Auburn University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture’s (APLA) Urban Studio interim director Alex Krumdieck, and Prof. John Pittari, have been working with twelve students to develop urban design plans for the “innovation district” downtown, which includes part of the Birmingham civil rights district. A team from the Rose Center for Public Leadership, also considering a development project in the civil rights district, visited the Urban Studio to review student work.  The Rose Center team included some of the student projects in their presentation to Birmingham’s mayor and credited Urban Studio and the students – publically recognizing the studio as a valuable asset for the City of Birmingham.

Rural Studio’s 20K House is having a moment. Rural Studio has had the opportunity to field test the 20K House plan with real world constraints of codes, financing, and construction methods. The highly successful outcome is two 20K houses that have been built as artists’ residences in Serenbe, a luxury sustainable living community outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The project is garnering a lot of attention locally and around the world: 

Digital Trends  I  Elle Netherlands   I   Brisbane Times   I   Azure Magazine, Toronto   I   Builder Online  I   Trend Hunter   I  The Age, Australia   I  This Is Money, UK   I   Q Daily, China  I  OkeZone, Jukarta   I   Pro Builder  I  Yellow Hammer  I   Ontario Assoc. of Architects  I   FastCo   I   House Beautiful   I  Nehnutelnosti   I  AL.com  I  Inhabitat  I   BeltLandia  I  Atlanta Magazine  I  ArtsATL

APLA Third Year architecture student Sarah Curry was recently profiled as an “Auburn Youth Program Success Story.” She was first introduced to Auburn’s Architecture program in high school when she attended Auburn University’s Youth Programs Architecture Camp.

The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) has awarded Associate Professor and Chair of the Graduate in Landscape Architecture Program, Charlene LeBleu, FASLA, AICP, the designation of “LAF Research Fellow.” LeBleu is one of six faculty chosen nationally for this honor.  LeBleu will work with LAF’s Case Study Investigation (CSI) program to document and test the landscape performance of three Alabama landscapes, and record them in to the nationally case study data-base. The projects are Fairview Environmental Park, Montgomery, AL / Design Firm: 2D Studio, Judd Langham, Auburn, AL;

Samford Park at Toomer’s Corner Landscape, Auburn, AL / Design Firm: HNP Landscape Architecture, Tommy Holcomb, Birmingham, AL; Railroad Park, Birmingham, AL / Design Firm: Tom Leader Studio, Emily Leader, Berkeley, CA

Prof. Tarik Orgen, Program Director of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture’s (APLA) International Studies Program in Istanbul, was recently inducted into Auburn University’s Global Teaching Academy, a University program that recognizes and celebrates selected members for exceptional teaching in an international context.

Auburn Alumni, Al York, FAIA, BARCH ’88, and Principal of Austin, Texas-based McKinney York Architects, has been elevated to the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).