The Aga Khan Award for Architecture Comes to UMSoA on Monday, April 3rd.
The Aga Khan Council for Florida, in partnership with The University of Miami School of Architecture, presents the AGA KHAN AWARD FOR ARCHITECTURE with a presentation, exhibition and reception on Monday, April 3, 2017. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 and is presented every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, historic preservation and landscape architecture. The current prize fund totals $1,000,000 and the winners for the current cycle were announced on October 3, 2016.

Dean Rodolphe el-Khoury will lead the discussion with guest presenter, Brigitte Shim. Brigitte Shim, a Steering Committee Member of AKAA 2016 Cycle, is a principal in the Toronto-based design firm Shim-Sutcliffe Architects and, since 1988, a Professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto. Brigitte Shim and her partner A. Howard Sutcliffe, founded their firm in 1994, and it reflects their shared interest and passion for the integration and interrelated scales of architecture, landscape and interior and industrial design.

The event will begin at 6:30PM in Glasgow Lecture Hall with a reception and exhibition (of the AKAA award finalists) at 7:45PM at the Korach Gallery at the UMSoA campus.
Please see the EventBrite invitation, if interested in attending.

Image: Hutong Children’s Library and Art Centre, Beijing, China. By inserting an outdoor staircase alongside each structure, the architect created viewing platforms to survey the neighbourhood while enjoying a breath of rare chlorophyll-laced air within the tree’s branches. Courtesy of AKTC / Wang Ziling, ZAO, standardarchitecture.

UMSoA’s Annual USERVE DAY is April 7th – Our Opportunity to SERVE the Community!
In partnership with MANO Americas and Miami Dade College, on April 7th, UMSoA students, faculty and LatAMFabLab coordinators will create a prototype installation at the Exhibit Pavilion to be used for the April 8th & 9th Miami MakerFaire Event (to be held at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus). The USERVE Pavilion, an exercise in creative place-making, digital fabrication and collaborative design-build, will be transported to the UMSoA campus after the MakerFaire Event, in preparation for the semi-permanent, Coconut Grove Community Marketplace that is scheduled to open in May 2017.

The USERVE / Miami MakerFaire Pavilion and Exhibition will serve as a bridge between local and LATAM-based businesses, craftsmen, entrepreneurs, architects, designers and the community-at-large, providing resources, skills and a (semi-permanent) marketplace where diverse start-up vendors, makers and artisans can thrive.

A meeting will be held on Friday, 3/24 meeting at 12:15PM in Rinker to share more details. There will be no studio instruction on April 7th, so that ALL UMSoA students can participate in the USERVE event. See you all there!

Image: USERVE MakerFaire Pavilion

Resilience, Adaption, and Ethics Take the Climate Change Stage
In a panel discussion on climate change coordinated by Harvard University’s Jesse M. Keenan and held at the University of Miami, panelists unearthed diverse and complex ethical challenges that architects, designers, real estate developers, and the community at large will face as sea levels rise.

Dr. Jesse M. Keenan, faculty at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University who coordinated the discussion, framed the multi-dimensional considerations of resilience and climate adaptation. 

Rachel Minnery, FAIA, the director of built environment policy at the American Institute of Architects in Washington, D.C., and Christopher Flavelle, the policy reporter for Bloomberg News, also shared their views. Minnery, FAIA, who oversees the AIA’s programs for codes and standards, disaster, resilience and community development, discussed the limited legislation landscape and the need for land planning, intervention and the capacity for transformation, along with development of a proactive system to design and build for extremes.

“Only 65 percent of the country is covered by a basic building code,” she said. “More energy into policies that support good practice is needed.”

“What about ethics, do we sell flawed products?” Keenan asked.

Acknowledging recent litigation in this area, Minnery said it is only a matter of time before standards for building codes come into question and the demand for greater transparency of the vulnerability and risks grows. An overarching takeaway from the discussion was clear: resilience remains a “squishy topic,” a nuance with no definitive answer regarding what makes a home resilient. Is it more about standardized building codes or designs that protect homes and people? What is a resilient design? “If you can see water,” Minnery said, “you are not resilient.”

Keenan raised the issue of risks taken by architects and builders, questioning the added value? of a building code-driven process. He noted there was a disproportionate burden on building codes, without consideration of land use. The value-add, Minnery said, would be a longer building service, but with all of us working together and taking action.

Flavelle, the Bloomberg News reporter, discussed the reasons for the failure of climate adaptation, mentioning the challenges of the “buy-outs” New Jersey undertook after Hurricane Sandy.

“The idea that people have to leave their homes is the hardest part of the broad climate debate. Bayfront, New Jersey, is an example of a buy-out done right,” he said. “Presently,” he added, “it remains unclear whether the Trump administration will think the issue of climate adaptation is real, and states need to push for help and force the administration to react, with lessons to be learned from New Jersey, Louisiana, Alaska, California, and Florida.” Flavelle agreed that the framework for resilience requires many things: education, component innovation and support, advocacy, practice and research, policy-focused resources and partnerships. “To better adapt to climate change means different things, and they’re all hard: tougher building codes, more built and natural protection, elevating structures and roads and restricting development in the most vulnerable areas”—which is no easy task and impacts builders’ and developers’ economics and profitability.

South Miami Mayor Phil Stoddard, who attended the discussion, said he was pushing for higher elevation-builds (despite the inherent challenges this, too, represents) but he noted that, until flooding becomes a regular occurrence, people won’t focus on the problem. He pointed to some success stories, like the Amazonian basin, where extreme risk due to climate change and sea-level rise are a daily issue. Communities there have successfully implemented adaptive systems to elevate homes during rising water levels, lowering them when the flooding has passed. It can be done. The panelists agreed that climate change, sea-level rise, and our need to look for adaptive solutions is not going away; it is our collective responsibility to make this a priority now, and not wait for a disaster to hit.

“You are the future, dream big, take action and do it together,” Millery said in closing.

The panel discussion, held at Glasgow Hall, kicked off a two-day federal interagency U.S. Community Resilience Panel, on March 9th and 10th at the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus.

PSST… have you met our UMSoA Ambassadors?
UMSoA Ambassadors are (committee-appointed) students to represent UMSoA on and off campus. These students portray excellent leadership and engagement skills while maintaining optimal academic scores. They are the first point of contact for many of the UMSoA visitors and are present at every recruitment event and open house for the incoming class each year. Feel free to reach out to them for help with classes, if you need advice on a studio project, or have any other inquiry. They’re always happy to help.

Here’s who they are (from left to right): Kyle Ferry (2nd yr student), Sydney Maubert (2nd yr student), Fioriana Larche (2nd yr student), Caitlin Smith (3rd yr student), Yasmine Benchekroun (2nd yr student), Alyssa Osborn (3rd yr student), Sydney Matsumoto (4th yr student), Donnie Garcia-Navarro (5th yr student), and Shannar O’Connor (2nd yr student).

Visiting Professors, Zhao Pei and James Brazil
Professor Zhao Pei, founder of Urban Propensity Studio, an interdisciplinary design studio in China focuses on architectural design, urban design, heritage protection, and the history and theory of modern Chinese architecture, along with comparative studying between Latin American and Chinese modern architecture.
 
He has lectured at numerous design institutions with his writings appearing in Time Architecture, Domus, The Architect, Urbanism Architecture, Architecture Culture, Gallery, Azure, Architectural Journal, New Architecture, Urban Design Journal, among others. He is a guest editor of The Architect, and a columnist and a guest editor of Architecture & Culture. In 2015, he cooperated with Professor Jorge Francisco Lienue to curate Latin American modern architecture issue of The Architect, which is the first time to comprehensively introduce Latin American architecture to Chinese readers. His research works have been exhibited in many international biennials: Wuzhen (2017), Chengdu (2011), Venice (2010), Amsterdam (2003). In 2006, he co-worked with Adrian Blackwell to curate Detour: Tactical approaches to China’s changing landscape, the first international exhibition of contemporary Chinese architects. The works he designed and participated received many awards in different countries and regions. He is the committee member of Chinese Industrial Heritage Society and academic member of DOCOMOMO China.

Under his tutoring, his students have won more than 10 significant international competitions, including the first prize in Union of International Architects Students Competition, Durban, South Africa, 2014 (478 entries from 30 countries).   

James Brazil is an architecturally-trained, Australian designer, master builder, researcher and ​city ​curator of urban and public architecture, with extensive construction and design experience across a variety of high-profile projects for international clients, competitions and university institutions throughout Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Russia. At UMSoA he leads the design/curation of public space initiatives at the Master of Real Estate Development + Urbanism program while directing a portfolio of art and architecture projects across Europe, Africa and Latin America.

James has a Masters of Architecture with Distinction from the University of Western Australia (2007) and in 2009 was invited as a full-time Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. He delivered the award-winning FabLab House completed for the Solar Decathlon Europe 2010, as a project team leader, Master Builder. James is also the founding principal of the international collaborative studio uAbureau and the inaugural winner of the emerging practitioner teaching fellowship at the University of Miami School of Architecture (UMSoA) 2016/17.

Based between Barcelona, Spain and Miami, Brazil leads uAbureau research into unsolicited urban practices and its development of digital fabrication, assembly and construction. Consulting with industry, academic and cultural partners, he works to develop innovative and holistic strategies on how digital tools and fabrication can become accessible to artists, designers and local citizens alike. James co-founded Barcelona's first community ‘makerspace’, MADE, and consults on similar ‘productive’ space concepts in relationship to city development in Miami and Latin America.

Currently, James is the creative director of London-Barcelona-Miami based art production house Fluorescent Smogg and co-directs the international INSITU research program and FabLab Flotante (Floating FabLab) Amazonas in partnership with the Latin American Association of FabLabs.

The School of Architecture is honored to have them join us! 

UMSoA Professor Germane Barnes featured on Curbed magazine
Long before a divisive presidential election proved race and creed remain flashpoints in American society, issues of racial representation had leapt to the fore in a number of industries. As the American Institute of Architects turns 160, the profession still has progress to make toward the goal of true inclusiveness.

In order to gauge just what it’s like for designers of color working today, we talked to 16 architects - from young designers who’ve recently founded their own businesses to established players with high-profile projects under their belts - about the race-related challenges they have faced over the course of their careers. They told us about the pioneers, renowned and unheralded alike, who served as sources of inspiration, and how they forged paths for themselves where there were no trailblazers lighting the way. Perhaps most crucially, each offered advice about how the profession can break down barriers to entry for people of all backgrounds, and explained why this matters. Read the complete article featured on Curbed magazine.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017 - Tecnoglass Lecture by Kunlé Adeyemi
Kunlé Adeyemi, founder of NLÉ, is an architect, designer and ‘urbanist’ with a track record of conceiving and completing high profile, high quality projects internationally. NLÉ is currently developing a number of urban, research and architectural projects in Africa; one of which is Chicoco Radio Media Center; the amphibious building in Delta city of Port Harcourt in Nigeria.

Born and raised in Nigeria, Adeyemi studied architecture at the University of Lagos where he began his early practice, before joining the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in 2002. At OMA, he worked closely with Rem Koolhaas for nearly a decade, leading the design, development and execution of numerous projects in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Kunlé Adeyemi is 2014 Baird Distinguished Visiting Critic of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, teaching and researching ‘Water & The City’. Previously he was the 2011 Callison Distinguished Visiting Lecturer of the University of Washington, teaching and researching ‘The Modern City in the Age of Globalization’ in Chandigarh – India’s first planned modern city. His main area of academic interest is in developing cities of the global south.

University of Miami
School of Architecture
Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center
Glasgow Hall
1215 Dickinson Drive
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
6:30 - 8:00PM

Image: Makoko Floating School by NLÉ is a prototype floating structure, built for the historic water community of Makoko, located on the lagoon heart of Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos.

Friday, March 24, 2017 - Mandatory All-School Meeting
An all-school meeting will be held to discuss details pertaining to UServe Day on Friday, April 7th.

University of Miami
School of Architecture
Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center
Rinker Classroom
1215 Dickinson Drive
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
12:15PM

Wednesday, March 29, 2017 - NCARB & YOU: AXP, ARE, CERTIFICATION by Matthew Friesz AIA, NCARB, LEED Green Associate
Register here.
 
This program will present on a range of licensure topics relevant to students, aspiring architects, supervisors, architects, and people in the architecture profession. The presentation will review the steps necessary to achieve licensure to become an architect and other programs to get the most out of your career in architecture. Free for Associate AIA, AIAS & AIA Members / $20 for Non-Members.

MCAD / Miami Center for Architecture and Design
100 NE 1st Avenue
Downtown Miami
6:00PM (Registration & Networking)
6:30 - 7:30PM (Program)

Monday, April 3, 2017 - Aga Khan Award for Architecture Ceremony
The Aga Khan Council for Florida, in partnership with UMSoA, presents the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Presentation by Brigitte Shim and Discussion moderated by Dean Rodolphe el-Khoury, followed by a Reception and Exhibition of AKAA Award Finalists.

Brigitte Shim a Steering Committee Member of AKAA 2016 Cycle, is a principal in the Toronto-based design firm Shim-Sutcliffe Architects and, since 1988, a Professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto. Brigitte Shim and her partner A. Howard Sutcliffe’s design practice, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, was founded in 1994 and reflects their shared interest and passion for the integration and interrelated scales of architecture, landscape and interior and industrial design.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 and is presented every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, historic preservation and landscape architecture. The current prize fund totals $1,000,000 and the winners for the current cycle were announced on October 3, 2016.

University of Miami
School of Architecture
Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center
Glasgow Hall & Korach Gallery
1215 Dickinson Drive
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
6:30 - 8:30 PM

Friday, April 7, 2017 - USERVE DAY
In partnership with MakerFaire Miami, on April 7th, UMSoA students, faculty and Latin American Fabrication Laboratory (LatAM FabLabs) coordinators will create a series of prototype installations for a Pavilion and Exhibition activation to be used for the April 8th & 9th Miami, MakerFaire Event (to be held at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus). The USERVE Pavilion, an exercise in creative place-making, digital fabrication, interactive media and collaborative design-build, will be transported to the UMSoA campus for exhibition after the MakerFaire Event, in preparation for installation into the semi-permanent, West Coconut Grove Community Marketplace, scheduled to open in May 2017.

The Marketplace is a community-based project being developed, designed and built by the Master of Real Estate + Urbanism program. The USERVE Pavilion and Exhibition will serve as a conduit between local and LatAM-based craftsmen, entrepreneurs, architects, designers and the community-at-large. providing resources, skills and a (semi-permanent) marketplace where diverse start-up vendors, makers and artisans can thrive. A meeting will be held on Friday, 3/24 at 12:15p.m. in Rinker, to share more details.

Miami Dade College
Wolfson Campus
300 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
All-day event

Saturday, April 8 to Sunday, April 9, 2017 - MakerFaire Miami @ MDC
MakerFaire Miami is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue to for these “makers” to show hobbies, experiments, projects. We call it the Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth - a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness. Glimpse the future and get inspired!

Miami Dade College
Wolfson Campus
300 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
Saturday @ 10:00AM
Sunday @ 5:00PM

Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - Tecnoglass Lecture by Luis Callejas
Luis Callejas is the founding principal architect of LCLA office, a studio focusing on the interaction between buildings and landscapes. Having obtained diverse recognition in multiple public space design competitions, Luis Callejas was awarded with the Architectural League of New York Prize for Young Architects in 2013 and LCLA office was selected as one of the world’s ten best young practices by the Iakov Chernikhov International Foundation in 2010. He is a faculty member at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and associate professor at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.

University of Miami
School of Architecture
Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center
Glasgow Hall
1215 Dickinson Drive
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
6:30 - 8:00PM