Vicenza Institute of Architecture – 25 years

August 31, 2010

My husband, Michael Capece, and I took a flight from Atlanta for our first ever trip to Europe for DCP’s Vicenza Institute of Architecture’s 25th anniversary. We arrived in the beautiful town of Vicenza on September 1 and were greeted by Franca Stocca, UF’s employee who has been with VIA since the early 1990’s.

What a beautiful town Vicenza is and I found myself envious of our over 1200 students who have spent time there. The people are friendly, the scenery is beautiful and oh, the food! Pizza, pasta, pastries, cappuccino, gelato and wine….we were in heaven. Thursday was market and the town turns out into the square (overseen by a looming statue of Andrea Palladio himself) to shop for clothing, housewares, food and more. What a sight! I couldn’t resist making a few purchases of my own.

On Thursday evening, Dean Chris Silver joined us in Vicenza. Faculty members Bill Tilson and Alfonso Perez-Mendez, who are teaching VIA courses this fall, joined us for a simple and elegant meal. On Friday, Dean Silver, Michael and I took the short train ride to Venice to see San Marco Square.

On Saturday, the VIA 25 anniversary celebration was held. Over 100 folks gathered to celebrate with us. There was a retrospective exhibit assembled by Professor Perez-Mendez and of course, lots of food. Several VIA alumni including Michael Spitzer of Colorado and Carrie Hansen of Switzerland were on hand to help us celebrate. Dean Silver and School of Architecture Director Martin Gold honored Franceso Cappellari and Franca Stocca for their dedicated service to VIA. (Read Franca’s remarks.)

Sunday found Dean Silver, Michael and me touring the nearby town of Verona and its Roman arena. Fabulous!! On Monday, we left Italy hoping to return very soon.

The Road to Spain: Two Months Left

The last time I’d been out to the construction site there was really nothing for a layperson to see – just various materials waiting in a storage building. But on April 5 when I ventured out once more, there was another building on the site – an 800-square-foot sustainable house to be exact.

The Solar Decathlon Europe competition takes place in June in Madrid, Spain, and UF’s Solar Decathlon Team has been working around the clock all weekend to make sure the sustainable house is ready to be shipped in time.

Trucks, Jeeps and storage trailers were parked at all angles on the nearby grass and wires and ladders adorned the remaining space.

The house nearing completion.

The house, sitting on a raised platform, was the center of attention for the students. Bustling around in the hot midday sun, they deftly maneuvered the machinery and materials as they began preparing to run an acoustical test.

Architecture and acoustics master’s student Adam Bettcher told me that the acoustics test consists of a speaker shooting sound at a very loud level toward the building. They test how much of the sound makes it through the various walls to the other side, and can then make any necessary changes to the structure.

Some houses need better scores on acoustics tests, he said. It would be crucial for a house built near a highway, but not as critical for a house in the middle of a forest.

“This is a very unique building,” he said.

Students worked around the clock over the weekend to bring the house closer to completion.

Standing behind the Danger Keep Out, Authorized Personnel Only, Hard Hat Area and Safety First signs, I watched the progress.

In their dirt-streaked jeans, sunglasses and hardhats, the students looked tired, but pleased. It was exciting, they said, to see it come together.

Paige Mainor, architecture master’s student, said the next step is to work on the interiors. But as June approaches, they will soon be reaching the final steps of the process –deconstructing the house for shipment to Spain.

“We’re all looking forward to putting it in the shipping containers,” Mainor said. “It definitely feels good.”

Fall Semester Study Abroad Paris Program

 

The Basics

Every fall during the regular semester, landscape architecture students head to Paris to study design from a global perspective. Established by landscape architecture professor R. Terry Schnadelbach, the program is in its sixth year. It is the only program of its kind in the nation that was originally designed for landscape architects.

The students spend most of their mornings taking a course called French Culture and Language, which helps them become accustomed to living in a different culture.

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons are spent in studio, and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday students are free to travel as they please. Tuesdays are spent in the field touring projects in and around Paris.

Landscape architecture associate professor Mary Padua has been involved in the program since 2007, and was able to give some insight into the different projects on which the students worked.

A lot of work was done outside the classroom; the students traveled and viewed many different designs around Paris.

 

The First Project: Landscape Lexicon

Time period for completion: 2 weeks

Padua’s explanation: “The first project is what we call Landscape Lexicon where the students learn about the various landscape elements in Paris and apply it to their first project. Essentially they learn about, for instance, all the different types of signs, street lights, etc. They learn about how the French landscape architects use design language to discuss the formal structure of designed landscapes and then they translate that into their first project. It’s really applying and learning culture and design vocabulary for Paris.”

The Second Project: Contemporary expression of the historic space (Historic Axe)

Time period for completion: 4 weeks

Padua’s explanation: “We had the students look at this project which is currently a ‘pass through’ boulevard for cars that then turns into a pedestrian zone. In its current form, the boulevard is ‘illegible’ for pedestrian use – meaning that it’s green but there’s no real ‘identity’ or reason to walk in that area. There’s no  ‘there’ there if you will.

We asked them to look at that very carefully. They took expressions that were borrowed from what we were teaching them having to do with modernism, art deco and so forth. This area was the 1900 World Exposition space where several of the buildings were retained. I don’t want to say that the park areas around there are derelict, but they’re just not revitalized. So the students had to look carefully at how they might apply and create and regenerate these spaces along the historic Axe, while also acknowledging the dominance of the Axe. Some of them wanted to break the linear aspects of the historic Axe, some of them wanted to acknowledge the linear character.

They looked first at how it existed so that they could understand the character of the space. The question remained, knowing that this area of Paris has a rich history – art deco really began in Paris – how do you then continue that expression, or change it? The students are encouraged to think individually and design based on research. They need to gain an understanding of the historical intention, explore the historic design geometry and then re-interpret it. In a way there’s a combination of both art and history and integrating design. They explore questions of place-making and how do you make this area special?”

The students put their ideas to work in the studio on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

The Third Project: The Park

Time period for completion: 6 weeks

Padua’s explanation: “Essentially there is this beautiful green space. There’s a huge tourist destination called Jardin des Plantes, which is a big botanic garden that’s been there since the 1880s, a zoo, a university, the new Arab World Institute, and then there’s a mosque. So it’s a very interesting site that butts up against the river. There’s a road and two bridges, and then this linear park along Quai St. Barnard that was designed in the late ‘70s early ‘80s by one of my teachers, Larry Halprin. We had just started the project and learned that Larry had passed away, so we decided to honor him and dedicate our work to him. The most interesting thing about this area is that  it’s the only segment of open space along the river that was designed by an American and has a different kind of look. All the Seine River edges have a promenade that is lined with trees. So it’s just very simple – usually there’s the river, the promenade, another deck, another promenade and trees. But in this case, Larry had done this very curvilinear, set of four or five outdoor rooms and lots of paving. And over time because of the nature of what he had designed it became derelict, and lot of homeless people started to live there. In Paris they allow them to, so it was a place where they could pitch their tents and so forth. But, people use the space, especially, in the summertime. It evolves into a Latin dance outdoor venue. The students were asked to acknowledge and retain this quality of the site.

They’re given the freedom to express. We give them certain parameters, but really it’s a chance for the students to flex their design muscles. They’re in their fourth year in a fifth year program, so I think it’s important that by this point they’re building their confidence in design, and we work with them individually to help them develop their sense in terms of design. Each of them had their own expression.”

What they gain:

“They gain their confidence because they’re living abroad. They are enriched by being in a different culture, so they’re exposed to both Paris and also Europe because we take them to Barcelona. Plus they travel a lot so they can’t help but be influenced by everything that’s around them. In France, their world is different than Americans, in terms of aesthetics and in terms of culture. In France when you design a project, they don’t care about the budget. Here in America, the first meeting with a client is often dominated by a huge discussion about the budget. Whereas in Paris, there is no discussion – it’s considered crude to talk about money. So for them the aesthetics – the importance of the environment – is critical for their people. So as much as they can, they try to maintain a landscape and environment that continues to evolve and stays true to form.”

The students showed Gator pride while in Paris.

“The students end up doing really well in the profession. Essentially in the fourth year they can have two options. Summertime they’re required to undertake internships. Option one allows them to extend that summer internship into the fall, or the second option is that they can participate in the Paris Study Abroad Program. Most of the employers in Florida – when a student comes to them and asks, ‘I have this opportunity to go to Paris, should I go or stay here to continue my internship’ – they say ‘Go, you have to go.’ It’s a world experience for designers called the Grand Tour … It’s important for students to actually experience the space, not just read about it in books or lectures. Experiencing a culture, also, is such a strong educational tool on several levels – they become stronger as people. Many of them even become more appreciative of the American culture because they see strengths and weaknesses of both. In addition to their design maturation, we see a lot of personal growth.”

“I think it’s a life-changing event for many of the students. It’s truly transformative.”

International summer school

This summer, DCP students are running to class all over the world. Check out these photos from the landscape architecture and urban and regional planning students at the Bali Field School:

Click to see the photo gallery.

Connections

It’s interesting how the Internet represents today and tomorrow, but at the same time, can connect us to the past. Last week, I discovered an article online that referenced UF architecture students and the School of Architecture’s Preservation Institute: Caribbean (PI:C).

It was time to investigate.

Solving design problems around the world

Whenever you have time to spare on campus, be sure to check out the student work on display in the Architecture Gallery.

This week, the School of Architecture’s Studio Mexico program is presenting “Placemaking in the Historic Tequila Valley, Jalisco.” William Tilson, assistant dean for international studies and service learning, gave a tour of the exhibit to alumni Carlos Barrios and Rob Blakeslee, now practicing in Orlando (above).

All three men agreed that students bring fresh approaches to design problems abroad because they do not have any preconceived ideas about how things “should” look. 

Next week, the gallery will feature 21 landscape architecture student projects from the fall Paris Program, including a re-imagining of the Jardin des Tuileres for the 21st century.

What does international education mean to DCP?

It’s International Education Week at UF, which is a perfect time to reflect on international education at our college.  As it happens, Bill Tilson, the college’s assistant dean for international studies and service learning, has his office next door to mine.  So I asked him to share his thoughts on our international programs:

International experiences are so fundamental to our academic and professional missions that it’s hard to describe us without them. Design, planning and construction projects, whether theoretical or actual, take place in the world.

Our work is affected directly by different climates, cultures and traditions of making. Study abroad keeps us focused on important issues, such as sustainability, in an increasingly globalized world.

I met with two architecture faculty this week, Donna Cohen and Claude Armstrong, whose work is a perfect example of what Bill explains above.  They are working on an integrated theater and orphanage in Moshi, Tanzania.  They recently received an international award, which recognizes sustainable construction, for their work on the project.

Donna and Claude’s project takes place in the world, to reference Bill’s comment.  In fact, they are working with a firm from Finland, so even the design team is global. Their work is impacted by the Tanzanian culture. Not only do they want to respect the local culture, but also, they want to use technology and materials that are local to the orphanage.

One of DCP’s strength is the wide reach of our international programs and the impact our faculty and students are having on communities throughout the world.  Our international programs began nearly 30 years ago, so our college has a long history of international education.

 Check out the map of our work around the world: worldmap