Professor Rocco Ceo was awarded The Dixon Ticonderoga Award for Exceptional Merit (the second highest award out of 119 juried drawings from over 500 entries) in the 2016 CPSA (Colored Pencil Society of America) 24th Annual International Drawing Competition in Tacoma, Washington. The winning drawing “5 O’clock” (pictured above) is a mixture of orthographic projection techniques with full-size botanical illustrations, and is part of a juried exhibition in the American Art Company Gallery that ran this summer from June 25 - August 13. The juror, Michael W. Monroe is Director Emeritus of Bellevue Arts Museum.

Professor Jaime Correa, recently visited Oaxaca, Mexico where he lectured at the Casa de la Ciudad, a non-profit municipal organization, on issues of ‘bottom-up urbanism.’ The title of the lecture was "Re-walking the city: the death of modern city planning."

Professors Adib Cure and Carie Penabad’s recently completed project in Guatemala, the corporate headquarters for a sugar cane plantation, was recently featured in Dezeen. The structure includes an open-plan workspace illuminated by a monumental skylight.

Upon completion of the Open City Studio Tokyo program, Professor Steven Fett continued his stay in Japan, reviewing the work of graduate students from Meiji University's International degree program. Fett continued his academic participation in Tokyo later in the summer by joining a symposium and participating in a joint venture workshop between Meiji and Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Fett has previously taught in the Open City Studio in Tokyo and Kyoto.  To see past student work, follow #opencitystudio on Instagram.

Professor Jean-François Lejeune received the Giner de los Ríos Fellowship at the University de Alcalá de Henares and spent two months last Fall-Winter to research and co-teach a design studio on water-related issues in the Madrid region. Lejeune also received the Provost’s Research Award for the second consecutive year (2015-16; 2016-17) for his research and book on ‘Interior Colonization in Spain between 1944 and 1970.’ He published the Italian version of his book Modern Architecture and the Mediterranean under the title, Nord-Sud: L’Architettura Moderna E Il Mediterraneo (with ITT Professor Michelangelo Sabatino), as well as, publishing a variety of essays in international publications. Lejeune was recently appointed member of the Research Team 'Technische Univerität Berlin/Technische' at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar for a 3-year long research project on ‘Urbanism in Spain under Franco.’ He also delivered papers at the International Planning History Society in Delft in July and will participate this September, in the Docomomo-International 14th Conference in Lisbon.

Professor Frank Martinez recently returned from Sevilla, Spain where he co-taught the 2016 Sevilla program, a collaboration of Universidad de Sevilla, Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio, the University of Miami, Universidad de Alcalá, Real Academia Sevillana de Buenas Letras, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel de Hungría, Fundación Medinaceli, INTBAU Spain and Centro de Investigación de Arquitectura Tradicional (CIAT). The group addressed an ‘urban design and contextual architecture challenge in Seville,’ while working in the wonderful rooms of the Real Academia Sevillana de Buenas Letras and the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel de Hungría, located in the city center. The outcome was a variety of designs which was presented as a catalogue of architectural solutions to upgrade several public areas in the city center. Participating faculty included Alejandro García Hermida, Lucien Steil, Samir Younés, Julia Manzano Pérez de Guzmán, and Rafael Manzano Martos. The summer studio was featured in the local newspaper, ABCdesevilla.

Dr. Nicholas Patricios, Professor and Dean Emeritus, has been appointed Vice President for Strategic Planning and Analysis of the Athens Institute for Education and Research. He also organized the Programs for the 6th Annual International Conference on Urban Studies and Planning and the 6th Annual International Conference on Architecture this summer in Athens, Greece.

SoA Professors Cristina Canton, Jaime Correa, Adib Cure, Steven Fett and Carie Penabad’s project proposal, the Underline Pavilion was selected as a finalist for the 2016 Miami Foundation’s Public Space Challenge. The competition uncovers the best ideas for creating, improving and activating parks, plazas and local gathering places. Everyone in Greater Miami, individuals, groups, for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations can participate. The idea for the proposal was born out of the collaborative efforts of this past year's USERVE events. The group’s concept was “to improve the M-Path below the Metrorail, before and after The Underline is built. The Underline has a unique challenge; it limits the use of permanent structures that could provide much-needed shade along the corridor. We will create a highly visible, annual architectural competition for a temporary shade structure to be added to The Underline project. The annual competition will be run through the University of Miami’s School of Architecture; and we will build and install the first selected design. Our goal is to enhance public open space in the city by creating an iconic structure to be enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.”

SoA wishes Rafael Acosta and Annette Gallagher continued success. Rafael Acosta, who served as Graduate Advisor in the Academic Services office for almost two years, changed careers; he has taken a teaching position in a middle school in New Jersey. After serving as Communications Director since January 2015, Annette Gallagher took a new position doing content marketing in the private sector.

The MRED+U program will host three executive education training programs for real estate professionals this Fall semester. These include the following short courses, ‘Entrepreneurship in Real Estate’ with Professor Muayad Abbas, ‘Green Roof and Wall Technology’ with Professor Amy Norquist, and ‘Intro to Urban Commercial Real Estate Development for Non-Developers’ with Professor Stephen Nostrand. Visit the program website for more detailed information or email mredu@miami.edu.

The MUD program’s, Introduction to Urban Design (ARC 601), will be sponsored by the Atlanta architectural firm, Historical Concepts, this Fall semester.  UMSA alumnus Andrew Cogar, President of the firm, and Senior Associate David VanGroningen, will join the studio several times during the semester.  The firm’s sponsorship will enable a field trip for the students to visit the studio’s project site in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as, I’On, a New Urban community. Students will also join the second year studio trip to visit New Urban communities in the Florida Panhandle.