The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture is canceling its planned Category 1: Humanitarian Refugee (Detention) Center student design competition, and will replace the program with a new building category for the spring semester. The competition program has received justified_ criticism, and while the organization is committed to engaging important issues in our society, we _regret our decision to publish the category. “Our partnership with AISC over the last 18 years has sought to encourage as many students as possible to work with steel,” said Michael Monti, ACSA Executive Director. “Our programs aim to be challenging and topical to offer important educational experiences for students to develop their design skills within the scope of our core values.”_ _ The competition also includes an Open category, which will continue. A new building category will be announced in coming weeks for the spring semester.
As noted in this article by the Wall Street Journal, schools across the country are seeing a decline in the number of liberal arts degrees awarded. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows only a 6% increase in the number of students completing degrees in the liberal arts and humanities over a 10 year time span (2005-2015). Comparatively, that same data shows more than twice as many students are completing degrees in the areas of homeland security, parks and recreation, and the health professions. As a point of interest, the graphic above adds architecture in the context of the other disciplines. While architecture fares better than the liberal arts when assessed by number of degrees awarded, it shows a slight decline in recent years and does not have the same positive trajectory as engineering and mathematics. If the number of degrees awarded is going to keep up with the future demand of architects needed in the U.S., architecture will have to look within the curriculum and find ways to emphasize research and technology to remain competitive with other disciplines.
PRATT INSTITUTE SELECTS FRANCES BRONET AS THE COLLEGE’S 12TH PRESIDENT
Frances Bronet, senior vice president and provost at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and a distinguished educator at the forefront of interdisciplinary curricula and collaboration, has been selected as the 12th president of Pratt Institute, announced Bruce Gitlin, Chair of the Institute’s Board of Trustees and Co-Chair of the Presidential Search Committee, on October 12, 2017. She will be the first woman president to lead Pratt Institute, one of the world’s most renowned art and design colleges.
Ms. Bronet will begin her tenure on January 2, 2018, and will succeed President Thomas F. Schutte who stepped down on June 30, 2017, after more than two decades of transformational leadership. Pratt Institute Provost Kirk E. Pillow began serving as the interim president on July 1, 2017.
“I am honored to have been chosen as the 12th president of Pratt Institute,” said Ms. Bronet. “During the years ahead, I will work closely with the faculty, administration, students, the local and global communities, and the trustees to ensure that Pratt continues to build upon its notable past achievements and realizes all of its creative potential for the future. This is a key moment for art and design education to critically address the complex challenges around us.”
The search for Pratt’s new president was led by a 16-member Presidential Search Committee representing all of Pratt’s constituencies, including board members, alumni, academic and administrative leaders, faculty, and students. The Committee was co-chaired by Board Chair Gitlin and Mike Pratt, Vice Chair of the Pratt Board of Trustees. Following the Committee’s review of more than 200 candidates, the Pratt Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Ms. Bronet as president of the Institute.
“Frances Bronet is a dynamic and innovative leader, and all of us at Pratt are thrilled to have her assume responsibility for the Institute’s direction,” said Board Chair Gitlin. “Her passion and commitment to education shine through in her exceptional contributions throughout her career as a scholar, teacher, collaborator, and forward-thinking administrator. Ms. Bronet is dedicated to excellence and innovation, the exact characteristics that Pratt needs in its next president. The entire community looks forward to working closely with Ms. Bronet to further Pratt’s mission.”
Board Chair Gitlin also praised the members of the Presidential Search Committee for their hard work and dedication to ensuring that Pratt will have the right leader for the Institute’s ongoing growth and success. “The Committee received very thoughtful suggestions from more than 400 members of the community about the skill set and traits the next president of Pratt should have,” said Board Chair Gitlin. “Ms. Bronet has the perfect mix of those qualities.”
A dedicated educator in the fields of architecture and engineering, Ms. Bronet has served since August 2015, as senior vice president and provost at IIT. IIT is a technology-focused, PhD-granting research university in Chicago. IIT enrolls more than 7,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Prior to her arrival at IIT, she was the acting provost at the University of Oregon, a public flagship research university, which enrolls approximately 25,000 students and offers more than 300 degree and certificate programs. From 2005 until 2014, she served as dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon. Before that, Ms. Bronet was the acting dean and the associate dean of Architecture of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she began her career as a professor in 1985.
A noted academician and thought leader on the pedagogical and social challenges facing art and design education, Ms. Bronet is past president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), as well as past chancellor and vice chancellor for the ACSA College of Distinguished Professors. She is the co-founder of the ACSA Women’s Leadership Council and was selected an ACSA Distinguished Professor. Ms. Bronet was named one of the most admired educators by DesignIntelligence in 2011 and 2014. Her additional honors include the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching New York Professor of the Year and the William H. Wiley Distinguished Professor Award for excellence in teaching, research, service, and contributions to the university and the community.
For more than two decades, Ms. Bronet has been developing and publishing work on multidisciplinary design curricula connecting architecture, engineering, science, technology and society (humanities and social sciences), dance, and electronic arts. She has received extensive funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Endowment for the Humanities/Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (NEH/FIPSE) for work on new pedagogical models using design for technical and/or interdisciplinary learning as well as interactive environments. Her recent collaborations, from the professional to the institutional, span a range of installation projects, video works, course and curriculum development, building new programs, facilities, and campuses.
Ms. Bronet holds undergraduate degrees in architecture and engineering from McGill University and a Master of Science degree in architectural design from Columbia University. Ms. Bronet was licensed by the Ordre des Architectes du Quebec and has practiced in Canada and New York, including her own practice, in Montreal.
According to Board Vice Chair Pratt, “Frances Bronet’s achievements at IIT, the University of Oregon, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are a perfect prelude to her service to Pratt. We are excited about her highly successful track record inspiring donors and raising funds, building community and teams, her ability to attract funding for research, and her extensive experience in implementing strategic long-range plans. She brings visionary thinking, a collaborative style, and a commitment to higher education’s responsibility to link critical thinking with cultural, physical, and social enterprise. Ms. Bronet’s enthusiasm and creativity will enable her to develop deep relationships with Pratt faculty and students to spur innovation.”
For more information about President-elect Frances Bronet and the presidential search process, please visit the presidential search section on pratt.edu.
You may have heard our recent announcement that SlideRoom is now a part of Liaison, the software company that powers ArchCAS, ACSA’s centralized application service for graduate programs.
With this new acquisition, ArchCAS promises to have close integration with SlideRoom to manage portfolio and document submission and review in the admissions process. To accelerate this process Liaison seeks volunteers for a task force to work with Liaison on the integration of SlideRoom into application processes and ultimately ArchCAS.
So if you are an existing SlideRoom user — whether as faculty member, administrator, or admissions staff — and would like to join this group, please contact Michelle Sturges in the ACSA offices, msturges@acsa-arch.org. Responses are requested by October 30. The group may meet during the Administrators Conference in Albuquerque on November 3, as well as by videoconference.
UB’s IDeA Center, under the direction of Prof. E. Steinfeld, received support from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rhabilitation Research for a three-year $600,000 research project to examine the autonomous vehicle industry with particular reference to accessibility and universal design.
Dr. Jordana L. Maisel and Prof. Edward Steinfeld, of the IDeA Center in UB’s School of Architecture & Planning, with Aaron Steinfeld of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon, were co-editors of Accessible Public Transportation (Routledge)
Profs. E. Steinfeld, Korydon Smith and M. Beth Tauke were co-authors of Inclusive Design: Implementation and Evaluation (Routledge)
UB’s IDeA Center, in collaboration with Touch Graphics and the Richardson Olmsted Corporation, were awarded funding to design, fabricate and install an interactive map of the Richardson Olmsted Campus.
Visiting Assistant Prof. Stephanie Davidson & Assoc. Prof. George Rafialidis are Visiting Professors at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, University of Toronto in Fall 2017 where they are directing a research studio on paper/fiber casting and temporary structures in collaboration with the UB’ s Material Culture Research Group. Graduate students from Buffalo and Toronto are working collaboratively.
He, She and It – a project designed by Davidson Rafialidis – was a finalist in the 2017 AR House Award. The Award attracted more than 250 submissions and the shortlist included houses in the USA, Venezuela, China, Canada, the UK, Netherlands, Japan, Norway, Spain, Peru, Australia and Chile. The jury consisted of architects Jamie Fobert and Tony Fretton and AR Editor Christine Murray.
Assistant Prof. Julia Jamrozik was awarded a Faculty Fellowship at the UB Humanities Institute. Her research will focus on ‘Growing up Modern’ and the documentation of experiences of children who grew up in 20th century houses.
Adjunct Assoc. Prof. P. L. Battaglia has been retained by OMA for Code Consultancy on the design of the new addition to the Albright Knox Art Gallery.
Clinical Associate Prof. Miguel Guitart, and his office Gimeno-Guitart, received the Architecture Award at the X Architecture Biennale Alejandro de la Sota for their design of the Church and Parish Center in Tarragona in Spain.
Dr, Miguel Guitart oversaw the 2017 publication of the third volume in the series ‘Architectural Practice’ by Nobuko/CP67. It comprises critical texts on design by practitioners, academics and researchers.
Column by Barbara Opar (Syracuse University), Kathy Edwards (Clemson University) and Rose Orcutt (University of Buffalo)
As the library association most closely linked to serving the direct needs of faculty and students in Architecture, AASL members strive to provide appropriate resources to meet the ever changing field of architecture and design. To this end, AASL has assumed responsibility for creating a core list of periodicals aimed at first degree programs in Architecture.
The core list was first compiled in 1995. The need for such a resource was initially suggested a few years earlier by Pat Wiesenberger, then architecture librarian at Kansas State. Sharing her thoughts at an annual meeting of AASL, she proposed preparing a list of titles “without which we cannot operate.”
This principle has defined the core list through four subsequent editions. The list began with several members trying to create their own versions. Then Jeanne Brown of the University of Nevada- Las Vegas and Judy Connorton from City College compiled an extensive list of architecture periodicals and surveyed members about their holdings. Michael Leininger of MIT, Kay Logan-Peters of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Pat Weisenberger reviewed the survey data, taking into account the discussions held at the annual meeting and created the first core list. In creating the first list, the number of holdings of the title at member libraries became part of the criteria. New versions of the list with additions and deletions as necessary were compiled in 1998, 2002 and 2009. By 1998, ProgressiveArchitecture and Design Quarterly had ceased to exist. Detail was added. El Croquis was moved to core. With each new edition, volunteers from the larger membership reviewed titles and prepared the list, gathering input from the memberships of both AASL and ARLIS/NA (Art Libraries Society of North America). Martin Aurand of Carnegie Mellon and Margaret Culbertson of the University of Houston volunteered to update the list in 2002. This version added electronic titles and expanded the supplementary list. In compiling the 2009 version, Barbara Opar of Syracuse University again surveyed members via email. Discussions included whether or not the list should be a “stretch” or kept to key holdings most libraries held. Certain regional and foreign language titles were debated.
Throughout the process of creating each new edition, knowledge of the current state of architecture as well as survey data from members has been key. The compilers of the fifth edition- Kathy Edwards of Clemson University, Rose Orcutt of the University of Buffalo and Barbara Opar –expanded the data they gathered about each title. Barbara tallied browsing statistics of current print titles for several weeks. While faculty often chose titles like Architectural Review, students repeatedly looked at titles like Dwell and Surface, leading to a conclusion that patrons do not always chose key titles when browsing. The availability of indexing as well as format (print, electronic) was investigated. The quality of graphic documentation (e.g. plans, sections, notation of scale) and image quality was considered. The length of the articles, and notable contributors were carefully noted. In addition to peer review, Rose and Kathy sought out impact data when available.
This version was begun after the annual meeting in 2014 with survey data gathered from faculty via ACSA News as well as input from both AASL and ARLIS members. Indeed, the survey data at one point actually became a stumbling block. Input included removing Casabella from core; while others advocated expanding the core list to include titles like Axis, Cabinet, Candide and Pidgin. Only by returning to the original concept of titles “without which we cannot operate” was the group able to finalize the list.
The working group came to realize that some librarians might be taking issue with the categories of core and supplementary. So the categories used in this version are core, recommended and topical. By topical is meant highly specialized or regionally focused. Titles to watch, also a new category, consists of titles new to the market or ones which may be evolving. Titles also may cease as in the case of Praxis, a core title.
The list which follows is meant as a guideline for faculty and students and as a working tool for collections librarians. New or small schools may only be able to add core titles, while larger institutions may even consider more topical journals or additions from outside the immediate field. Regionally important titles should become part of every collection. Hopefully this list will enable users to become more aware of the breadth of architectural periodic literature.
The Division of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma welcomes three new VisitingProfessorsKatarina Andjelkovic, Tiziana Proiettiand Luca Guido.
Katarina Andjelkovic is an architect and theorist from Belgrade, Serbia. Katarina is the founder of Atelier AG Andjelkovic. She has won numerous awards and design competitions for her design work. Katarina holds a Ph.D. from the University of Belgrade and her research on representation has been widely published. She has experience teaching in Oslo and Belgrade.
Tiziana Proietti is an architect and historian from Rome, Italy. Tiziana’s expertise is proportional systems, particularly those of the Dutch monk Hans van der Laan. She is member of design studio Satyendra Pakhale_ Associates and Professor at the Institute of European Design IED Rome. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and has done research and taught in the Netherlands and Italy.
Luca Guido is a licensed architect, critic and historian of contemporary architecture. He has written several books on the history and evolution of contemporary architecture, his collaboration with professional practice and issues of restoration and conservation. Dr. Guido recently curated the Venetian edition of The Swiss Touch, exhibition on contemporary Swiss landscape architects with M. Jakob. He also collaborated with the curator Renzo Dubbini on the organization of the exhibition “Sonnets in Babylon” by Daniel Libeskind, Venezia Pavilion at the 14th Biennale of Architecture. Dr. Guido’s dissertation titled Building the American Landscape examined the relationship between city, architecture and landscape in the U.S. from T. Jefferson to F.L. Wright.
COA Faculty Selected for 2017 National Fellowship Program
Associate Professor Lee Fithian has been selected as a Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program 2017 National Fellowship Program. She exemplifies the mission of the Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) – to inspire visionary, action- oriented and diverse leadership to work for a just and sustainable future. By participating in the National Fellowship Program, Fithian will be joining nearly 1000 ELP Senior Fellows (graduates of the program) from around the country. Participation in this year’s class will provide the opportunity to broaden leadership skills and network, as well as help refine the program to better serve the needs of emerging environmental and social change leaders. Congratulations Prof. Fithian!
Associate Professor Daniel Butko awarded OU’s Research Council Faculty Investment Program (FIP) grant.
The grant, awarded in the Spring of 2017 will support his research, titled “Adaptive Interactive Acoustics: Investigating Acoustically-minded Architecture to Transform Adverse Multiuse
Spaces into Healthy Learning Environments”. The proposal was developed in conjunction with the Director of Interior Design, Prof. Elizabeth Pober.
Review of Director of Architecture Stephanie Zeier Pilat’s book, Reconstructing Italy, published in the latest issue of Modern Italy, the Journal of the Association for the Study of Modern Italy
Reviewer Bruno Bonomo made a very positive review of Dr. Pilat’s recent book on Postwar Italian Housing. He writes: “Zeier Pilat’s work is an exceptionally ambitious enterprise. To my knowledge, this is the first single-authored book to deal comprehensively with the Ina-Casa plan… this is undoubtedly an admirable and thought provoking book. Extensively researched, clearly written and richly illustrated, it will be compulsory reading for all English-speaking scholars who are interested in the Ina-Casa plan, and more widely in urban planning and architecture in post-war Italy.”
You can read Bonomo’s review of Reconstructing Italyhere.
Theeditorial board of Technology | Architecture + Design is pleased to announce that Chad Kraus, Scott Murray, and Julian Wang have joined as new members. Chad, Scott, and Julian bring a diverse range of experience and a strong commitment to the advancement of research in architecture. They strengthen the Board’s building technology expertise in areas of interdisciplinary material research, building envelopes, and sustainable design. Their participation will enable theTADEditorial Board to continue to broaden the journal’s geographical and disciplinary outreach, develop new board initiatives, expand web-based journal content, as well as to pursue indexing and increasing impact factor. The new board members will have an initial term from 2017-2020.
Chad Krausis an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Kansas and a licensed architect. He teaches architectural theory, architectural design studio, and the designbuild Dirt Works Studio. His scholarship concentrates on designbuild pedagogy and material research. Prior to teaching, Chad worked for Pritzker-prize laureate Shigeru Ban and studied architectural history and theory under Alberto Perez-Gomez at McGill University.
Scott Murrayis an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research and teaching focus on the cultural significance of building-envelope technologies of the last 100 years. He is the author of the books Translucent Building Skins (Routledge) and Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture (Princeton Architectural Press). He is also a licensed architect with a design practice based in Urbana, Illinois.
Julian (Jialiang) Wangis an Assistant Professor in Architecture and Architectural Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He receives Ph.D. in Architecture from Texas A&M University and Dr. Eng. in Building Science from Tianjin University. Before joining UC, Wang worked at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Missouri S&T, and Tsinghua University. Supported by NSF, EPA, AIA, and NIST, his research projects focus on interdisciplinary applications of building science to sustainable, healthy, and interactive building environment.
Charlene LeBleu, Associate Professor and Interim Head of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, has woven outreach and service learning into her teaching and scholarship throughout her academic career. She has used her expertise in water quality issues and low impact development design to benefit communities throughout Alabama. For her distinguished record of impactful service, LeBleu received the Excellence in Service-Learning Award (Senior Level) at the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) Annual Conference in Beijing, China on May 28, 2017. Read full story here.
APLA welcomes new faculty member Emily McGlohn (BARCH ’03) – Emily is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture and will be teaching 3rd Year Design Studio at the Rural Studio. Emily earned her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon where she studied common practice use of vapor retarders and air barrier systems in residential construction. Prior to joining the faculty at Auburn University, Emily was an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Mississippi State University from 2012-2017. Recently we reported that Emily, with colleagues at MSU, won a 2017 Practice + Leadership award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) for the proposal “Integrated Project Delivery Theater,” and the 2015 National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) Award for the proposal “Expanding the Agency of Architects.” Read about it here…
Congratulations to Prof. Matt Hall – The September issue of Architecture & Urbanism (A+U) will be devoted to the work of Swedish architect Bernt Nyberg. Last spring Matt was invited to guest edit the issue and after a year of work they are finally going to press. The work that went into this culminates over five years of research and documentation, the majority of which was made possible through APLA support, a CADC seed grant, and the diligent assistance of many of our students.
On September 14, 2017,at the Rural Studio, “Buster’s House” 20K House ribbon cutting and opening was celebrated.
Former Executive Editor, then Editor-At-Large. at Southern Progress Corporation, Philip Morris, lost his battle with cancer on September 14, 2017. Prof. J.Scott Fin stated, “Phillip was a tireless advocate for good design in cities, and a friend and supporter of the Urban Studio (AUCAUS – Auburn University Center for Architecture and Urban Studies) since the beginning.” Read more here.
Congratulations to Acting Director of Auburn University Rural Studio and Professor, Xavier Vendrell, who has been awarded the FAD Award in the category of City and Landscape for his professional work in collaboration with partners Claudi Aguilo and Albert Domingo (DataAE) on the project, Rehabilitació del Parc de Joan Oliver a Badia del Vallès, in Barcelona, Spain.
On September 22 and 23, the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture had three simultaneous drawing workshops happening: one at the Rural Studio with Frank Harmon, one on digital modeling organized by Prof. Valerie Friedman, Landscape Architecture, and an exciting Workshop opportunity was hosted for Auburn University’s Second-Year Architecture Studios. Coordinated by Prof. Danielle Willkens, supported by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, this workshop introduced the practice of classical architectural design with emphasis on its application in the design of new buildings and places. This seminar was also provided with generous support from the alumni at McAlpine. Read more about the 2nd year ICAA workshop here.
Architectural Digest featured Rural Studio in their latest issue, read here.
Visit the Harold Washington Public Library in Chicago, Illinois and find Rural Studio project Lions Park Playscape project as part of the Design Museum Foundation’s national exhibition and education program exploring the latest thinking in playground design. The exhibition, Extraordinary Playscapes, on its final stop in Chicago, is open Sept. 21-Dec.16., 2017.
The APLA 2017 Fall Lecture series is currently underway, and there are three October lectures available: Wednesday, October 4 features Thomas Robinson, Founding Principal, LEVER Architecture; Monday, October 16 will be Lorcan O’Herlihy, Founding Principal, Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA); Monday, October 23, Coleman Coker, Ruth Carter Stevenson Regents Chair in the Art of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture and Founding Principal, buildingstudio. To see the complete APLA Lecture Series schedule for 2017-2018, please read here.
College of Architecture faculty, students respond to hurricanes
As tens of thousands of Texans undergo a long, difficult recovery from Hurricane Harvey, research findings, studio and service projects by faculty and students at Texas A&M University are helping individuals and communities learn how to emerge from the damage and how to mitigate the effects of future disasters.
At the university’s Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, one of the world’s leading natural disaster and technological hazard research units, multidisciplinary studies focus on hazard mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery solutions.
Other research and service units housed in the college, in partnerships with faculty and student researchers from a variety of disciplines, are engaging Harvey-affected neighborhoods to learn how communities can prepare for and recover from disasters.
Helping communities avoid common disaster recovery mistakes
HRRC investigators have received Harvey-related National Science Foundation funding to augment an existing study focusing on how communities develop a post-disaster recovery plan and distribute public and private disaster aid.
“So far, we’ve studied recoveries in Granbury (tornado), West (explosion), Brownsville (hurricane/flooding), Galveston (hurricane), Bastrop (fires and flooding), and Marion-Cass Counties (fire),” said Shannon Van Zandt, project co-principal investigator.
Van Zandt said findings in the study, led by Michelle Meyer, an HRRC faculty fellow at Louisiana State University, will help communities deluged by Harvey avoid common recovery mistakes.
App-based drainage reporting for ‘citizen scientists’
A HRRC study is examining whether Houston residents can collect suitable photographic data of their neighborhood storm water management systems to share with urban planners, infrastructure engineers, and researchers.
Researchers are using a $100,000 National Science Foundation grant to develop and field test a mobile application for collecting the relevant data.
“In this project, we aim to determine whether citizen scientists can gather data on their own that is comparable to that generated by sophisticated technology,” said Shannon Van Zandt, co-principal investigator on the project. “By developing an app that allows residents to photograph and upload images from their neighborhoods, we can get a much more complete picture of the quality and maintenance of storm water management infrastructure, and empower residents with information they can use to lobby for positive changes in their neighborhoods.”
The multidisciplinary project, funded by an NSF NSF Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research, includes Philip Berke, professor of urban planning.
Hazard planning vs. execution
Researchers at the HRRC are studying the disconnect between the preparation and implementation of hazard mitigation plans at the municipal level, as well as the effectiveness of federal hazard mitigation policy in a National Science Foundation-funded program.
“Harvey provided a painful reminder that the actions jurisdictions take — or don’t take — can have a big impact on how resilient our communities are,” said Shannon Van Zandt, project co-principal investigator. “We surveyed more than 3000 jurisdictions across the Gulf and Atlantic coasts to determine not just what the jurisdictions had planned to do, but what tools at their disposal they were actually using. Given the damage incurred from both Harvey and Irma, we should be able to examine whether these actions taken have actually reduced damage or hastened recovery.”
With part of the $450,000 grant, project leaders will develop a website and publish a guide outlining best practices for the implementation of mitigation policies at the local level.
Disaster effects on food distribution links
Texas A&M University researchers are collaborating with three other universities in a National Science Foundation initiative aimed at identifying links between the U.S. food distribution system and energy, water and transportation networks that are most likely to be disrupted in a natural disaster.
“Food access and affordability are persistent problems for more than 14% of Americans in normal times, but these problems are greatly exacerbated following disasters,” said Walter Gillis Peacock, director of the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center at Texas A&M’s College of Architecture, who is leading the four-year, $2.5 million research collaboration that includes researchers from the Texas A&M’s Department of Geography.
The research team believes the study will encourage the adoption of policies aimed at maximizing post-disaster food availability by balancing disaster-related vulnerability and resilience planning. The effort, they said, should also identify new planning and training options for a range of disaster scenarios and foster a shared language between disciplines regarding the causes and characterizations of hazards and risks.
Students gather post-Harvey water samples
Just four days after Harvey’s record-setting deluge, graduate urban planning students gathered soil and floodwater samples in Manchester and Sunnyside, two impoverished Houston neighborhoods affected by flooding that included toxic Houston Ship Channel water.
“We want to learn what petrochemicals and heavy metals from the channel’s refineries, as well as what biological contaminants, were mixed in these neighborhoods’ floodwaters,” said Garrett Sansom, associate director of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, a college research unit.
The communities are partners with a multidisciplinary, small army of researchers and community outreach organizations collaborating in Texas A&M’s Environmental Grand Challenge, a major university project led by Philip Berke, professor of urban planning, that addresses critical environmental challenges affecting human health and well being.
Taking health survey of Harvey-affected neighborhood
The ISC will survey Sunnyside residents about post-Harvey public health issues and Harvey-related concerns at a regularly scheduled community meeting Oct. 5.
“An especially large crowd is expected, since this is Sunnyside’s first post-Harvey meeting,” said Sansom. “The survey we’re using is a standardized method to gauge individuals’ physical and mental health, and its results can be used to compare a community to others throughout the country.”
FEMA funds resiliency scorecard project
In the wake of Harvey, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided additional funding for measuring weakness and inconsistencies in communities natural hazard plans that result in a resiliency scorecard. The project is led by Philip Berke, professor of urban planning, and Jaimie Masterson, program manager at Texas A&M’s Texas Target Communities.
The scorecard’s use also generates conversations between planners and policymakers that ultimately improve a community’s natural hazard resilience.
Harvey data informs sculpture design
Using topographical forms suggested by August 25-28 Hurricane Harvey rainfall data, environmental design students created a sculptural wall as part of a studio exercise directed by Mark Clayton, professor of architecture.
Working in four groups, students designed the panels with Autodesk Revit and Rhinoceros, a 3-D modeling application, then fabricated their designs at the college’s Automated Fabrication & Design Lab at the RELLIS Campus.
College volunteers serve post-Harvey burgers in East Houston
Residents in Manchester, a community in east Houston recovering from Harvey flooding, enjoyed a lunch and received donated clothing provided by volunteers from the College of Architecture and the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services at a Sunday, Sept. 10 outreach event.
“No one has come to help us after Harvey and here is Texas A&M,” said one resident.
The event was the latest chapter in Texas A&M’s ongoing partnership with Manchester, an impoverished, east Houston industrial neighborhood beset by flooding from Sims Bayou and pollution from nearby petrochemical plants.
Disaster research at the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores
In response to Hurricane Harvey, researchers at the Texas A&M University at Galveston’s Center for Texas Beaches and Shores are studying ways to mitigate urban flooding and increase urban flood resilience in a several multidisciplinary research projects funded by national and state agencies.
The center is led by Sam Brody, who has a joint appointment at Texas A&M University at Galveston and the Texas A&M College of Architecture as a professor of urban planning.
Joining Brody in a project examining the economic impact of Harvey flooding in the Houston region is Philip Berke, professor of urban planning and director of the Texas A&M Institute for Sustainable Communities.
Other flood-related studies focused on local compliance with federal floodplain management regulations, and on how citizens differentiate between mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders.
Ongoing flood resilience-related CTBS projects
Eric Bardenhagen, Philip Berke and Galen Newman, faculty members in the Texas A&M Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, are part of a multidisciplinary group of Center for Texas Beaches and Shores researchers engaged in a National Science Foundation-funded study investigating strategies for reducing coastal areas’ vulnerability to flooding.
In other center studies, Brody and fellow researchers are investigating the causes, consequences and mitigation measures of urban flooding in the U.S., modeling the relationship between land use change and floodplain boundaries in Harris County, Texas, and investigating ways to optimize flood risk reduction strategies in the Houston-Galveston region.
Researchers are also developing an online atlas that denotes flood risk along Galveston Bay, studying a proposed coastal barrier system, or “Ike Dike,” that would protect the human life, property, businesses, ecosystem and energy infrastructure of the Houston-Galveston region, and investigating a framework for public land acquisition that would advance environmental protection and flood mitigation.
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