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SPRING/SUMMER 2013

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

he storm surge from Hurricane Sandy hit with Far Left: City Sink by Denise Hoff- a vengence on October man Brandt. Left: 29, 2012. Residents of Architecture with and without the New York region will by José Oubrerie longT remember that day of Architecte. Below: Ineffable edited by devastating coastal flooding. Bradley Horn. In the wake of the storm there has been renewed interest in Prof. Catherine Seavitt Nordenson’s 2010 co-authored book On the Water: Palisade Bay, which proposed soft infrastructural adaptive strategies for New York’s Upper Harbor given sea level rise and risk of flooding. Seavitt appeared with Prof. Hillary Brown on CUNY-TV’s weekly Published! cable program “Study with the New Books from SSA Authors Best” and is in much demand in various discussion forums. Also hree new books from sity of Kentucky. The book in- in high demand to comment the SSA faculty ranks—As- cludes a foreword by Dean on responses to Sandy is Prof. Tsociate Professor Denise George Ranalli and an intro- ited by Brad Horn, contributes Hoffman Brandt, Associate duction by Kenneth Frampton, fifteen new essays to the ongo- Lance Jay Brown, President- Professor Brad Horn, and Fall and was generously funded by ing debate surrounding the use Elect of the AIA New York 2009 Distinguished Visiting Elise Jaffe and Jeff Brown. of computational tools in archi- Chapter and Co-Chair of its Professor José Oubrerie—have City Sink: Carbon Cycle Infra- tecture and architectural educa- Committee on Design for Risk been released by Oscar Riera structure for our Built Environ- tion. The exquisitely illustrated and Reconstruction. Ojeda Publishers in cooperation ments presents design research essays from figures ranging To examine the storm’s chal- with our school. by landscape architect Hoffman from Karl Chu and Evan Douglis Architecture with and without Le Brandt into the potential to cre- to Lebbeus Woods and our own lenges to urban infrastructures, Corbusier, documenting the ex- ate “a meta-park of dispersed George Ranalli were first pre- the MLA program organized hibit in the SSA Gallery in landscape infrastructure to sented in a stimulating 2007 the day-long symposium Spring 2010, features two semi- boost carbon stocks with bio- conference at the SSA. The term “Waterproofing New York,” held nal buildings from José Oubrerie mass.” The project proposes the “ineffable” is used in the title to on March 2, 2013 and featuring Architecte: the parish church of “formation of long-term seques- suggest the elusive, unquantifi- able nature of efforts to deter- 20+ panelists on the topics of Saint-Pierre in Firminy, France tration reservoirs for soil or- and the Miller House in Lexing- ganic carbon in mine the appropriate role of shelter, power and data, waste ton, Kentucky. The church was and Long Island.” The research, a technology, more specifically, and water, circulation and fuel, one of Le Corbusier’s final proj- meticulously documented sys- computational technology in and parks and recreation. A ects, developed in the early temic design response to the architectural design discourse publication will follow. 1960s during a period when Ou- threat of carbon dioxide as a and practice. brerie was Corbu’s apprentice. greenhouse gas contributor to All three books, with more June Williamson Oubrerie worked throughout his global climate change, challeng- SSA-author titles to come, are Associate Professor career, spent as an architect and es many of the assumptions in capably designed and published [email protected] educator of renown, to bring more mainstream debates about by Argentina-based Oscar Riera this canonical building to com- carbon emissions. Many SSA Ojeda and are distributed pletion. The spatially intricate students were contributors to through an arrangement with Miller House was completed in the thought-provoking proposi- Thames and Hudson Publishers. the late 1990s when Oubrerie, tions illustrated in the book. City Sink and Ineffable were par- now at the Ohio State Univer- Ineffable: Architecture, Compu- tially funded by the Spitzer

sity, was a Dean at the Univer- tation and the Inexpressible, ed- School of Architecture. # Source: ORO Publi s her

1 student news Awards

ongratulations to June William s on left: Photo recent scholarship win- Cners: > Moe Myat Thu (BArch) was awarded a $1500 scholarship from the Asian Alumni group of the CCNY Alumni Association in rec- ognition for her high GPA and demonstrated leader- ship qualities in serving the community. > Jamie Edindjiklian (BArch) won a Sean F. Mellon Ar- chitectural Student Schol- arship from the New York Council of the Society of American Registered Archi- tects (SARANY).

Milestones Above: A Yale Residential College building by James Gamble Rogers ing Voices Award from the “Design Contest: Public Space reflected in the glazing of Louis I. Architectural League of New Today” at the ASLA Michigan The SSA will host a “$mart $tart Kahn’s Art Gallery. York in 2010. Her studio’s de- Annual Conference, and de- Workshop” on achieving wage Below: Fifth year BArch students sign of the Mizuta Museum livered the winter address at equity for women on April tour the World Trade Center construc- was featured in Architect mag- the Dallas Architectural Forum 25, led by guest Annie Houle. tion site with Lance Jay Brown. azine (June 2012). Speaker Series. Brown has Thanks to Prof. Marta Gut- Distinguished Visiting Pro- been appointed advisor to the man for raising student aware- fessor Audrey Matlock is the Farragut Fund for Catalan Cul- ness on this important topic. founding principal of New ture in the U.S. The Parks for the People York-based Audrey Matlock Assistant Professor M.T. award-winning MLA first year Architects with notable and Chang presented the paper design studio work for Nico- awarded projects including “Collaborative Team Teaching demus, Kansas, was on view in the Chelsea Modern in New in Computer Technology” at the J. Max Bond Center. Hope York and the Medeu Sports the 2012 ASET Annual Inter- you got to see it! Center in Kazakhstan. national Conference in Tai- MLA student work in the Associate Professor Jacob pei, Taiwan. 2010 issue of SLUM Lab, co-ed- Alspector’s firm Alspector Adjunct Associate Profes- ited with Alfredo Brillembourg Architecture completed the sor Antonio Di Oronzo is and Hubert Klumperer of ETH first phase of Grace Church completing the design of an Zurich, was presented by Prof. School’s new High School 8-story mixed-use building on Denise Hoffman Brandt at Division on historic Cooper 70th Street in Queens, a small the 2012 Council of Educators Square. The 51,000 sf project event pavilion in Central in Landscape Architecture is a renovation of the former Park, and a 100,000 sf project conference. close and in situ: the newly Hartz Mountain manufactur- in Huayu City, . He re- reopened Yale Art Gallery ing facility assembled from cently completed a 60,000 sf (1953) and the Yale Center for seven mid-nineteenth cen- state-of-the-art movie and TV British Art (1974). The lectures tury townhouses. studio complex by the Gowa- Travel & Trips have been enlightening; if you Professor Lance Jay nus Canal in . missed any of them, catch up The Spring 2013 theme of Brown, FAIA, DPACSA, is 2014 Adjunct Professor Alberto by watching the webcasts, the Sciame Lecture Series is President-Elect of the Ameri- Foyo was invited to partici- archived online! # “Rethinking Kahn.” The series can Institute of Architects pate in the Third International features talks by an impressive New York Chapter and contin- Landscape Conference “De- array of experts on the iconic faculty news ues to Co-Chair its Design for sign for China” at the Central work of architect Louis I. Kahn Risk and Reconstruction Com- Academy of Fine Arts in Bei- (1901 to 1974). In preparation mittee which has presented a jing. He delivered two lectures: for the in depth Kahn-a-thon, pring 2013 Distin- number of post-Sandy events “Tradition meets Modernity” two bus loads of SSA students guished Visiting Profes- including “NYC’s Post-Sandy and “Genetic Landscapes and traveled to New Haven in Ssor Yolande Daniels is Recovery: How’re We Doin’?” Cultural Landscapes.” early February to see two of a founding partner of studio at the Center for Architecture. Professor Peter Gisolfi’s his most famous buildings up SUMO, winner of an Emerg- Brown delivered the keynote firm Peter Gisolfi Associates

2 FAR LEFT: View of the completed atrium in Grace Church School’s new High School Divi- sion, by Alspector Ar- chitecture. LEFT: Model of the Yangtze River Delta Project.

atherine Seavitt Studio Seavitt , C atherine struction (Sept. 2012) discuss- Delta Project, exhibited at ing CCNY’s Solar Decathlon the Princeton-Fung Global project. Pilla’s firm DRPILLA Forum “The Future of the recently completed the reno- City” in Shanghai. Her essay vation of the French Institute “Pinocchio: Making a Thing,” Alliance Française Florence co-authored with Guy Nor- , Paul Warchol; RI G HT Warchol; , Paul Gould Hall, a 361-seat perfor- denson, will be published in mance hall on Manhattan’s the forthcoming UT Austin east side. journal PLATFORM: Poetics of

Source: LEFT Dean George Ranalli Building. Catherine delivered was the recipient of the 2012 a plenary at “Coastal Hazards has received the following and a review essay discussing Design Award of Excellence Summit 2013” at the Univer- awards: the American Society recent books on the history of from the Society of American sity of Florida’s Institute for of Landscape Architects, New schools is in the Journal of Registered Architect’s New Sustainable Coastal Environ- York Chapter, Merit Award the Society of Architectural York Council and an inau- ments and Infrastructure. for the Hackley School Master Historians (December 2012). gural Stanford White Award She presented “Feral Bestiary: Plan, Tarrytown; the Preserva- Gutman contributed to “See- from the Institute of Classical Re-wilding the Garden” at the tion Award from the Histori- ing East Fourth Street: Ver- Architecture and Art in De- conference “Animal Repre- cal Society of Tarrytown for nacular Architecture in New cember 2012 for the Saratoga sentation” at the University of the Goodhue Memorial Hall York City,” the newest virtual Avenue Community Center, Michigan and two additional at the Hackley School; the AIA exhibit of Place Matters, pro- also published in the article papers, “Cultura and the Coun- Westchester/Hudson Valley duced by City Lore and the “The Power of Play” in Urban sel of Roberto Burle Marx” 2012 Citation for The Center Municipal Art Society. The Land (March/April 2012). and “Endangered Species in at Maple Grove, Kew Gardens; current issue (19:2) of Buildings Adjunct Professor James S. the Parliament of Things: Cli- and the AIA Westchester/Hud- & Landscapes, which Gutman Russell participated in several mate Change and the Urban son Valley 2012 Citation for edits, features an especially panels: “Another Language of National Wildlife Refuges,” at the Pinkham Hall Renovations interesting essay on John Ma- Diplomacy” at the Architec- the Council of Educators in and Additions, Rye Country roglies’ photographs. tural League; “Sweet and Salt,” Landscape Architecture 2013 Day School in Rye, New York. Associate Professors De- which engaged Dutch tech- Annual Meeting in Texas. Professor Toni L. Griffin nise Hoffman Brandt and niques of stormwater manage- Professor Achva Benzin- and the J. Max Bond Center Catherine Seavitt Norden- ment; “A New Look at Historic berg Stein presented her were recently named to the son were awarded a New York Preservation” at the Municipal paper “Cultural Landscapes, a inaugural Public Interest De- State Council on the Arts Art Society’s Summit on the Case Study of New York City sign 100 List. Public Interest grant through the Van Alen City; and a panel of critics with Implications for Rio De Design represents a collective Institute to produce the ex- (including Distinguished Prof. Janeiro” at the symposium portrait of the future in part- hibition “Animal Territories.” ) at the De- “Urban Transformation and nership with Autodesk, the Hoffman Brandt spoke at a signers and Books Fair. Cultural Heritage” in Brazil. University of Minnesota Col- seminar for The CUNY Center The Learning Center in the Stein has been named Distin- lege of Design, Tandus Floor- for Urban Environmental Re- Bronx, designed by Associ- guished Alumna for 2013 by ing and the Fetzer Institute. form and presented a keynote ate Professor Julio Salcedo- the College of Environmental Professor Marta Gut- address at the ASLA New Jer- Fernandez, was inaugurated Design of the University of man presented her paper sey Annual Conference. in February 2013. The Center at Berkeley. “Orphaned in Oakland: Char- Adjunct Assistant Profes- is run by Urban Health Plan, a Asociate Professor Elisa- ity, Race and Childhood In sor Vanessa Keith was a com- non-profit health provider for betta Terragni’s article “Twist Progressive-Era California” petition juror on two interna- the metropolitan region. and Shout” was in Abitare mag- at the recent meeting of the tional design competitions: d3 Associate Professor Cath- azine (Nov. 2012) and she gave Urban History Association Natural Systems 2012 and d3 erine Seavitt Nordenson a keynote lecture at the inter- in New York. Her essay “The Housing Tomorrow 2013. collaborated with structural national symposium “Recycle Physical Spaces of Childhood” Associate Professor Domi- engineer Guy Nordenson and Landscape Recycle Memories” is published in The Routledge nick R. Pilla co-authored an chemical engineer Howard at the University in Venice. History of Childhood in the West article in Modern Steel Con- Stone on the Yangtze River continued on page 4

3 continued from page 3 Forum for Sustainable Con- Terragni was awarded the struction in Mumbai, India. first prize—“Premio Magistri Volkmann presented CCNY’s Cumacini 2012”—for reuse of Solar Decathlon findings at existing buildings for the real- this year’s ACSA fall confer- ized project of the Museum ence at Temple University. Casa Pagani, Italy. She served A segment on the retrofit- as adviser for the YAP MAXXI ting of suburban malls, based 2013, in partnership with on the research of Associate MoMA and MoMA PS1, Rome Professor June Williamson, and was appointed by the was nationally broadcast in Canada Council for the Arts Dec. on the CBS Evening News. to serve as a juror to select an Work by Adjunct Associate exhibition team for the Venice Professor Suzan Wines’ firm Architecture Biennale, 2013. I-Beam Design was featured Adjunct Associate Profes- in a number of international sor Albert Vecerka produced publications including Materia a remarkable series of photo- (Italy), Smith Journal (Australia), graphs over the four seasons Laha (Saudi Arabia) and Para Ti of the new Visitors Center at Deco (Argentina). A chapter on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden I-Beam’s humanitarian work for Weiss/Manfredi. Vecerka appears in the book Urgent Ar- is documenting construc- chitecture: 40 Sustainable Hous- tion of the hardscape and ing Solutions for A Changing landscape for the new Native World by Bridgette Meinhold. Flora Garden designed by Siteworks also at the Brooklyn A final note: Brad Horn, Botanic Garden. Fran Leadon and Denise Associate Professor Chris- Hoffman Brandt were wel- tian Volkmann and Distin- comed into the ranks of facul- guished Professor Michael ty with tenure this year. Horn Sorkin were invited by the and Leadon were promoted to

Holcim Foundation to pres- Associate Professor. Congrat- A ndre w H efter Photo: ent at their 4th International ulations, professors! # Albert Vecerka climbs for the perfect shot at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture City College of New York 141 Convent Avenue New York, NY 10031 TEL: 212.650.7118-7119 FAX: 212.650.6566

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