering/architecture student team then developed system components and produced a functioning model. It recently received the George Farnell Design Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineering.
"We'e excited to be partnering with SU on the frontier of urban wind energy,"says Raymond Davis, CEO of Impact Technologies. "This is a full-court press to move the technology forward and develop new applications for locally generated wind power."
The focus of the alliance is on "small wind"turbines that generate 100 kilowatts or less. The huge turbine towers in wind farms produce megawatts, but cost millions. Small wind turbines can make efficient use of the turbulent winds around buildings and operate over a much broader range of wind speeds.
In Impact Technology turbines an innovative PowAIR Sail design captures much of the wind's energy by funneling it into the sail, regardless of wind direction. Inside, a new, highly efficient generator amplifies the power produced as the sail revolves. The turbines are virtually silent compared with wind farm machines. If you stand near one in operation, you can hear the wind but not the machine.
"This joint effort gives some students a chance to work on real-world projects with professional designers and engineers," says Dang, of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in ECS. "They can take part in creative interdisciplinary work and gain valuable insight into the field of sustainable energy."
The small wind market has been growing rapidly despite the recession, thanks to federal and state incentives and growing buyer interest. The U.S. market produces about half of the world's small wind systems and is forecast to grow 30-fold in the next five years.
One person at the center of this effort is TriciaRae Davis. She graduated from SU in 2007 with a major in physics and is now a vice president of Impact Technologies.
"This is a relatively new segment of the wind power market,"says Davis. "The most common urban wind speeds are below 10 miles per hour and that is a good fit for our turbines. Most turbines don't even begin to operate until the wind speed is above 10 mph."
The collaborators expect their efforts will attract others into the regional green energy community, as well as those who may want to invest in it.
Earlier CNY development work in the field has relied in part on funding from the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) and the Corporation for Economic Opportunity, aided by grants from state and federal programs. The collaborative will seek such support to help fund its activities.
(Contact: Ariel DuChene, SU Engineering)
11.18.10 Professors Olsen and Vassilev take runner-up spot in TEX-FAB REPEAT Competition
Clare Olsen and Lena Vassilev have been awarded a runner-up award in the International TEX-FAB Digital Fabrication Competition in Houston. Their TEXtile project is one of four runners-up selected by jury members Patrik Schumacher, Marc Fornes, Lisa Iwamoto, Chris Lasch and Blair Satterfield. TEX-FAB will fabricate a scale model of the project for exhibition in February 2011. The competition received 73 entries from across the globe representing 18 countries on 5 continents.
11.17.10 Dean Robbins and UPSTATE: featured in 'Metropolis' article about CoE and urban revitalization
The Syracuse Center of Excellence as "foundation for the revitalization of a struggling Rust Belt city " is the primary focus of Stephen Zacks' article in the November 2010 edition of 'Metropolis.' Beyond description of the Center's ecological technologies, the 10-page feature focuses on how the structure "anchors a larger vision for the city and the neighborhood, as put forth by (Dean Mark) Robbins, who led the architect-selection process." The article also highlights a "series of initiatives led by Mark Robbins to apply the best ideas available to spur revitalization" including collaborations with top designers/prominent alumni, and Near Westside development.
10.21.10 Winners of Charleston HUB Design Competition include Syracuse M.Arch students
Five groups of M.Arch second-year ARC 606 students have received awards and honorable mentions in the afh: Charleston HUB Design Competition.
3RD PRIZE: ENGAGE THE ALLEY Nicole Blasetti, Irini Zhupa, Thomas Poore, Nathan Aleskovsky; HONORABLE MENTION: RECIPRO[CITIES] Bryan Sheib, Adrienne Buccella, Lionel Camacho; WE DONT NEED A HUB, WE NEED CRITICAL INJECTIONS Justin Halsey, Korantemaa Larbi, Mario Ochoa Villicana, Jeff Stewart; CHARLESTON AFTER THE CROSS-TOWN Anthony Maiolatesi, Vera Tong, Andrew Acevedo; THE WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? AWARD: XL, CHARLESTON WILL PERMANENTLY FLOOD IN 2190 Shaobai Xu, Paul Andrew, Francesca Ling.
The HUB is the first open design competition held by Architecture for Humanity: Charleston The goals and objectives of the competition were developed in direct response to dialogue with various Charleston non-profit organizations. Each group was asked to candidly answer the following questions: (1) If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change in Charleston? (2) How is Charleston incomplete? Finish this sentence: I wish Charleston had _________? (3) What is preventing your organization from reaching more people? In overwhelming fashion, the themes of accessibility, connection and better public transportation emerged out of the responses. Other re-occurring responses included the need for more community meeting space and the availability of affordable commercial space.
As a result of the non-profit survey, AFH Charleston developed the competition program, which includes a new light rail system that will provide a connection between Charleston's downtown peninsula and its surrounding communities. This new system would make a huge step towards mending the fractured communities, reducing automobile use and congestion, and furthering the sustainability of this beautiful city. Entrants to the competition were challenged to design the two major components of the new transit system.
10.18.10 AIAS NE Quad Conference + Joshua Prince-Ramus keynote lecture at Syracuse
The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) at Syracuse will host "Reclaiming Architecture," the national organization's fall 2010 Northeast Quad Conference, to be held at Syracuse University October 21-24. More than 200 architecture students, from over 20 schools throughout the Northeast U.S. and Canada, are expected to attend the event. Student leaders and emerging professionals will gather to discuss the changing role of the architect in today's society, and will evaluate new ways for architects to engage in political, economic, and social processes, especially in the area of urban revitalization. The conference will take advantage of its context, by using Syracuse as a specific focus of consideration.
The conference will include: a two-day symposium featuring speakers from across disciplines, a workshop series, tours of the new Syracuse Center of Excellence and Near Westside green housing sites, and will culminate with the construction of a series of temporary parks in downtown Syracuse. On Friday evening, acclaimed NYC architect Joshua Prince-Ramus, principal and founder of REX, will deliver the keynote address, "Agency,"at 5 pm in Shemin Auditorium located in the Shaffer Art Building. The lecture is free and open to the public. All conference presentations will be streamed live at http://video.syr.edu/vpu/. Times for all presentations can be found at aias.syr.edu/quad.
"Over the past years, we've see the architecture profession become more marginalized from other disciplines. Our goal through this conference is to raise questions about the status and direction of our profession and, more importantly, to offer insight and experience for finding the answers and solutions," says fifth-year Syracuse Architecture student and AIAS Conference Chair, Stephen Klimek. "Together, we will begin to 'reclaim architecture' by designing and manifesting 'architecture of agency' throughout the city of Syracuse as a means of demonstrating our ability to effect positive change in our world. Our conversations and our actions during this event will continue to reclaim architecture as we leave behind a profession of marginalization and begin an architecture of action."
Architect Joshua Prince-Ramus received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with distinction from Yale University in 1991 and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University in 1996, where he was both an SOM fellow and the first Araldo Cossutta Fellow. He was the founding partner of OMA New York - the American affiliate of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in the Netherlands - and served as its Principal until he renamed the firm REX in 2006. He was described as the "savior of American architecture" by Esquire magazine in its December 2008 "Genius Issue,"and identified as one of "The 20 Essential Young Architects" by ICON magazine in April 2008. REX projects include the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Texas; Museum Plaza, a 62-story art institute and mixed-use development in Louisville, Kentucky; and the Istanbul headquarters for Vakko. The firm recently received second prize in both the international competition for the new Edvard Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, and the Finnish Innovation Fund's Low2No sustainable development competition in Helsinki, Finland. He is a fall 2010 Syracuse Architecture NYC visiting critic.
The AIAS is an independently operated, student-oriented affiliate of the AIA (American Institute of Architects). It is a not-for-profit, student-run national organization. Since 1956, the American Institute of Architecture Students has been the voice of students to the educational system and the profession of architecture and design in North America - and beyond. The association helps to build interest and enrich the educational experience of students (of all ages) and others in architecture and design. Each year, regional conferences take place in the fall and spring in the Midwest, Northeast, South, and West Quads. These gatherings, known as Quad Conferences, are hosted by local chapters who have been selected to organize the event by their Quad. Themes vary based on the city, local culture, and architectural topic of choice.
For more information about AIAS Syracuse chapter, see http://aias.syr.edu.
09.28.10 Francisco Sanin chosen as designer of 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale in South Korea
Professor and Graduate Chair Francisco Sanin has been chosen to design the exterior and interior exhibition spaces for the 2011Gwangju Design Biennale in South Korea. Founded in 1995, in memory of spirits of civil uprising of the 1980 repression of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, the Gwangju Biennale is Asia's oldest and most prestigious biennial of contemporary art. Curators for the upcoming exhibition include renowned Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei and South Korean architect Seung H Sang. Centered on the Biennale Hall in Gwangju's Jungoui Park, the presence has elevated the city of 1.4 million to become a cultural hub of East Asia. It is home to some of the best-preserved cultural relics in the nation, and is known locally as the "City of Art, Cuisine and Culture."
09.21.10 Dean Mark Robbins speaks at Chancellor's Convocation for new students
On August 27, Syracuse University held its annual Chancellor's Convocation, the official opening of the 2010-11 school year. Chancellor Nancy Cantor welcomed new and transferring students to Syracuse University. This year, School of Architecture Dean Mark Robbins was invited to speak at the event. Please click on the link, below, for a transcript of Dean Robbins' remarks.
09.21.10 Patchwork Collective: Arch students featured in 'Green CNY' article
Syracuse Architecture students Cameron Lassiter, Jimmy Brunner, and Paulina Kernacova recently formed the Patchwork Collective, a fledgling deconstruction enterprise that grew out of a design entrepreneurship class taught by Prof. Kevin Lair. The class started thinking about designing new uses for the stuff we throw away. The team believes there is an alternative when it comes to doing something about Syracuse's 1,600 vacant buildings. "Just take one house down and then use the material from that house to patch up all these other houses that are scheduled to be demolished. Then you're saving those houses from being taken down," Lassiter said. "All they n eed is a little patchwork." Clidk on the link below and read more from Green CNY editor Marie Morelli's blog.
09.15.10 Syracuse Bachelor and Master of Architecture programs formally granted six-year NAAB accreditation
At the July 2010 meeting of the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), the board reviewed the Visiting Team Report for the Syracuse University School of Architecture. As a result, the professional Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture programs were formally granted six-year terms of accreditation. The accreditation terms are effective January 1, 2010.
The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), established in 1940, is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture. Because most state registration boards in the U.S. require any applicant for licensure to have graduated from an NAAB-accredited program, obtaining such a degree is an essential aspect of preparing for the professional practice of architecture.
08.09.10 Reclaiming Architecture: AIAS Syracuse to host Northeast Quad Conference October 21-24
The Syracuse chapter of American Institute of Architecture Students announces the selection of Syracuse as host of the Fall 2010 Northeast Quad Conference. Reclaiming Architecture is slated for October 21-24 at the school. Architecture students from across the Northeast U.S. will participate. Joshua Prince-Ramus, Architect, Syracuse Architecture Visiting Critic, and principal of REX, NYC, will deliver the keynote lecture "Agency" on October 22nd at 5:00 p.m.
Reclaiming Architecture is about the interplay of sustainability, urbanism, preservation, politics, and service with architecture and the architect. Student leaders and emerging professionals will meet for one weekend to discuss and influence the changing role of the architect in our society and profession, and to explore ways to truly re-envision and reconstruct the role of the architect in all walks of life. The group hopes to engage regional politicians, urban planners, community activists, practicing architects and designers, academics, and others in conversation about the position of architecture within these various disciplines and its future as an interdisciplinary catalyst. Reclaiming Architecture's hopes to raise questions about the status and direction of the architectural profession and to offer insight and experience for finding solutions.
For more information visit http://aia.syr.edu/quad
08.06.10 More than a ramp: Architecture students bring freedom to local resident through progressive design
East Syracuse resident Deborah Thornton had been facing some challenges. Declining health had left her home-bound and confined to a wheelchair. Going outdoors only took place after one of her daughters would unhinge an interior door and then prop it outside on the concrete steps to create a makeshift ramp.
In fall 2009, Thornton's landlord, Hugh Lowery, set out to find help for her by placing an ad online seeking help from the community to build an exterior wheelchair ramp for the home. To Lowery's surprise, the Syracuse University School of Architecture Freedom by Design group contacted him and expressed interest. What evolved from that conversation was a creative, dynamic transformation of the home at 116 East Ellis St. Freedom by Design students designed and built a unique deck/ramp combination that has brought new freedom of mobility to Thornton and allowed her to interact with the outdoors and her neighbors in a way she never could before. "The ramp is absolutely beautiful and I'm so grateful. It's changed my life," says Thornton.
The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) group at Syracuse Architecture had recently established a Freedom by Design chapter at the University; students were actively seeking out a local client they could serve. A nationally based student-run initiative, Freedom by Design utilizes the talents of architecture students and those of related fields to design and build small-scale projects that help individuals at the local level faced with physical, mental and financial challenges.
"The team set out with the idea of considering a number of possible options before settling on our first project," says Christopher DePalma, third-year architecture student and AIAS president. "After meeting with Deborah at her home, we knew right away that we wanted to help her."
For the next step, 30 Freedom by Design students divided into seven teams and created a design competition. The student teams proposed solutions to a jury of architecture faculty for a ramp for a motorized wheelchair that would adhere to local building codes and be a direct response to both the site and the client's needs. "Students were asked to challenge the idea of the conventional ramp and to enhance the client's safety, dignity and comfort through architecture," says DePalma. The three winning designs were subsequently presented to Thornton. She chose "Designing Freedom," the ramp design created by DePalma, Steve Klimek and Elizabeth Mikula.
A team of eight Freedom by Design students, under the mentorship of VIP Structures and Syracuse Architecture faculty, began construction in April and completed the project in July. The ramp not only provides Thornton access to her home, but also includes deck space where she can socialize outdoors with others. The entire ramp is wrapped in plywood panels milled by students. The primary rail system follows the wrapper around the ramp and has an integrated LED lighting system to provide outdoor lighting to the entire area. The project also features a unique water-draining design, integrated steps and a bench.
As a result of this project and other community engagement projects created by AIAS Syracuse, the group has been recognized at a national level for its success and ingenuity, serving as a model for other AIAS chapters across the United States.
"I'm incredibly proud of the students' initiative and hard work. We are all very excited about the ramp for Deborah and looking forward to future projects in the Syracuse area," says architecture professor Clare Olsen, design mentor.
"The enthusiastic support we received from the faculty and our partnership with VIP Structures made the project a success," says Hilary Barlow, third-year architecture student and team captain. "We hope that Deborah's ramp is only the start of the impact our projects will make within the Syracuse community."
"This ramp design goes against traditional thinking. It is not singularly about access to homes or buildings. Instead it is about the journey and its possibilities," says a statement from Klimek, DePalma and Mikula.
Thornton agrees.
For information about the Freedom by Design ramp project, future initiatives and sponsorships visit http://aias.syr.edu
07.14.10 Syracuse wins $560,296 U.S. Dept of Energy grant for green building research
The U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) has announced a $560,296 grant to a Syracuse University-led project to develop a virtual design studio to help building designers evaluate architectural and mechanical options in order to maximize the energy savings of residential and commercial buildings while ensuring healthy, comfortable and productive indoor environments.
The Virtual Design Studio project - formally the "ntegrated Computer Simulation Environment for Performance-Based Design of Very-Low Energy and High IEQ Buildings" - is led by Jensen Zhang of SU's L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science and Michael Pelken of SU's School of Architecture.
The project is being developed in collaboration with Syracuse-based firm CDH Energy, the Florida Solar Energy Center and Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE), which will provide $84,122 in matching funds. Syracuse University will also provide $57,936 in matching funds via partial support for faculty member participation and tuition scholarship for participating students. This project adds a new capability to SyracuseCoE's extensive portfolio of research and demonstration assets and projects that are advancing energy-efficient building products and services.
"This significant award from the US DOE further demonstrates New York state's potential to lead the nation in the development of energy efficient building technologies," says Ed Bogucz, SyracuseCoE executive director. "Our state already benefits from energy-efficient building R&D taking place at Upstate research institutions such as Syracuse University. By targeting research toward improving or replacing aging housing and commercial building stock throughout the state, and especially in New York City, we can provide an energy-efficient building systems research-to-commercialization model for the entire nation."
"The Virtual Design Studio will integrate a suite of performance simulation models, a virtual building database and a knowledge base of architectural design principles to achieve fully coordinated, integrated and optimized building design," says Zhang, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. "Buildings designed and constructed using a performance-based energy and IEQ design process that optimize the interaction between the building envelope and a building's HVAC systems can save between 30 percent and 75 percent of energy costs while providing better indoor environmental quality."
According to the US DOE, the nation's 114 million households and more than 74 million square feet of commercial floor space account for about 40 percent of the country's primary energy consumption, as well as 39 percent of carbon dioxide, 18 percent of nitrogen oxides and 55 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions.
In addition to helping the nation achieve energy independence by reducing its reliance on fossil fuels to heat and cool aging and inefficient buildings, the Virtual Design Studio project is expected to help create good jobs in both the supply and demand sides of the energy-efficient building market. Therefore, the project will be in direct support of the country's economic recovery and development effort.
In total, the US DOE has awarded more than $76 million for 58 advanced energy-efficient building technologies and commercial building training programs throughout the United States. The Virtual Design Studio project was one of five projects awarded a grant under the rubric of "Analysis, Design and Technical Tools," which focus on improving the simulation of complex interactions between building elements, including climate, building envelope heat and moisture transfer, internal heat gains, lighting power, HVAC equipment, controls, thermal and visual comfort, and energy costs.
"These projects will help the U.S. lead the world in advancing energy efficient technologies," says U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "Energy efficient commercial buildings will help our country cut its carbon emissions and energy costs while the training programs will upgrade the skills of the current workforce and attract the next generation to careers in the emerging clean energy economy." (Martin Walls, Director of Communications, Center of Excellence)
07.07.10 Formerly Urban symposium to be held at Syracuse Architecture Oct 13-14
UPSTATE: Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate will host "Formerly Urban: Future of Rust Belt Cities" at Syracuse Architecture October 13-14, 2010, focusing on the future of shrinking cities in America's Rust Belt, underscoring the centrality of design and innovation in their revitalization. Twenty-one international experts from architecture, planning, landscape architecture and urbanism will consider the ways in which design innovation can create urbanity in weak market cities whose urban character has evolved radically due to economic, demographic, and physical change. Keynote address by Adriaan Geuze, Principal and Founder, West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture.
05.19.10 Architectural League NYC to host "Medellin" panel at Cooper Union; Mark Robbins to moderate
Medellin: Design Transformation
Speakers: Matilda McQuaid, Camilo Restrepo Ochoa, Federico Restrepo, and Mauricio Valencia
Moderator: Mark Robbins
Saturday, May 22
2:00-4:00 p.m.
Rose Auditorium, The Cooper Union
41 Cooper Square
2.0 CEUs
This program is free and open to all. Due to space limits, reservations are suggested.
Over the past ten years, Medellin, Colombia has been transformed from one of the most violent cities in the world to a vital community whose new architecture carries the powerful message of social and educational inclusion. Policymakers, planners, and architects from current and former administrations in Medellin will discuss the city's design strategies in relation to its remarkable transformation.
05.18.10 Kyle Weeks, Ryan Kowalczyk, Nicole O'Loughlin win Britton Memorial Awards
After jury review, Thesis Design Awards were presented to the following students at the School's recent Convocation ceremony on May 15, 2010:
JAMES BRITTON MEMORIAL AWARDS
Best Thesis Kyle Weeks
Outstanding Theses : Ryan Kowalczyk , Nicole O'Loughlin
DEAN'S THESIS CITATIONS
Bryan Bellissimo
Michael Langone
Kurt Nieminen
Paloma Rodriguez
David Schragger
THESIS CITATIONS
Christopher Bartlett
Bryan Bellissimo
Marina Gabriela Brink
Alexander Coulombe
Daniel Di Dio
Daniel Elmore
Elizabeth Kankainen
Ryan Kowalczyk
Michael Langone
Kurt Nieminen
Ian Nicholson
Nicole O'Loughlin
Laura Ondrich
Paloma Rodriguez
David Schragger
Jacob Schneck
Kyle Weeks
Alex Wilk
05.05.10 'What if?' Students using text messages to collect ideas for future of Syracuse
Syracuse Architecture students are working to incite a conversation - using text messages to collect ideas for the future of Syracuse. The project comes from a class taught by Assistant Professor Anda French, who last year introduced the Sibylline TXT Syracuse project, which featured an original novel about the city delivered via cell phone. The ideas from this new project, know as "What If . . . " are meant to: provoke a discussion about how to harness the latent potential of the city of Syracuse; imagine different or better futures; and mediate between the past, present, and future, in terms of the physical spaces of the city and the global space of communication.
The project has placed posters on abandoned storefronts throughout the city that ask people to text their response to the question "what if" to the organizers. It's using other venues, including the CNYSpeaks blog, to get the word out as well. The abandoned storefront displays are meant to act as provocateurs, engaging citizens with real and imagined images of Syracuse, and then asking them to contribute ideas, questions and thoughts regarding the spaces and future of city in the form of a text message.
The combined responses will form a catalog of ideas to be displayed at a public event from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 8, at the Red House, 201 S. West St. The event is free and open to all. It's not too late to have your text message incorporated into the display, so start texting! (by Greg Munno, Syracuse Post Standard)
[Note: Information from this article was contributed by project members Jaime A. Magaliff, Christopher Raymond DePalma, Shawn Conte, William Andrew Weigand, Sara Milena Agudelo, Zinuo Wang, Wenjia Wu, Sunchung Min, Francia G. Mejia, Jude A. Escobedo, Lina Bondarenkoand Aleena Majumdar].
04.21.10 Florence program hosts international student workshop in Medieval city in Tuscany
Imagine living in a city center where plots of empty land still represent buildings that were destroyed during the Second World War - a kind of living, spatial wound that won' let you forget. What kind of urban structures would you propose to not only fill those spaces, but to also heal those wounds? This was the brief for 33 architecture students, from four universities in three countries, participating last week in the intensive, six-day Florence Architecture Workshop, hosted by the SU Florence School of Architecture.
The focus of the third edition of the Florence Architecture Workshop was the historical center of San Miniato, a Medieval city set on hills in the Tuscan countryside west of Florence - a setting combining both urban and natural landscapes. The workshop was organized by Elizabeth Kamell, (SUF School of Architecture), Fabrizio Arrigoni, Antonello Boschi, Andrea Bulleri, (Universita di Pisa) and Andrea Ponsi (Kent State Florence Program). Participating students were from the SUF School of Architecture (16), the Universita¡ degli Studi di Firenze (5), the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile dell'Universita di Pisa (4), and the Technische Universiteit in Delft (8). This is the first phase of a two-part workshop - the second phase will take place in September. SUF Architecture is offering workshop participants studio space, a lecture hall and jury space.
Students worked together, in small, mixed-nationality groups, exchanging ideas on issues of common architectural and urban importance - in this case, the reclamation of abandoned, but historically significant, open space. Randall Korman, associate dean at SU School of Architecture, participated as a visiting critic. Notes Korman: "The San Miniato al Tedesco workshop is a wonderful event on several levels. Foremost is the opportunity for our students to interact with those from the universities of Florence, Pisa and Delft. Each group approaches the project with a particular set of architectural and cultural biases that require a collaborative approach to design. This effort is enhanced by the participation of faculty members from each of the institutions, who serve as roving critics. The afternoon table-top critiques are rich and varied. Also of great value is the fact that the projects are rooted in a set of "real-world" issues confronting the town of San Miniato that includes among others, the need to be forward looking while also respecting the patrimony of the historic context. The challenge to the students has been to find that balance point between pure invention and responsible accommodation of functional needs. The result is an exceptional experience that will resonate with everyone for some time to come."
The seminar began with a lecture on the town of San Miniato, followed by a site visit to the town with a welcome by the mayor. Students worked hard in the allotted time frame to develop ideas into projects, facing head-on the challenge of communicating with other students in English and Italian. "Excitement among the students could be felt from the first day of the workshop," says Boschi, adding that he was pleasantly surprised by the amount of bilingual communication.
Students were excited about the opportunities the workshop presented. "The opportunity to design abroad within a cross-cultural setting has proved to be an invaluable experience, one that will have a profound impact on my education," says SU student Edward Dudley.
"The different nationalities involved mean different opinions on designing, which make it more complicated - but more interesting," says Marnix de Jong from the University of Delft. "The pace is dynamic, and decisions need to be made very fast. We are learning a lot more than we would on any one individual project."
For all the cultural differences in play, Lorenzo Paoli from the University of Florence says communication flowed "through the common language of architecture."
Students presented Powerpoints of their projects on Saturday, March 20, in the SUF Gallery, with a monetary prize awarded to the winning team.
Contact: Brenda Cooke, SU Florence School of Architecture
04.05.10 Ted Brown wins Teacher of the Year Award
Ted Brown, associate professor in SU's School of Architecture, is recipient of this year's United Methodist Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award. For more than 20 years, Brown's high level of work, as well as his dedication to both the school and the University, has been reflected in his teaching, practice and research.
Brown teaches courses ranging from "Introduction to Contemporary Architectural Discourse" to a graduate design studio examining urban waterfronts. He was chair of the graduate programs in the School of Architecture from 2002-05 and has served as the director of the Syracuse University Architecture Program in Florence, Italy.
In addition to his exemplary instruction, Brown has served as studio coordinator, overseeing the activities, budget and curriculum within a studio year. He has had an impact on the programming of the school, including coordinating the first year of the new real estate course.
"Professor Brown's scholarship and research, which includes the areas of sustainable design, material research and design practice, is incorporated into his design studio teaching, reinforcing both his creative activities and his teaching," says School of Architecture Dean Mark Robbins.
Brown will receive his award at a University reception on April 6. At the reception, six other faculty will receive awards for teaching excellence; Helen M. Doerr and Margaret Himley will be named Meredith Professors.
03.04.10 R-House + Slocum Hall win AIA NY Design Awards
AIA NY has announced the winners of its 2010 Design Awards. Four juries - architecture, interiors, unbuilt work, and urban design - reviewed 425 entries, selecting thirty-four winners. In the Unbuilt Work category, Della Valle Bernheimer + ARO received a Merit Award for R-House, a "From the Ground Up" housing competition winning home currently being built on Syracuse's Near Westside . In the Interiors category, Garrison Architects was awarded a Merit Award for the interior design of Slocum Hall. Stay tuned for details on winners' symposia scheduled for April 27 and June 17 and the Design Awards Exhibition opening April 15. The Design Awards Luncheon will be held on April 14 and will honor the winning projects.
02.19.10 Student organization to host Haiti fundraiser
The Society of Multicultural Architects and Designers will host the 'We Are One' fundraiser on 2.19.10 from 6-9 pm at World Martini Bar, 134 E. Genesee St. Syracuse. Students $5 and Faculty/Staff/Friends/$15. Appetizers, performances, and music. All proceeds go to the Office of US Foreign Disaster Aid for the removal of collapsed buildings.
02.18.10 Jonathan Massey's work on Claude Bragdon wins book design award
'Crystal and Arabesque: Claude Bragdon, Ornament, and Modern Architecture' by Jonathan Massey, chair of the Syracuse Architecture undergrad program, was selected as a winner of the Association of American University Presses 2010 Book, Jacket and Journal Award. A review of the book also recently appeared in 'The Design Observer.'
02.17.10 Project by Jonathan Lott in February 'Metropolis'
A writing studio designed by Professor Jonathan Lott and his firm PARA-Project was featured in the February issue of 'Metropolis' magazine. The attic of a house in Syracuse was converted into a writing retreat and guest bedroom.
02.10.10 Francisco Sanin appointed chair of graduate program
Professor Francisco Sanin has been appointed the new chair of the graduate program at the Syracuse University School of Architecture effective July 1, 2010, Dean Mark Robbins announced today. Sanin is internationally known as an urban designer, noted for his extensive research in the history and theory of urban form.
"We are fortunate to have someone of Francisco's caliber as head of the graduate program. His expertise with regard to the complex urban issues at work in contemporary society will benefit both our program and the broader discipline," said Robbins.
Sanin, recently promoted to the rank of full professor, was the coordinator of Syracuse Architecture's Florence center from 2004 - 2008, where he is credited with reinvigorating the well-known program, particularly through a series of public events that included symposia and workshops presented in collaboration with the Targetti Foundation. Sanin's recent projects include the Jeonju Student Center in Seoul, South Korea, currently under construction, and the Waldhaus housing development, set to begin construction this year. He is also the advisor for a new master plan in Beijing, China.
"I look forward to continuing the important work of my predecessors and fostering the research and intellectual rigor that characterize this program," said Sanin. "I am anxious to further develop collaborations with other schools and programs at the University, as well as at the School's UPSTATE: institute, and to explore the myriad opportunities offered as part of our Global Campus programs, particularly as they relate to urban issues and the different strategies currently being explored around the world."
Sanin has developed a connection between Medellin, Colombia and Syracuse, where he recently spoke at an Urban Research Center workshop. He has introduced a field trip program that studies the work of Sergio Fajardo, former mayor of Medellin and current presidential candidate, who led a revitalization of the city through architectural projects in some of the poorest areas of the city. Sanin has taught at Princeton University, the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, and the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts. He has been a visiting professor in schools around the world, including the Korean National University of Arts, Universidad Simon Bolivar in Caracas, UPB in Medellin, Colombia, and Miami University.
Sanin follows Mark Linder, Chair of Graduate Programs since fall 2005. Linder introduced an emphasis on transdisciplinary issues and design research. His approach to developing the program was based on the potential of graduate students, utilizing and combining the skills and knowledge acquired in their diverse undergraduate studies, to pursue architectural education as simultaneously professional training and as a speculative field open to diverse kinds of innovation and innovative projects. Under Linder's leadership, enrollment in the graduate program has increased over 40% and applications have more than doubled.
"Mark leaves the program in a strong position," said Mark Robbins. "His interest in transdisciplinary studies has provided a wider scope for intellectual and research pursuits for graduate students at the School and as part of the larger University community."
New initiatives introduced by Linder include the "Design + Technology Workshop," in which teams of graduate students collaborate on projects led by distinguished visitors that combine design ambition with the application of advanced digital or building technology, and "Graduate Sessions" events and publications in which teams of graduate students conduct public interviews with leading scholars and practitioners, including Sylvia Lavin, Neil Denari, Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, and Anthony Vidler.
Linder, who steps down this summer, will take a leave from the School to work on a book, provisionally titled "From Brutal to Literal," that links a wide range of modernist practices, from the New Brutalism of Alison and Peter Smithson through the Texas Houses of John Hejduk, the construction system of Walter Segal, Peter Eisenman's notion of "Conceptual Architecture," the glass constructions of James Carpenter, the neo-Miesian approach of Herzog and deMeuron, and the design method of Neutelings Riedijk. His previous book, "Nothing Less than Literal," was published in 2004 by MIT Press. (Contact: Mary Kate O'Brien 315-443-2388; mcobrien@syr.edu)
02.09.10 Sophomore Rhett Bruno pens fantasy novel. Signs with Tate Publishing
Today's Daily Orange: Readers will have the opportunity to delve into the fantasy world of Isinda when a Syracuse University student's novel is published later this year. Rhett Bruno, a sophomore architecture major, signed a contract with Tate Publishing last year to publish his original work of fiction. He is now working with Tate to have his book on the shelves around the country by fall 2010.
"Isinda: Fallen Dagger" is a fantasy novel, the first in a trilogy Bruno wrote when he was 16 years old. All three books are titled "Isinda," but each has a different subtitle, Bruno said. Bruno described the book as "a more realistic 'Lord of the Rings.' " (Joe Genco, jdgenco@syr.edu)
02.03.10 Syracuse Architecture NYC Spring 2010 lectures announced: BIG, MOS, and L.E.FT
Three lectures will be held this spring at the Syracuse Architecture NYC studio. All are free and open to the public. Bjarke Ingels, BIG, will deliver the lecture "YES IS MORE," on February 5 @ 7 p.m.. Ingels started Bjarke Ingels Group in 2005 after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 and working at OMA in Rotterdam. Through a series of award-winning design projects and buildings, Bjarke Ingels has created an international reputation as a member of a new generation of architects that combine shrewd analysis, playful experimentation, social responsibility and humour. In 2004 he was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale for the Stavanger Concert House, and the following year he received the Forum AID Award for the VM Houses. His latest completed project, The Mountain, has received numerous awards including the World Architecture Festival Housing Award, Forum Aid Award and the MIPIM Residential Development Award. By practicing what Bjarke Ingels likes to describe as "programmatic alchemy", BIG often mixes conventional ingredients such as living, leisure, working, parking and shopping into new forms of symbiotic culture. Alongside his architectural practice, Bjarke has been active as a Visiting Professor at Rice University's School of Architecture and most recently at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. Bjarke currently holds a guest lecturer position at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample, MOS, will deliver the lecturte, "In Conversation with MOS," on March 3 @ 6 p.m.. The pair founded MOS, an interdisciplinary architecture and design practice based in New Haven. Projects designed in their office have been showcased in numerous publications, including Architectural Record, Architect, A+U, Wallpaper, Surface, Space Korea, Mark, AV Proyectos, The New York Times,and exhibited at the Venice Biennale, SMOCA, MoMA and the Arts Institute in Chicago, and has received numerous awards, most recently a Design Award from Progressive Architecture, and New York City Architectural League Emerging Voices. Current work includes a Villa in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, and an the public art installation "Afterparty" PS1/MoMA in Long Island City, an inflatable factory in Newfoundland, and a teen center in Lowell. Michael is an Associate Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Hilary is an Assistant Professor at Yale's School of Architecture, both received their B.Arch from Syracuse.
Architecture collective L.E.FT will deliver the lecture, "Bench Warming," on March 24 @ 6 p.m. L.E.FT is a NYC-based architecture collective comprised of architects Makram el Kadi, Ziad Jamaleddine and Naji Moujaes. The firm is the recipient of the 2002 Young Architects Award from the Architectural League of NY, and the 2009 Finalist for the MoMA/PS1 Young Architects Program. The office is involved in numerous national and international projects. Currently, its design of the Beirut Exhibition Center, and Art Gallery in downtown area, is under construction. The firm has been recognized internationally with numerous awards, publications and exhibitions for quality and excellence in design. The partners combine their architectural practice with research projects they conduct in the form of studios at several universities in the U.S. including Yale, UPenn, and Cornell University. Established in New York in 2001, L.E.FT is dedicated to examining the intersections of cultural and political productions as they relate to the built environment. With an interest in diverse programs, a focus on unconventional interpretations of architecture is posited as a design onset, redefining the relationship between the architectural object and both its context and its users from a social as well as an aesthetic perspect
01.26.10 Jonathan Lott and Brian Price to lecture on recent work of PARA-Project at U. Toronto
From Canadian Architect: These two young architects will deliver a lecture on their recent work at 1:00pm on February 2, 2010 in Room 066 of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto, located at 230 College Street.
Jonathan Lott is a founding partner at Brooklyn-based PARA-Project, and Assistant Professor of Architecture at Syracuse University. He holds a Masters degree in Architecture with Distinction from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. Prior to co-founding PARA, Jonathan worked for the Office of Metropolitan Architecture and REX Architects on large-scale cultural and institutional buildings. He has also worked with the New York City Parks & Recreation Department directing the development of various public projects in the New York metropolitan area. Jonathan is a project editor for PRAXIS: Journal of Writing + Building and has taught design studios at Harvard's Career Discovery program, the Boston Architecture Center, and Syracuse University. He has been an invited juror at Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, and the Architectural League of New York.
Brian Price is also a founding partner of PARA-Project, a New York-based design practice and incubator for architectural strategies. Brian was instrumental in PARA's achievement as a finalist in the 2009 MoMA/PS1 Young Architects Program and a winner of the 2007 Young Architects Award from the Architecture League of New York. He was a co-organizer of the Loopholes Symposium held at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2005 and the Para-theses Symposium convened at Columbia GSAPP in 2006. His work has been published in 306090, Frame, Form and Surface. He is a fellow of ecole d'Art Americaines, a recipient of a gold medal from the AIA, and has received a Graham Foundation Grant for his research initiatives. Prior to founding PARA-Project, Brian was a Senior Associate at SHoP Architects. In 2008, he served as the Emerging Architect at Columbia University-Barnard College.
01.25.10 'From the Ground Up' Otisco St home to be replicated nearby
While a construction crew builds the innovative green home named TED on Otisco Street, plans are being made to build TED's brother in the same Near West Side neighborhood.
TED was one of three winners of the From the Ground Up architecture competition sponsored by Home HeadQuarters, Syracuse University School of Architecture and the Syracuse Center of Excellence.
The point of the competition was to come up with designs for sustainable, affordable, energy-efficient homes that would replace blighted properties and attract new residents to the Near West Side. The homes also would be a template for future development.
A second TED house is in the works, likely for Oswego Street, said Karen Schroeder, marketing and resource development manager for Home HeadQuarters. The group's construction manager is working with the architects from Onion Flats, Philadelphia, to tweak the design.
"We've been looking to replicate some of these things,'' Schroeder said Friday. "We just found a real response to the TED design.''
The two-story house being built at 621 Otisco St. has a severely peaked roof facing north (the street side), which creates space on the south-facing side (the backyard side) for solar panels to heat water and clerestory windows to bathe the inside with daylight.
The house is highly insulated for energy efficiency. On Friday, a Home HeadQuarters crew on a lift was working on wrapping the walls and roof with 4 inches of foam insulation. Metal siding will go over that.
The home has high-efficiency windows made by Serious Materials, a California company founded by Camillus native Kevin Surace. On Friday, they had a coating of frost on the inside -- testament to the chilly weather that has made working on the homes difficult.
Over at 317 Marcellus St., work is progressing on the inside of the Live Work Home house. On Friday, TAG Heating and Cooling was there to work on the heating system. The floors will have radiant heat.
Gannon Kelley of Kelley Electrical Services was there, too, installing the electrical panel. By the first week of February, general contractor Home HeadQuarters hopes to start on the interior buildout.
David Lassman / The Post-StandardInnovative green home under construction at 317 Marcellus St. Gannon Kelley of Kelley Electrical Services is installing the 200 amp meter.
Here's something interesting about all three houses. Home HeadQuarters is using some recycled insulation under the slabs of all the houses. It's extruded polystyrene that has been salvaged from homes that were deconstructed. It comes from an outfit called Insulation Depot.
On the R-House, the one with the angles at 619 Otisco, the crew is using ZIP panels -- engineered lumber panels with sheathing that eliminates the need for housewrap such as Tyvek. The seams between panels are taped to form a barrier.
Once the walls and roof are up, the windows will go in. They haven't arrived yet. Then R-House will get a coat of foam insulation. In a previous story, architect Jared Della Valle, of the Della Valle Bernheimer firm, described it "It'll be just like a round puff ball of insulation, like a big warm jacket."
In Syracuse winters, it'll need that.
Marie Morelli, mmorelli@syracuse.com, 315-470-2220.
11.18.09 Syracuse Architecture program ranked second in U.S.
The Syracuse University School of Architecture undergraduate program has been ranked #2 in the nation by DesignIntelligence, the bi-monthly journal of the Design Futures Council. The annual rankings are based on a professional practice survey completed by leading architecture and design firms, as well as responses from architecture students regarding the quality of their education.
"The degree to which young architects are prepared to interact broadly with the world and translate new ideas requires both disciplinary expertise and intellectual agility and creativity. The Syracuse Architecture curriculum has evolved to reflect advances in technology, digital representation, sustainability, and new thinking in urban design," said Mark Robbins, dean of the School.
Recent initiatives at the School include:
* the launch of Syracuse Architecture New York City, complementing the School's successful Florence and London global campus programs
* the School's first design-build studio, resulting in the construction of "Link House," a cost-effective, energy-efficient single-family home in Syracuse's Near Westside neighborhood
* UPSTATE: studios and lecture series and other programming, allowing students to engage in challenges related to problems and promises of the rust belt city, including the "From the
Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes" international housing design competition
* Collaboration with the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the Syracuse Center of Excellence on green technology and sustainability research
Syracuse University School of Architecture is the fourth-oldest program in the United States and is consistently rated among the top architecture schools in the country.
11.16.09 Design Observer features Jonathan Massey essay
"Five Ways to Change the World," an essay by Associate Professor and Undergraduate Chair Jonathan Massey, is featured at http://places.designobserver.com. "So you want to change the world? Start by changing the built environment," says Massey. He comments further on how buildings "shape our experience" and transform society.
10.15.09 Julia Czerniak to deliver 'Formerly Urban' lecture
Associate Professor and UPSTATE: Director, Julia Czerniak, will lecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design on October 14 and at UIC Urbana on October 19.
10.13.09 ArtVoices features 'Munly Brown Studio: Rustbelt Renegades' by Clare Olsen
Assistant Professor Clare Olsen discusses how Munly Brown Studio, with Syracuse Architecture professors Ted Brown and Anne Munly at the helm, has creatively dealt with the challenges many rust belt cities face as they attempt to make architectural advances. The design work of MBS, once focused on small-scale residential projects, now includes commercial and large-scale developments, and their approach is gaining positive local recognition. (ref ArtVoices October 2009, Issue 19.)
10.09.09 Prof. Francisco Sanin speaks in Albania at the Tirana Contemporary Art Biannual
On October 6, Sanin delivered a lecture, "Emerging Urban Strategies," in Tirana, and also participated in a round table discussion with San Diego architect Teddy Cruz and the Major of Tirana, Edi Rama. The Contemporary Art Biannual is the largest international art event in Albania. Art and architecture, history and future, transitory states and new ideas come together in physical space, encouraging experiment and innovation, contemplation, discussion, and debate. The 4th edition of this event, taking place September 18 - October 22, focuses on contemporary art as a tool to analyze the contemporary condition and as a critical voice in social discourse. With the participation of more than 60 artists and 5 curators, the event explores the notion of "The Symbolic Efficiency of the Frame," taking on discussion about the complex and manifold nature of "real," its many appearances and the various ways we relate our history and present condition. Satellite events, including lectures and roundtables, provide further enrichment to the art exhibitions.
10.07.09 Steve Sanderson, founding partner of CASE Design to lecture October 8. Workshop will follow.
"BLDG 2.0: Crowd-Sourcing Building Energy Performance" lecture will take place Thursday, October 8 at 11:00 a.m. in Slocum auditorium. A workshop for B.Arch students will follow. CASE is a Building Information Modeling (BIM) and integrated practice consultancy based in New York City. They help building design professionals, contractors and owners identify, implement and manage the technologies and business practices that enable more effective coordination, communication and collaboration.
Steve Sanderson is a founding partner of CASE Design. Prior to CASE, Steve was the Director of Design Technology at SHoP Architects. At SHoP, he was a project lead on numerous high-profile international projects including: the East River Waterfront Masterplan for the City of New York, a new pedestrian bridge for the Battery Park City Authority, a commercial development for the Olympic Games in Beijing, China and a proposal for twin residential towers in Busan, South Korea. As Director of Design Technology, Steve was responsible for introducing Parametric Modeling, Computational Design, and Environmental Analysis into SHoP's design and delivery process, establishing the firm as an industry thought leader. He has taught design studios and seminars at Columbia University's GSAPP and Yale University's School of Architecture and speaks internationally on the role of technology in design innovation. Steve holds a BS (Hons) in Industrial Design from Virginia Tech and an ME in Product-Architecture and Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
09.17.09 "Politicizing the Female Body:" Lori Brown to speak at U. of Toronto
Associate Professor Lori Brown will lecture on "Politicizing the Female Body: Examining the Space of Abortion Clinics" at the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto on Friday, September 25, 2009 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. A practicing architect, Brown's design, speculative work, and teaching seek to broaden the discourse and involvement of architecture in our world. In 2008, Brown was awarded the American Institute of Architects Diversity Best Practice Honorable Mention, and a commendation for the Milka Bliznakov Prize for her travelling exhibition, feminist practices.
09.04.09 Prince-Ramus, Lasch, and Shigematsu: Syracuse Architecture NYC announces fall 2009 lecture lineup
The recently launched Syracuse University School of Architecture NYC program at 171 Madison Avenue offers a studio-based urbanism semester for upper-level architecture students. Syracuse Architecture NYC will host three lectures this fall that are free and open to the public.
Joshua Prince-Ramus, September 16, 6:30 p.m.
REX
Joshua Prince-Ramus is President of REX and Principal in Charge of all projects. Previously he was a founding partner of OMA New York and served as its principal until he renamed the firm REX in 2006. Prince-Ramus was recently described as the "savior of American architecture" by Esquire magazine in its December 2008 "Genius Issue,"and identified as one of "The 20 Essential Young Architects" by ICON magazine in April 2008. Buildings currently under construction include the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Texas; Museum Plaza, a 62-story art institute and mixed-use development in Louisville, Kentucky; and the Istanbul headquarters for Vakko. REX won the international competition to design the new central library for Kortrijk, Belgium and is one of three finalists in the international competition for the new Edvard Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway.
Chris Lasch, October 7, 6:30 p.m.
Aggregations
Chris Lasch is co-principal with Benjamin Aranda of Aranda/Lasch, a New York-based architectural studio that uses craft and computation to make discoveries in the realm of structure and space. Recent winners of the Young Architects Award in New York, the firm's work is also subject of the book, Tooling, published by Princeton Architectural Press. Their firm's alter ego, terraswarm, produces short films and video installations. Together, Aranda/Lasch & terraswarm have exhibited their work internationally with galleries and institutions dealing with design and architecture. In 2008 they were included in a design exhibition at the MoMA and mounted a solo show at the Johnson Trading Gallery in New York. They worked with artist Matthew Ritchie and arts organization T-BA21 on a large, three-dimensional drawing of the universe.
Shohei Shigematsu, November 4, 6:30 p.m.
Recent work by OMANY
Shohei Shigematsu is a partner of The Office for Metropolitan Architecture and is director of OMA*AMO in New York. He is currently in charge of Cornell University's new building for the College of Architecture, Art and Planning in Ithaca, NY, a mixed-use high-rise building in Jersey City, NJ, and a residential tower with CAA (Creative Artist Agency) screening room on 23 East 22nd Street in Manhattan amongst other projects. He was project leader of winning design competitions including the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing. He has been a driving force in conceptual projects such as the Universal Headquarters in Los Angeles, the Whitney Museum Extension in New York, the Tokyo vertical Campus, the China National Museum and Prada Epicenters for Shanghai and London.
Entering its second semester in NYC, the programming at Syracuse Architecture presents upper-level undergraduate and graduate students from Syracuse University and other architecture schools opportunity to study in one of the most architecturally innovative and culturally vibrant cities in the world. Like the Syracuse Architecture programs in London and Florence, the School's curriculum focuses on the city's history, urban morphology, planning, and real estate development, as well as urban theory. At the same time, the School serves as a center of learning for professional architects in the area through its guest lecture offerings.
In spring 2009, world-renowned Norwegian architect, Craig Dykers, of Snohetta, taught a design studio focusing on contemporary architectural and urban design issues unique to New York.
In summer 2009, the NYC program offered a series of lectures for continuing education credit that focused on new approaches to sustainable house design and were based on the "From the Ground Up" housing competition recently held in Syracuse, NY. Principals from the winning architecture firms ARO, Cook + Fox, Della Valle Bernheimer, and Onion Flats (Andropogon Associates, Rivera Structural Design, and MaGrann Associates) lectured on the synthesis of sustainable techniques with affordability and cutting-edge design.
This semester, architect Marc Tsurumaki of Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis (LTL), NYC, is teaching a design studio at Syracuse Architecture NYC; Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects, NYC, will lead the spring 2010 studio.
07.21.09 Jonathan Massey to serve on caa.reviews Council of Field Editors
Associate Professor and Undergraduate Chair Jonathan Massey has been chosen as field editor for architecture and urbanism 1850-present at caa.reviews. caa.reviews is a book review website that does critical reviews of books, exhibitions, and projects in all areas and periods of art history and visual studies published by the College Art Association
07.10.09 Student-designed house built in Syracuse on Near Westside
A prefabricated house designed by Syracuse University architecture students arrived in six pieces Thursday, trucked to Tully Street in Syracuse from a manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania. By early afternoon, the pieces had been bolted together into a house -- the latest accomplishment in a broad-based effort to transform the Near West Side of the city.
The Near West Side Initiative, a collaboration between Syracuse University, the nonprofit housing agency Home HeadQuarters and other groups, is a multimillion-dollar effort to rejuvenate one of the city's oldest and poorest neighborhoods.
Not every element of the plan is coming together as quickly as the two-story house at 521 Tully St., which went up in about five hours Thursday, but the effort is clearly picking up momentum, said Mark Robbins, dean of the SU architecture school.
"We will get a head of steam," Robbins said as he snapped pictures of the house going up. Nowhere is that progress more apparent than Tully Street.
As a crowd gathered Thursday morning to watch a 90-ton crane lift pieces of the new house onto its foundation, Donald and Helen Walrath watched from their house next door, where they have lived for 14 years.
The Walraths' one-story bungalow sports a fresh, multi-colored paint job on the porch, new siding, a new driveway and sidewalk, rain barrels, and a new garden that runs the length of the house -- all courtesy of the Near West Side Initiative.
A year ago, the Walraths and other neighbors on the 500 block, whose houses face Skiddy Park, were the beneficiaries of a barn raising-style "block blitz" coordinated by Home HeadQuarters. Some 100 volunteers worked on the houses, installing siding, painting and landscaping, among other tasks.
This spring, another partner in the initiative, the Syracuse Center of Excellence, an environmental and energy federation led by SU, replaced a paved area of the Walraths' yard with a 20 foot-by-80 foot rain garden so lushly landscaped that it resembles a small park.
"They've done wonders around this neighborhood," Donald Walrath said.
Home HeadQuarters has acquired 71 residential properties -- roughly one-third of the houses in the 25-block area surrounding Blodgett School and Skiddy Park. The group plans to fix the houses up, replace them or give them to new owners who will renovate.
So far, 10 houses have been renovated or will be soon, three demolished or deconstructed, two sold, two given to new owner-occupants, and two rented, said Karen Schroeder, speaking for Home HeadQuarters. The house at 521 Tully is the first new structure.
But more new construction is on the way.
Two blocks from Tully Street, crews are clearing a Marcellus Street site for the construction of an energy-efficient house designed by the world-famous Cook+Fox architectural firm. Designs for the Cook+Fox house, which will be squeezed in among homes generally valued at less than $40,000 by the city assessor, have been featured in The Wall Street Journal and an Italian architectural magazine.
Two other energy-efficient homes designed by other firms will be built nearby. The three designs emerged from a competition coordinated by the SU architecture school.
Hilary Mansur, a fifth-year architecture student, joined six fellow students Thursday at Tully Street to watch their manufactured home design come together. The students took a course last fall during which they worked out the general design of the house. Visiting professors Lea Ciavarra and Anne Marie Lubrano, partners in a Brooklyn architectural firm, put the finishing touches on the design and located a manufacturer, Haven Custom Homes.
Now that the house has been erected, Mansur and the other students will spend the next two months working on site, under the direction of construction manager VIP Structures, to install siding, flooring and other finishes.
The house is being purchased by Karaline Carr and Isaac Rothwell, who plan to get married in September.
The buyers will pay $80,000, said Schroeder, of Home HeadQuarters. The remainder of the cost, about $100,000, will be covered by state grant money from the Restore New York program, Schroeder said.
Carr, 33, who works in the admissions office at the State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry, said she looks forward to gardening in the yard. Rothwell, 27, a youth services planner at the Center for Community Alternatives, is a musician and producer who plans to establish a personal studio in his basement.
Rothwell said he also hopes to buy a commercial property in the neighborhood to start a music production business. (Tim Knauss/Syracuse Post Standard)
07.09.09 Randall Korman named Associate Dean of Syracuse Architecture
Professor Randall Korman has been named associate dean of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, effective Aug. 1. A faculty member at the school for the past 30 years, Korman served as interim associate dean from 2005-08. As associate dean, Korman will serve as a senior member of the dean's cabinet and help further the school's academic and fiscal agendas.
"We are very fortunate to have Randall as our associate dean. He is highly respected among faculty, staff, students and alumni alike and has dedicated his career to excellence in architectural education. We look forward to his further contributions to the school and within the University," says Dean Mark Robbins.
Korman received his undergraduate degree in architecture from the Cooper Union and a graduate degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He was a graduate intern at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City and worked in the architectural offices of Kenneth Frampton, Peter Eisenman and Michael Graves. He established his own practice, Randall Korman, Architect, in 1975, with a range of work including commercial, institutional and residential projects.
At Syracuse Architecture, Korman has served as head of both the undergraduate and graduate architecture programs and played a significant role in support of architectural study abroad. Between 1980-82, he established the Syracuse University Florence architecture program, and served as its director in 1989. In 2007, he was instrumental in establishing Syracuse Architecture's program in London. He has also organized short-term study programs in Austria, Italy, Great Britain and Russia and has been a visiting critic at the University of Texas and Gakuin University in Yokohama, Japan.
During a sabbatical in the spring of 2009, Korman was the Batza Visiting Professor of Art and History at Colgate University - the first architect awarded that position. He is currently working on two books, "The Art of the Facade" and "Reading the Facade: An Anthology of the Vertical Surface."
07.02.09 Francisco Sanin moderator at international symposium on architecture and media
Professor Francisco Sanin will moderate a panel on July 9 in Florence as part of the 'Beyond Media' symposium and the 9th annual Visions Festival for Architecture, July 9 through July 17. The panel entitled 'Architecture, vision and power,' includes Pier Vittorio Aureli, Felicity Scott, Peter Wilson and focuses on large scale architectural projects and the relationship between architectural imagination and consensus strategies imposed by an increasingly aggressive advanced capitalism.
06.03.09 Dean Robbins panelist at Van Alen Institute 'Building the Innovative Green Home' June 17
Van Alen Institute is pleased to present "Building the Innovative Green Home"on Wednesday, June 17 in conjunction with the exhibition "From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes" on view from May 18 - June 26, 2009. Presented by Syracuse University School of Architecture and based on a design competition of the same name, the exhibition features the winning designs for 1,100-1,500 square foot single-family homes that can serve as cost efficient, green prototypes for formerly vital, urban residential neighborhoods throughout the United States.
"From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes"sought to produce modern, sustainable homes for no more than $150,000. Four winning teams were selected, and the homes are now under construction in Syracuse, NY. What made it possible to go from competition to fruition in this case? What can we learn from the Syracuse model about ways to develop well-designed affordable housing elsewhere in the country? Did the design competition, as a process, promote better design or a greater likelihood of development? Were new strategies used to overcome the complex forces that often stand in the way of innovation (be they market, cost, community, political or other)? What did the winning architects learn from participating in this venture?
The panel discussion brings the design competition winners together in conversation with moderator Karrie Jacobs, design critic and author of The Perfect $100,000 House. Panelists will include Mark Robbins, dean of the Syracuse School of Architecture, Rick Cook (Cook + Fox Architects), Jared Della Valle (Della Valle Bernheimer), Timothy McDonald (Onion Flats), and Adam Yarinsky (Architecture Research Office).
With stringent budget constraints and reliance on public support, affordable housing is neither politically nor economically the most likely candidate to foster design innovation. Or is it? Please join us for a lively evening of exploration into the design and construction of well-crafted and sustainable affordable homes.
This event is free and open to the public; please RSVP to rsvp@vanalen.org by 5:00pm on Monday, June 15.
05.28.09 Syracuse Architecture and University Library collaborate on digital edition of Breuer work
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded the Syracuse University Library a $350,000 grant to create a digital scholarly edition of the works of Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer. The project, entitled 'Marcel Breuer, Architect: Life and Work, 1922-1955' will run from May 2009 through April 2011 and culminate in the release of the web-based edition in May 2011.
Breuer began donating his papers to Syracuse University Library more than 40 years ago, in 1964. Today, the Syracuse Breuer collection includes thousands of original oversized drawings and blueprints, correspondence and photographs. Upon Breuer's death in 1981, his widow donated many of his remaining papers to the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art. This NEH-funded project will unite these geographically separate collections in an online edition of 50,000 items. It will also incorporate Breuer materials from other international archival repositories.
Based in the Library's Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) and led by its director, Sean Quimby, the project is a partnership with Syracuse University School of Architecture. Syracuse Architecture students and faculty will assist with usability testing as the web project develops. Syracuse Architecture Undergraduate Chair Jonathan Massey, along with Barry Bergdoll, Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art, will serve on an advisory board.
05.18.09 iSchool Window Project winners include Assistant Professor Clare Olsen and second-year undergrad Thomas Day
Syracuse School of Information Studies (iSchool) has selected six art installations to fill the spaces in the ground floor window wells of Hinds Hall, moving the iSchool's Windows Project one step closer to completion. An additional proposal by internationally renowned artist and ceramics professor Margie Hughto was selected to receive a special Dean's Design Prize. She and her four assistants will install the work on a wall along the first floor hallway of Hinds Hall.
The winners are as follows:
* Connectivity by School of Architecture second-year undergraduate Thomas Day, Room 027
*Hovering Nodes or Sunray Moire by School of Architecture Assistant Professor Clare Olsen, Room 027
*Video imagery piece (title to come) by College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) adjunct faculty members John Mannion and Aaron Hraba, Room 020
*Espalier by VPA School of Art and Design Associate Professor Errol Willett, Room 018
*An installation by VPA School of Art and Design part-time Assistant Professor Gail Hoffman, Room 018
*Miscellaneous by VPA sculpture graduate student Darcy Van Buskirk, Room 010
A panel of judges - iSchool Dean Elizabeth D. Liddy, College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Ann Clarke, iSchool Alumni Relations Director and alumna Barbara Settel, and Deborah Ryan, senior curator at the Everson Museum in Syracuse - selected the winners from 12 semi-finalists who gave public presentations of their designs on April 30. Their selections were based on the following criteria: quality of the idea presented, including originality, impact, scale, and connections made to its context; suitability to the proposed site; feasibility; and durability and maintenance requirements.
"I was thrilled with the initial level of participation shown by the 34 student and faculty teams who submitted proposals," Dean Liddy said. "All of the semi-finalists were exceptional, and the variety in the six selected windows will really enliven Hinds Hall. It was great fun to hear the semi-finalists interpret the iSchool back to us when they appeared before the judge's panel."
In the coming weeks, the winners will be meeting individually with a team of project coordinators including the iSchool's Roger Merrill and Steve Block to plan fabrication and installation of each of the pieces. Throughout the next phases of the project, the artists and support team will be coordinating with the University through Physical Plant and the Office of Design and Construction in order to create the seven artworks. The iSchool hopes to have all the works installed over the summer, and is organizing a large opening reception in fall to celebrate the completion of the installations.
Dean Liddy was impressed with the quality of entrants, especially the work of Margie Hughto, who received a Dean's Design Prize. Her work, Information Spiral: From the Clay Tablet to the Computer Screen, from the Ice Age to the Space Age, will be showcased in the high traffic area of Hinds Hall in first floor hallway. Hughto and team members Shawn Rommevaux '06, Leslie Nicoletti, Randy Jones G'10, and Tim Brockhaus '09 will be installing the piece along the main floor's curved hallway, across from Student Services Suite and the visitors' reception desk.
"We are honored to exhibit the work of an artist of Hughto's caliber in our school," Liddy said. "Her vision for this piece does a wonderful job of capturing the historical evolution of the role of information in society and speaks to the centrality of information in human development."
Hughto has works in numerous collections across the United States, including the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y., and Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse. She has also completed many public art commissions, including one for the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City for the Cortlandt Street subway station at the World Trade Center entitled, Trade, Treasure, and Travel. It survived the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.
The Windows Project was managed by iSchool Ph.D. student Jaime Snyder and VPA adjunct professor Anne Cofer, who helped lay the groundwork for future collaborations between the two schools.
"The interdisciplinarity revealed in the Windows Project should, and will, continue to be supported by VPA and the iSchool as both Dean Clarke and I are committed to it,"Liddy said.
05.13.09 Munly Brown collaborates on NY's first net zero energy school district building
Designed by Syracuse-based Ashley McGraw Architects'Advanced Building Studio, in collaboration with Munly Brown Studio (Syracuse Architecture Professor Anne Munly and Associate Professor Ted Brown), the Liberty Central School District's new Media Center in Liberty, New York could become the state's first net zero energy school district building after it breaks ground this summer. The 4000-square-foot Media Center should open in time for the 2010 school year; many of the project's green design strategies are those which critics of the recent NAIOP study (which we wrote about extensively over at GRELJ) decried as lacking in the study's methodoloy, which concluded that 30 to 50 percent reductions in energy consumption over ASHRAE 90.1-2004 were not practicable for most owners given current technologies and corresponding payback periods. For example, Ashley McGraw implemented a comprehensive site orientation and daylighting strategy, designing the structure's shape and windows to provide sufficient natural north light to the project's interiors, as well as low-level south- and west-facing windows which will reduce both solar heat gain and corresponding cooling loads. The design team projects around 153,000 kBTU annually in energy consumption (compared with an average of 311,000 kBTU for a school addition of comparable size); building-integrated photovoltaic panels should supply that amount of electricity to power the Media Center completely. Computers in the building lobby will also provide students and staff with real-time data on the building's energy consumption. Firm principal Peter Larson calls the project "a teaching tool for science classes and a model for other school districts to emulate." (credit: Architectural Record - AR Selects Green Blog)
04.13.09 Architecture professor develops interactive text-messaging project to encourage exploration of city
Syracuse residents can participate in an innovative project developed as a fun way to explore the city as they receive installments of a text-messaging novel about Syracuse via cell phone. From April 10th through May 8th, short pieces of the story will be available at 26 different locations in the city and on Syracuse University's campus. The first chapters were released on April 10 and subsequent chapters will be released every Tuesday and Friday during the four-week project.
Anda French, assistant professor at the Syracuse University School of Architecture, devised the project as part of a Syracuse Architecture New Faculty Works Grant, in conjunction with the story's author, Tony Antoniadis, a graduate student in creative writing at the University. A website featuring complete details of how it all works includes interactive maps, release dates, and all twenty six locations, as well as an opportunity for readers to provide feedback on the story.
Participants send a text message with the code found on signs at the locations and receive a chapter of the story. Different chapters are sent depending on where the code is found, giving the reader a role in how the story unfolds. The project's name, Sibylline TXT Syracuse, is taken from Virgil's "Aeneid."The priestess at the Oracle of Cumae, the Cumaen Sibyl, reveals her prophecies on oak leaves sent from her dwelling, the cave with one hundred mouths. The sequencing of the oak leaves as they scatter creates varying stories. Similarly, the use of cell phone text messaging in this project will allow for a variety of stories and encourage the public's engagement.
"We hope this project will encourage people to explore new areas of the city and to think of those spaces differently," said French. "It will also serve as critical research about the potential effects of mobile technologies on our understanding of space and place."
An exhibition of the project will be presented on Thursday, April 16 on the MLAB (mobile literacy arts bus) as part of Th3. The bus will be at the Redhouse Arts Center at 201 West St. from 5 - 7 p.m. and at the Community Folk Arts Center at 805 E. Genesee St. from 7 - 8 p.m. For details on Sibylline TXT Syracuse and the exhibition go to www.syracusetext.com.
For details on the project, contact Anda French at afrenc01@syr.edu. Media queries can be directed to Mary Kate O'Brien, director of communications at Syracuse Architecture, at (315)-443-2388 or mcobrien@syr.edu.
04.03.09 Architect Craig Dykers, founder of Norway's Snøhetta, to lecture
Craig Dykers, Syracuse Architecture NYC visiting critic and founding partner of the international award-winning firm Snohetta of Oslo, Norway, and New York City, will deliver the Werner Seligmann Lecture, "Thinking and Doing: Recent Works at Snohetta," at the Syracuse University School of Architecture on Tuesday, April 14, at 5 p.m. in Slocum Hall Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.
Formed in 1989, Snohetta rose to international acclaim based on maintaining a strong relationship between landscape and architecture in its projects. The firm has been involved in the design and construction of several major projects in the Middle East, Europe and the United States, including the new library in Alexandria, Egypt, the new National Opera in Oslo and, most recently, the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion in New York City. Snohetta is often associated with projects outside of its home in Oslo.
Dykers has lived and worked as a member of a global culture. He resides in both Oslo and New York City, where the firm established an office in 2005 and where Dykers also teaches a design studio at Syracuse Architecture NYC. He was born in Germany and received his B.S. in architecture from the University of Texas at Austin after initial studies in medicine and art. He is a member of the Norwegian Architecture Association (NAL) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and is a fellow at the Royal Society of Arts in England. Additionally, he has served as distinguished professor at City College in New York and as diploma adjudicator at the Architectural College in Oslo. He has lectured throughout Europe, Asia and the United States.
04.01.09 Syracuse Architecture faculty complete study of Onondaga Creek
Team makes conceptual design proposals for Metropolitan Development Foundation
Julia Czerniak and Mark Linder of CLEAR, Ted Brown of Munly Brown Studio, and Joe Sisko of CELL, with the Onondaga Environmental Institute, have completed a year-long study of Onondaga Creek, the main waterway running through the City of Syracuse. The study is part of the MDF's Creative Communities project, funded by the Ford Foundation.
"a project to produce conceptual designs for four sites along the Onondaga Creek corridor based on a comprehensive evaluation of ongoing initiatives and the creek's latent potential, as landscape infrastructure, to support sustainable urban revitalization"
Building on the growing interest in the creek and employing catalytic landscape infrastructure strategies, the approach of this project is to locate discrete, easily acquired sites along the length of the creek which can maximize results for a relatively small investment. Thus, rather than envisioning the recuperation of the creek as a large scale design of a continuous infrastructure or greenway that extends from the southern boundary of the city to Onondaga Lake at its northern end, this project identifies sites of intensity where numerous factors coalesce:
o opportunity for environmental restoration
o proximity to educational institutions
o opportunities for recreational activities
o potential for economic development
The aim is to propose interventions that are high impact and low cost. Each intervention promises to not only recuperate the creek as a primary infrastructural and visual component of the City, but to spur revitalization of adjacent neighborhoods and commercial areas.
Through the production of maps and the analysis of information, including a survey of educational and recreational facilities in proximity to the Creek, and of opportunities for economic or ecological revitalization, the team identified fourteen areas containing potentially "Catalytic Sites" along the creek. In consultation with the MDF, four were selected as most promising and the team proposed a conceptual design for each which demonstrates the potential for the recuperation of infrastructure to spur development both directly (by consolidating underutilized public, vacant or tax delinquent lands) and indirectly (by increasing the visibility, accessibility and legibility of the creek.)
Each of the four conceptual designs combines an infrastructural and landscape program, and is proposed to be constructed in three phases.
03.19.09 World-renowned architect Winka Dubbeldam to lecture
Winka Dubbeldam, principal of Archi-Tectonics, NYC and Shanghai, will speak at the Syracuse University School of Architecture on Tuesday, March 31, at 5 p.m. in Slocum Hall Auditorium. Her lecture, "From HardWare to SoftForm,"is free and open to the public.
Initially known more for her computer-based sculptural designs - and her association with formidable theorists Bernard Tschumi and Peter Eisenman - than for actual buildings, Dubbeldam in recent years has completed a string of built projects, including several loft renovations in Manhattan. The work of her firm, founded in 1994, ranges from residential to commercial, from real to virtual, and is realized in urban designs, architectures and installations. Most recently, Archi-Tectonics has been named a finalist in the Staten Island: Green Housing Design Competition in New York City. Collections of the firm's work are regularly featured at MOMA in New York, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh and the Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam.
Dubbeldam is a 1990 graduate of the Academy of Architecture in Rotterdam and received a master's degree in advanced architectural design from Columbia University in 1992. She has lectured extensively and taught in master's programs at of Columbia and Harvard universities, and currently holds the position of practice professor and director of the post-professional program at the University of Pennsylvania.
She is an external examiner for the Architectural Association in London and has served as a juror in multiple design competitions for AIA, the Architecture League and ID Magazine. Dubbeldam was among the "Best and Brightest" in Esquire Magazine's 2004 "Genius Issue." Her name is featured on the "Wall of Fame"at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, along with other architects, urban planners and landscape architects from across the world.
03.16.09 Thesis student Garland deGraffenried awarded SU Engagement Fellowship
Six Syracuse University seniors will continue pursuing Scholarship in Action in Central New York after graduation as recipients of the first-ever SU Engagement Fellowships, a yearlong program supported by the Kauffman Foundation that contributes to paid employment locally and arranges remitted tuition for courses at SU and professional and faculty mentors. Fellows will remain in Syracuse after graduation to work on community sustainable development projects.
The 2009 Engagement Fellows are Garland deGraffenried, a thesis student in the School of Architecture; Samantha Harmon, a senior sculpture major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts; Carissa Matthews, a senior public relations major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications; Marguerite Moore, a senior dual major in sociology in The College of Arts and Sciences and television-radio-film in the Newhouse School; Robert Sherman, a senior triple major in information management and technology in the School of Information Studies and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises, and finance in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management; and Elizabeth Slate, a senior sociology major in The College of Arts and Sciences.
The fellows will participate in local projects that incorporate the principles of SU's Scholarship in Action vision, allowing them to explore innovative ways to help create sustainable development in Central New York. Projects this year include designing infill neighborhoods in downtown Syracuse to form a more cohesive downtown; developing a new not-for-profit to enhance sustainable living; expanding a marketing business that will serve small businesses; increasing access for local residents to take advantage of available resources that will help promote sustainability; supporting young students educationally through the new Say Yes to Education initiative; and promoting Syracuse as an arts hub for the region.
The SU Engagement Fellowships are a project of Imagining America, a national consortium of more than 80 colleges and universities whose mission is to strengthen the public role and democratic purposes of the humanities, arts and design. Program partners include Enitiative (the Syracuse Campus-Community Entrepreneurship Initiative) and the Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE), a federation of more than 200 businesses and institutions that collaborate on sustainable innovations to improve built and urban environments.
"The Engagement Fellows are poised to make a difference in Syracuse," says SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. "As energetic and enterprising new graduates who already have been cultivating connections across SU and across sectors of the community, they will be ideally situated to catalyze communities of experts focused on vitally important local issues that resonate globally."
The program is designed to support the students' projects by opening up the resources of the University and the community to fellows as they explore new ideas. An added incentive for the region is that Central New York companies, nonprofit organizations and entrepreneurs who hire an engagement fellow receive support from the Kauffman Foundation toward salary and hiring expenses.
"We see the Engagement Fellowship Program as good for all involved, as it provides newly graduating students with an incentive to stay in Central New York," says Jan Cohen-Cruz, director of Imagining America. "We also hope it will be a useful model nationally, as communities increasingly look to local institutions of higher education to contribute long term to their development."
Selection of the six fellows was based on their academic record, their history in experiential learning, an in-depth interview, a faculty or professional recommendation, and assurance that they were on track to graduate.
"These students are among the best and brightest of the Syracuse University graduates for 2009, and instead of taking a job in Boston or Los Angeles they chose to stay in Syracuse starting new technology companies, new nonprofit organizations and working on local initiatives including Say Yes, the Near Westside Initiative and the Center of Excellence," says Bruce Kingma, SU associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation and director of the Enitiative program. "To revitalize the Central New York economy we need new ideas, new actions, new strategies. The Engagement Fellows are one of these new ideas - keeping young, educated, creative and talented graduates in Central New York will make a difference."
Garland deGraffenried, a thesis student in the School of Architecture, will work as a designer with King & King Architects LLP on a unique project that seeks to re-link several areas of Syracuse by seeking out developers and financiers to partner with community and University Hill entities that want to see a more cohesive downtown area. "We want to bring the city together and make it more like a mosaic of neighborhoods that interconnect, thus filling gaps that are found on the edges of the more attractive areas such as Armory and Hanover squares," deGraffenried says.
DeGraffenried will work in collaboration with his colleagues at King & King Architects and Julia Czerniak, associate professor in the School of Architecture. Czerniak is also director of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research and Real Estate - a design research and advocacy organization housed within the School of Architecture that engages innovative design and development practices to address critical issues of urban revitalization in the City of Syracuse and the upstate region.
The collaborative group will design and develop ideas for mixed-use, small sustainable 'mix-pods' - buildings comprising residential units, retail space and a public amenity. The mixed program will serve downtown residents and businesses, helping to architecturally blend an already diverse city.
The buildings will be marketed to a younger generation and cater to specific institutions, such as housing for SU graduate students or young medical professionals at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Mix-pods will allow many of the institutions on the east side of Interstate-81 - such as SU, SUNY Upstate and the SyracuseCoE - to have a presence in downtown Syracuse, which will help re-energize and reactivate the urban fabric while encouraging a more integrated city.
"Thanks to the Chancellor's' vision and Dean Mark Robbins' dedication, students at the School of Architecture get so many opportunities to connect closely with the City of Syracuse,"deGraffenried says. "This fellowship is giving me an opportunity to use what I've learned in a practical way to grow both professionally and academically in a city and a community that have great potential and charm."
Contact: Jemeli Tanui
Phone: (315) 443-5172
jetanui@syr.edu
03.09.09 Syracuse Architecture NYC announces summer programs to be led by "From the Ground Up" competition winners
"From the Ground Up: Innovative Techniques in Affordable Green Homes" is available to architecture students and practitioners alike. Principals from ARO (Architecture Research Office), Cook + Fox, Della Valle Bernheimer, and Onion Flats - winners of the "From the Ground Up" housing design competition - will present the latest innovations in affordable sustainable design for the single-family home. Undergrad/grad students will receive 3 credit hours for this professional elective lecture/seminar to be held on M, W, Th evenings May 18 - 25 in the Syracuse NYC studio. Practitioners can receive up to 8 continuing education units for four two-hour evening lectures/2 continuing education units each. Application + deposit due April 1.
03.05.08 Tokyo architect Yoshiharu Tsukamoto lecture set for March 17
Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, co-founder of Tokyo's Atelier Bow-Wow, one of this generation's most unique architectural practices, will speak at the Syracuse University School of Architecture on Tuesday, March 17, at 5 p.m. in Slocum Hall Auditorium. His lecture, "Architectural Behaviorology," is free and open to the public.
Tsukamoto founded Atelier Bow-Wow with Momoyo Kaijima in 1992. The firm has gained international respect for its ability to mix serious urban research with inventive approaches to sculpture and design. Noted as a leader in site- and use-specific design approach, Bow-Wow playfully explores the use and function of space within urban environments.
Bow-Wow re-evaluates the current architectural character of Tokyo in an attempt to achieve a more responsive urbanism through the adaptability and mutative qualities of architecture. It has used its founders' research to uniquely embrace the complex logic of the city, engaging in a practice they call "lively space," celebrating the "accidents" of a site rather than controlling or sterilizing it. Their small houses in Tokyo are well-designed residences on small sites that are integrated into the urban landscape. In 1999, Tsukamoto designed an 86-square-meter residence called Mini House in Tokyo and demonstrated the potential of small lots.
Born in Kanagawa, Japan, Tsukamoto received his doctorate from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in engineering in 1994 and previously studied at Ecole d'Architecture de Paris-Belleville from 1987-88. He has taught at the Tokyo Institute of Technology as an associate professor, at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and was a visiting associate professor at UCLA. Tsukamoto is the author of several books, including "Graphic Anatomy" (Toto, 2007), "Bow-Wow from Post Bubble City" (Inax, 2006), "Pet Architecture Guide Book" (World Photo Press, 2001) and "Made in Tokyo" (Kajima Institude Publishing Co., 2001). His work has been included in major exhibitions around the globe over the past decade and won numerous awards, including the NAX Design Competition Cooper Prize and Tokyo Housing Award.
02.25.09 Syracuse Architecture launches NYC program
The Syracuse University School of Architecture has launched a New York City-based program-modeled on its successful study abroad programs in Florence and London-that allows students to pursue studies in the history of the metropolis, urban morphology, planning and real estate development, as well as urban theory.
Designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, the majority of whom spend at least one semester studying outside of Syracuse, this new program complements the current off-campus options offered during the academic year and in the summer.
Studio, classroom and office space in Manhattan serves as home base for the program, which is taught by Syracuse Architecture faculty and New York City-based critics and will feature guest lecturers and extensive field trips. The inaugural spring 2009 studio began in January and is led by world-renowned Norwegian architect Craig Dykers of Snohetta.
"With the launch of this program," says Syracuse Architecture Dean Mark Robbins, "we are able to tap into the resources of one of the great design centers of the world and provide our students with a compelling home base for the study of architecture."
As part of the program's semester-long course of study, students take a design studio focusing on contemporary architectural and urban design issues unique to New York, as well as a history and theory course. Students explore the city and surrounding area, including the city's first suburbs, islands, skyscrapers, parks, monuments, bridges, public spaces and housing.
Located at facilities on Madison Avenue at 33rd Street, Syracuse Architecture NYC is ideally situated, allowing students to easily attend reviews, lectures and exhibitions at nearby architecture schools and cultural institutions.
The program is made possible through the generous support of Newmark Knight Frank Global Real Estate Advisors, Steelcase, SU trustees Judith Greenberg Seinfeld and James D. Kuhn, and Stephen Killcoyne of Allen + Killcoyne Architects.
01.21.09 Winners announced for green housing competition
Syracuse Architecture announces design competition winners for three new green homes
Syracuse University School of Architecture, in partnership with the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems and Home HeadQuarters, Inc., has announced the three winners of the competition, "From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes," fostering advanced thinking about design, sustainability, and cost-effective building practices for the single-family house. Developed for a vacant infill site on Syracuse's Near Westside, the proposals and resulting built work will provide a new vision for one of the city's oldest neighborhoods and demonstrate the value of design within a typically underserved and demographically diverse community. These small domestic projects wed high standards of living with advanced technology and design to encourage revitalization of the Near Westside and similar neighborhoods across the country.
The three winning teams are:
ARO and Della Valle Bernheimer, New York, NY
Cook + Fox / Terrapin Bright Green, New York, NY and Washington, DC
Onion Flats, (including Andropogon Associates, Rivera Structural Design, and MaGrann Associates); Philadelphia, PA
"The 7 finalists demonstrated remarkable skill in addressing this challenging project which yielded a wide range of approaches. It is hoped that these houses will create new models for sustainability and innovation within limited budgets. The University has provided the seed capital for this research and design addressing the needs of our urban neighborhoods," said Mark Robbins, Dean of Syracuse University School of Architecture.
"The winning designs include many innovative strategies for energy efficiency and superior indoor environmental quality that fit perfectly with the capabilities of firms in Central New York. The construction of these homes will help strengthen our region's reputation as a leader in green building design, technology, and construction," said Ed Bogucz, Executive Director of the Syracuse Center of Excellence.
"We're excited to start building these innovative single-family homes on the city's Near Westside," says Kerry Quaglia, Executive Director of Home HeadQuarters, Inc. "The winning designs are unique in that they incorporate new and sustainable green and energy technologies while remaining affordable to both build and own."
A symposium featuring presentations by the winning teams and a panel discussion will be held on February 3 at the Syracuse University School of Architecture beginning at 3:30 pm in the Slocum Hall auditorium with a reception to follow at 5:30 pm in the School of Architecture Slocum Hall Gallery. The symposium coincides with an exhibition of the seven finalist teams'designs and selections from the 52 teams that submitted "sketchbooks" with ideas about the approach to this design challenge. The exhibition runs from January 20 through February 13. All events are free and open to the public.
"From the Ground Up" is a project of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate created within the School of Architecture in 2005 as a resource for the city, campus, and region to address critical issues of urban revitalization in the city of Syracuse, Upstate New York, and nationally.
Additional support for this competition and programming is provided by The Central New York Community Foundation and the Community Preservation Corporation.
For more information, please visit soa.syr.edu. Project images and additional information are available upon request to Mary Kate O'Brien, 315-443-2388; mcobrien@syr.edu.
01.14.09 DesignIntelligence: Syracuse, Robbins receive high marks
DesignIntelligence has released its 2009 rankings for America's Best Architecture & Design Schools. The fourth oldest architecture program in the U.S., the School of Architecture at Syracuse University is consistently rated among the top schools in the country. Syracuse Architecture's undergraduate program has been ranked fourth in the nation and earned "High Distinction" ranking for its methodology. Dean Mark Robbins was selected by DesignIntelligence as one of the "Most Admired Educators of 2009."
12.02.08 Prof. Korman named 2009 Batza chair at Colgate
Currently on sabbatical from Syracuse, Professor Randall Korman recently accepted an invitation from Colgate University to serve as the 2009 Batza Professor of Art and Art History. The Batza chair was established in 1997 and is awarded every two years to distinguished artists and art historians who serve as visiting faculty members for one semester. Korman is the first architect to receive this prestigious award. Typically, recipients teach two courses and are invited to give a public lecture. Colgate University offers a concentration in architecture studies and has begun to explore the possibility of developing this into a full minor. Korman's appointment coincides with this effort.
11.13.08 Prof. Ruff part of "Dresser Trunk Project" traveling exhibition
Assistant Professor Scott Ruff is lecturing at University of Pennsylvania School of Design on November 14, 2008 as part of the "Places of Refuge: The Dresser Trunk Project" exhibition, and at Columbia University on November 17, 2008 as part of the traveling exhibition "Spaces of Segregation: The Dresser Trunk Project." The Dresser Trunk Project includes work of eleven prominent artists, architects and landscape architects who have explored places of refuge for black travelers during segregation. The explorations take the form of "dresser trunks" resulting in a traveling exhibition that documents popular venues during segregation including hotels, nightclubs, and even a Negro league ball park. The exhibit has traveled to the Extension Gallery for Architecture in Chicago, and the UVa Art Museum in Charlottesville. The DTP will be on display at Howard University during the annual NOMA convention, and at the University of Pennsylvania, November 10th-21st.
Prof. Scott Ruff has also recently become Editor-In-Chief of The National Organization of Minority Architects Magazine, a publication that features articles, designs and essays by and about architects, designers and scholars from underrepresented cultural groups.
10.31.08 Rockwell to design sets for Academy Awards
TONY NOMINEE ROCKWELL TO DESIGN SETS FOR 81st ACADEMY AWARDS
By Andrew Gans, Playbill
October 30, 2008
David Rockwell, who received a 2003 Tony Award nomination for Best Scenic Design for his work on the Tony-winning musical Hairspray, will design the sets for the 81st Academy Awards.
The February 22, 2009, awards ceremony - which will be produced by Laurence Mark and executive produced by Bill Condon - will mark Rockwell's first involvement with an Oscar telecast.
Rockwell's firm (Rockwell Group), however, did design the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center, which will house this year's Oscar ceremony.
In a joint statement Mark and Condon said, "David is an innovator who possesses the outstanding combination of truly firsthand knowledge of the Kodak Theatre and superb design work in a variety of realms, including film and theatre. We're pleased to be collaborating with someone whose talents are so diverse."
Rockwell Group's credits include set design for the upcoming Broadway productions of Catch Me If You Can and Houdini as well as the sets for Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Rocky Horror Show.
Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 22, 2009.
10.31.08 Cook + Fox: TV premiere showcases BoA Tower
Cook + Fox (Rick Cook '84) announces the U.S. premiere of National Geographic TV's special program on the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park. This one-hour episode describes the complex process of building a LEED Platinum skyscraper in the middle of New York City, and brings to light many of the challenges faced by the development, design and construction team.
Man-Made: Ultimate Skyscraper
Thursday, November 6 at 9pm
on the National Geographic Channel
(please check with your local cable provider for channel number)
In the New York City area, the Bank of America Tower will also appear on:
Design: "The Economies of Being Environmentally Conscious"
Episode: The Green Apple
Thursday, November 6 at 10pm
on PBS/WNET (Channel 13)
10.07.08 Housing Competition Finalists Announced
Syracuse Architecture Announces Finalists for Affordable Green Housing Design Competition
Syracuse University School of Architecture, in partnership with the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems and Home HeadQuarters, Inc., has announced the finalists for "From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes." The goals of the competition are to foster the most advanced thinking about design, sustainability, and cost-effective building practices for an affordable single family house.
Multi-disciplinary teams that include an architect, structural engineer, sustainability expert, and landscape architect were encouraged to apply. The three winning teams are:
do-it-together.org (including BriggsKnowles A+D, THEM (Lynch+Crembil), Derek Porter Studio, Studio Lisa Maione, Leonard Newcomb Landscape Architecture, and Thomas Young Associates); New York City and Kansas City
Erdy McHenry Architecture, Stenson-Building + Furniture Design, AKF Engineers, and Siteworks; Philadelphia, Syracuse, and Charlottesville
Onion Flats, (including Andropogon Associates, Rivera Structural Design, and MaGrann Associates); Philadelphia
Three alternate teams were also selected in the event that a team is unexpectedly unable to compete. They are: BILD Design, Meffert + Ethridge Environmental Projects, and Pierre Stouse; BLDGS, The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, D.I.R.T. Studio, and Palmer Engineering; and Leroy Street Studio Architecture, Hester Street Collaborative, Terra Firma, Buro Happold Consulting Engineers, Reed Hildebrand Associates, and John Wagner.
"The winning teams were selected from an exceptionally competitive pool of entries with a high number of truly outstanding submissions from very well respected practices," said Julia Czerniak, the director of UPSTATE: at the Syracuse University School of Architecture and a member of the selection jury. "We anticipate design approaches that will yield built work contributing to the revitalization of communities here and in rust-belt cities across the nation."
These three teams will join the four pre-selected teams listed below in developing designs for a site on Syracuse's Near Westside, one of the first residential neighborhoods in the city that is now facing significant economic, social, and environmental challenges.
The teams will visit the Syracuse site in mid-October and submit their design proposals after the eight-week second stage of the competition ending in mid-December. A jury will then select up to three winning designs in January 2009 to coincide with a symposium and exhibition of the finalists' submissions at the School of Architecture.. Construction of the prototypes by Home HeadQuarters is expected to begin in fall 2009.
The four pre-selected teams include:
Adjaye / Associates, London and New York
Cook + Fox / Terrapin Bright Green, New York and Washington DC
Della Valle Bernheimer and ARO, New York
Office dA and Architecture Studio himma, Boston and Seoul
The jury includes: Barry Bergdoll/The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art; Edward Bogucz/Executive Director, Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental Systems, Syracuse University; Julia Czerniak/Director, UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate, Syracuse University School of Architecture; Julie Eizenberg/Principal, Koning Eizenberg Architecture; Bethaida Gonzàlez/President, Syracuse Common Council; Marilyn Higgins/Vice President, Community Engagement & Economic Development, Syracuse University; Carol Horan/Near Westside Resident; David Lewis/Principal, Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis; Jason Pearson/President and CEO, GreenBlue; Kerry Quaglia/Executive Director, Home HeadQuarters; Mark Robbins/Dean, Syracuse University School of Architecture.
"From the Ground Up"is a project of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate created in 2005 as a resource for the city, campus, and region to address critical issues of urban revitalization in the city of Syracuse, Upstate New York, and other regions of disinvestment nationally.
The Central New York Community Foundation and the Community Preservation Corporation have provided additional support for this competition. For more information on the competition, please visit soa.syr.edu/competition.
09.22.08 After two years, School returns to Slocum
Model home: After two years, school returns to renovated Slocum Hall
By: Hope Morley
The Daily Orange
Posted: 9/22/08
With the cutting of an orange and pink ribbon, representative of Syracuse University's current and past official colors, the School of Architecture was officially welcomed back to campus Saturday at the rededication of Slocum Hall.
"What you see here is just the beginning of a university, not just a school, but a university that's moving forward and thinking about the relationship of people, cities and education," said Dean Mark Robbins in his speech. "Architecture is very much a part of that."
Slocum Hall, which was originally completed in 1919, has been closed for renovations for the last two years. Back when the building was built, it housed not only the School of Architecture but also the schools of Business, Agriculture and Home Economics.
The building underwent a series of changes over the years, including the closing of the atrium and the removal of the entry stairway and the original auditorium. Also, the addition of room partitions and hung ceilings caused the building - which is on the National Register of Historic Places - to lose much of its original grandeur.
The plans for the renovation began in 1999 with the hiring of architect Jim Garrison, a graduate of the school and a visiting critic in the early 1990s. Garrison, a 1977 graduate, remembers the architecture program being limited to the fourth floor of Slocum Hall.
"The one thing I remember feeling when I first walked into Slocum as a 17-year-old freshman is, 'Is this all there is to a school of architecture?'" Garrison said. "I really had expected something that expressed the potential of architecture and instead, what I had was a few old rooms tucked away in this old building."
Based on his experience, Garrison was able to formulate main focuses for the renovations. These included use of light and connection with the university as a whole.
Danton Spina, a fourth-year architecture student, said he's pleased to be able to move back into the building.
"It's such a little thing, but to reopen the atrium and bring it back to its original architectural aesthetic, to have this open space and all these interactions between floors, people yelling to their friends on different floors, the amount of light that gets in, the quality of air is so much better," he said.
In addition to reopening the atrium, adding a new gallery, auditorium, cafe and student bookstore, Garrison wanted to update some of the original features of the building that made it energy efficient. Slocum Hall was built with no air conditioning, but the design of the building made it naturally cooled and ventilated. Since its original construction, many of those features have been removed.
"The architects who designed Slocum inherited thousands of years of evolution regarding how to make buildings respond to climate without using fossil fuels," Garrison said. "Now we've entered this era where we have to be responsible about the environment, and Slocum Hall provides a lesson on how it was done and how we can do it again."
Faculty and alumni mainly attended the rededication ceremony and brunch Saturday, which is why it was planned for Homecoming weekend. Alumni spent the morning remembering old freshman hazing rituals and sharing the building with cows, while current students gave tours of the building.
For the last two and a half years, the School of Architecture has been based at The Warehouse, a building in downtown Syracuse purchased by SU in 2005.
"What's really positive about (Slocum) is that you are really engaged on the campus," said Peter Randolph, a second-year architecture student. "You work so much (at The Warehouse) you don't have much of a life anyways, and to be so far away, you can feel very isolated from the school.
"What was great about the downtown location was you could be really active in the city, a lot of projects work well there and it was great to be able to walk outside and experience Syracuse. So, there were trade-offs, but it's definitely really great to be back here."
Though the program will maintain a presence downtown, all the studios and the majority of classes will take place at Slocum Hall. Other schools, like the College of Visual and Performing Arts, will now use The Warehouse.
"It's kind of the best of both worlds," said Mary Kate O'Brien, director of communications for the school. "Now students have access to campus life, we're almost right on the Quad, but also they still can engage with the city and all the work that's been done to revitalize downtown."
For third-year architecture students like Chad Cross, commuting downtown was the norm for architecture classes. Cross said he is excited to finally be on campus and not have to worry about bus schedules.
"You feel like you're part of the school, which I think is important," Cross said.
hemorley@syr.edu
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Copyright 2008 The Daily Orange
09.19.08 SU plans Warehouse renovation for arts college
SU plans Warehouse renovation for arts college
Move to send more than 530 from art and design school to Armory Square in January.
Friday, September 19, 2008
By Nancy Cole
Syracuse Post Standard Staff writer
Syracuse University this fall will renovate its Warehouse Building on the edge of Armory Square in downtown Syracuse and permanently move more students into the building.
The renovations will let the university permanently move more of SU's College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Art and Design programs, initiatives and administrative offices to the building, SU planned to announce today.
SU also plans to add retail space that would feature publications, artwork and designs by students, faculty, alumni and staff of the visual and performing arts college.
SU bought the former Dunk & Bright furniture warehouse and two parking lots for $1.9 million in 2005. The university then spent about $9 million to renovate the building, at 350 W. Fayette St., that temporarily housed SU's School of Architecture programs while the school's Slocum Hall building on the main SU campus underwent renovations. Slocum reopened for the current fall semester so its programs moved out of the downtown building.
The architecture school had about 500 students, 37 faculty and 22 staff members at The Warehouse. One faculty member and two staff members involved with the architecture school's Upstate Institute think tank remain in the building, and architecture students will still attend special programs in The Warehouse, according to SU.
The School of Art and Design will bring a total of 508 upper-class undergraduate and graduate students, 23 full-time faculty and five staff members to The Warehouse, according to SU. Two of the college's design programs have already been operating in The Warehouse, including 184 students, seven full-time faculty and one staff member.
The upcoming renovations are to begin in October and are to be completed in January, in time for the spring semester. There is not yet an opening date for the retail store.
SU officials couldn't provide an estimated cost for the renovations.
The changes will also include what is being called The Downtown Quad, which will feature services for students, seating and an exhibition space for the college.
Other programs and initiatives currently operating out of The Warehouse will continue to do so, such as SU's Warehouse Gallery, the Goldring Arts Journalism Program, and Upstate Institute, a center for design, research and real estate in SU's School of Architecture.
Community spaces such as an artist support space, a conference room, a community classroom, a gallery and a classroom for the Everson Museum will also continue to be available to the public.
Nancy Cole can be reached at ncole@syracuse.com or 470-2173.
copyright 2008 The Post-Standard. Used with permission.
09.16.08 Grant for Connective Corridor "interactive streetscape"
SU grants to redesign downtown
By: Michael Boren, The Daily Orange
Syracuse University announced to city officials Aug. 28 that it would pledge $2 million in state grants to create an "interactive streetscape" along the Connective Corridor, a cultural strip connecting downtown Syracuse with University Hill. The initiative will bring new landscaping, lighting, outdoor furniture and active space to the outside of the Symphony Place development downtown.
The "interactive streetscape" project, which will be developed on East Onondaga Street between Warren and Salina Streets, will be a test for new materials and designs that officials want to use on the corridor, said Marilyn Higgins, vice president of community engagement and economic development on campus.
A design firm called Upstate within the SU's School of Architecture is working with the engineering firm Barton & Loguidice to create the project. Amenities include accent street lighting, multi-leveled clustered plantings and landscaping elements, outdoor furnishing and a possible motion-sensor water feature that will interact with the public at the street-level.
"What we're hoping is to have a fountain that reacts to motion, light (and) human presence," Higgins said.
Joe Sisko, the senior designer of Upstate, prefers the name "water feature" rather than "fountain" because of the way it will function with its environment.
"It's important that it's not a fountain because a fountain typically has a base and an edge that you can't go into," said Sisko. "The way we're thinking of the water feature is very much an active space. You interact with it; you play with it. It becomes lighted at night, so it's something that's very much about activity and imagery and intrigue ... It's not sort of this off-limits element."
Sisko said the water feature, which will also be programmed for different music, will be inactive during the weekend. This way, it doesn't turn into a "collection of leaves and garbage that fountains usually become during the late fall and early winter."
Julia Czerniak, director of Upstate and an associate professor in the School of Architecture, calls the water feature the "signature element" of the project. The official Web site for Symphony Place, also known as Symphony Place at Hotel Syracuse Square, labels the area on East Onondaga Street as a mix of condominium, hotel, rental and retail space that will commemorate the historical Hotel Syracuse.
"Here's a place where they're trying to attract residents back into the city," Higgins said. "It's a perfect spot to create new landscape design."
Czerniak said Upstate has several ambitions for the Symphony Place project, including making it stand out so it can be recognized as part of the Connective Corridor, using green technology and using elements that could serve multiple functions. Czerniak gave the example of objects that could be used as seats during the day and become a lighted line of cubes during the night.
Eric Persons, the director of engagement initiatives at SU, said the incorporation of street lighting and outside furniture surrounding Symphony Place will "create a backyard environment opposed to what exists right now."
He added that improvements to the street will "really invite people to be part of the urban environment."
Sophomore Adam Davidson, a student at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, said he believes an increase of lighting and retail in the city would make it more appealing.
"It might make (downtown) more interesting if there were more stores down there and more lighting, 'cause that way it'd be easier to get around at night and during the winter,""Davidson said.
SU plans to fund the "interactive streetscape" through state grants that are coming to the university for the Connective Corridor. Higgins said that the state grants total up to $20 million.
"SU is applying for the grants, lobbying for the money (and) managing (the grants), but it is state money," Higgins said.
Not everyone is excited about the "interactive streetscape."
Anna Santayana, a junior psychology major, questioned SU's decision to use $2 million in state grants to fund the project.
"Why do they want students to be so interactive in downtown Syracuse in the first place?" Santayana said. "I mean, I guess it's cool to be a part of the city and stuff, but that much money is a lot. I don't know if that's the right thing to do."
But Higgins said more than 300 SU students, including those at the SOA, are involved in projects that are part of the corridor.
"The visual and performing arts students are engaged now in the sculpture park in Franklin Park," Higgins said. "All of these projects are becoming part of a curriculum for various schools across the corridor."
The involvement of students in the corridor would give freshman Kristen Le, an interior design major, a reason to go downtown so she could see what her fellow students create.
"Since I'm involved in the art department, I'll probably want to check it out, especially if I know someone who's involved with it," Le said.
Persons said the "interactive streetscape" part of the Connective Corridor would tie in with the rest of the work the city and university want accomplished between downtown and SU.
"We want to bring all these investments together, and I think that's very important," he said.
Other work on the corridor may come in the form of added transportation, but this last type may require a helmet.
"I think we're going to get bike lanes through the Connective Corridor, which the students really want," Higgins said.
Easier methods of transportation would make Le's trip around town easier. She believes the current transit system can sometimes be a time-consuming hassle.
"I think if it was just easier to get (downtown)," Le said, "I would go there more often."
mcboren@syr.edu
09.12.08 'SALT' West Side strategy adopted
Syracuse's Near West Side Initiative steering committee recently adopted a 'SALT" (Syracuse. Art. Life .Technology ) logo and marketing strategy to promote the reinvention of the neighborhood situated roughly between West Street Arterial and South Geddes Street in Syracuse. Syracuse Architecture is actively involved in West Side neighborhood development projects in its visiting critic studios as well as the work of UPSTATE, the School's Center for Design,Research, and Real Estate.
09.12.08 Slocum rededication slated
Syracuse Architecture returns to Slocum Hall. Rededication slated for Homecoming Weekend.
Slocum Hall, the campus home of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, re-opened for the fall 2008 semester after completion of the historic building' two-year renovation project. A weekend of activities at Slocum Hall, from September 18 - 20, will reflect on the history of the building and celebrate the striking renovation by Garrison Architects.
Led by James Garrison G'79, principal of Garrison Architects in NYC, the redesign has: introduced vertical openness and light into the building, exposing the previously closed off five-story atrium; improved energy efficiency; added a new auditorium and gallery; and expanded studio, research, and office space, including the incorporation of new technology in the studio environment. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Slocum Hall was built in 1918, but had undergone a series of obstructive changes to its form over the years, most notably the closing of its central atrium space
The rededication weekend will kick off on Thursday, September 18 with James Garrison's lecture, Slocum Hall: Ambivalence and Potential, at 5:00 p.m. in Slocum Auditorium. Following the lecture, a reception will be held at 6:00 p.m. in Slocum Gallery for the opening of the exhibition, Slocum Hall: Past Imperfect. On Friday, September 19, Professors Timothy Stenson and Michael Pelken will lead a discussion on their sustainability research, Syracuse Green II: Innovations in Sustainable Design. The weekend's activities culminate on Saturday, September 20 at 10:00 a.m. with a Dean' brunch and Slocum Rededication in Slocum Gallery. Student-led tours of Slocum will be held throughout the weekend and the School's theater group, WhAT, will perform "Laugh 'til you say WhAT," Saturday evening in Slocum Auditorium. Tickets are available at the Goldstein Box Office.
During the Slocum Hall renovation, the School was located at The Warehouse in downtown Syracuse adjacent to Armory Square. The School will maintain a presence at The Warehouse for visiting critic studios and continue to serve as the headquarters for UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research and Real Estate.
James Garrison founded Garrison Architects in 1991. The firm has focused on a wide range of building types from master plans for the city of Tokyo to urban playgrounds of recycled plastics. Recent projects utilize a comprehensive approach to sustainability with the goal of eliminating the machinery and energy demands of climate control. The firm's work has received numerous awards from The American Institute of Architects, The Chicago Athenaeum, and The General Services Administration Design Excellence Program.
09.10.08 Dean Robbins wins top educator award
Mark Robbins, dean of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, has received the 2008 Educator Award from the American Institute of Architects, New York State. Robbins was recognized for his contributions over 20 years as an educator and for developing innovative programs which heighten the public awareness of the value of design and have often resulted in the commissioning of built projects. The award will be presented during the AIANYS Convention on September 25.
"Mark's level of commitment to the education of our student architects is truly exemplary," said Syracuse University Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. "He clearly understands the critical issues of contemporary practice as well as the theoretical underpinnings that architectural training reveals in buildings, cities, and urban design. Under Mark's leadership, the School is a center, not just of action, but of ideas."
Robbins also serves as the University's Senior Advisor for Architecture and Urban Initiatives, a position created by Cantor in the spring of 2008. This new role underscores the importance of architecture, landscape architecture, and planning on campus, as well as the engagement of Syracuse University in the revitalization efforts within the city of Syracuse and the region.
"Mark is one of the most influential and effective educators in the country," said Toshiko Mori, principal of Toshiko Mori Architect and Professor in Practice at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. "He has demonstrated that a university does play a critical role in the life of its community while students learn from the unique attributes of the city in which they study."
Robbins assumed the position as ninth dean of the School of Architecture in 2004. Previously, he was the director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington D.C., where he developed an aggressive program to strengthen the presence of innovative design in the public realm through national initiatives such the Mayors Institute on City Design and New Public Works, a program that sponsored design competitions across the U.S. Robbins was the curator of architecture at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio and an associate professor in the Knowlton School of Architecture at The Ohio State University, as well as a visiting critic at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard, the University of Virginia, and Sci-Arc. His creative work has received support from the NEA, NYSCA, NYFA, OAC, and the Graham Foundation and he is a recipient of a Rome Prize from the American Academy and a Fellowship in the Visual Arts from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard.
For more information, contact Mary Kate O'Brien, Director of Communications at the School of Architecture at (315) 443-2388 or mcobrien@syr.edu.
09.03.08 Prof. Massey to lecture at Colgate
Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Chair in the School of Architecture at Syracuse University, Jonathan Massey (PhD Princeton University, 2001) will deliver the lecture "Exploiting Crisis: Buckminster Fuller and Sustainable Design" in Golden Auditorium, 105 Little Hall, at Colgate University, on September 17 at 4:30 p.m. Massey's writing have been published in the Journal ofArchitecture, Perspecta, the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, and many other journalsand books. Massey' research examines the ways architecture mediates power by giving form to civil society, shaping social relationships, and regulating consumption. His book on architect Claude Bragdon, forthcoming in fall 2008 from University of Pittsburgh Press, reconstructs the techniques through which American modernists engaged the new media, audiences, and problems of mass society.
09.03.08 MoMA exhibition displays students' prefab model
Marcel Breuer's Plas-2-Point House at MoMA
Fourth-year undergraduate architecture students Mario Mohan and Michael Nartey, with Professor Albert Marichal, have completed the fabrication of a 1/2"=1'-0" scale, laser-cut, plywood model of Marcel Breuer's proposed Plas-2-Point house for the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The model, prominently featured in the museum's current exhibition, Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling (on view through October 20, 2008) curated by Barry Bergdoll with Peter Christensen, investigates the possibilities of a prefabricated house of plywood construction, finished with a thin coat of liquid plastic employed for moisture protection and maintenance. Seven plywood roof trusses and seven plywood floor trusses support the structure by cantilevering it from two wooden posts on two concrete or masonry foundation points, reducing overall construction costs by eliminating extensive foundations and earthwork.
Designed in 1943, the house was advertised as a solution for the postwar housing demand, but it never developed beyond schematic designs, including sketches and a brochure showing an axonometric drawing. Research for this project was conducted using these drawings housed in the Breuer Archives at Syracuse University's Special Collections in Bird Library (the collection also includes pencil drawings of Breuer's prefabricated housing designs titled Yankee Portables).
After its current exhibition, the model will remain with MoMA in its Study Collection.
08.08.08 Housing Competition Announced
Syracuse Architecture Announces Design Competition for Sustainable Single Family House
Syracuse University School of Architecture, in partnership with the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems and Home HeadQuarters, Inc., has launched "From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes." The goals of the competition are to foster the most advanced thinking about design, sustainability, and cost-effective building practices for the single family house, and to elicit proposals that can be built based on the $150,000 construction budget. The site for the competition is Syracuse's Near Westside, one of the first residential neighborhoods in the city.
"This competition will help revitalize Syracuse's Near Westside neighborhood with the addition of affordable green homes," said Ed Bogucz, Syracuse Center of Excellence Executive Director. "And it will strengthen our region's reputation for sustainable innovations that benefit this generation and generations to come."
The four design teams listed below will be joined by up to three additional teams selected through an open call for entries. Each team will visit the site and submit a design proposal after the eight-week second stage of the competition. A jury will then select up to three houses for construction on site.
Mark Robbins, dean of Syracuse University School of Architecture said, "We are excited to have Syracuse participate in the larger national conversation about housing, sustainability, and design and the role that each plays in the creation of new models for vital, urban residential neighborhoods. The partnership of the three sponsoring entities adds a unique level of expertise to this endeavor."
"This competition will give Home HeadQuarters and other organizations involved in community development and housing the opportunity to bring advanced, high quality design approaches to a typically underserved, demographically diverse group of home-buying customers," says Kerry Quaglia, Executive Director of Home HeadQuarters, Inc.
Final designs from all teams are due in mid-December 2008 with the announcement of the winning design(s) in January 2009 along with a symposium and exhibition of the finalists' submissions. Construction by Home HeadQuarters of the winning prototypes is expected to begin in fall 2009.
The four pre-selected teams include:
Adjaye / Associates, London and New York
Cook + Fox / Terrapin Bright Green, New York and Washington DC
Della Valle Bernheimer and ARO, New York
Office dA and Architecture Studio himma, Boston and Seoul
The jury includes: Barry Bergdoll/The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art; Edward Bogucz/Executive Director, Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental Systems, Syracuse University; Julia Czerniak/Director, UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate, Syracuse University School of Architecture; Julie Eizenberg/Principal, Koning Eizenberg Architecture; Bethaida Gonzalez/President, Syracuse Common Council; Marilyn Higgins/Vice President, Community Engagement & Economic Development, Syracuse University; Carol Horan/Near Westside Resident; Paul Lewis/Principal, Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis; Jason Pearson/President and CEO, GreenBlue; Kerry Quaglia/Executive Director, Home HeadQuarters; Mark Robbins/Dean, Syracuse University School of Architecture.
"From the Ground Up" is a project of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate created in 2005 as a resource for the city, campus, and region to address critical issues of urban revitalization in the city of Syracuse, Upstate New York, and other regions of disinvestment nationally. The Central New York Community Foundation and the Community Preservation Corporation have provided additional support for this competition.
To enter or for more information on the competition, please visit soa.syr.edu/competition
05.22.08 King & King Design Awards presented
The 3rd Annual King & King Integrated Design Award Competition was recently held at Syracuse Architecture. Thirteen students presented a total of eight design projects. Designs were evaluated by the faculty of the School, in consultation with a panel of jurors that included representatives from King & King Architects and the faculty. Criteria for award selection included excellence in integrated design studio, and the ability to incorporate all areas of the professional curriculum.
AWARD RECIPIENTS
First Prize
James Renaud, Dracut, MA
"Office Tower, downtown Syracuse"
Second Prize
Kurt Nieminen, Tuckahoe, NY
Andrew Nuver, Macungie, PA
"Gas Station"
Third Prize
Jacob Schneck , Salfordville, PA
Hillary Lippold, York, NY
"Urban Housing in Armory Square"
Graduate Student Prize
Shannon Sturm, Auburn, NY
"Pre-Engineered Health Clinic for Global Development"
05.19.08 Thesis Design Awards presented
After jury review, Thesis Design Awards were presented to following students at the School's recent Convocation ceremony on May 10, 2008:
JAMES BRITTON MEMORIAL AWARDS
Best Thesis - Eric M. Wilson
Outstanding Theses - Sophia H. Tang , Christine M. McMahon
DEAN'S THESIS CITATIONS
Amelia K. Tabeling
Vincent M. Appel
Matthew A. Williamson
Bruce Davison
Ethan O. Lay-Sleeper
William A. Villalobos
THESIS CITATIONS
Amelia K. Tabeling
Lauren K. Dellinger
Doron Serban
Jacquelyn A. Santa Lucia
Joshua L. Cabot
Michael B. LaValley
Eric M. Wilson
Nicolette R. Havrish
Kyle D. Barker
Sophia H. Tang
Tessa L. Fleck
Eric D. Zahn
William A. Villalobos
Vincent M. Appel
Matthew A. Williamson
Bruce Davison
Ethan O. Lay-Sleeper
Joshua A. Silbaugh
Christine M. McMahon
Rachel C. Kenney
04.30.08 Julia Dalton named University Scholar
Syracuse University names 2008 University Scholars
Julia I. Dalton, a fifth-year senior in the School of Architecture, is the recipient of a Chancellor's Scholarship and a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and has received two Chancellor's Awards for Public Engagement and Scholarship. She also placed third in School of Architecture's 2006 Leadership by Design Prize competition. Dalton has worked as part of the School of Architecture's Community Design Center to
create a neighborhood revitalization plan for Syracuse's South Side neighborhood and is part of the interdisciplinary student team that developed the M-LAB, a mobile literacy arts bus transformed from a used RV into a mobile classroom for Syracuse public schools. Dalton participated in a design/build project on the Mississippi Gulf Coast run by Design Corps/BaSiC Initiative and interned with the nationally recognized architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.
04.30.08 Doyle & Bunel win Coluccio Salutati Awards
Florence, Italy
SU Florence has announced the recipients of this semester'sprestigious Coluccio Salutati Award.
The Coluccio Salutati Award honors students with high academic achievement and engagement with the Italian culture. This is the highest recognition SU Florence can bestow upon its students. Says Prof. Matteo Duni, coordinator of the Coluccio Salutati Award, "This semester saw more nominations of students by professors, and more essay submissions, than on any other year I have served on the committee. We honestly had a difficult time narrowing the choices down, there were so many strong essays."
SUF professors nominated forty-eight students and thirty-three of these students subsequently submitted an essay. Syracuse Architecture students Ryan Doyle and Burak Unel were among the five winners.
Ryan Doyle "We Shall Not Cease"
Burak Unel "A Surplus of Adjectives"
These students were honored in an award ceremony during the Student Day celebration on Thursday, April 24.
04.24.08 "Can Architecture Save Syracuse?"
The 04.16.08 issue of The Architect's Newspaper includes the article "Can Architecture Save Syracuse?", exploring the urban challenges that the city of Syracuse faces and the evolving active role of Syracuse University School of Architecture in revitzlization efforts
04.03.07 NY Times: Robbins 'The Would-Be-Revivalist'
The Hanover Square "renovated bank" home of Dean Mark Robbins is the focus of "The Would-Be Revivalist" article on the front page of the Home & Garden section of the 04.03.07 New York Times.
03.20.08 Davis published in Architect's Bulletin
The article "The Alternative Modernity of Joze Plecnik," by Lawrence Davis, Professor of Architecture at SU Florence was recently published in the most recent issue of AB [Architect's Bulletin] edited by Bostjan Vuga. The issue is especially dedicated to the work of the influential Slovenian 20th century Architect Joze Plecnik on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death. The issue features articles by Vuga, Winka Dubbeldam Kenneth Frampton, Juregen Meyer, as well as other respected scholars and critics.
Davis's article speaks from the point of view of an architect and examines the "modern" aspects of Plecnik's work, a body neoclassical and figurative projects that are contemporary with the more familiar Modernist of the middle of the 20th century. Though stylistically different, Davis argues that the work of Plecnik engages with issues of the era in as intense and culturally relevant ways the architectures that came from more industrialized aesthetics. This broadens the definition of modern architecture to include contemporary and culturally specific applications of often more traditional and even local architectural vocabularies. He concludes by offering Plecnik as an example to contemporary architects of the digital era as one who operates in refreshing and culturally healthy ways on the periphery of mainstream international discourse in architecture.
03.17.08 Dean Robbins appointed SU senior advisor
Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor today announced the appointment of Mark Robbins, dean of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, as the University's senior advisor for architecture and urban initiatives. In this new capacity, Robbins, who will continue as dean, will advise Cantor and Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric F. Spina on SU's design and architecture initiatives in the City of Syracuse and on campus.
Robbins' additional role underscores the importance of architecture, landscape architecture and planning in the revitalization efforts for Syracuse and the University's commitment to the many collaborative initiatives taking place on campus and in the city.
The appointment also acknowledges and formalizes Robbins' role in bringing innovative design to the fore, raising awareness about its significance and highlighting the importance of architecture, landscape architecture and planning in the University's building and revitalization projects.
"This appointment recognizes the critical role that Mark has played, and will continue to play, in providing vision, expertise and intellectual capital to the University and the city in the many design, building and revitalization projects under way," says Cantor. "Whether it's the renovation of Slocum Hall, restoring homes on the Near Westside, transforming The Warehouse, or leading the design of the Connective Corridor, Mark's excellence and dedication to the University and community exemplify our vision for Scholarship in Action."
Robbins will serve in an advisory role on design and architecture initiatives both in the city and on campus, including such projects as the Connective Corridor, the Near Westside Initiative and the recently announced JPMorgan Chase Technology Center. He will be an advisor in architect selection and design decisions, working with SU personnel, community groups and private developers. Robbins will also act as SU's liaison with city and county authorities and represent the senior administration on matters pertaining to urban initiatives and campus planning.
Robbins is excited about his new role as well as the opportunity to continue his duties as dean of the School of Architecture. "In only a few years, the Chancellor has established a climate in which the University truly excels as an intellectual enterprise, through its collaborative interdisciplinary work on campus and off," he says. "The enhancement of the built environment is just one form that this takes. This work has been accomplished through the efforts of committed groups and individuals. The University and the region offer unique assets which strengthen the long-term revitalization project.:
Before assuming the position as ninth dean of the School of Architecture, Robbins was the director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C., where he developed an aggressive program to strengthen the presence of innovative design in the public realm through New Public Works, a program that sponsored numerous national design competitions. He was the curator of architecture at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, and an associate professor in the Knowlton School of Architecture at The Ohio State University from 1990-99.
Notable among his awards are the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome and a fellowship in the visual arts at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. His book "Households," a series of portraits of people and their homes that presents a contemporary visual commentary on the complex social and political forces that contribute to the built environment, was published by The Monacelli Press in 2006.
The School of Architecture currently occupies a 140,000-square-foot warehouse in downtown Syracuse renovated by Gluckman Mayner Architects, soon to be the permanent home of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research and Real Estate created at the school in 2005 as a resource for the city, campus and region to address critical issues of urban revitalization. Numerous design studios have focused on Syracuse and the region, several of which have become projects on the Near Westside -- such as the proposed new WCNY public broadcasting headquarters by Koning Eizenberg Architecture of Santa Monica. Many of these projects were featured in the recent "Syracuse Builds: After the Master Plan" exhibition at The Warehouse, a survey of new building, landscape and infrastructure projects in progress on the SU campus and in the City of Syracuse, including work by Hargreaves and Associates, Scogin Elam, Toshiko Mori, Richard Gluckman and faculty members of the School of Architecture.
UPSTATE recently received $2.5 million as part of the University's debt reinvestment program that will support work for the Syracuse Arts, Technology and Design Quarter, part of the Near Westside Initiative.
01.14.08 Sanin curates S(E)OUL SCAPE exhibition
Associate Professor Francisco Sanin, Coordinator SU Florence School of Architecture, curates S(E)OUL SCAPE: Towards a New Urbanity in Korea
South Korea in the last decades has experienced an unprecedented series of transformations at all levels in society: in the economics, in the culture, and in the politics. More specifically its capital Seoul has
become in the last few years one of the densest urban zones in the world. After a long period of dictatorship and along with an extraordinary process of economic development that characterized the last years, South
Korea opened up to experimentation in all major arts, not least architecture. And architecture is at the center of the exhibition curated by Francisco Sanin, which presents an overview on the research which revolves around that emerging yet configured urban landscape that constitutes this unique city and is continuously engulfing the entire population of the South Korean peninsula.
The S(E)OUL SCAPE. Towards a New Urbanity in Korea exhibition opening will take place on January 24th, 2008 at 7PM in the SESV gallery in Florence. From here the event, made in cooperation with the Municipality
of Florence and the University of Florence, will travel to the main European and international cities, hosted by prestigious galleries and by those institutions which are most sensitive to contemporary architecture.
Six among the most well known Korean architects are the protagonists of this evolution. Their work represents an ongoing research and exploration, a critical view to the processes taking place in this unique context. Chung Guyon, Joh Sung-yong, Kim Young-joon, Min Hyun-sik, Seung H-sang, Yi Jong-ho represent the generation of those who have been able to trigger a debate, an interaction, a research which is aimed at rousing
Korea from a feverish moment of great political turmoil. Their architecture testifies the consequences of this transformation. It ripened over time and is permeated by the several investigations and
relations with the international experience.
The architects featured in the exhibition will present, after an introduction by Francisco Sanin and Pai Hyung-min, the lines of their research during the conference that will take place on January 24th at 4PM in the Salone dei Duecento of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Gianni Biagi, Councillor for Urban Planning at the Municipality of Florence, Raimondo Innocenti, Dean of the School of Architecture in Florence, and Marco Brizzi, curator of the SESV gallery of the University of Florence and director of iMage www.image-web.org will attend.
The S(E)OUL SCAPE. Towards a New Urbanity in Korea exhibition is supplemented by a catalogue (80 pages, full color, in English) released by episode publishers www.episode-publishers.nl.
The exhibition is part of the program of traveling exhibitions produced and organized by iMage.
01.14.08 Dean Robbins to participate in Penn Roundtables
Dean Mark Robbins has been selected as a panelist for a "TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT: Architectural Education" roundtable discussion at the Meyerson Galleries, University of Pennsylvania on January 24, 2008. The discussion point that Robbins will participate in (Roundtable 3) focuses on educating for alternative models of social engagement. The Roundtables will take place from 1 - 7 pm; Roundtable 3 from 5 - 7 pm. The Roundtables will be concurrent with the exhibition "WORK WORK WORK from the Architecture Studios at Penn"
12.17.07 K. Lair invests in eco-design opportunity
The CNY Business Journal (12.14.07) reported that Assistant Professor Kevin Lair recently purchased the former Altmann & Sons Bottling Company building at 307 E. Division Street in Syracuse, NY. Lair plans to renovate the vacant 6,302 square-foot building for live/mixed-use purposes. Purchased for $165,000, Lair plans to refinance through a loan from the Community Preservation Corporation, based in New York City, and seeks "creative resources and collaborators to help make this a model of sustainable, eco-effective practice." Lair says that he came to Syracuse to "teach design and technology at the Syracuse University School of Architecture and to create a new design office in the community." To that end, Lair currently lives on the top floor of the three-story building and plans to use the first two floors for architecture and design space. Lair says he will use the project to look at innovative methods, materials, and environmental-management tools.
11.16.07 Architecture student receives honor
SU London announces 'Journey of Understanding' participants
Four SU London students have been selected to take part in the Encompass Trust "Journey of Understanding" in which they will join young people from the United Kingdom, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Indonesia on a nine-day, cross-cultural retreat in Aberdovey, Wales, Dec. 9-17.
The SU participants are Carolyn Burke, a senior drama major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts; Allison Labanoski, a junior television, radio and film major in the Newhouse School; Nana Ntsakey, a senior philosophy, African American studies, and English and textual studies major in The College of Arts and Sciences; and Joel Patterson, a senior in the School of Architecture.
Encompass Trust was started in memory of Daniel Braden, who was killed in the Bali terrorist bombings of 2002. The charity believes that bringing young people together from around the world and putting them in challenging and exciting environments is an effective way to promote peaceful co-existence between people of different backgrounds, cultures and faiths. The "Journey of Understanding" program combines outdoor activities such as rock climbing, kayaking and hill walking with group discussions. The former help break down initial barriers and develop trust; the latter deal with some of the most basic issues challenging humanity today, such as stereotypes, identity, cultural heritage and ethnic conflict.
Jeremiah Deibler, a senior political science major in The College of Arts and Sciences, took part in the program last February. "What ensued over the week in Wales was a series of dialogues and relationship-building activities that broke barriers across ideological differences," he says. "This program not only gave me the opportunity to meet people from these regions for the first time ever, it really caused me to question my beliefs on the role of the United States in the world."
"Encompass Trust is a great example of what cross-cultural education should strive to achieve: deeply engaging programming that is accessible to students from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines," says SU London Director Peter Leuner. "I'm delighted that this stellar example of Scholarship in Action and community engagement has been fostered through the collaborative efforts of Encompass, SU London and the Syracuse home campus. Students on our SU London Program now have a significant new opportunity to engage with the world through a structured personal journey, and I look forward to hearing their reports on the positive results of this partnership."
11.14.07 Post-Standard features Stenson/Ruff
Read more about the work of Syracuse Architecture faculty Tim Stenson and Scott Ruff and Home HeadQuarters, Inc, as they push for revitalization of Syracuse's Near West Side neighborhood.
11.14.07 Sean Kirst Post-Standard column on media and architecture
Syracuse Post-Standard columnist Sean Kirst is a participant in the 'Writing the City' symposium on November 15. Read more about Kirst's thoughts on 'How choices, good and bad, define a city.'
11.06.07 Czerniak receives Enitiative award
Associate Professor Julia Czerniak is one of 20 professors and practitioners chosen to launch the first "Enitiative" projects - the Syracuse Campus-Community Entrepreneurship Initiative, which connects campus and community organizations by providing entrepreneurship grants to fund ideas for revitalizing Central New York in the areas of technology, neighborhoods, and the arts. The projects were made possible by a $3-million grant awarded to SU from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Each "eProfessor/ePractitioner "partner will serve a 2-year term and receive up to $20,000 to support their Eniative project. As director of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate, Czerniak will guide a group of architectural students to the Netherlands to view some of the world's most progressive models of urban design, and meet the architects, landscape architects, and city officials who created them. In Syracuse, these students will translate this innovative work into the context of the post-industrial American city. By implementing phases of this large-scale project as young architects, these students will be encouraged to begin their professional careers in Syracuse.
10.25.07 Yoder presents at Taliesin
Assistant Professor Jon Yoder presented his research on the architecture of John Lautner as an invited panelist on September 23 at Taliesin, The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture in Spring Green, Wisconsin. As part of the 'Box Weekend Fellows Series', the event explored the work of this former Taliesin apprentice.
10.25.07 Pelken's off-shore windfarm design published
Together with Markus Hermann as energydesignlab, Assistant Professor Michael Pelken's design for America's first off-shore windfarm has been published in 'Meesters en molens: Van Rembrandt tot Mondriaan' (author: Dumas, Charles, Leo Endeduk). The book accompanies a traveling exhibition currently underway in three museums in the Netherlands. Markus Hermann (energydesignlab partner and Assistant Professor at Wuppertal University), and Michael Pelken have also arranged for a teaching exchange between the U.S. and Germany.
10.16.07 Lori Brown drawings in Gallery Aferro exhibit
Associate Professor Lori Brown is exhibiting a series of her drawings from her Politicizing the Female Body project in 'In the Country of Last Refuge' at Gallery Aferro in Newark, New Jersey. The exhibit explores themes of geography, communication and violence. Exhibition runs from October 20 through November 17.
10.15.07 Lonsway to present at annual conference
A chapter from Associate Professor Brian Lonsway's forthcoming book, 'Making Leisure Work: Architecture and the Experience Economy', is being published in the anthology 'The Themed Space: Locating Culture, Nation, and Self.' Lonsway has also been invited to present this chapter (' The Experience of a Lifestyle') at the upcoming American Anthropological Associations's annual conference in Washington, D.C. in December.
09.13.07 Michael Pelken exhibits: Netherlands & UK
Assistant Professor and Center of Excellence Fellow Michael Pelken is part of the traveling exhibition 'Molens van Rembrandt tot Mondrian' at the Bredius Museum, Den Haag/The Hague, Netherlands June 15-September 2 and the Drents Museum, Assen, Netherlands, September 18-December 9, 2007; and the exhibition 'Re-imagining the Beach Hut for the 21st Century' at the National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, UK, June 15-September 2, 2007.
09.12.07 Aaron Sprecher lectures at Gallery Ze in Tel Aviv
Assistant Professor Aaron Sprecher lectured as part of his practice with Open Source Architecture at the Gallery Ze in Tel Aviv, Israel in July and at the international media-art institution Upgrade! in Jerusalem on 08.07. His recent research and projects with O-S-A will be exhibited at Southern Illinois University as part of 'Aesthetia' to open on 09.28.07 He will lecture on the relationship between technology, science, and architecture at the opening symposium.
09.12.07 Rosa commissioned by Tarragon Development
Associate Professor Richard Rosa was commissioned this summer by Manhattan client Tarragon Development to create a set of four oil paintings that will hang permanently in the lobbies of two luxury condominiums under development in Palisades Park, New Jersey.
09.10.07 Jon Yoder completes Thom Mayne interview
Assistant Professor Jon Yoder recently completed an essay titled, 'All That is Solid Melts into Infrastructure' and a videotaped interview with Thom Mayne, which will both be included in the forthcoming multimedia publication, 'Thought Matters II.'
09.10.07 Richard Rosa in Frankfurt exhibition
Young Americans. New Architecture in the USA
27 June - 2 September 2007
Deutsches Architekturmuseum
Schaumainkai 43
60596 Frankfurt
Young architects in the USA - there has not been much talk recently of architecture in the United States. After Peter Eisenman, Richard Meier, Robert Venturi, and Philip Johnson there was nothing for quite some time. The exhibition provides an impression of the new generation of architects in the USA. What has emerged and indeed is still emerging on the side there is remarkable. And what is more: a new trend is surfacing that is characteristic of a new, international architectural scene. The projects selected represent a mirror of the fields of activity of young all-rounders and designers.
In the United States, the country with the world's largest "architecture factories" whose studios market commercialized building worldwide, a young architects' cene has developed. As international in terms of members as it is in activity, they serve a clientele that is looking for something "individual". In this, the reawakened consciousness of American cities, which in their current shape are in need of an urgent makeover if they are to adapt to the requirements of the world in the 21st century, plays a decisive role.
The young architects' treatment of shapes and materials, as well as analogies and relationships with the surroundings is remarkable. As such the spectrum of the projects presented here demonstrates that the call for a unique design expression is beneficial not only in the design of new buildings, but is also in the conversion, extension and expansion of residential buildings, offices and shops, in furniture design just as much as in the development and shaping of outside spaces and artistic objects, even down to the corporate design of a client.
Being a classic immigration country gives the USA a cosmopolitan tradition. The projects showcased here reveal how it is possible, through the encounter of various cultures in a single country, to create precisely the variety that advances, and can thereby preserve, the specific - "one is even tempted to say "traditionalist" in the sense of Johnson. In these young studios' output, the influence of the long-standing architecture schools and history of architecture in the relevant region, as well as that of the context of the building assignment, is clearly visible. As such, the search for a common "style" will remain a futile exercise. Rather, the complex building assignments and highly disparate projects reveal a variety and new desire for discovering the possibilities the current era offers.
The projects showcased are by the following studios:
AB Architects, NY; Bercy Chen Studio, Austin; Christoff:Finio Architecture NY; Dan Hisel Design, Palo Alto; Della Valle + Bernheimer Design, NY; Johnsen Schmaling Architects, Milwaukee; Johnston Marklee & Associates, Santa Monica; Leven Betts Studioa, NY; LTL NY; Lyn Rice Architects, NY; MESH Architecture, NY; Miloby Ideasystem, NY; Miro Rivera Architects, Austin; nARCHITECTS, NY; Obra Rachitects, NY; PLY Architecture, Ann Arrbor; Predock_Frane Architect, NY; Richard Rosa Architect, NY; Roy Co. design, NY; ShoP Architects, NY; Slade Architecture, NY; Stephen Chung Architect, Boston; Studio Atkinson, Palo Alto; Studio Luz Architects, Boston; Terry Boling Architect, Wyoming; WORK Architecture Company, NY
A book entitled Young Americans. Neue Architektur in den USA, edited by Beate Engelhorn and published by DOM Publishers, accompanies the exhibition.
09.10.07 Jonathan Massey lectures at VizCult
On 09.05.07 Associate Professor Jonathan Massey presented his research at VizCult, the Harpur College (Binghamton University) Dean's Workshop on Visual Culture. His lecture was titled ' Building a New Public: Ornament in Modern Architecture.'
09.10.07 Anne Munly designs 'Maps as Stories' exhibit
Associate Professor Anne Munly has designed 'Maps as Stories,' an exhibition of cognitive maps made by Rome's citizens. Munly will provide analysis along with Syracuse University professor Anne Mosher. Exhibit will run 09.13.07 - 10.19.07. Opening Reception: 09.13.07@ 18:00. Place: Rome Historical Society, 200 Church St., Rome, NY 13440; 315-336-5870. Gallery Hours: T-Th 10:00 - 17:00, F 10:00 - 15:00, M by appt. Exhibition and research support: New York Council for the Humanities - State affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Syracuse University Vision Fund, Rome Historical Society, Syracuse University School of Architecture, Syracuse University Department of Geography
08.07.07 Dale Lunan '07 receives Storefront award
Dale Lunan (B. Arch., Syracuse University School of Architecture, 2007) received the Storefront/Control Group award for his 'Virtual Terror Tribunals' project. The competition, held by Storefront for Art and Architecture, is the first in a series of competitions that leverage technology to bring a broader understanding of architectural thinking to the public. Entries were solicited from undergraduate and graduate architecture schools in the Northeast US. Projects were evaluated on their ability to tell a story that everyone can appreciate, allowing the public to better experience the rigor and innovation in the design process. The best projects, selected by a distinguished jury, are currentlyon display thgouth August 25 at Storefront for Art and Architecture, 97 Kenmare Street, in NYC. Details are pending for an online exhibition accessible through Second Life.
07.31.07 Syracuse Architecture to host symposium on the media and architecture
The Syracuse University School of Architecture will host the symposium "UPSTATE: Writing the City" on November 15, 2007 at the Warehouse, its center in downtown Syracuse at 350 West Fayette Street. Leading national journalists and academics will explore the role of the media in shaping public understanding of architecture and urban design in relation to strategies for urban revitalization. At issue is the current state of American urbanism and the relationship between public policy, politics, and the marketplace in determining decisions affecting the civic realm.
The event probes the critical role that the media can play in bridging the gap between public understanding of the design disciplines and specialized knowledge in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design. "The media has often been a catalyst in the debates affecting the development of the U.S. city, both in smaller, weaker markets, such as Syracuse and Cleveland, and in denser or rapid growth regions represented by New York, Los Angeles, and Phoenix," says Mark Robbins, dean of the Syracuse University School of Architecture.
The symposium will feature brief presentations by the speakers followed by moderated discussions, and includes a reception at the end of the afternoon. It coincides with the exhibition "Syracuse Builds," a survey of a dozen new building, landscape, and infrastructure projects currently in progress in the city of Syracuse and on the campus of Syracuse University.
Participants: Janet Abrams, University of Minnesota Design Institute; Robert Campbell, The Boston Globe; Dana Cuff, UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design; Julia Czerniak, UPSTATE: at the Syracuse University School of Architecture; Nan Ellin, Arizona State University School of Public Affairs; Alex Frangos, The Wall Street Journal; Christopher Hawthorne, The Los Angeles Times; Julie Iovine, The Architect's Newspaper and The New York Times; Johanna Keller, Goldring Arts Journalism Program, Newhouse School of Public Communications; Sean Kirst, The Post-Standard; Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer; Jonathan Massey, Syracuse University School of Architecture; Mark Robbins, Syracuse University School of Architecture; David Rubin, Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications.
"Writing the City" is a program of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate at the Syracuse University School of Architecture and is organized with the Goldring Arts Journalism Program at the Newhouse School of Public Communications. UPSTATE:'s mission is to engage innovative design and development practices, addressing critical issues of urban revitalization. "The Architect's Newspaper" is the media sponsor. This event, which is free and open to the public, has received generous funding support from The Gifford Foundation.
07.31.07 Houses of the Hamptons, co-authored by Anne Surchin, B.Arch 1979, released
Houses of the Hamptons 1880-1930, co-authored by Anne Surchin and Gary Lawrence, has been published by Acanthus Press.
07.26.07 Aaron Sprecher I-grid on display on Sunset Boulevard
Assistant Professor Aaron Sprecher is co-founder and partner of Open Source Architecture. I-grid is a design research performance currently on display at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Olive Drive in West Hollywood. Its computed protocol suggests the transformation of an existing billboard into manifold morphologies. Initially based on an incremental grid, an evolutionary algorithm produces a series of iterated mutations that index the intensive computing system. The 50-foot high I-grid expresses the notion of instability inherent to its info-engineered nature in constant mutation. Sprecher will present a lecture on n-coding realities on August 7th at 7:30 p.m.
07.26.07 New Undergraduate Program Chair at Syracuse Architecture
Associate Professor Jonathan Massey has been named Undergraduate Program Chair at Syracuse University School of Architecture. Massey teaches courses in the history and theory of American architecture and urbanism. Since joining the Syracuse Architecture faculty in 2001, Massey has organized the architecture lecture series, chaired departmental and university committees, and worked with colleagues in other academic divisions to establish a new interdisciplinary program in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies. In 2004 he received a Meredith Teaching Recognition Award.
Massey holds bachelor of arts and doctoral degrees from Princeton University and a master of architecture degree from U.C.L.A. Prior to joining the faculty, Massey worked at Dagmar Richter and Frank O. Gehry & Associates and taught at Woodbury University, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and Barnard College. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture.
"Jonathan brings a high level of rigorous scholarship and dedication to students' academic development to his role as chair," says Mark Robbins, dean of the School of Architecture. "We look forward to his contributions in the evolution of the undergraduate program and the School."
"I'm honored to take on this new role," says Massey, "and committed to developing collaborative partnerships as the School embraces new challenges and opportunities for growth."
Massey's research examines the ways architecture mediates power by giving form to civil society, shaping social relationships, and regulating consumption. His work also considers the ways architects and clients use sustainable design to negotiate the processes of globalization and liberalization. Published articles have focused on architecture and political reform; ornament and sumptuary regulation; and the design practice of Buckminster Fuller. "Crystal & Arabesque: Claude Bragdon's Progressive Architecture," Massey's forthcoming book from Pittsburgh University Press, will be released in 2008.
05.15.07 Warehouse receives 2007 AIA/SCUP Honor Award
The Warehouse, designed by Gluckman Mayner Architects, has been selected to receive a 2007 Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture. This juried competition is a joint effort between the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) and the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education. The competition recognizes state-of-the-art planning and emphasizes excellence in higher-education environments and settings and its physical manifestations. Entries must emphasize not only the quality of the physical environment, but also the comprehensiveness and inclusiveness of the planning process. Evidence of comprehensive campus planning that is collaborative - involving planning professionals, campus planners, administrators, faculty, and many stakeholder constituencies - is required. Significance emphasis is placed on the recognized value of the planning by the institution, as demonstrated by its implementation process. The Honor Award is the highest award, followed by Merit Awards, Special Citations, and Honorable Mentions.
UPSTATE: Director Named
Julia Czerniak, an associate professor in the School of Architecture and co-founder of the design firm CLEAR, has been named the director of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research, and Real Estate at the Syracuse University School of Architecture. UPSTATE: is a design research and advocacy organization housed within the School of Architecture at Syracuse University. The mission of this center, since its inception in 2005, is to engage innovative design and development practices, addressing critical issues of urban revitalization in the city of Syracuse and the upstate region.
Czerniak is a registered landscape architect and founder and principal of CLEAR. The firm, in collaboration with Field Operations, is part of the winning design team for the Syracuse Connective Corridor competition. She is an associate professor at Syracuse University School of Architecture teaching architectural studios as well as seminars on landscape theory and criticism. Educated as an architect (Princeton University, M. Arch 1992) and landscape architect (Pennsylvania State University, BA 1984), her research and practice focus on the intersection of these disciplines. Czerniak is the editor of two books, "Large Parks" (Princeton Architectural Press, 2007) and "Case: Downsview Park Toronto" (Prestel and Harvard Design School, 2001), that focus on contemporary design approaches to public parks. Essays include 'Fertilizer: Eisenman Olin' (Institute for Contemporary Art, 2006) and 'Landscape Urbanism,' Charles Waldheim, ed. (Princeton Architectural Press, 2006).
"Czerniak brings together an acute eye and sensitivity to urban design architecture and landscape architecture," says Mark Robbins, dean of the School of Architecture. "Her work as a designer and theoretician of the environment epitomizes the potential impact of architecture and design in our culture. Under her leadership, UPSTATE: promises to be become an active center for innovative strategies for our campus, city, and the region."
"I am delighted, both as a faculty member at the School of Architecture and a resident of Syracuse, to be part of the center and its important work," says Czerniak, "I look forward to working with a wide range of partners from the public and private sectors in achieving UPSTATE:'s mission and providing opportunities for the revitalization of upstate New York."
The Community Design Center, which has worked on a variety of projects that engage the community with the School of Architecture and Syracuse University, will continue its fine work under the auspices of UPSTATE:. Notable past projects, under the direction of associate professor Elizabeth Kamell, include proposals for housing on the city's Southside and design studies envisioning the removal of I-81 from the center of Syracuse.
Recent initiatives at the School of Architecture under the umbrella of UPSTATE: have focused on the redevelopment of downtown Syracuse. The Pioneer Studio, taught by visiting architect Lindy Roy with associate professor Ted Brown and sponsored by Michael P. Falcone and the Pioneer Companies, developed design ideas for two sites adjacent to the Warehouse in Armory Square. The Seinfeld Studio, sponsored by University trustee Judy Seinfeld, is developing ideas for artists' relocation housing and retail on the Near West side of Syracuse under the guidance of visiting critic Julie Eizenberg and Czerniak. Future projects at the Center will focus on the neighborhoods adjacent to downtown as well as suburban commercial and residential development in the effort to create sustainable, economically viable models for growth.
An important goal for the Center is to bring intellectual and marketing capital to the city and region. As part of this effort, UPSTATE: has hosted two symposia: UPSTATE: downtown, held in April 2005, highlighting strategies employed by other cities around the country that have grappled with the seemingly intractable issue of reviving their downtown core and UPSTATE: Public-Private in November 2006 which brought together leading design professionals, real estate developers, civic leaders, and scholars to show how market forces and government policies can collaborate to catalyze economic growth, build social capital, and generate innovative design for America's cities.
Czerniak will assume the director position in the spring semester of 2008 following a research leave in fall 2007 during which she will work on projects as part of CLEAR, including the artNET Public Art Landscape Design Competition in Toledo, the Charm Bracelet Competition in Pittsburgh, as well as the Connective Corridor project in Syracuse.
Study Abroad in China this Summer
Are you interested in studying China's provocative architecture and design? This Summer our five-week program 'Architecture and Urbanism in China' takes you to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, and engages you directly with design and architectural issues. Join Professors Susan Henderson and Mary Anne Ocampo as you learn how questions of transportation, movement, public spaces, and housing have been answered in these cities. While this program is designed primarily for architecture majors, students in other disciplines are encouraged to apply. Applications are due on March 15, 2007. The program description is available at SU Abroad or you can contact Professor Henderson directly at srhender@syr.edu. Download poster (4 mb pdf).
Alumni firm recognized
Craig Scott's (B.Arch. '86) practice, IwamotoScott Architecture, is one of five finalists in the eighth annual MoMA/PS1 Young Architects Program, an invited design competition resulting in a building project in the PS1 courtyard that hosts the summer-long Warm Up concert series. 'The objective of the Young Architects Program is to identify and provide an outlet for emerging young talent in architecture, an ongoing mission of both MoMA and P.S.1'.
Along with his partner Lisa Iwamoto, Scott has received the Emerging Voices award from the Architectural League of New York, and will lecture on March 16th at the Urban Center in New York, as part of the 25th year of this annual lecture series program, 'created to recognize and encourage architects who are beginning to achieve prominence in the profession'.
The Jellyfish House project, by IwamotoScott with proces2, is part of the exhibition, O! pen House: Architecture and Technology for Intelligent Living, curated by the Vitra Design Museum and Art Center College of Design. The exhibition opened at Zollverein, Germany last August as part of Entry 2006, and will be opening this April at Art Center in Pasadena, then travelling to the Vitra Design Museum at the end of this year.
The Jellyfish House project will also be included in the exhibition, California College of the Arts at 100: Innovation By Design, opening at SFMOMA in March 2007.
Professor to lecture at ACSA Conference
Aaron Sprecher will lecture on LIFELab Syracuse, a technological research project developed with 1st year graduate students, at the ACSA conference 'Design Research' on March 10th in Philadelphia. Professor Sprecher will also lecture at Open Source Architecture (OSA) at the University of Pennsylvania on March 12th.
Professor selected to exhibit at the 209/9 Gallery.
Syracuse University professor Scott Ruff has been selected to participate in Drawn In, an exhibition celebrating the works of Architects of African descent at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. The exhibiton will run from January 26th, 2007 through April 28th, 2007.
School of Architecture Students Featured at A.I.A.
The works of Nartano Lim (M.Arch); Arthur Chukhman (B.Arch); Milo Bonacci (B.Arch); and Bruce Molino (B.Arch) were featured by the A.I.A. NY Chapter in an exhibition entitled, 'Arch-Schools-Public View(ing),' which ran through December, 2006.
Warehouse Receives Construction Honor
The Warehouse building received Best of 2006 honor from New York Construction magazine. New York City firm Glickman Mayner Architects in partnership with VIP Structures of Syracuse conducted the estimated $9 million building renovation, which was selected as the best higher education project in the tri-state area earlier this year. SU, Gluckman Mayner Architects and VIP Structures will be honored for their contribution to The Warehouse development at an annual awards ceremony Friday, December 15th at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in Manhattan. Please click the following link to read the full article.
Gen[H]ome Project Exhibit at the MAK Center
The Gen[H]ome Project Exhibit, which opened at the MAK Center in West Hollywood, Oct. 29th, 2006, explores the merging of modern technological developments, natural sciences (emphasizing genetics), and architecture. With a publication and podcast from Syracuse University Architecture professors Aaron Sprecher and Graduate Chair Mark Linder, the exhibit includes some of the works of first year SU architecture graduate students from a seminar jointly taught by Sprecher and Linder in the Spring, 2006. Funded in part by the Syracuse Center of Excellence, the Gen[H]ome exhibit is curated by Open Source Architecture (OSA), of which Sprecher is a Partner, and MAK Center director Kimberli Meyer. Sprecher moderated one of the two panel discussions for the opening reception on Sunday, Oct. 29th. Visit the Gen[H]ome Project Exhibit for further details.
Professor Featured in Syracuse University Magazine
Professor Mary Anne Ocampo was featured in "Navigating the Architecture of Manila," in the current edition of Syracuse University Magazine, winter, 2006-07. The article illuminates Professor Ocampo's recent studies on the influence of Spanish colonialism and the connection between urbanism and architecture in the city of Manila. To read the full article please click here.
Professor exhibits at Community Folk Art Center
Architecture professor Scott Ruff's design exhibit 'African-American Constructs,' continues through November 30th at the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC), 805 E. Genesse St. The exhibit, which opened with an artist reception on Saturday, Oct. 7th, and included a gallery talk on Saturday Oct. 28th, includes a design series inspired by Kente cloth, and designs for a possible underground railroad memorial site. Exhibit curator Gina Stankivitz explained that the CFAC recently relocated, and that "Mr. Ruff was instrumental in some of the design work for this new building." Ruff holds bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture from Cornell University; and is the 1992 recipient of the Alpha Rho Medal for leadership and service. The principal of Ruff Works Studio, founded in 2003, Ruff specializes in the research and cultivation of African-American aesthetics in spatial design.
Professor exhibits at Municipal Art Society
Architecture professor Martin Hogue's exhibit '[Fake] Fake Estates: Revisiting Gordon Matta-Clark's Fake Estates,' will be on view, Wednesday, Nov. 15th through Jan. 10th at the Municipal Art Society, (Madison Avenue and 51st street in New York). An opening reception and gallery talk are scheduled for November 15th. The exhibit continues at the Univesity of Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning's Dyett Gallery until Nov. 10th. It is slated to be on display at Ohio State University from Jan. 15th through March 2nd. Hogue's site research was supported with residencies at the MacDowell Colony (2005) and the Center for Land Use Interpretation (2006). In 2004, he was appointed Hyde Chair in Excellence at the University of Nebraska. He is a licensed architect in the province of Quebec.
School hosts symposium on urban revitalization
Syracuse University's School of Architecture and Martin J. Whitman School of Management will host 'UPSTATE: Public-Private,' a symposium on urban revitalization, Wednesday, Nov. 8, beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the main auditorium of the Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St. A reception will follow. The symposium and reception are free and open to the public.
'UPSTATE: Public-Private' will explore the roles of private developers and public agencies in urban revitalization. The symposium brings together leading design professionals, real estate developers, civic leaders and scholars to show how market forces and government policies can collaborate to catalyze economic growth, build social capital, and generate innovative design for America's cities.
'This symposium represents the best aspects of collaboration within the University. It will result in the exposure of architecture and design students to the marketplace and business students to architecture and design,' says School of Architecture Dean Mark Robbins.
Download the Public-Private programhere (4 mb pdf).
Architecture professor part of winning design team
Julia Czerniak, Associate Professor at Syracuse University's School of Architecture and founder and principal of CLEAR with Mark Linder, was recently chosen as part of the winning design team along with Field Operations to develop the Syracuse Connective Corridor project. Chancellor Nancy Cantor envisoned the cultural pathway as a means to connect the university with art institutions, entertainment establishments, and public centers in the greater downtown Syracuse area.
'The Corridor is an unprecedented collaborative effort that is bringing together Syracuse's public, private, community and business sectors to strengthen the community, connect residents with our cultural venues, and promote further economic development,' says Cantor.
The selection of CLEAR, in collaboration with the New York landscape firm Field Operations, is the result of a National Grid-sponsored design competition that began in March when Cantor and Syracuse Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll named the selection committee.
Czerniak also won the artNET Public Art Landscape Design Competition in Toledo in spring 2006 and was a finalist in the Charm Bracelet Competition in Pittsburgh.
Pioneer Studio provides real world challenge
A developer seeking innovative design ideas for a 70-million dollar project in Syracuse's Armory Square is sponsoring a new class at the School of Architecture. Michael P. Falcone, chief executive officer of The Pioneer Companies, has purchased two parking lots and plans to create buildings that will include housing, retail and office space. Students in the semester-long "Pioneer Studio" will create designs for the space, under the guidance of Manhattan architect Lindy Roy and School of Architecture Professor Ted Brown, who will co-teach the course. Falcone hopes to use one or more of the ideas in developing the area. Roy is the founder of ROY co., whose major projects include the headquarters for Vitra USA, Andre Balazs's Hotel QT, an extreme heli-ski hotel in Alaska, the Okavango Delta Spa in Botswana, and High Line 519, an 11-story condo building in Manhattan.Brown, a past winner of the Rome Prize in Architecture, has lectured in the U.S. and Italy, where he has served as the director of Syracuse University Architecture Programs. He was a design consultant for the architectural firm Ashley/McGraw on public projects including the recently completed Onondaga County Court House in Syracuse.
Gluckman Honored with Arents Award
Richard Gluckman G'71 has been awarded the George Arents Pioneer Medal, the highest alumni honor that Syracuse University University bestows. The award is named for George Arents, former chairman of the SU Board of Trustees. In 1939, Arents endowed a fund to provide for the medals to be awarded annually. Alumni of the University are eligible for the award based on excellence in their field of endeavor. Recipients of the award are selected by the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Gluckman will be honored with a dinner and reception on New York City on October 10. For more information on the Arents Medals and the Arents Award Dinner, call the Office of Alumni Relations Office at 315-443-3516 or 800-SUALUMS (782-5867), or email sualumni@syr.edu.
School Welcomes Class of 2011
The Class of 2011, the first class to begin their studies at the Warehouse, participated in an architectural walk through the city of Syracuse lead by the faculty and Dean Mark Robbins. The tour ended with a picnic at the Everson Museum Plaza.
Syracuse Architecture Introduces London Program
Syracuse University Abroad announced today the introduction of a studio-based architecture program at the Syracuse University London Program (SULP) in Bloomsbury. The new program will be modeled after the prestigious and long-established architecture program located at the Syracuse University Florence (SUF) center. The program is designed for Syracuse University students from either a bachelor's or master's first-professional degree architecture.
SU was encouraged to create the London Architecture program due to the continued growth it has experienced within its Florence program. The new London Center offering will take advantage of the professional, historical and cultural resources that abound in London specifically, and Europe in general. It will also provide opportunities for collaboration with British schools of architecture as well as with the SU Florence center. Lecturers, visiting critics and exhibitions will be exchanged, and joint symposia will be organized. According to Professor Randall Korman, Associate Dean and coordinator of the School of Architecture's study abroad programs 'the new London Architecture Program will serve as a portal to northern Europe as the Florence Architecture Program has served as a gateway to the Mediterranean. With these two programs operating in tandem, our students will have access to an unprecedented range of experiences.'
Lastly, the expansion will accommodate the application of more non-Su students, allowing for a more rich and diverse learning experience for all participants.
The new London program will debut in Spring 2007.