GSD News Archive: January 2008
GSD Alumni Co-author Prize-winning Book on Buenos Aires, Argentina Federico Bares, MAUD ’95; Nicolas Bares, MAUD ’87; and Daniel Becker, MArch ’92 co-authored Proyecto Centro Cultural del Bicentenario, about the transformation of the ancient Post and Telegraphs Palace of Buenos Aires, Argentina as a new cultural center that will be the main site of the Bicentenary of Argentina. The Argentinean government awarded the project first prize in an international competition in 2006. |
Post-Katrina Alumni Planning and Design Conference Highlights GSD Projects; Draws New Orleans Planners, Civic Leaders
Planners, architects, civic leaders, design students, alumni and faculty gathered in late January at Tulane University to discuss the most recent post-Katrina projects on the boards and to celebrate the design and research work of GSD alumni in New Orleans. Titled “Rebuilding after Katrina—Creating New Benchmarks in Planning and Design,” the conference sparked lively discussion from an enthusiastic audience. Kicking off the two-day event, an architectural tour of New Orleans was followed by a welcoming reception with GSD Dean Mohsen Mostafavi and hosted by Douglas Mefert, LF ’08, and Lee Ledbetter, and co-sponsored by the Loeb Fellowship Program. Opening the next day’s session, Dean Mohsen Mostafavi offered greetings followed by an introduction by Scott Bernhard, Interim Dean of the School of Architecture at Tulane University which hosted the symposium. Presentations focused on large scale projects: “Reverse Engineering the City: Micro+Macro;” “Reinventing the Crescent”; and “Urban Fields, Networks, and Topographics”) followed by a panel discussion that included GSD faculty and alumni. The afternoon session was devoted to small scale projects and included presentations on “Planning for Downtown New Orleans: Preservation and Innovation” and “In Search of Higher Ground,” followed by a panel discussion. GSD alumni and faculty presenters and panelists included Thom Mayne, MArch ’78; George Hargreaves, MLA ’79, Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture; Alex Krieger, MCUP ’77, Professor in Practice of Urban Design; Felipe Correa, Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design; Ila Berman, MDesS ’91, DDes ’93; Collette Creppel, MArch ’90; David Dixon, MAUD ’74; Byron Mouton, MArch ’96; Nils Gore MArch ’93; Rob Corser, MDesS ’03; Coleman Coker, LF ’94; Grover Mouton, MArch ’74; and Clifton James, MArch ’69. New Orleans planners and civic leaders participating in the conference included Sean Cummings, Executive Director of the New Orleans Building Corp.; and Dubravka Gilic, Manager of Strategic Planning for the New Orleans Office of Recovery Management; For a complete program and list of presenters/panelists, visit http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/inside/dev_alumni/Events/nola.html The conference was organized by Collette Creppell, MArch ’90, Planner for Tulane University; Byron Mouton, MArch ’96, Tulane University; Doug Meffert, LF ’08; Edna Van Saun, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations; and Professor Alex Krieger. Photo Credits: JoAnn Carney
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Can designers help slum-dwellers?
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design is launching complementary and coordinated activities that study squatter settlements in major Latin American cities and that offer ideas for improving the quality of life in them through physical interventions. The exhibition, Dirty Work: Transforming the Landscape of Non-Formal Cities in the Americas, will be on view through March 16, 2008 in Gund Hall Gallery at 48 Quincy Street. Curated by Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture John Beardsley and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Christian Werthmann, Dirty Work examines strategies being developed across Latin America for improving conditions in the continent’s favelas and barrios. Proposals range from large-scale upgrades to transportation and sanitary infrastructure to small-scale “acupunctural” insertions of stairs, bridges, and recreation facilities. Specific projects highlight different approaches in cities throughout the region. Examples include: upgrades to transportation infrastructure in Bogotá and public space in Buenos Aires; the “urban acupuncture” of Urban-Think Tank in Caracas; improvements to drinking water and floodwater control in São Paolo; the famous and widely-copied "Favela-Barrio" program in Rio de Janeiro; and the cross-border investigations of Estudio Teddy Cruz in Tijuana/San Diego. The exhibition explores the relationship between social ethics and creativity in design culture; it advances the hopeful thesis that impoverished contexts do not have to result in a poverty of imagination. To celebrate the formal opening of the exhibition, noted journalist Robert Neuwirth, author of Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World, gave a public lecture on January 30 in Piper Auditorium. In its March issue, Harvard Design Magazine will devote its entire feature section to how design can improve lives in these non-formal cities. Beardsley is co-editor of this section; and Beardsley and Werthmann have contributed several articles. The exhibition and lecture are sponsored by the GSD’s Department of Landscape Architecture and are open to the public. Related articles: |
GSD Alumni Lead 2008 AIA Young Architects Awards Four GSD graduates were among the ten recipients of the the 2008 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Young Architects Award. Young Architects are defined as professionals who have been licensed 10 years or fewer regardless of their age. This award honors individuals who have shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession early in their careers. The Young Architects Award will be presented to the recipients at the AIA 2008 National Convention and Design Exposition in Boston in May. The Boston Society of Architects (BSA) nominated five of the 10 recipients. The GSD alumni award-winners are Victoria Beach, AIA (MArch ’93), David Gamble, AIA, LEED-AP (MAUD ’97), Samuel Lasky, AIA (MArch ’97), and Robert Pasersky, AIA ( MArch ’99).
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Recent GSD Faculty Appointments Christian Werthmann, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, will assume the role of Director of the Master in Landscape Architecture Degree Programs, commencing 28 January 2008. Christian has been teaching at the GSD since 2004 and was recently promoted to associate professor. K. Michael Hays and Antoine Picon have been appointed Co-Chairs of the FAS/GSD PhD Committee and of the DDes Program Committee for the 2008-2009 academic year. Antoine has served as chair of the committees since 2005, and Michael again assumes a leadership role with the PhD program. |
Firm of GSD Adjunct Professor of Architecture and Urban Design Andrea Leers FAIA Dedicates Three New Projects
Leers Weinzapfel Associates, the firm of GSD adjunct professor of architecture and urban design Andrea Leers FAIA, recently dedicated three new projects--the Orlando Federal Courthouse, including a public garden and plaza by Dan Kiley, and stained glass windows by the New York artist Al Held; the Global Education Center at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, gathering all international studies, international student center, and Study Abroad programs under one roof; and the New College Theatre at Harvard University (formerly the Hasty Pudding), a mainstage for 285 seats, a black box/rehearsal hall, support spaces for the theatres, classrooms and student offices. The firm was recently selected to design a new 10-courtroom Superior Courthouse for Madera County, California with SMWM in San Francisco. Andrea Leers was a panelist for the 6th Annual Architectural Roundtable in Toronto, the keynote speaker for the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice's International Conference on Courthouse Design in Brooklyn, and presented the work of the firm at Iowa State University College of Design, and AIA East Bay/ UCBerkeley. image: U.S. District Courthouse, Orlando, FL. ©Peter Aaron/Esto |
Planetizen names Prof. Richard Peiser Book New and Noteworthy
Regenerating Older Suburbs is a solutions-based examination of aging suburbs that uses case studies to outline the history and future of these significant and popular areas. By looking at 10 different inner-ring suburbs, this book presents the gamut of developmental stages. Each community’s attempts to revitalize itself offers examples of successful strategies that have help bring about or attract broad redevelopment projects. The Planetizen editorial staff based its 2008 edition list on a number of criteria, including editorial reviews, sales rankings, popularity, Planetizen reader nominations, number of references, recommendations from experts and the book's potential impact on the urban planning, development and design professions. Planetizen is a public-interest information exchange provided by Urban Insight for the urban planning, design, and development community. It is a one-stop source for urban planning news, commentary, interviews, event coverage, book reviews, announcements, jobs, consultant listings, training, and more. |
Connecting The City And The River: Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, the Firm of Professor Alex Krieger, Presents Winning Scheme For The Water Front Of Shanghai’s Bund
In May 2007, the planning agencies in the City of Shanghai launched an international competition for the design of the Bund waterfront on the Huangpu River, anticipated to be completed in time for the 2010 International EXPO in Shanghai. Ten firms from countries including the United States, China, Germany, and Australia were invited to produce a master plan for the redevelopment of the historic waterfront. In the second phase of the competition, four firms were asked to further develop their ideas. Of these four finalists the proposal by Chan Krieger Sieniewicz (CKS), the firm of Professor in Practice of Urban Design Alex Krieger, MCPUD ’77, was selected first by the jury. Along with Krieger, the CKS design team included Liang Zhao, DDes ’06, David Gamble, MAUD ’97, Andrew Hartness, MAUD ’07, Krystle Harriman, MAUD ’07, Alan Mountjoy, MAUD ’96, Jennifer Lee, March ’00, and R. Gant Jones, MAUD ’06. Klopfer Martin Design Group and Beijing Urbanscape Co. contributed to the winning design. Visit Alex Krieger's GSD profile [image: Connecting the City and the River: Chan Krieger Sieniewicz Presents Winning Scheme for Shanghai’s Historic Bund Waterfront. Chan Krieger Sieniewicz] |
Office dA and Himma Architecture Studio Awarded 2008 Progressive Architecture Award Office dA, the firm of Professor of Architecture Monica Ponce de Leon, and Himma Architecture Studio were awarded a 2008 P/A Award for the Obzee Fashion Headquarters in Seoul, Korea. The 55th Annual P/A Awards, hosted by Hanley Wood, publisher of the new ARCHITECT magazine and ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING, were held on January 17 at the Center for Architecture in New York City. [Architect Magazine, Jan 1, 2008] |
