Monthly Archives: April 2015

SCAD ARCH Rock Stars: Catalina Strother, PhD

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Catalina

by Marilyn Armstrong

Professor Catalina Strother grew up in Romania, but what most people may not know is that she once backpacked across Eastern Europe riding the train through Hungary, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Austria and Poland while in an international historic preservation research program in Bratislava.

Catalina recently completed her Doctorate in Urbanism, magna cum laude, from the University of Architecture and Urbanism “Ion Mincu” in Bucharest. This rigorous program took her four years of studies online, readings, paper presentations and traveling for in-person assessment meetings in Bucharest during the summers. Her achievement is a point of pride for her, of course, and the entire School of Building Arts community. Earning a terminal degree while teaching full-time and raising a family is testament to Catalina’s spirit, her personal energy and her commitment to excellence.

Catalina came to SCAD as a Fulbright Scholar to study historic preservation. Before enrolling, she had not set foot on the campus but was drawn to the SCAD program in its historic city setting. After one year in Savannah and an M.A. in historic preservation from SCAD, she continued her studies to earn an M.S. in conservation of towns and buildings from Katholic University of Leuven in Leuven, Belgium.

It was in high school that Catalina knew she wanted to study architecture. With a middle school training in art and having studied mathematics and physics in high school, architecture was not the best choice for a future career, but the only one. Now at SCAD on the other side of the desk, she enjoys academia, engaging with different people and the dynamic environment on the campus. She said the times can be hard and fast but, in between, she makes sure she and her students have fun.

A staunchly private person, she enjoys her family which, in addition to her husband and two children, includes a dog and a cat. Whenever possible, she retreats into reading and painting.

The fun stuff

If you were a rock star, what would you insist on having in the green room before a performance? Grand Marnier

What can you not leave home without? My phone

What are you really bad at? Lying

What are you really good at? I’m a pretty good handywoman. I fix things.

Her favorites —

  • Color: black (all colors)
  • Food: wild game
  • Animal: whale
  • Book: too many to pick just one
  • Movie: Pride and Prejudice. I’ve seen every film adaptation of the novel.

Inspired School Design for Collaboration and Biophilia

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by Sarah d’Auriol

Photo Credit: Odyssey School, Asheville, NC

Photo Credit: Odyssey School, Asheville, NC

In recent years the education system has begun to change dramatically, influenced by research on how children learn and environments that nurture these new teaching techniques. I have researched these changes for my final undergraduate Architecture studio project at SCAD. Conventional education is modeled on the factory system where organization is linear both in the physical layout and in the progression of intellect.  Allison Zmuda describes this as the “do as told model,” in Breaking Free from Myths about Teaching and Learning. It is a system known for rules and rule following but does not allow much leeway for those with different needs than “the norm.” Newer models of education involve fluidity and social engagement.

Grade delineation is becoming less regimented in recent education changes.  With this children are introduced to topics informally at an earlier age and given the tools to progress at their own speed. Architecturally, this means clustering classrooms of similar age together with common areas in between. NAC Architecture describes this as “neighborhoods of three to four classrooms, anchored by a central communal area.” Breakout spaces should be incorporated in school design.  These common areas are used for group work and fun activities, which is a very important strategy in keeping children engaged.

Collaboration has become one of the most important aspects of this change in education layout.  Peter Lippman says, in Designing Collaborative Spaces for Schools, that “Flexible and fluid spaces allow for creative and critical thinking.” I believe this very strongly. The architecture of schools must nurture a learning environment, which is both efficient and adaptive.  For collaboration and group work, spaces must be malleable and underutilized spaces used for collaboration spaces. The Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) describes these spaces as “connected visually with colors and patterns, with platforms, steps, and alcoves.” Understanding this aspect of education is important in designing spaces and choosing furniture, to best accommodate the needs of the changing education model. Breakout spaces can range from niches for one or two people to nodes where a larger group can spread out. Although spaces must be versatile, they must nonetheless have intention, to refrain from creating unsafe and chaotic spaces within the learning environment.

Biophilia is greatly influencing the architecture of schools as well. The WBDG states that “Researchers that study the neuroscience of learning have found that light, color, and scale can affect stimulation of the brain.” Natural light and views should be provided as much as possible without creating glare and are especially good for classrooms, hallways, and common spaces. The creation of structures and spaces with duel use helps with sustainability goals and optimizing resources. Windows not only provide natural light but also create views to the outdoors.  Operable windows allow for natural ventilation, which is healthier for all users and allows for more sustainable buildings. Classrooms can also include outdoor patios or learning areas, which help educate and engage students on the importance of natural resources. Outdoor spaces can dually be used for expending excess energy. Learning about the environment helps children understand the importance of community values and collaboration with not only students but also members of the general community.

This research has inspired my own school design project for studio, where I am creating a large lobby space serving as both lobby and library, delineated through color and elevation changes. For a small-scale school this has many advantages, including the need for fewer supervisors than a separate library and adding more presence and importance to the lobby space.

When implementing changes in school design we seek to understand the ideals of the school for which we are designing.  Understanding that, the importance of social relationship and cultural values can and should be expressed through the architecture.

Sarah d’Auriol is a fourth year Architecture student at SCAD.

Ten Maxims for Effective Project Management

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by Ivan Chow, AIA

10maxims at Eichberg_web

Ink & watercolor, Ivan Chow, 2015

Having been blessed with a rewarding, albeit circuitous, career spanning well over 30 years, from the sole proprietorship of a small design firm to being the managing director of a $400 million commercial real estate portfolio, I have developed 10 project management principles, or maxims, that have served me well. These have been tried and tested in the management of design projects, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, small firms and large corporations, and recently, in higher education. They have been, more often than not, useful and successful in working with clients, consultants, supervisors, subordinates, coworkers, municipalities, accountants and attorneys. These maxims have hung long enough on my walls and in the cubicles of coworkers to have given me enough confidence to think they are, at the very least, useful.

Maxim 1 – Good communication is the key to success in business and life. This does not mean stream-of-consciousness email messages and calls but understanding the work styles and temperaments of those with whom you are communicating.

Maxim 2 – If it’s not in writing, it does not exist. This does not mean that what is not in writing is unimportant, but that handshake agreements are generally not admissible in courts of law and are fraught with risk.

Maxim 3 – Less is more. On any given topic, it is likely harder to write a two-page executive summary than a 10-page exposition.

Maxim 4 – Document all sources and assumptions. I can’t tell you how many times this has come back to bite me when I have neglected to save URLs, bibliographic sources or code compliance sections or to record my own rationale.

Maxim 5 – Maintain consistency throughout each task or project. This requires the most discipline and more often than not mandates uncomfortable changes in presuppositions.

Maxim 6 – Do the best possible work with the time and resources available. There is never enough time to do everything you hope for or intend. Perfection is in achieving the best possible result with what you have.

Maxim 7 – Bring closure to every task and project regardless of outcome. This is very difficult, especially in the case of failure, but if we are to learn from our mistakes, they must be clearly understood.

Maxim 8 – Mistakes are a necessary evil in the pursuit of excellence. We live in a culture that heralds success and belittles failure without recognizing that the latter begets the former.

Maxim 9 – Seek clarity; do not dwell in uncertainty. This does not mean that uncertainty is inappropriate or unnecessary but that the quest for certainty can be infectious and inspiring.

Maxim 10 – Check your work again … and again. Check your spelling and grammar, your presuppositions and assumptions, your motives and the optics through which your work will be viewed. And then get someone else to check all the above.

I do not always adhere to these maxims myself, especially in times of high stress and anxiety and time-compressed expectations. My own family would likely be surprised at my claim to these practices. However, they have served as a good reminder of what I consider “baseline operations” when I am at an intuitive loss as to how to proceed, especially at work.

In conclusion, it needs to be said that, through trial and (a lot of) error, and alongside these 10 maxims, I have learned that managing projects is actually more about managing people and time than it is about managing processes or procedures. I have also learned that there is an important distinction between management and manipulation. The necessity of the former should not be confused with the ugliness of the latter.

Ivan S. Chow, AIA, NCARB, is the interim chair of the architecture and urban design departments at SCAD.

Architecture Students, Get Your Super-Suits Ready

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couple_superhero

by Elaine Gallagher Adams, AIA, LEEP AP

Architects will save the planet. Other keystone players are also critical to surviving climate change and resource depletion, but I’ll stick with my original statement and say that architects needs to be the superhero. You know the one … the masked (because few really know who we are unless we design a big shiny thing in the center of a world -class city) mega-muscled, hyper-focused oddball who flies straight at the metaphorical meteor and redirects it away from Earth in the nick of time. That’s us.

I teach architecture and urban design at SCAD. My students are ready to wear the super-suit, and it fits them well. They understand the urgency to design better buildings and cities and are starting to feel the responsibility as well as see the opportunities inherent in fixing our broken environment through mindful design. It’s a sure bet that our emerging architects will change the game. Most of the architecture and urban design students I talk with want to earn LEED credentials before graduating, and, if they’re in my Sustainable Design class, probably will. They’re also designing beautiful bio-climatic projects in studio to meet the Living Building Challenge, modeling energy consumption, and learning about topsoil science and the importance of nurturing healthy urban ecosystems. This isn’t your grandfather’s architecture school. We now teach and practice creative and integrative design that demonstrates the approach we must all pursue as part of a global solution to resource depletion and climate change.

The urgency is in the numbers. In 2013, 40 percent of total U.S. energy consumption was attributed to residential and commercial buildings (US Energy Information Administration, EIA.gov), and that number continues to rise due to the increasing efficiency of vehicles and increasing growth of population, consumption, and building size. North Americans still consume three and half times more than the average global energy per capita, with developing countries pursuing our consumerist lifestyle. Many scientists and policy makers agree we only have a decade to definitively reverse our CO2 emissions globally before hitting a point of no return. The urgency is here.

Energy Consumption Per Capita 2008-2011 (EIA.gov)

Energy Consumption Per Capita 2008-2011 (EIA.gov)

The architect’s responsibility is evident in our market impact. There are 5.5 million commercial buildings in the U.S., with a conservative renovation cycle of 30 years and an estimated 15 percent demolition rate during that period, creating a potential retrofit market of around 150,000 buildings each year. Additionally, over a million new commercial buildings will be constructed within that same 30 years. And who is designing these retrofits and new buildings? Architects. That’s a call to don our capes and tights and save the planet. The majority of all renovated and new buildings must be designed for current or near-future net zero carbon operations with minimal ecological footprint, or we could lose the game.

This is a HUGE opportunity for architects to make better buildings, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save the planet. Mindfully designed buildings mean healthier people, happier clients, a robust economy, vibrant cities, and healing ecology. Opportunity emerges in specialization as well. Once you put on your super-suit, what’s your superpower? Designing hospitals that contribute to faster healing? Or schools that inspire better learning and nurture curious students? Maybe today’s architecture students will make a significant step toward moving residential design to high performance, low consumption, healthy environments for families.

If we’ve already reached the tipping point for sustainable design, then today’s architecture students are the beneficiaries of this momentum. To ride this wave, every architect need to understand not only how to make a beautiful building that will be loved, but also how to make it perform like a symphony of integrated parts—generating more than consuming while contributing to a vibrant sustainable economy.

Elaine Gallagher Adams, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is a professor of architecture and urban design at SCAD [www.scad.edu].