E-news letter for Archtecture

DECEMBER 2016

Undergraduate environmental design students Jacob Cheek, Antonia Perez, Lauren Miller, and Rachel Sisson joined their studio mates in introducing a touch of modernity to the Girl Scouts’ 60-year-old primitive Camp Howdy near Bryan, Texas, designing concepts for a site master plan that included event space, lodging facilities, restrooms and other amenities as part of a project led by Julie Rogers and Medhi Azizkhani.

Distinguished alum, lauded architect, WWII hero endows architecture scholars' program

A new scholarship program established with a significant endowment by William Merriweather Peña ’42, a former Texas A&M architecture student, World War II hero, and renowned architect, will help generations of aspiring Aggie architects receive an education.

College offers opportunities for year-end donations honoring transformational faculty

For year-end charitable giving, the Texas A&M College of Architecture provides numerous opportunities for former students to honor those special faculty members whose guidance and mentorship contributed to their success.

‘Anonymous Women’ exhibit explores home as place of comfort and camouflage

Photographer Patty Carroll explores women’s personal and cultural relationships with the home as a place of comfort and camouflage in “Anonymous Women,” a Jan. 24 – March 16, 2017 exhibit in the College of Architecture's Wright Gallery.

RESEARCH

Energy Systems Lab researchers Charles Culp and David Claridge are cutting A/C energy use in half.

ESL duo developing A/C system that cools with half as much energy

An air conditioning system that works with half the energy consumed by today’s air conditioners isn’t just a concept — it’s under development by researchers at Texas A&M University. Because energy use is expected to double by 2025, a more efficient air conditioning system is needed, said Charles Culp, a professor of architecture who is developing the method with David Claridge, director of the Energy Systems Laboratory at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station.

Viz professor heading STEM study in two colonias schools

Six Hispanic high school students residing in South Texas colonias are learning engineering basics while creating kits for elementary school science experiments as part of a National Science Foundation study led by Texas A&M visualization professor Francis Quek.

Viz prof to learn if creative tech projects aid seniors' well-being

Can older adults improve their psychological well-being by creating art with basic electronics? Jinsil Hwaryoung Seo, Texas A&M assistant professor of visualization, is seeking to answer this and related questions in a series of seniors’ art workshops at assisted living homes and a local art gallery.

Prof investigating link between storytelling, science learning

Researchers will learn if the storytelling prowess of fourth-grade students aids their understanding of science concepts in a National Science Foundation project led by Sharon Lynn Chu, assistant professor of visualization.

LAND prof’s study correlates amount of tree shade with heat-related ambulance calls

Not only do shady landscapes offer relief from the summer heat, they can also reduce heat-related medical emergencies, according to a study undertaken by Robert Brown, professor of landscape architecture at Texas A&M, and four colleagues.

Prof seeking way to visualize decision-making process involving complex data sets

Decision-making based on large, complex and often unwieldy datasets is a perplexing process that Eric Ragan, professor of visualization at Texas A&M University, is working to illuminate through visualization in a National Science Foundation-funded project.

Student's algorithms expedite virtual fire scenario simulations

New algorithms that dramatically shorten the time it takes to perform virtual building fire simulations developed by Chengde Wu, a Ph.D. architecture student at Texas A&M, can help architects make data-driven decisions to improve fire safety in their building designs.

IN THE STUDIO

Stephen Caffey, instructional assistant professor of architecture, looks at a memorial model.

Studio imagines campus Mideast war memorial to honor fallen Aggies

Last summer, fourth-year Texas A&M environmental design students designed several concepts for a memorial to honor 30 former students who lost their lives while fighting for their country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Working in five groups, 11 students, led by Anat Geva, professor of architecture, crafted solutions for a monument meant occupy the Corps of Cadets quad facing Coke Street on the Texas A&M campus.

Student-designed, built ‘tiny’ homes to house homeless

Two customized “tiny” homes designed and built by Texas A&M College of Architecture students are now housing the formerly homeless — a disabled man in Austin’s Community First! Village and an Iraqi war veteran in Kansas.

Multidisciplinary studio designs children's mental health center

A capital campaign to build a new campus for the Phoenix Center, a central Texas facility providing low- or no-cost mental health therapy to children, is now bolstered by architectural and master plan concepts created by Texas A&M College of Architecture students.

Arch building studio project featured in design magazine

Students in three first-year Texas A&M environmental design studios designed and built elegant, self-supporting, easy-to-assemble plywood arches that were featured by Arch2O, a website that showcases, undiscovered and impressive approaches to architecture, design, and art.

Students’ backdrop of recycled materials adorns fashion show

A photo backdrop made of hundreds of repurposed milk jugs were designed and built by Texas A&M environmental design students to complement an Austin fashion show featuring models clad in recycled materials and reconstructed textiles.

Healthcare architecture studio develops concepts for a new Texas A&M health center

Graduate Texas A&M architecture students created a variety of design concepts for a new College Station campus health center to serve an enrollment projected by the state to reach 70,000 students by 2025.

Simple panels lead to complex forms in student workshop

They look like props from a high-concept science fiction movie, but the curving, swirling forms produced in a two-day workshop were designed and built by first-year students grappling with design and construction problems associated with complex forms.

ACADEMICS

Sparks fly as students create sculptures at the college's Automated Fabrication and Design Lab.

Student-made sculpture exhibit a hit at Brazos Valley Arts Center

A group of metal sculptures displayed outside The Arts Center in College Station, created by Texas A&M undergraduate students in a visualization sculpture class, became an interactive exhibit that created quite a buzz in the Bryan/College Station area, said Chris Dyer, CEO of The Arts Council of Brazos Valley.

Esteemed former students help create leadership minor

A group of distinguished leaders from the design and construction industry, all of them Texas A&M former students, recently designed a supplemental curriculum to help aspiring College of Architecture students become tomorrow’s industry leaders.

Academy introduces Valley youth to building careers

More than 200 students from predominantly Hispanic South Texas high schools spent a week learning about possible career paths at the summer 2016 Texas A&M Construction Management Academy, designed and led by construction science professor Edelmiro Escamilla.

42nd Workshop to explore urban landscape design

Texas A&M landscape architecture students will team with design professionals at the 42nd annual Aggie Workshop, Feb. 3, 2017, a series of lectures, a charrette and a graphics class hosted by the university’s student chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Videos portray LAND, CoSci students at Costa Rica center

New videos show Texas A&M landscape architecture students at the university’s Soltis Center for Research and Education in Costa Rica creating design proposals for additional center facilities and exploring the center’s surrounding 54,000-acre rainforest.

Planning prof, guests discuss planning in new podcast series

Yu Xiao, an associate professor at Texas A&M, is telling the public what urban planning is and how planners’ work affects the built environment and society in “Planning and Design,” a podcast she hosts featuring interviews with professional planners, planning faculty and students.

Ph.D. student-led project boosts Valley fiscal planning

Small business owners and community leaders in Brownsville, Texas, identified their community’s economic strengths and weaknesses in a series of discussions hosted by Edna Ledesma, a Texas A&M Ph.D. Urban and Regional Sciences student, as part of her doctoral studies.

Prof’s new book explores theory of serene urbanism

In his new book, Philip Tabb, Texas A&M professor of architecture, explores the theory of serene urbanism and how he brought it to life as the master planner for Serenbe, an environmentally friendly real estate development near Atlanta.

Mind/body research textbook co-edited by viz professor

A new edition of a book touted as an exhaustive overview of the latest research findings in psychophysiology — the scientific study of the interaction between mind and body — was co-edited by Louis Tassinary, professor of visualization at Texas A&M.

HONORS

Bridge design by Jiahe Bian, Hejing Feng and Jixing Liu.

LAND students win top prize with Energy Corridor bridge design

A stylish bridge design created by Texas A&M landscape architecture students to facilitate an automobile-free connection for bicyclists and pedestrians crossing Interstate 10 in Houston’s thriving Energy Corridor District garnered first place honors in a design competition hosted by the district.

Student's poinsettia design adorns Starbucks’ holiday cups

The unveiling of Starbucks’ 2016 holiday cups, an event eagerly anticipated by coffee fans throughout the world, included a cup featuring intricately-drawn poinsettias created by Christina Anderson, a senior landscape architecture student.

Grad CoSci student’s better way to create 3-D models earns best paper honors

A graduate Texas A&M construction management student introduced a better technique for creating 3-D models of building interiors using a process known as photogrammetry, which employs software to render models from photographs.

Ph.D. student studying effects of doctor-nurse interactions on level of emergency room care

Arsalan Gharaveis, an architecture Ph.D. student, is investigating the impact of physician-nurse interactions on emergency room patient care with the help of a $7,500 Academy of Architecture for Health Foundation Legacy Fellowship.

Architecture prof earns 2016 Regan Interdisciplinary Prize

For orchestrating innovative design studios and research initiatives facilitating student collaboration with other disciplines, Ahmed K. Ali, assistant professor of architecture, was chosen to receive the 2016 J. Thomas Regan Interdisciplinary Prize.

Fine arts college presents honorary doctorate to viz prof

For leading a movement to engage art with science in education and research, Carol LaFayette, a visualization professor at Texas A&M University, recently received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia.

CLASS ACTS

An Oculus Story Studio staffer interfaces with a new virtual reality film, "Dear Angelica." Chris Horne, computer graphic supervisor for OSS, discussed the technology, art, and storytelling techniques used to create VR films.

Former student talks about blazing trails in new medium: VR movies

Virtual reality movies created by Oculus Story Studio that dazzle headset-clad viewers with a 360-degree view of a filmmaker’s computer-generated world were discussed by Chris Horne '11, computer graphic supervisor for the studio, at a November 2016 F. E. Giesecke Lecture. The 2011 MS Visualization graduate from Texas A&M explored the technology, art, and storytelling techniques used to create VR films and what it’s like to blaze trails at the dawn of a new medium.

Class Acts: Former students share news with classmates

Former college students are invited to submit items for the Class Acts section of the arch|one e-newsletter, which highlights professional achievements, as well as news briefs about marriages, births, retirements and whatever else former students care to share with the college community.

World War II hero, alum Peña honored by Belgian princess

Former Aggie corpsman William Merriweather Peña '42, who led a heavy weapons platoon through dense, snow-covered European forests in the Battle of the Bulge, was presented with one of Belgium's highest honors at a Dec. 7, 2016 ceremony at Texas A&M.

Nominations for outstanding college alumni due March 1

Nominations for the 2017 College of Architecture Outstanding Alumni Awards are due by March 1, 2017. The award recognizes the exemplary leadership, relentless pursuit of excellence, exceptional talents and numerous accomplishments of former students.

Outstanding alum Skaggs honored for years of service with AIA's Kemper Award

For significant contributions to the architectural profession and service to the American Institute of Architects, Ron Skaggs ’65, chairman emeritus of HKS Inc. and a former Texas A&M student, was honored with the AIA’s 2016 Edward C. Kemper Award.

Former students’ firm earns top honor from Houston AIA

Described as a “powerhouse” in Houston architecture, studioMET, a design/build firm led by former Texas A&M environmental design students Stephen Andrews and Shawn Gottschalk, earned 2016 Firm of the Year honors from the Houston chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

College of Architecture alums head 14 2016 Aggie 100 firms

Twenty former students from the Texas A&M College of Architecture head 14 companies in the 2016 Aggie 100, a list compiled annually for the Mays Business School of the fastest-growing firms owned or led by Aggie graduates.

'Don't forget Winona'

Lou Tassinary, professor of visualization, and his wife, Melanie Ihrig

Viz prof, wife getting their kicks on Route 66 in transcontinental walk

Lou Tassinary, professor of visualization, and his wife, Melanie Ihrig, appear at the 3:34 mark in a Wall Street Journal video about the future of Route 66, the iconic highway that runs from Chicago to L.A. Tassinary, who is on leave, and Ihrig were interviewed on their cross-country walk. Heading east from L.A, the duo plan to make it to Gallup, New Mexico for Christmas.