Author Archives: SCAD Architecture

SCAD ARCH Rock Stars: Fernando Munilla

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FernandoMadridbyLauren

If only we could all be as cool as Professor Munilla….

by Marilyn Armstrong

Professor Fernando Munilla joined SCAD at the urging of his wife, who had heard that SCAD had an architecture program. At the time, Fernando was working with a firm in Statesboro and had never even considered teaching. He was, however, mentoring a draftsman at the company and soon realized that teaching was, indeed, one of his strong suits. He applied, interviewed and started in 1988, where his first architecture department meeting included a whopping five professors, including the chair. We’re fortunate that he made this decision; Fernando’s list of former students includes the likes of Christian Sottile, dean of the School of Building Arts, and professors Scott Singeisen, Anthony Cissell and Craig Clements. Teaching at SCAD, Fernando likes helping students develop their design ideas and credits his favorite professor, the late Olivio Ferrari at Virginia Tech, as his academic hero.

He remembers when architecture shared Henry Hall (now Eckburg Hall) with the painting program and having to navigate his way through the painters’ studios to get to the architecture spaces. With no NAAB to be concerned with back then, planning each quarter’s classes and lectures was done at the chair’s home over goldfish and beer. Fernando remembers early tours of Eichberg Hall, when prospective students wanted to see the computers. SCAD led the way, he says, with implementing the latest in technology and hiring faculty who were tech-savvy, giving us an edge over other colleges and universities.

Fernando lived in Queens, New York, until he was 12 and then his family moved to Miami, Florida. He recalls the New York World’s Fair and that he could walk to it, which he did almost every day. His fascination with the unusual buildings and the General Motors exhibit Futurama sparked his interest in architecture. With science and math among his favorite courses in high school, he was already looking toward architecture, though he didn’t know it at the time. He liked his architectural drafting course, especially working with the graphics and symbols. (Keep in mind, back then, there was no AutoCAD and all was done by hand.) He went on to complete a B.A. in design at the University of Florida and then his M.Arch. at Virginia Tech.

With 27 years of being a familiar face around campus, you’d think we knew all there is to know about Fernando Munilla, but did you know that he owns guns and that he likes Willie Nelson? When asked about the guns, he assured me that he shoots only at targets made specifically for that purpose! Whether he’s listening to Willie while he shoots, though, is unknown.

Fernando is looking forward to his retirement and seeing the country with his wife, a retired professor of marketing at Georgia Southern. A fan of western movies, he hopes to visit some of the locations where his favorites like True Grit and High Noon were shot and to see Mount Rushmore. Fernando will also get to spend more time with their three children and especially his granddaughter.

The fun stuff

If you were a rock star, what would you insist on having in the green room before a performance? Green tea, Hostess Ding Dongs and Shania Twain

Who are your three fantasy dinner guests? Jimmy Stewart, Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris) and my maternal grandfather, who died before I was born

What can you not leave home without? My keys!

What are you really bad at? Ty#%ping!!!

What are you really good at? Explaining things in ways that people can understand

  • Your favorites —
    • Color: Royal Blue
    • Food: Anything with rice
    • Animal: Dog
    • Book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
    • Movie: North by Northwest

Hypothesis: Finding the Silver Lining

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Emads SpiralBy Emad M. Afifi, D. Arch.

Noun: hypothesis; plural noun: hypotheses

  1. a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
  2. a proposition made as a basis for reasoning, without any assumption of its truth.

We live in a world that wants or pretends to be customized for individual needs. We fall in love with i-this, i-that, My this, and My that. But, fact of the matter is: the digital age has put us all in a programmable mode of existence. The choices are many but are hardly unique or precisely yours! We must follow the procedure, click here or there, drag-and-drop, don’t go back, etc… We got so excited when we became able to zoom-in and zoom-out, touch the screen, swipe, and watch the computer gene respond with all of its might.

Let’s now zoom-in for specific examples. Many of us have tried a custom designed exercise routine, diet, or any other program only to find out that it does not work very well, not for you. We try again and profess that “change is good”. Success often becomes a mirage on the horizon, or a short-lived experience that dissolves in the face of the next temptation or serious challenge. We search the web, again and again. Constant change is sometimes done just for the sake of change; it becomes an escape and an alternative to genuine creativity and a real custom-designed solution. But we often see no problem, we just keep trying… harder. And, while this is a natural part of life that we call “trial-and-error”, it should not be the norm or one’s way of life. We can do much better than that.

The silver lining to this information age is buried underneath the tremendous wealth of knowledge offered freely on the Internet. We can learn from and share with one another all of our unfiltered experiences and know-hows. Yet, we need to recognize the fact that there will be the good, the bad, and the so-so! We need to figure out how to pick and choose, how to weed it all out and how to craft our own individual solutions. Then, methodically test, observe results, and reach conclusions as to what works and what does not work—for you!

In a way, this is the modern day version of the good old collective or “conventional wisdom” humans developed over generations in all cultures, usually in a specific social, economic, and environmental context. But now that most of these conditions we have in common are dissolving in a global melting pot, we need to re-discover individuality in a more meaningful way. In a way, the art of living becomes similar to seeking various design solutions to a common design studio project or assignment. Solutions are all different but they all should be good, viable, and meaningful; some will be excellent or outstanding but there is not necessarily one optimum solution to seek or to emulate or to negate all others.

What is missing and needed for the new “i-age” as I will call it, is the first thing a serious scientific researcher needs to start with—a plausible hypothesis that is specific to each individual or situation, and that addresses exactly what matters to the individual or entity involved. Then we need a possible solution or a carefully crafted set of solutions. Then we can proceed with systematic implementation and observation, then a conclusion: what works and what does not work—for you, not for the entire universe!

This takes patience and perseverance. But, over time, it will build up to individual wisdom. I will call it the “i-Learn” or “i-Wise” approach. Isn’t this what life is all about?

Emad M. Afifi, D. Arch. is a professor of architecture at SCAD.

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.

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.