In the News
Friday, November 20, 2009
100-Mile Thanksgiving Featured on NPR’s "With Good Reason"
"With Good Reason invites you to a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but nearly everything on the table is grown, made, or brewed, within 100 miles of Charlottesville, Virginia. The dinner host, Tim Beatley (University of Virginia), introduced the 100-mile Thanksgiving idea to his students after reading ‘The 100-mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating’...."
Thursday, November 19, 2009
UVa Community Garden Featured on t.v.’s "Meet the Farmer"
Meet the Farmer TV, a locally produced show that profiles food related projects, has recently completed an episode on the UVa Community Garden.
You can view the episode at the link in the headline or watch it on Charlottesville local tv station 10 at 7pm each night this week (week of November 16, 2009).
The film features three Urban and Environmental Planning program members: Ben Chrisinger, a fourth year student; Dana Smith, a second year graduate student; and Professor Tim Beatley.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Nancy Takahashi Leads Hereford College into Sustainable Future
[by Dan Heuchert, UVa News Services]
"A home away from home." "A hidden gem." "Fantastic opportunities to get to know faculty." "Fun social and service events."
These were some of the phrases that students living in the University of Virginia’s Hereford Residential College used to define their community during recent focus group sessions. The feedback belied many of the myths long associated with Hereford – that it is isolated, remote and undesirable.
Given the strong show of support from residents, as well as from faculty connected to the residential college, the future of Hereford – uncertain a year ago, when plans called for the college to be relocated – has gained solid new footing.
The decision for Hereford Residential College to continue in its current location follows an in-depth study conducted earlier this year by the Office of the Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer, which oversees the residential college program.
As students deliberate their housing choices for the 2010-11 school year, Hereford Residential College represents an option for upper-class as well as first-year students. The deadline for students to apply to live in Hereford is Nov. 23. Applications are available online.
Students and faculty have been discovering some of Hereford’s hidden gems and creating a new sense of purpose through a variety of activities.
Sustainability, in particular, is emerging as an element of Hereford’s identity. With an abundance of natural beauty surrounding the college, students and faculty were inspired three years ago to create a vegetable garden with a propagation greenhouse on the grounds of the college.
With the garden now expanded to 5,000 square feet, the Hereford "minifarm" is being used to build community and create a hands-on learning lab emphasizing organic planting techniques. This summer, students experimented with techniques such as companion planting, even incorporating fish carcasses and coffee grounds collected from local merchants as soil nutrients.
The garden’s experiment with planting lesser-known vegetables, such as napa cabbage, bok choy, lemon grass and sesame, was initiated to reflect the rich cultural diversity of the Hereford and University student community.
In other projects reflecting a commitment to sustainability, students studied waste vegetable oil as a fuel alternative in a Hereford-sponsored course last spring, and built a filtering station that produces vehicle fuels from the used fryer oil from the kitchen in Runk Dining Hall. Physics professor Keith Williams headed up the project and is continuing to find ways to put Hereford’s interest in sustainability into practice in the community.
Williams is one of more than 30 University and community members who serve as faculty fellows at Hereford. The fellows do everything from teaching short courses to dining with residents.
Other course offerings have focused on local foods and the cultural and ecological background of the Observatory Hill area where Hereford is located. In December, Hereford will join with Brown College to co-sponsor a short course and a visit to the University by well-known writer/philosopher/farmer Wendell Berry.
Nancy Takahashi, who serves as the principal, or overall faculty head, of Hereford, is a practicing landscape architect and faculty member in the School of Architecture. She lives in the Vaughan House at Hereford with her husband, also an architect, and son. Another son is a fourth-year student at U.Va.
"Hereford is building strong identity and community around two defining characteristics – first, its spectacular setting, where many outdoor activities and monthly banquets are hosted, and which is proving ‘fertile ground’ for our sustainable initiatives," Takahashi said.
"Additionally, the rich diversity of our resident community has fostered many learning opportunities around the culture of food through film courses and ethnic meals that students take part in preparing in our home."
Hereford Residential College was founded in 1992, the second residential college (following Brown College) established by the University. The third, the International Residential College, was founded in 2001.
Residential colleges in many ways offer the student experience that Jefferson envisioned. Compared by some to the Academical Village, the residential colleges create smaller communities within the larger University where residents can come to know one another around shared interests. Students and faculty interact informally over food, film, a service project or other special events and programs.
"The opportunities for leadership and personal growth are rich and real," said Christina Morell, associate vice president for student affairs, who oversees the residential college system.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Chris Counts Wins Design Competition
{from "New Raleigh" blog)
Back in April the city announced the Moore Square Design competition. The competition was an opportunity for the public to get involved in the future of the square- a public that had many opinions about what that future should be. The juried competition had 79 applicants from all over the Southeast and the country. The competition was heavy and local firms showed up in a big way taking 2nd place and most of the honorable mentions. In the end though it was Christopher Counts Studio of Charlottesville Virginia who took the first place award.
[to see images and read the complete entry, follow link in headline}
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Green Lands Students Welcome Public Feedback
[From the News Leader]
STAUNTON — The architecture students who strode through downtown Staunton and city parks in September returned on Thursday with sandwich boards singing the praises of the city’s beauty and eco-friendliness, and offered some room for improvement.
They invited the rest of town to join them.
For the past two months, students from the U.Va. Green Lands class have been working to assess Staunton’s existing green infrastructure, enhancing the city’s Geographic Information Systems map, and compiling recommendations for the city. Halfway through compiling their plans to fix the place up, they hosted an open house at Bessie Weller Elementary to share their findings with the steering board of city officials, infrastructure experts and the dozens of city residents.
[for complete article, follow link in headline]
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Two Architects Examine History, Future of UVa’s Structures
[by Matt Kelly, UVa News Services]
Two architects examined the past and the future of the University of Virginia’s Grounds at a community briefing at Newcomb Hall on Tuesday.
The briefing, “Building on Jefferson’s Legacy,” featured Richard Guy Wilson, Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History, and David Neuman, University architect, putting a historical perspective on founder Thomas Jefferson’s original design for the University and its evolution over the years.
Wilson outlined the growth of the University from 1825 to 2002, showing the original footprint of the original Academical Village – the Rotunda, Lawn rooms and pavilions, gardens, and ranges and hotels – and compared that to the University as it exists today.
Citing Jefferson’s vision, Wilson said the most important element of the design is the overall plan, with all the disparate elements combining into a comprehensive package of aesthetics and functionality.
The Academical Village does not fully conform to the rules of architecture, Wilson said, but Jefferson knew the rules he was violating to create an overall design to teach the students.
"The experience of the buildings around them was as important as what was being said in the classes," he said. "It is a matter of how the space it used. It is a public communal space."
But institutions age and change, Wilson said, citing alterations that had been made and those that had been contemplated but never executed. He said Robert Mills’ 1851 annex to the Rotunda was controversial, but was accepted because Mills had studied architecture with Jefferson and had designed the U.S. Treasury Building. There had been failed plans to erect a chapel in the middle of the Lawn and to put an archway honoring the Confederacy at the south end of the Lawn, he said.
And there had been controversies at the times of construction of the current chapel and Brooks Hall, which originally housed a natural history museum.
"There was an attempt to tear down Brooks Hall, but that is part of the history of the University and it shows the attitudes of the times," Wilson said.
[for complete article, follow link in headline]
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Louis Nelson Wins Accolade at Regional SAH Meeting
Associate Professor and Chair of Architectural History Louis Nelson received the "Article of the Year" Award at last week’s annual meeting of the Southeast Society of Architectural Historians. His article, "Sensing the Sacred: Anglican Material Religion in early South Carolina," was published in the "Winterthur Portfolio."Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Remembering Joe Howe
Our faculty, staff, students and alumni fondly remember Joseph Howe, an adjunct construction materials and civil engineering professor of several decades who passed away on November 1st. To submit your remembrance, please email it to sarc-news@virginia.edu
Remembrances are included in the order received.
__
"Six Words: Remembering Joe Howe"
Kirk Martini
The passing of Joe Howe has special meaning for me, because Joe and I shared an office for thirteen years. Since Joe was an adjunct, he didn’t spend much time at the office, so we had less contact than most office mates, but when he was there, he did his best to make up for lost time. Joe loved to talk, and anything we talked about would remind him of a story. That story could be about one of the dozens of big construction projects he worked on, his college days at the Citadel, or his time as a soldier in World War II. Whatever the story, something in it would remind him of another, and the stories would link together, end-to-end, until his or my schedule intervened.
A few years ago, I remember hearing from Patty DeCourcy about Joe’s knee surgery. She reported that Joe had a local anesthetic and talked with the doctor during the entire operation. My first thought was Joe probably would have talked to the doctor even with a general anesthetic. There was no stopping Joe once the stories started to roll.
Of the thousands of words I heard from Joe, there were six that I will never forget. It was during my first year in the office in 1993, my second year teaching in the School. We were talking about teaching, and Joe said “anybody can teach a good student.” He didn’t elaborate much on those six words, but in the decade and a half since, I’ve come to understand exactly what he meant. As teachers, it’s tempting to look at the masterful work of our best students and give ourselves a pat on the back for instilling such skill. The truth is, there are so many talented students at U.Va. that anybody could show them a few slides or ask them to read a few books, and those students would produce skillful work. A teacher taking credit for that work is like a rooster taking credit for the sunrise. The real measure of a teacher is the growth and progress of the struggling students, the students with less preparation, and more distractions. If you’re not helping those students, then you’re not a very good teacher. Simple as that. Anybody can teach a good student. Joe Howe taught them all.
___
Karen Van Lengen:
I came to know Joe when when he often stopped by the dean’s office to say hello after class.
He always had a memorable story about his students and that would begin a wonderful chat on lots of subjects. He delighted in sharing his daschund stories with me, knowing that I too am a devoted fan of this species. We shall all miss Joe’s generous and kind spirit, his devotion to teaching, his lively and genuine character.
___
Patty DeCourcy:
I have been honored to serve as Joe Howe’s office assistant since I came to the school in 1998. We developed a great working relationship and I felt honored to be part of his teaching career as well as part of his family. Mr. Howe always introduced me on the first day of class as part of the teaching team, never just a secretary. During my years with Mr. Howe he took such pleasure in his teaching. There never was a student left behind in any of his classes and he had been teaching since 1977. He made it known to each student that he taught he was available to them whenever they needed help. Mr. Howe taught well known football players like Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans, Heath Miller of the Pittsburg Steelers, and Elton Brown of the Arizona Cardinals just to mention a few. I remember him telling me that he came in on a Sunday afternoon to help students so he could help keep them off academic suspension. His love of teaching showed each day when he came to class. He was always the last to leave the classroom because he would wait to make sure none of his students needed his help. I will always remember Mr. Howe telling his wonderful stories from his past while sipping on a regular Coke through a straw and eating peanut butter crackers in my office while we prepared for the next class meeting.
His two famous quotes that he wrote on the board each semester and pasted at the bottom of the final exams were these: Robert Doyle was a man that Mr. Howe came to know through working construction and Mr. Doyle told this to Mr. Howe one day on the job site to always:
“Give your boss more than he paid for.”
This other quote was from a Colonel he met while in service:
“Be able to say I need help!”
Col. Louis Letellier
I guess you can say that Mr. Howe lived by these two quotes not only in his teaching here at the School of Architecture and the School of Engineering but in life in general. If you knew Mr. Howe like I did you would know that he never met a stranger. He made friends with everyone he came in contact with and he would always have a story to tell them. We sat in the nursing home one day and tried to calculate just how many students’ lives he touched and we figured around 8,000, if not more. God Bless you Mr. Howe. I know you will be greatly missed, but I also know that you are in a place now with no aches and pain and are telling your stories to a whole set of new people we call "our angels." Love you forever.
____
Derry Wade:
I didn’t know Joe Howe well, but I vividly remember the first time I met him, which must have been sometime in 2002. I was sitting in my office, frantically trying to meet an important deadline. Mr. Howe said, "You must be new, here!" and promptly came in and sat down. Though taken aback at first, I soon realized what a charming and interesting man he was. Before long I had completely forgotten all about my deadline as I listened to his amazing stories of the Citadel and construction jobs he had done. He told me about his early years at the University and we marveled over how much had changed. After a very long, and fascinating, conversation - I asked him for his name. He seemed surprised I didn’t know it, which now makes sense to me. As many people have said, he never knew a stranger, which was a wonderful gift he shared with all whom he encountered.
____
Michael Bednar:
Joe Howe and I go back to 1977 when he started teaching at the ARCH School.
He was one of the most generous and dedicated teachers I have ever known.
Last spring I was asked to complete his construction class when he became ill. I asked him why he was still teaching at age 85. His answer was that the students "energized him." He had an indomitable spirit for life. His positive outlook, good humor and wonderful stories will be greatly missed.
_____
"Shaping the American Landscape" Includes Entries by Faculty and Alumni
by Elizabeth Meyer
A new reference work,"Shaping the American Landscape: New Profiles from the Pioneers of American Landscape Design Project" (University of Virginia Press), includes entries on two beloved figures associated with the early years of the UVa Landscape Architecture program, Professor Benjamin Howland and Lecturer Meade Palmer. This book edited by Charles Birnbaum (UVA Howland Lecturer 1992), Founder and President of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, is an encyclopedia of biographical entries about significant American landscape architects. It follows an earlier encyclopedia of biographies, "Pioneers of American Landscape Design" (2000), edited by Charles Birnbaum and Robin Karson.
UVa Landscape Architecture faculty Ethan Carr, Elizabeth Meyer and Reuben Rainey as well as alumna Sue Nelson authored bibliographic essays in "Shaping the American Landscape". The subjects of their research include significant leaders in the National Park Service, Conrad Wirth and Benjamin Howland, modernist designers Lawrence Halprin and Robert Royston, and the Virginia’s most-recognized twentieth century landscape architect, Meade Palmer, whose Warrenton-based firm was a training ground for dozens of influential landscape architects from Terence Harkness (Professor, University of Illnois), Hallie Boyce (Principal, Olin Studio) to Warren T. Byrd, Jr. (former UVA Dept Chair and Professor Emeritus).
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Lawrence Halprin Dies - recipient of Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal and Designer of Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall
[from the Washington Post]: Lawrence Halprin, 93, a legendary American landscape architect who designed the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial along the Tidal Basin and San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square, marrying ecology and aesthetics in scores of the nation’s urban spaces, died Oct. 25 at his home in Kentfield, Calif. No cause of death was reported.
[for complete article, follow link in headline]
For more please see the News Archive.
