Professor Alison Kwok has been named Director of Graduate Studies in the Architecture Department.

Associate Professor Brook Muller is the author of Ecology and the Architectural Imagination (Routledge, 2014), on the architectural possibilities of ecology embedded from conceptual phases onward, how notions of function and structure of ecosystems can inspire ideas of architectural space making and order, and how the architect’s role and contribution can shift through this engagement. 

The 3rd edition of Sun, Wind, and Light by Mark KeKay and University of Oregon Professor G.Z. (Charlie) Brown is now available (Wiley, 2014). This fully updated edition covers principles of designing buildings that use the sun for heating, wind for cooling, and daylight for natural lighting. Using hundreds of illustrations, this book offers practical strategies that give the designer the tools they need to make energy efficient buildings. 

Associate Professor Nico Larco, Kristen Kelsey, and Amanda West just published Site Design for Multifamily Housing: Creating Livable, Connected Neighborhoods (Island Press, 2014). The book focuses on overlooked opportunities for walkability and is meant to be a guide for designers, planners, and developers.

Professor Kingston Heath, director of the Historic Preservation Program, has been awarded the 2014 Excellence Award for Directors of Graduate Studies by the University of Oregon Graduate School.

University of Oregon architecture student Cameron Huber received first place for the design of a green single-family house in the perFORM 2014: A House Design Competition. Huber won the $2,000 first place award for his entry, entitled HO[MIN]ID that the judges said showed restraint, purity of form, friendliness to neighborhood context and understanding of energy performance within a holistic approach to sustainability. 

University of Oregon interior architecture student Madeline Gorman won first place in the inaugural International Interior Design Association Oregon chapter design charrette in March at the Eastside Exchange Building in Portland, Oregon.

University of Oregon architecture student Grace Aaraj was an invited student speaker at the TEDx UOregon: Intersections: Diversity is Critical to Creativity. Her presentation was on the crossroads of language and creativity.

Associate Professor and SCI Co-Director Nico Larco presented a lecture at the National Conference of the American Planning Association in Atlanta and led a one day workshop at the University of Connecticut.  Both events focused on the SCYP model and how it can be adapted to different campuses throughout the country.

Associate Professor and SCI Co-Director Nico Larco lectured in Libreville, Gabon on the work of the Sustainable Cities Initiative and met with university faculty and officials from the Gabonese national government.  SCI is currently pursuing both research and educational partnerships with the University of Omar Bongo and with l’Agence Nationale des Grands Travaux (ANGT) through the Gabon Oregon Center.

Career Instructor Megan Haight gave a presentation entitled, “An Exercise in Public Engagement: Eugene YMCA Renewal,” at the 2014 Oregon Design Conference, May 1-3, 2014. Megan was joined by two UO students, Leslie Walker and Bob Nicholls; Dave Perez, the Executive Director of the Eugene Family YMCA; and Eric Gunderson, a partner at PIVOT design.

 Students from the University of Oregon are participating the Vicenza Architecture Program led by Professors Don Corner and Jenny Young.  After field studies in Roma and Firenze, they pursue a studio course in Vicenza for the spring term. This year’s trip includes a cross-cultural workshop with students from the Hochschule Darmstadt.

The Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) hosted its third annual Sustainable City Year Conference in April.  The conference included faculty, administrators, and staff from colleges and universities around the globe that were interested in learning how to implement the SCYP model of broad-based collaborative engagement with local municipalities. It also included representatives from many of the thirteen programs

around the country that have adopted and adapted this model.  The model pairs as many as 35 courses from multiple disciplines within a single university with real-world projects from a single partner city. Associate Professor in Architecture and SCI Co-Director Nico Larco and Associate Professor in Planning and SCI Co-Director Marc Schlossberg helped organize and lead this year’s conference. 

Associate Professor and SCI-China Program Head Yizhao Yang and Associate Professor and SCI Co-Director Nico Larco will be leading a three day training workshop in Chengdu, China this summer.  This workshop will focus on Sustainable Urban Design and is run by the Sustainable Cities Initiative’s SCI-China Program.