CED LECTURE SERIES

Peter Walker Opens the CED Spring 2012 Lecture Series

January 23, 2012  |  6:30PM  | 112 Wurster Hall

Peter Walker, founder of PWP Landscape Architecture, will kick-off our CED Lecture Series for the Spring 2012 season.   With a career spanning five decades, Peter Walker continues to have a profound international influence on the field of environmental design. PWP Landscape Architecture is a Berkeley-based landscape architecture firm with a commitment to dynamic and sustainable solutions for constructed systems and environments. Over the years, PWPLA has created numerous prize winning and iconic designs, ranging from small gardens to complete master plans. Walker served as co-designer with Michael Arad to the National September 11th Memorial, unveiled this past September.   The complete schedule for the Spring 2012 Lecture Series is posted on the CED website.

EXHIBITION OPENING

Caroline Lavoie: Landscapes of the American West

January 24, 2012  |  6-9PM  | Wurster Hall Main Gallery

Join us for the exclusive opening reception of landscape architect and conceptual artist Caroline Lavoie's newest exhibit Landscapes of the American West. This opening reception features Lavoie's latest work examines the process involved in drawing on-site: seeing, interpreting and internalizing the qualities and variations of the landscape to facilitate a form of interaction with the viewer.

SPECIAL EVENT

Sustainable Mobility & Cities Conference

February 23, 2012  |  8AM-6PM  | David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley | $75 (Advance Registration is Required)

The third of three major events in the 2011-2012 Conference Series on Urban Sustainability, sponsored by the Ted and Doris Lee Fund at the College of Environmental Design and the Boalt School of Law, managed by the Institute of Urban & Regional Development.   The urban transport sector's environmental footprint is profound and continues to grow– around a third of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in U.S. cities comes from the transport sector. The debate on how to shrink the urban transport footprint has divided along two lines: arguing for technological solutions (e.g., clean-fuel vehicles; smart cars), and arguing that policies (e.g., congestion pricing) and land-use management (e.g., TOD) that reduce the demand for car travel provide a better solution. The debate and rhetoric has become fractious and at times divisive. In modeling how to comply with AB32, for example, CARB (California Air Resources Board) estimates that some 90% of the targeted CO2 emission reductions will come from technological advances and a much smaller share (5% or so) might come from land-use initiatives like TOD. Many smart-growth policy advocates dispute this. The technology versus policy debate could very well be a false dichotomy. Is it possible that the two might effectively work together in tandem, promoting cross-purposes? Need the two points-of-view always be at loggerheads? Might there be synergies/win-win outcomes associated with aggressively pursuing the two strategies in tandem.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS

Spring 2011 Professional Development Workshops

This spring, CED will continue offering its Professional Development Workshops, which offer applied skills training to professionals and students. These workshops will help meet the demands of the ever-expanding interdisciplinary field of environmental design through topical and focused investigations of new theory and methods, the introduction of new computer technologies and software, the development of leadership and presentation skills, and the explanation of new professional standards, regulations, and policies. The upcoming workshops are:

• Intermediate Rhino 4.0 | Saturday, January 28 | 214 Wurster Hall | 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m | Lynch, M.Arch
• Intermediate SketchUp: Best Practices and Modeling Topography | Saturday,  February 4 | 214 Wurster Hall |
  9 a.m. - 1 p.m | Sensenig, M.C.P., M.Arch.
• 3D Forms Using the Laser Cutter | Friday, Feburary 10 | 214 Wurster Hall | 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Palmer
• Intermediate Adobe Suite | Saturday, February 11 | 214 Wurster Hall | 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Suczynski M.Arch., M.C.P.
• Advanced Wooden Joinery | Friday and Saturday, February 24-25 | 277 Wurster Hall (CED Fabrication Shop) |
  10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Wolpe-Senior
• Basic Milling and Machining (Metals) | Saturday, March 10 | 277 Wurster Hall (CED Fabrication Shop) |
  10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Prom and Quiambao

Space is limited for the Professional Development Workshops, so please register now.

SPECIAL EVENT

The 2012 Berkeley Circus Soirée

March 2, 2012  |  6:15-9:30PM  | deYoung Museum, San Francisco |Tickets are $75 - Purchase Today

The much-anticipated Berkeley Circus returns in 2012 to celebrate the work of CED's students and faculty, as well as the accomplishments of the greater CED community.   Berkeley Circus Soirée will be held at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The evening will begin with the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony, followed by a talk by Van Jones, an award-winning pioneer in human rights and the clean-energy economy. A reception in celebration of the achievements of CED students, faculty and alumni will conclude the evening.   We hope to see you there!

EXHIBITION

R. Burton Litton, Jr.: California Landscapes

January 9-March 6, 2012  | Volkmann Reading Room, Environmental Design Library (210 Wurster Hall)

This is an exhibit of watercolor sketches by CED Professor R. Burton Litton, Jr., who was a pioneer in the field of visual landscape assessment and is remembered for his abilities as a teacher, author, photographer and watercolor painter. Spanning the years 1982–98, Litton painted these watercolors while teaching his favorite class, Landscape Architecture 223: Introduction to California Landscape Regions.   Exhibit prepared by T. Mollette-Parks, J. McBride, K. Cahill, and Mirando Hambro. Sketches scanned by C. Becker.

Hong Kong businessman honors father, Woo Hon Fai, with major gift to UC Berkeley; Dec. 19, 2011 UC Berkeley News Center

David K. Woo (B. Arch. ‘67) credits his parents with knowing that UC Berkeley was the perfect place for his higher education. Now a successful architect, businessman and developer in Hong Kong, and director of the Hong Kong-based Woo Hon Fai Holdings, Woo has chosen to bestow a gift of $1 million to endow a faculty chair in the College of Environmental Design. This gift is being matched with $1 million by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as part of the Hewlett Challenge for Faculty Support. The David K. Woo Chair in the College of Environmental Design will support the work of an eminent faculty member in the CED.

CED Dean Jennifer Wolch praised Woo’s philanthropy by saying, “We are extraordinarily grateful to David Woo for creating The David K. Woo Chair in the College of Environmental Design. This generous gift of faculty support is extremely important to CED and will benefit students and faculty for many generations to come.”

Steinberg Architects Wins Design Project for Chinese Metropolis

Steinberg Architects announced it will manage the design of the extensive Changsha Songya Hu mixed-use project in China after winning a highly competitive bid process. Set in the scenic outskirts of Changsha, a regional metropolis with 7 million residents located on the Xiang River about 400 miles north of Hong Kong, Changsha Songya Hu will develop 7,000 acres. Key aspects of the project include a waterfront business district, an entertainment district, and an ecological model community mixing residences and green public spaces. The total building area is 80 million square feet — the rough equivalent of 30 Empire State Buildings spread across a 3-square-mile area.

“We are honored to join the talented team that’s developing the Changsha Songya Hu project,” said Steinberg Architects President Rob Steinberg (M. Arch '77). “This new landmark in Hunan Province will gracefully integrate many public and private spaces in harmony with the local landscape. We’re eager to realize the vision of Changsha Songya Hu as an ecological, vibrant and livable community of international distinction.”

A Review of the Ninth Anual Jencks Award Winner’s RIBA Lecture; Dec. 21, 2011 The Architectural Review

The Royal Institute of British Architects hosted the ninth annual Jencks Award, described by its eponymous founder as ‘a simultaneous prize to theory and practice, two mistresses in addition to Madame Architecture’. Not to confuse his metaphors, Charles Jencks continued by paraphrasing the noted evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould: ‘Greatness is an assault against Dame Nature.’

The award’s presentation is accompanied each year by a lecture from the beneficiary. American Eric Owen Moss (M. Arch '68) scooped the prize this year, a man Jencks described as ‘an architect’s architect’. This figure, while clearly distinct from the uncompromising individualistic architect of popular imagination (Howard Roark) is nonetheless a stoically heroic one. According to Jencks, no other architect has been responsible for such a large number of buildings in such a small area of city, over such a long period as Moss.

IwamotoScott featured in Architectural Record : Dec. 2011

IwamotoScott Architecture is included in Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard 2011, the magazine’s 12th annual feature “introducing ten firms shaping the future of design”. IwamotoScott’s Edgar Street Towers project is featured on the cover of the magazine’s December 2011 print edition. From the magazine’s online description of the Design Vanguard selection: “Architectural Record’s annual Design Vanguard issue brings together the architects who are already doing some of the most innovative work in the field and will lead the profession in the future. They are the firms at the forefront of design and the architects are the ones to watch. Design Vanguard began in Architectural Record in 2000 with the intention of spotlighting the future stars of the profession. Vanguard architects are selected by a panel of professionals including deans of architecture and critics from around the country after they reviewed design portfolios.”

South Korea’s Plans for Tidal Power: When a “Green” Solution Creates More Problems; Nov. 29,2011

Yekang Ko (Ph.D. candidate in LAEP), Derek K. Schubert (MLA '02) and LAEP Professor Emeritus Randy Hester examined how this "conflict of greens" is playing out in South Korea's environmental policies. This article tie into the ongoing work of SAVE International (SAVE), an environmental nonprofit devoted to preserving the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill and promoting sustainable solutions throughout that bird’s migratory flyway. Founded in 1997, SAVE includes CED students, alumni, faculty, and staff, as well as citizens the world over. Visit SAVE online for more information.

Suburban Alternatives

Karen Kubey (B.A. Arch. '02) has been awarded an independent projects grant from the New York State Council on the Arts for an exhibition and catalog entitled “Suburban Alternatives.” Case studies of low-rise, high-density housing of the 1960s and ‘70s and interviews with project architects will highlight urgent social and ecological issues. This project extends Karen Kubey’s recent housing research, funded by the Buell Center’s Oral History Award and a William Kinne Travel Fellowship from Columbia.

Peter Marcuse Wins ACSP Distinguished Educator Award

Peter Marcuse (Ph.D. DCRP '72) received the Distinguished Educator Award at the annual meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. This is the highest honor the organization offers and it is for excellence in all dimensions.

Paul Endres Wins 2011-12 ACSA Creative Achievement Award

Paul Endres (M.S '91; M. Arch. '94), Catherine Wetzel and Rick Nelson from Illinois Institute of Technology were honored with the 2011-12 ACSA Creative Achievement Award for thier project, Structures in the Studio.This 5-year study demonstrates an emerging collaborative context where architectural education converges with structural design. With 118 students involved in 23 projects of varying scale, this course demonstrates the durability and sustained impact of an engaged curriculum. The course investigates forces and flows not only through lectures, but also through a combination of workshops and both hand and digitally fabricated scaled and full-scale models. The range of exploration articulated by the faculty dynamically links practice to the academy, not merely as digital simulation, but also as an expressive three-dimensional textbook of applied knowledge. This course can be emulated as an in-depth and comprehensive introduction to structures in architecture.

Michael Lin with 2012 CAA Bradford King Award

Cal Alumni Association’s 2012 Alumni Award recipients include Michael Lin (BA Arch. '01) for the The Bradford S. King Award for Excellence in Service by a Young Alumnus. He will be honored at Charter Gala 2012 on March 24, 2012 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. The Gala will also celebrate the 144th anniversary of the University of California and the 140th anniversary of alumni excellence and support through the Cal Alumni Association. Online registration and full details will be available starting February 2