9.1.2014
A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

Welcome to the 2014-2015 academic year. I am thrilled to be joining SoA as the new Dean. The school, the university, and the city have much to offer and I have been already busy with many of you designing and implementing new programs that cultivate and expand our resources.

To begin, I present you here with SoA NOW, our new weekly e-bulletin.  SoA NOW will be issued digitally each Monday to keep all of us up to date on weekly events; SoA student, faculty and staff news; items of interest on the UM campus; architecture news in Florida and places beyond; competitions; conferences and important academic reminders from UM and SoA. News and comments can be sent to SoA NOW via email: ivonne@miami.edu.

We are launching a suite of public programs that will intensify the discussions around SoA’s core values and extend its reach toward new areas of research and practice. By now you have surely enjoyed “Thomas Spain: A Retrospective” in the Irvin Korach Gallery, and “Places and Spaces” in Glasgow Hall. They kick off an exhibition program that will further cultivate the use of the Perez Architecture Center as a public venue for architecture and its related fields.   

On the first day of classes we began with a lecture by Alessandro Pierattini in our new SoA Currents series. SoA Currents is a forum for the diversity of voices and interests in the field; Lectures in the currents series are regularly scheduled on Mondays at 6:30.

Launching later in September is High Noon, a lunchtime series devoted to the work of our own community. High Noon provides an opportunity for SoA and UMiami faculty to present and discuss work-in-progress in an informal setting. We begin this series on Wednesday, September 24th with "Global Healthcare," a lecture by Jose Gelabert-Navia.

I am also delighted to announce SoA Agenda. This is a more focused series featuring lectures, interviews, mini-symposia and ambitious exhibitions, all curated around an annual theme that is of particular relevance to our school. SoA Agenda celebrates the history of the school while clarifying its renewed purpose in an international arena.  This year’s SoA Agenda is titled “Call to Order” and will be inaugurated by Nader Tehrani of NADAAA on September 17th.  The full program will be released shortly.

This is not all. Planning for additional fora and venues is underway to firmly establish SoA as the epicenter of architecture culture in Florida.

Rodolphe el-Khoury, Dean

FACULTY NEWS

Jacob Brillhart's firm, Brillhart Architecture won two AIA Florida/Caribbean Honor & Design Awards. The firm’s “Case Study House” (pictured above) was honored with a 2014 Merit Award for Unbuilt Design and "Infinite City" was honored with the 2014 Object Award (with fellow Architect Manuel Clavel).

Victor Deupi's recently published book, Architectural Temperance: Spain and Rome, 1700-1759, examines relations between Bourbon Spain and papal Rome (1700-1759) through the lens of cultural politics. Available through Routledge.

Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt, partners in the firm of R & R Studios, were recognized by the Americans for the Arts organization in Washington for their project “Desert Spring” - a crash barrier wall along three Phoenix bridges. In addition, they have added two more volumes, The Living Room and Museum Works to their series Incomplete Works. Available thorugh Amazon.

Teofilo Victoria and his firm de la Guardia Victoria Architects & Urbanists, Inc. were presented with a 2014 Addison Mizner Medal (in the Renovation category) for Hope Hill Residence in the Bahamas by the Florida Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA).

Joachim Perez was awarded a grant from NCARB (National Council of Architectural Registration Board) and published a new book, Thinking (Globally), Acting (Locally), Writing (about Architecture as a Professional Endeavor), which features the work of seven students from SoA. The award recognizes the importance of communicating effectively with the written word. For a copy, email Professor Perez.

Katherine Wheeler recently published, Victorian Perceptions of Renaissance Architecture (Studies in Art Historiography). The book traces the gradual acceptance of Renaissance architecture through the writings of architects and critics in the 19th century - at the intersection of architectural history, practice, and education. Available through Ashgate.

STUDENT NEWS

This year's Capstone Charette, organized by SoA's Real Estate Development and Urbanism program and UM’s Office of Civic and Community Engagement, came up with a unique idea to nurture the area of small businesses in Allapattah. Part of the residents’ vision for their neighborhood, also known as Little Santo Domingo, came true with a colorful corner mural by artist Ariel Cruz, commissioned by SoA and the Dominican American National Foundation.

A prestigious academic opportunity has been given to MArch student Ehsan Sheikholharam by the Wessex Institute of Technology. He will be traveling to Siena, Italy this month to deliver his paper entitled “Architecture as symbolic reverence for nature. Comparative case study: Seed Cathedral, 21st Century - Pigeons’ Monastery, 16th Century.” 

All of the School’s students are encouraged to join one or more of architecture’s student organizations. These include the AIAS (American Institute of Architecture Students), the Student Council, and the USGBC Students.  Each year the AIAS participates in the Miami AIA Celebrate Architecture Month in November with an exhibition of student work. They also hold a popular annual art auction to raise funds for their programs. The Student Council represents the entire architecture student body with a series of social events and their annual Black and White Ball. The USGBC Students organization represents a union of students and young professionals who promote the integration of green building techniques and methods.  Board members include: AIAS President Daniella Cioffi (5th year); Vice-President Matthew Smith (3rd year); Treasurer Jeffrey Adler (4th year); Secretary Anthony Lopez (5th year); Events Chair Samuel Wyner (3rd year); and Publicist Kamilah Acebal-Acevedo (4th year). Student Council co-Presidents Nikita Chabra and Stefani Fachini; and Vice President Daniella Cioffi. USGBC student board members are to be elected.

EVENTS THIS WEEK

August 25 - September 12 "Thomas A. Spain: A Retrospective," an exhibit by Thomas A. Spain, Architect, and a member of the University of Miami School of Architecture faculty since 1966.  Irvin Korach Gallery, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  On September 12, a reception with the artist will be held in the Gallery following a lecture by School of Architecture Professor Jorge L. Hernandez in Glasgow Hall at 6:00 p.m.

September 4 Places and Spaces: Mapping Science exhibition launch event and keynote lecture by Katy Bὄrner, Professor of Information Science at the School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University. The lecture and a reception will take place in the Perez Architecture Center’s Glasgow Lecture Hall and Irvin Korach Gallery from 6 to 8 p.m. 

The exhibition, lectures and events will be in several venues throughout the University of Miami campus through its closing on December 11, 2014.  It is an exhibition of 100 visualizations intended to inspire cross-disciplinary discussion on how to best track and communicate human activity and scientific progress on a global scale. 

COMING SOON

September 17 SoA Agenda - Call to Order: Nader Tehrani of NADAAA. Glasgow Hall, 6:30 p.m.
October 8 SoA Agenda - Call to Order: Salottobuono. Glasgow Hall, 6:30 p.m.
November 5 SoA Agenda - Call to Order: 2A + P/A. Glasgow Hall, 6:30 p.m.