11.3.2014
SoA hosts two lectures this week. The first lecture, part of the SoA Currents lecture series, will be held by Vicente Guallart, Chief Architect of the Barcelona City Council and Principal of Guallart Architects. The second lecture, part of the SoA Agenda - Call to Order lecture series, will be hosted by the Principals of the firm 2A+P/A, Gianfranco Bombaci and Matteo Costanzo.

Vicente Guallart is the Chief Architect of the Barcelona City Council, whose responsibility is to develop a strategic vision for the city and its major development projects. He was the first manager of Urban Habitat, a new department encompassing the areas of urban planning, housing, environment, infrastructures and information technologies. Previously he founded the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), a well-respected design school in Europe, where he led projects such as Media House Project (with MIT’s CBA), Hyper Catalunya, and, the Fab Lab House. His professional office, Guallart Architects has developed projects, such as, the ports of Fugee and Keelung in Taiwan, the Sociopolis neighborhood in Valencia and Gandia Sharing Blocks and Microcoasts in Vinarós, Castellón, Spain (pictured above). He recently published “The Self-Sufficient City,” a book that outlines a blueprint for the world to come; a world built around cities and their renewed capabilities to become productive again; based on the principles of local self-sufficiency and global connectivity. Guallart's lecture will be held today, Monday, November 3 in Glasgow Hall at 6:30 p.m.

Gianfranco Bombaci and Matteo Costanzo are principals of 2A+P/A, an Italian architecture firm based in Rome. The office works on architectural and landscape design and urban planning, with a particular interest in the nature and conditions of public space, and it engages in a broad range of activities including public and private buildings, housing complexes, urban spaces, event pavilions and temporary installations. The office’s two partners have participated in international design competitions and have been awarded prizes and received honorable mentions. Their work has been presented at several conferences and symposia. Bombaci and Costanzo's lecture will be held this Wednesday, November 5 in Glasgow Hall at 6:30 p.m.

The MRED+U program and Dr. Charles C. Bohl, Director, is hosting Michael Lander as the MRED+U developer-in-residence this Wednesday through Friday. He is an urban real estate developer from Minneapolis-St. Paul with a strong design background and ethos for his firm, LanderGroup. He will be speaking in Dr. Bohl's Friday morning class and is participating in meetings with student teams to review semester projects. He will also be meeting with MRED+U students individually to discuss their career goals. Please email Natalie Bixby, if any faculty would like for Mr. Lander to visit their class or studio this Wednesday or Thursday.

Former part-time faculty and SoA alumni, Rachel Valbrun has been appointed the Bartlett Faculty for the Built Environment at UCL, University College London in the MPhil/PhD in Development Planning program.

After fifteen years of being part of our SoA family, Luis Abella is joining the Information Technology Division.  He will be providing application process and reporting support to both undergraduate and graduate admissions, in his new role as Sr. Business Systems Analyst, Campus Solutions ERP. His last day at Academic Services will be this Friday, November 7.  Please stop by to wish him well.

Xiangyu (Jack) Shao is the winner of last week's Pumpkin Carving Competition, hosted by AIAS. His pumpkin featured a carving of Professor Roberto Behar's portrait (pictured above).

Marisa Hartfield has been nominated for the Student of the Year Award by the AIA Miami Chapter. The AIA Miami will be recognizing Marisa for her contributions and involvement at their awards gala on November 7th.  Please visit their website to get more information on how to attend the event.

There will be an information session for students interested in the Portugal trip this Wednesday, November 5 in the SoA Courtyard at 12:15 p.m. Email Professor Jaime Correa for more information.

The ULI Hines Urban Design Competition is THE pre-eminent urban design competition in North America and drew over 160 team entries from 80 colleges and universities last year.  This is an interdisciplinary competition that requires students from three different programs and we've had MUD, M.Arch, B.Arch 5-th year, MBA and Law students participate. Teams can include 5th year architecture students and any graduate student.  The case brief is released on the first day of classes, January 12. Teams have two weeks to put together a proposal. The SoA has faculty assigned to provide support for teams. Top prize is $50k and the other three runners-up are awarded $10k. We've made the final four once and had an honorable mention last year.  Examples of SoA student work can be viewed on the MRED+U site. If you would like to participate in the Hines Competition, send a note to Natalie Bixby, who can help get your team registered (applications are being accepted NOW and are due by December 8). If you have classmates you would like to work with on a team, send their name and program info to Natalie. If needed, we can pair you with students from other programs to fulfill the interdisciplinary requirements. An information session on the competition will be held on November 10 from 12-1 p.m. in Rinker Classroom, but you do not have to attend this to sign up (especially if you are currently in Rome!).

November 3 SoA Agenda - Currents series lecture, lecture by Vicente Guallart, Chief Architect, Barcelona City Council and Principal of Guallart Architects. Glasgow Hall in Perez Architecture Center, 6:30 p.m.

November 5 Information session for students interested in the Portugal trip this Wednesday, November 5 in the SoA Courtyard at 12:15 p.m. Email Professor Jaime Correa for more information.

November 5 SoA Agenda - Call to Order series lecture, “Alternative Destinies” by 2A + P/A. Glasgow Hall in Perez Architecture Center, 6:30 p.m.

November 9 Places & Spaces: Mapping Science Family Day in partnership with the Lowe Art Museum. Lowe Art Museum, 1301 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables Campus, 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.

November 10 Miami Architect and longtime supporter of SoA, Ken Treister, will give a lecture at Books & Books in Coral Gables on his latest book, Easter Island’s Silent Sentinels. This richly illustrated book of the history, culture, and art of Easter Island is the first to examine in detail the island's vernacular architecture, which is often overshadowed by its giant stone statues. The lecture begins at 8:00 p.m. 

November 10 ULI Hines Urban Design Competition information session. Rinker Classroom, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.

November 12 High Noon faculty lunchtime series lecture, “Imago Urbis” by Jaime Correa. Rinker Classroom in Perez Architecture Center, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.

November 13 Places & Spaces: Mapping Science exhibit and “Cross Resonance in the Arts and Sciences” lecture by Ruth West. Stanley and Jewell Glasgow Hall in Perez Architecture Center, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

November 17 Places & Spaces: Mapping Science exhibit with lecture ”Data Mapping and 3D Visualization with GIS” by Li Yi, lecturer, School of Architecture. Glasgow Hall, Perez Architecture Center, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.