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Pennsylvania State University

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Architecture faculty exhibit work at world famous museum

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Yasmine Abbas and DK Osseo-Asare, assistant professors of architecture and engineering design at Penn State, are among the invited artists whose works are on display in the “Africas in Production” exhibition at the ZKM | Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany. 

The exhibit is part of the Digital Imaginaries project, which began in spring 2018 with events in Senegal and South Africa before heading to Germany. Throughout the year partners including Kër Thiossane, an independent art and multimedia center in Dakar (Senegal), the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival and Wits Arts Museum, both in Johannesburg (South Africa), collaborated on a series of distinct but connected programs, including workshops, seminars, talks, performances and exhibitions. These activities were designed to “bring together artists, architects, makers, hackers and researchers to question and reimagine how globalized technologies shape and shift African futures.

Penn State’s submission to the exhibit stems from the Agbogbloshie Makerspace Platform (AMP), founded by Abbas and Osseo-Asare in Ghana. AMP is a youth-driven community-based project that couples the practical know-how of makers in the informal sector with the technical knowledge of students and young professionals in the science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) fields to amplify inclusive innovation. 

Abbas and Osseo-Asare’s AMP project has received international attention, winning the Rockefeller Foundation’s Centennial Innovation Challenge Award, being named the Africa 4 Tech Digital Champion for Educational Technology (EdTech) and the Design Corps Social Economic Environmental Design (SEED) Award for Public Interest Design. Most recently, the duo received seed funding via a Penn State College of Arts and Architecture faculty research grant to advance their “spacecraft” research around community-enabled materials design research, which is currently ongoing with a number of graduate and undergraduate students at the University Park campus.

The pair traveled to Germany in November to install their third-generation AMP Spacecraft, which featured a “building performance” wherein graduate students and faculty from the Karslruhe Institute of Technology participated in an experimental test build to provide feedback on Penn State students’ design work to date. AMP Spacecraft is small-scale, incremental, low-cost and open-source, operating simultaneously as a set of tools and equipment to “craft space,” and empowering makers with limited means to both navigate and terraform their environment. Made in Ghana by grassroots makers and shipped from the first AMP maker hub in Accra’s Agbogbloshie scrapyard, the AMP Spacecraft prototypes a smart canopy device – or “Scanopy” – that collects air quality data and explores opportunities to amplify environmental sensing in data-scarce regions.

While in Germany, Abbas and Osseo-Asare presented the AMP project along with their on-going design research around maker ecosystems in African spaces during a “Tangana” panel at the “Open Codes: The World as a Field of Data” installation at ZKM. Panelists included makers from Ghana and Germany that discussed common trends in open-source maker and technology culture, as well as opportunities for bottom-up (democratic) innovation by leveraging citizen science initiatives and/or models of open science.

ZKM | Karlsruhe is the fourth-highest ranking museum in the world by ArtsFacts.net and houses both spatial arts, such as painting, photography and sculpture, and time-based arts, such as film, video, media art, music, dance, theater and performance. The “Africas in Production” exhibit is now open and will remain on display until March 31, 2019.

Pennsylvania State University

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Stuckeman School collaborates on new architecture journal 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Stuckeman School has collaborated with the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University and the Centre for Documentary Architecture at Bauhaus-University, Weimar (Germany) to publish a new journal that celebrates research as the source of architectural imagination. 

FACTUR: Documents and Architecture is interested in different methods for presenting and discussing projects of architecture that consider journalistic research as fundamental to the cultural construction of aesthetic identities. The name of the journal comes from the German term for a dynamic concept and set of techniques that influenced the Russian avant-garde of the early 20th century. 

“We want to engage in a conversation with different institutions about the role and impact of architecture in contemporary culture,” said Pep Avilés, FACTUR editor and assistant professor in the Department of Architecture. He also holds the Stuckeman Career Development Professorship in Design at Penn State. 

The journal will be launched at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 in the Architectural Association Bookshop. More information can be found on the FACTUR website. 

Pennsylvania State University

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 Stuckeman School mourns the loss of Jawaid Haider 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Jawaid Haider, a long-time professor of architecture at Penn State, passed away on Friday, Dec. 7. He was 67 years old. 

A native of Karachi, Pakistan, Haider served as an assistant professor at Penn State while earning his doctoral degree in interdisciplinary studies from the university in 1987. Prior to that, he was an instructor at Dawood University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi from 1997 to 1983. After completing his doctorate, he went back to Pakistan to become an associate professor at Dawood before returning to Penn State to stay in 1989. 

Haider was a sought-after teacher and adviser for both architecture design studio teaching and theory classes. As a faculty member and curriculum designer, he was instrumental in shaping the reputation held by the Department of Architecture at Penn State, especially in advanced architectural design and research of the thesis year of the B.Arch. program. He was the coordinator of the thesis-year level for many years and was influential in designing and developing the graduate programs within the department. 

“Being a faculty member with us for over 30 years, Jawaid has left his traces everywhere in the Department of Architecture,” said Ute Poershke, interim department head and professor. “More than 1,500 students have graduated with an architecture degree from our department during this time and it is a comforting thought for us that his teaching resonates in so many lives.” 

He received many awards and recognitions during his career, most notably being named a Fulbright Senior Scholar by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission. He also received the College of Arts and Architecture Faculty Award for outstanding teaching and the inaugural Faculty Outreach Award “in recognition of exemplary leadership in applying scholarship in support of society.” Most recently, he was named the recipient of the college’s 2018 Distinguished Teaching Award, which “recognizes faculty members who have contributed significantly to the intellectual and artistic life of the college through their teaching.” 

Haider’s research interests included architectural issues relevant for children, intergenerational design, public space, architectural design education and comparative theoretical perspectives in architecture. More recently his research interests expanded to include active living strategies in parks and recreation systems. His research explored how the design of an environment or space could be child-friendly and elder-friendly, and he sought to make spaces for all generations to share, and to allow people to better form relationships. 

As the principal investigator of a major research project titled, “Planning and Design Strategies for Healthy Living, Parks and Recreation in Pottstown [Pennsylvania] Area,” he influenced both community design and healthy living. He published extensively and received major funding for his research, including grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Graham Foundation. 

“Jawaid also contributed immensely to academic life at Penn State,” said Poerschke. “Noteworthy were his tireless efforts in the planning and chairing of the Facilities Planning Advisory Board, which advised Penn State administrators on the architecture and landscape architecture here on the University Park campus.” 

Later in his career, Haider served as the dean of academics at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi for two years and he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Architects of Pakistan in recognition of his contributions to architectural education in his home country. 

He was active in the State College community through his involvement with Global Connections, a community-based, non-profit organization affiliated with the United Way of Centre County and Penn State, with the mission of promoting intercultural understanding and building a strong, inclusive community through service, education, advocacy and partnerships. He also served as the design consultant for the Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania. He was also involved with the Association of University Women. 

Haider is survived by his wife, Talat, and their twin sons, Shuja and Asad, as well as two sisters and three brothers. 


The link to the release is: https://stuckeman.psu.edu/news/stuckeman-school-mourns-loss-jawaid-haider

Pennsylvania State University

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Penn State designer’s firm up for Young Architects Program 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Low Design Office (LOWDO), an architectural design firm co-owned by DK Osseo-Asare, assistant professor of architecture and engineering design, has been named one of five finalists for next year’s 20th annual Young Architects Program. The program is run by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and MoMA PS1, one of the oldest and largest nonprofit contemporary art institutions in the United States. 

Each year, 50 firms comprised of recent architectural school graduates, junior faculty and architects experimenting with new styles or techniques are nominated by deans of architecture schools and editors of architecture publications for the program. The firms submit portfolios of their work for review by a panel consisting of leaders and curators from MoMA and MoMA PS1. The panel culls the group down to five finalists that are then challenged to develop original designs that provide shade, seating and water while working within guidelines that address environmental issues, including sustainability and recycling. 

The winner of the 2019 Young Architects Program will be announced in February, with the winning design to be installed at MoMA PS1’s outdoor courtyard in New York City next summer. 

This year, MoMA and MoMA PS1 have partnered with the National Museum of XXI Century Arts (MAXXI) in Rome, Italy; CONSTRUCTO in Santiago, Chile; Istanbul Modern in Istanbul, Turkey; and MMCA in Seoul, Korea, to create international editions of the Young Architects Program. 

Osseo-Asare and Ryan Bollom started LOWDO in 2006 while they were master’s degree students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The practice was formed around the idea that transformative innovation in creative fields most often originates when the creator must overcome limited means and resources to provide meaning in his or her work. Now a transatlantic architecture and integrated design studio based in Tema, Ghana and Austin, Texas, LOWDO continues to use its founding principles in its practice to deliver high-impact design for a broader public through low-resource, low-tech, low-carbon strategies. The firm’s projects search to find optimal balance between design and resource consumption—to achieve the “most” with the “least.” 

For more information and to read about all of the finalists, see the Architect’s Newspaper. 


Link: https://stuckeman.psu.edu/news/penn-state-designers-firm-young-architects-program

Pennsylvania State University

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Assistant Professor of Architecture David Celento recently signed an agreement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc. publishers for a new book entitled Digital Toolbox. The focus of this book will be on essential 3D digital design skills, with insights into the processes used by various international designers to realize notable digital works. The book is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2012.

Assistant Professor of Architecture Rebecca Henn (Penn State) and Professor Andy Hoffman (University of Michigan) are under contract with MIT Press to produce the book “Constructing Green: Sustainability and the Places We Inhabit.” The volume is a multi-disciplinary perspective on social factors related to green building, from properly incentivizing design and construction team members, to the ways that sustainable buildings can change the way we engage with technology and each other. Key chapters by Bill Browning and Monica Ponce de Leon (Dean, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan) look to the future relationship between the design of structures and humanity’s relationship with the natural environment. Authors include international scholars and practitioners from the fields of architecture, management, sociology, economics, and natural resources. The volume provides both practical strategies for overcoming social and psychological barriers to green building, as well as theoretical findings for scholarly research. The book is scheduled for publication in late 2012. 

Penn State University

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On November 15, 2012, our school suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of friend, benefactor, and treasured Distinguished Alumnus Cal Stuckeman.

As recently as this past April, Cal inspired students, faculty, and staff with a visit to campus. For four days he met with students, alumni, and faculty, participating in end-of-year reviews and banquets. His untiring interest in the lives of Penn State students left us impressed and energized.

Born in 1914, H. Campbell “Cal” Stuckeman donated considerable time, resources, and energy to his alma mater. He and his wife Eleanor, who passed away in 2002, made their first gift to Penn State in 1953, and now rank among the five most generous donors to the University. For full story, click here.

His contributions are evident across the College of Arts and Architecture, most notably in the school and building that bear his name. Most recently, he made a $20 million gift to the Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture to encourage further cross-disciplinary learning opportunities for students in those two departments.

Penn State’s undergraduate and graduate Landscape Architecture programs, part of the Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, have received top rankings in the annual DesignIntelligence survey, in which leading practitioners across the country rank the best schools for preparing students for practice in architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and industrial design.  For full story, click here.

A new book on the design and construction of high-performance homes includes two chapters by Lisa D. Iulo, Penn State associate professor of architecture, Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Design and Construction of High-Performance Homes: Building Envelopes, Renewable Energies and Integrated Practice, published by Routledge, offers a comprehensive guide for professionals and students committed to achieving high-performance metrics in the design, construction, and operation of residential buildings.  For full story, click here.

Graphic Design student Jing Wu designed the THON 2013 logo, which was revealed at the “Family Carnival” for Four Diamonds Fund families on December 2. The theme of THON 2013 is “Inspire Tomorrow’s Miracles.” Wu explains her design process in a video at http://youtu.be/gCtBADirSd4.

Professor John Dixon Hunt will join the Stuckeman School for two years, beginning in Spring 2013, as the next Eleanor R. Stuckeman Chair in Design. Hunt is professor emeritus of the history and theory of landscape, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Pennsylvania, and a widely recognized and published expert in the literature, history, and theory of gardens and landscapes.  For full story, click here.  

The Gardens of Suzhou, a book by Ron Henderson, professor and head of the Department of Landscape Architecture, Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Penn State, has recently been published by University of Pennsylvania Press.

The book is published in the Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture, a series edited by Professor John Dixon Hunt, Eleanor R. Stuckeman Chair in Design at Penn State.  For the full story, click here.

Penn State’s Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library and The Eberly Family Special Collections Library are sponsoring an event Sunday, January 13, 2013, from  3 to 5 p.m. in 104 Paterno Library to celebrate the gift of Hajjar drawings and the public release of a new database documenting local architecture.

Activities include:

• A display of original plans and drawings of local houses designed by A. William Hajjar, a former Penn State faculty member who challenged the conservative look of the State College community in the 1950s and 1960s with his contemporary-style homes. More than fifty years later, these forty-plus buildings still delight those who appreciate post-war modern design, and their owners are proud to play a part in conserving a significant part of local history.

• The unveiling of “Central Pennsylvania Architecture and Landscape Architecture,” a new digital collection that documents the work of Hajjar and many other designers active in the region, including buildings by modernists Philip Hallock and Kenneth Heidrich. Comprising online exhibitions and a growing database of 1,000 well-documented images, it includes research and photography contributed by Robert Malcom and Arthur Anderson, Jr.

University of Tennessee-Knoxville

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University of Tennessee
College of Architecture and Design
Open House

November 11, 2011

The University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design is hosting its first college-wide Open House, Friday, November 11, in tandem with university-wide Open House, Saturday, November 12 (http://admissions.utk.edu/undergraduate/). Home to diverse and internationally recognized practitioners, scholars, and teachers, the college offers a wide array of programs: first-professional undergraduate degrees in architecture and interior design, first-professional graduate degrees in architecture and landscape architecture, and post-professional programs in architecture and landscape architecture (http://www.arch.utk.edu/Academic_Programs/academicprograms.shtml). The all-day event begins on the university’s Knoxville campus and includes presentations by faculty and students, tours of our award winning facility and multi-disciplinary design-build projects such as The New Norris House (http://www.thenewnorrishouse.com/) and the Living Light Solar Decathlon House (http://livinglightutk.com/), the historic Norris Dam, and the university gardens. The day will conclude with a talk by local historian and author Jack Neely, and a reception at the university’s Downtown Gallery of art. The event is free of charge but spaces are limited. Please contact Ms. Vanessa Arthur (varthur@utk.edu). For more information consult: http://www.arch.utk.edu/.

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