Newsletter of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University
Registration is under way for the 36th annual Aggie Workshop, a two-day conference slated Feb. 11 – 12 at the Langford Architecture Center on the Texas A&M campus.
Organized and hosted by the Texas A&M student chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and open to landscape architecture students from all universities, the conference features luminary speakers, design charrettes and fun-filled social events.
Focusing on “professionalism,” event chair Grant Jones said Workshop 2011 will offer an inside look at how the industry works while focusing on "real-world" issues confronting professional landscape architects.
Registration forms for Workshop 2011 attendees, sponsors and participating firms, will soon be available on the Workshop 2011 website, which will be updated with more details as the event takes shape.
Keynote speaker
Landscape architect Jim Burnett, founding principal of the award-winning Houston-based design and planning firm, The Office of James Burnett, heads up an impressive list of distinguished design professionals lecturing at this year’s event.
Burnett’s dedication to creating meaningful spaces that challenge the conventional boundaries of landscape architecture has garnered him more than 50 state and national design awards for innovative projects. Employing a unique, multidisciplinary approach to his work, he often collaborates with architects, planners, artists, and other professionals, including doctors and scientists, to design landscapes with a particularly strong focus on promoting healthy living. A fellow in the ASLA, Burnett’s work and writings in health care design have been widely published.
Charrettes
Workshop participants will have an opportunity to gain some hands-on experience while working shoulder-to-shoulder with practitioners and graphic designers at two charrettes planned for Workshop 2011.
During this year’s design charrette, Jones said students will “be creating designs that address real-world issues.” And, unlike previous workshop charrettes, hosted by a single firm, this year Workshop organizers are “implementing a few changes aimed at promoting collaboration between teams.”
The graphic design segment of Workshop 2011 will be expanded to include two seminars led by architectural illustrator John Moon of Moon Design in Temple, Texas. Moon, who characterizes himself as an “illustration arms dealer,” has a background in landscape architecture and has been producing award-winning illustrations and designs for 17 years.
The graphic charrette will be divided into a seminar on traditional hand drawing and another focusing on computer generated graphics, however both seminars will be repeated offering participants an opportunity to explore both media while working directly with graphic design professionals.
Social events
The 2011 Aggie Workshop is being held in conjunction with a Class of 1981 reunion of Texas A&M landscape architecture graduates. The visiting former students will be guests of honor at the formal dinner held the evening of Feb. 11.
“The class of ’81 has remained loyal and strong to our program throughout the years and we are pleased that they have asked us to combine our events,” said Jones. “In honor of their class, we have decided to give this year’s social an 80’s theme. We hope that everyone will dress accordingly,” he continued, and be prepared to dance and listen to the likes of ‘Thriller’ and ‘Livin’ on a Prayer.’”
A list of additional speakers and a detailed agenda for Workshop 2011 will soon be available on the event website.
Contact: Phillip Rollfing, prollfing@archone.tamu.edu or 979.458.0442.
