CDes MEMO Archives

A bi-weekly electronic newsletter for the faculty and staff of the College of Design.

The deadline for submissions is noon on Wednesday prior to Thursday of publication. Send submissions to Michael Fraase <mfraase@umn.edu>. The next issue comes out September 28.

Read CDes Memo online on the College of Design Web site.

September 28, 2006

Editor: Michael Fraase <mfraase@umn.edu>

From the Dean

The deans and department heads have been meeting to lay out strategies to get the work of the college done during this first, transition year, as well as to move the academic agenda of the college and its units forward. I will write more about that in detail in my next letter, but I did want you to put some dates on your calendars for events related to this work:

Tuesday, October 10: There will be an afternoon staff open house in McNeal Hall so that staff can see where colleagues are located. We will schedule an open house for staff in Rapson Hall sometime in November.
Wednesday, October 18: The college will host an open house for faculty, staff, and students in McNeal Hall for lunch (noon) and in Rapson Hall for dinner (5 p.m.). Nothing formal: just come, look around, eat, and talk.
Tuesday, October 31: The provost will come to an all-college meeting from 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. in the Northstar Ballroom of the Saint Paul Student Center (which was the only time he was available for us) to talk about strategic positioning and how he sees the college in that context. We will also hear reports from the committees on the work they're doing and from the leadership in the college about progress on administrative and academic matters.

During the fall, I will also be holding a series of lunchtime meetings with faculty and staff to listen to your concerns and your suggestions about how we can make the college more than the sum of its (very good) parts. The associate deans will also be convening lunchtime meetings around areas of common interest among faculty and staff, to hear your ideas about how the college can nurture interdisciplinary activity.

It will be a busy fall, with a lot of breaking bread together, so bring your appetite!

Coming up

Today, September 28 -- Drawn Here: Tim Alt, Shane Coen, and David Salmela in conversation with Thomas Fisher
7 p.m., Walker Art Center
Located near the historic town of Marine on St. Croix is a collection of pristine white houses nestled among high prairie grasses, open meadows, and trees. This unique community has garnered critical acclaim for its progressive approach to conservation development and numerous accolades for its embrace of modern design principles.

Today, September 28 -- Goldestein Collections close-up
5 - 7 p.m., Goldstein Gallery and 233 McNeal (Space Lab)
Dolores DeFore and Gloria Hogan, guest curators of "American Fashion Transformed: Four Master Designers," will present a program that combines additional selections from the Goldstein's collection by Norman Norell, Pauline Trigere, Bill Blass, and Geoffrey Beene with behind-the-scenes stories about these designers and the Twin Cities women who wore their fashions.

5:30 p.m. registration and light hors d’oeuvres
6:30 p.m. lecture; McNeal Space Lab
7:30 p.m. light dessert, meet the speakers

Cosponsored by the Twin Cities' Chapter of Fashion Group International. Admission $20 GMD Friends and FGI members, $30 guests, $10 students; payable in advance or at the door. RSVP: 612-624-7434

September 30 -- Opening party for "Places to Go: Bathrooms of the Twin Cities"
6 - 9 p.m., Hennepin History Museum
Explore the historic, aesthetic, and amazing public bathrooms of the Twin Cities in this photographic journey. This is Rebecca Noran's (MFA student, interactive design) thesis exhibition. The opening party is free and open to the public. The exhibit runs September 30 - December 30. The Hennepin History Museum is located at 2303 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-870-1329; hours and information are available on the museum's website.

October 4 -- Seeing, Sketching, Doing (Design @ Noon lecture)
Bill Blanski, AIA, HGA Architects, adjunct assistant professor, architecture, College of Design, University of Minnesota. 225 Rapson Hall.

October 5 -- Annual Goldstein members’ reception at Eastcliff
5 - 7 p.m., 176 N. Mississippi River Boulevard, Saint Paul
Join the Friends of the Goldstein at Eastcliff for a casual gathering to start off the new year in the College of Design. Bring a friend to learn about the Goldstein. Light refreshments will be served. Admission $15 payable in advance or at the door. RSVP: 612-624-7434.

October 6 -- Landscape Architecture 40th anniversary reunion
The reunion includes the panel discussion/lecture "H.W.S. Cleveland: Landscape Architecture, American Civilization, and the West" (6:00 - 7:30 p.m.) and dinner reception (6:30 - 10:00 p.m.), Rapson Hall. Information and RSVP online on the CDes Web site.

October 9 -- Urban Projects lecture
Ken Smith, Ken Smith Landscape Architects, New York, 5:45 p.m, 100 Rapson Hall. H. W. S. Cleveland Lecture.

October 12 -- Tiffany & Co. launches Frank Gehry collection
6 p.m., Tiffany & Co., Galleria, Edina
Guest speaker: Lyndel King, Weisman Art Museum director and chief curator, speaking about Frank Gehry. RSVP: Sarah Mueller, 952-922-0066 x348.

October 13 -- Albert Kahn: Master of Industrial Architecture (Design @ Noon lecture)
Pedro Belo Ravara, architect, BAIXA, Atelier de Arquitectura and assistant professor, Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal. 225 Rapson Hall.

October 15 -- Making River Connections design workshop
A design workshop that will explore ideas for redesigning the site around the Science Classroom Building on the East Bank. Workshop participants will work in teams to devise designs for the site that "tell river stories" and highlight connections between the river, the site, and the campus through strategies such as public art, interpretive installations, plantings, and water features. The teams will emphasize the history and ecology of the site, connecting the redesigned site to the river's past and to its natural qualities.

Saturday, October 14, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 15, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (pin-up at noon)

Registration forms at front desk in the Metropolitan Design Center, 1 Rapson Hall, 89 Church St. SE Minneapolis, or at the Mississippi River Design Initiative Web site. Please register by October 6.

Through October 28 -- Passion & Portraits
Barbara Porwit, administrator of the Goldstein Museum of Design, and an honors graduate of the studio arts and art education departments, has drawings and paintings on display through October 28 at Lake Harriet Community Church, Linden Hills. This is a duo show with photographer Sylvia Horwitz whose work emphasizes the "Art of Tango." Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, 4401 Upton Avenue South, Minneapolis.

Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. - noon. and by appointment
Closing reception: Saturday, October 28, 6 - 10 p.m.

News and announcements

Want to stay in touch with important CDes announcements? Consider setting your web browser's home page to the College of Design Announcements page.

The College of Design was a co-sponsor of the Second Annual Sustainability Awards and Symposium held September 25 - 26 at Saint Paul's Fitzgerald Theatre. The sustainability symposium and organic networking luncheon with the award recipients was held in the Coffman Union Theater.

Renee Cheng, (Architecture) and Marc Swackhamer (Architecture) have joined the Digital Design Consortium (DDC) as associate members. The DDC is a unique collaboration of architects and computer scientists. It is one of only a few efforts in the academic world to bring together specialists who have backgrounds in both design and information technology.

Clothing design seniors will be designing live during the opening of "Pattern Language: Clothing as Communicator," at the Weisman Art Museum, Friday, October 13 at 8 p.m.

Clothing design juniors will present a student showcase inspired by "Pattern Language: Clothing as Communicator," at the Weisman Art Museum, Thursday, November 30 at 7 p.m. The runway show will be followed by a reception and juror's review.

Clothing design juniors working with local culinary students will present chocolate-inspired designs at the Twin Cities Chocolate Extravaganza, November 11 - 12 at International Market Square.

The Center for Early Education and Development in CEHD, with support from the University, is looking for temporary office space in North Minneapolis to serve as a first "place" for the University-Northside Partnership (UNP). Two prospective sites (both on West Broadway) have been identified by the University real estate office, however each space needs substantial design and interior build-out before it can be used for the UNP. One space is a former grocery store, the other a former auto repair shop. Working in teams for three weeks, 34 senior interior design students from DHA 4607 under the direction of Caren Martin and Michael English will be presenting design concepts for both prospective sites on Thursday, September 28, in the Space Lab, 233 McNeal Hall. Please stop by this design fair between 9 a.m. - noon to see their exciting design solutions. For more information, contact Caren Martin at cmartin@umn.edu or 612-624-5318.

The College of Design Student News is distributed to undergraduate CDes students approximately the first and the fifteenth of each month during the academic school year. It contains announcements about important policy changes and deadlines, upcoming events, study abroad opportunities, scholarships, and items of interest specific to the majors in the College of Design. If you have items that you wish to contribute, please e-mail Valerie LeGrand at vlegrand@umn.edu.

The Metropolitan Design Center has released its annual report. Want to know what the Metropolitan Design Center did in 2005-2006? Read all about it in the center's annual report.

As part of a project on integrating health into urban design and planning, the Metropolitan Design Center is hosting a number of events on issues from public safety to active transportation. Limited places are available for people not involved directly with the program. To register, see instructions at the bottom of each event page.

The Metropolitan Design Center has a number of urban design resources available for students.

Two Community Fund Drive kick off events have been scheduled in the College of Design: Monday, October 2, 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. in the Rapson Hall Couryard and Thursday, October 5, 2 - 3 p.m. in the McNeal Hall atrium. Information about the fund drive, how to give online, and treats will be available. Dean Fisher is hosting both events.

Please join your colleagues in celebrating service-learning at CDes Tuesday, October 31, 2:30 - 3:00 p.m. in 22 McNeal Hall (just before the college meeting). Have some treats and apple cider, meet other CDes instructors who are interested in service-learning, and share your ideas for how service-learning could be better supported at the college level. Costumes optional. Please RSVP by October 9 to: mille407@umn.edu.

Virajita Singh (Center for Sustainable Building Research) is looking for undergraduate student help with research related to sustainable design/greening the college. Students will be expected to apply for an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) grant (deadline October 9). If the grant is received, students will receive a $1,400 stipend for their work of 120 hours this semester. Please contact Virajita Singh at singh023@umn.edu if interested.

Shop use in the W.L Hall Workshop has begun in earnest. Kevin Groenke, manager of the shop, passes along these items to emphasize to your students:

Sign in/out every time you use the shop. It is very important that available data accurately reflects use of the shop. Without an accurate record of shop use, reductions in open hours, staffing levels, operating funds, and even space allocation are possible. Of course, increases are also possible if usage merits, so sign in.
Use tools properly. If you're not sure how to use a machine properly, do not use it... let us show you. Dangerous situations are occurring because of improper machine use. We don't want anybody getting hurt, so please, ask for help if you need it.
Return borrowed items. Borrowed safety glasses, glue bottles, pliers, wire cutters, screwdrivers, tape measures, rulers, etc. are not being returned. Please be sure to have a basic modeling toolkit at your studio desk. If you need something occasionally, it's fine to borrow it from the shop; but if you need it often, you really need to get your own. Return tools to the shop as soon as you're done using them. If you see something from the shop sitting unused in your studio, please bring it back. If tools continue to disappear from the shop, we will no longer allow them to be borrowed.
Help is on the way. We have received approval to hire shop attendants for an additional 30 hours per week, but meanwhile we're going to be a little understaffed. Please have patience until we get up to speed. Remember, we reserve the option of limiting shop occupancy to 20 users per attendant (right now, this means a maximum of 20 users in the shop almost all of the open hours). We're not enforcing this occupancy policy as long as everyone respects each other and has patience with the shop staff.

All shop rules, policies and procedures can be found in the User Handbook.

Please feel free to contact Kevin Groenke if you have any questions or concerns regarding the workshop (archshop@umn.edu or 612-624-9093).

Congratulations and kudos

Barbara Martinson (DHA) received a first place award for "Clandestine Incantations" at the 2006 Minnesota State Fair fine arts exhibition.

Leslie Van Duzer (Architecture) was invited to lecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology on the occasion of an exhibition on Adolf Loos's Villa Müller, the subject of her first monograph. The exhibition, curated by her collaborator in Prague, Maria Szadkowska, contains drawings and a model by Van Duzer and her coauthor, Kent Kleinman.

In late September, Leslie Van Duzer will present the 2006 fall lecture for the Alvar Aalto Academy at the Ateneum in Helsinki, Finland. Her talk, "Adolf Loos Readymade," part of an ongoing bi-annual series of lectures on modern architects, will be published in the Academy's journal, Ptah.

Doug Lew (Architecture) has won best of show for the 26th International Exhibition of the San Diego Watercolor Society. The juried competition received 739 entries by artists from 41 states and six countries. Lew also won first honor for the Louisiana Watercolor Society's Annual International Exhibition.

Jeff Crump (DHA) and his home foreclosure research were cited in a Saint Paul Pioneer Press article, "These homes were lost... and that's just the beginning," by Jennifer Bjourhus and Mary Jo Sylwester.

The Center for Sustainable Building Research's John Carmody and Billy Weber have received a grant from the McKnight Foundation to create a regional green affordable housing knowledge base. The knowledge base will serve as a clearinghouse for information on sustainable housing design and construction.

The Center for Rural Design received a 2006 honor award from the Minnesota Chapter of the American Planning Association for its work with Livonia Township in Sherburne County. The Center sought to define a model of "Community Vision," as both process and product that could be applied, with citizen engagement, by other townships in Minnesota. The model allows the townships and cities to manage development and change while maintaining their unique character and value systems.

Sauman "Sue" Chu (DHA) will be presenting the project "A Case Study: Creating and Designing a Bilingual Resource Website for Somali Immigrants" at the Outreach Scholarship 2006 Conference in Columbus, Ohio, October 8 - 10.

Sauman "Sue" Chu (DHA) has been nominated to serve on the University Senate Judicial Committee from 2006-2009.

Lin Nelson-Mayson (Goldstein Museum) has been elected as vice president of the Association of Midwest Museums (AMM) board. The AMM is a non-profit membership organization that provides resources to museums and cultural institutions and services to museum professionals in an eight-state region in the Midwest. The vice president leads AMM's strategic planning and serves as president-elect.

Laura Musacchio, (Landscape Architecture), will be an invited speaker at the Chicago Botanic Garden's Janet Meakin Poor Research Symposium on October 20 with the theme of "Urban Ecology: Celebrating Ten Years of the Chicago Wilderness." She will speak about her current research project: the regreening of the Twin Cities' metropolitan landscape. At the upcoming American Society of Landscape Architects/International Federation of Landscape Architects Meeting in Minneapolis, she'll be leading a sold-out tour on October 6 of the significant restoration sites in the center city of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Daniel Jasper's The Casualties of War: Tyanna Avery-Felder quilt will be exhibited through October at the DPI: Digitally Propelled Ideas exhibit at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. The exhibit was juried by Elliott Earls, head of the 2-D design department at Cranbrook. Jasper's research paper about the Casualties of War series, entitled "Information is Anti Poetry: The Visual Display of Qualitative Information," was selected for presentation at Wonderground: The 2006 Design Research Society International Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

Daniel Jasper's poster on the environmental theme of "desertification" entitled Solar Bear will be on exhibit November through January at the International Biennial of the Poster in Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico.

Peter MacDonagh's (Landscape Architecture) work on green roofs was featured in a Minneapolis StarTribune article. MacDonagh also authored the green roof issue of Implications Newsletter (Vol. 4, Issue 8); a first for a landscape architect. MacDonagh's firm, Kestrel Design Group, is featured in the September 28 issue of Finance & Commerce and drew 350,000 visitors to its booth at the State Fair's new Eco-Experience building.

Publications

Barbara Martinson and Sauman Chu (DHA) have a chapter in Designing Effective Communications: Creating Contexts for Clarity and Meaning (2006, Allworth Press) edited by Jorge Frascara. Their study, Cross Cultural Comparison on Attributing Meaning to Corporate Logos, examines the meaning of abstract symbols in the United States and Hong Kong.

Leslie Van Duzer's contribution to a Festschrift (a celebratory book) prepared for Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa's 70th birthday will be published in Finland this month. Other contributors include Rachel Whiteread, Daniel Libeskind, Kenneth Frampton, and Peter Zumthor.

Transitions

Rachel Iannacone (Architecture), currently teaching at Ithaca College, joined the faculty as a visiting assistant professor teaching history lectures and seminars for the next academic year.

The following architecture faculty have been recognized as leaders in the profession and join the faculty as professors in practice; all are teaching during fall semester 2006 in upper level graduate studios.

Tom Meyer, received the Ralph Rapson Award for Distinguished Teaching from CALA in 1990. He is a principal in the firm Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle Ltd., which has won numerous awards including the 2005 AIA Honor Award. Meyer teaches design studio courses.
Bill Blanski is a design principal with Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. For the past 18 years, he has successfully designed projects for the arts, education, health, technology, and research facilities throughout the United States.
Scott Davidson is a senior associate at Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. He is at the forefront of their digital architecture initiatives where the exploration and adoption of new technology and practices are developed. Davidson is actively involved as a healthcare planner and architect and he works on projects both locally and nationally.
Jennifer Yoos is an architect and partner in the firm of Vincent James Associates Architects (VJAA). Her work integrates design practice with research and explores the interconnections of social, cultural, and environmental issues with the built environment. Current projects with VJAA include the Tulane University Center in New Orleans, the Cable Natural History Museum in Wisconsin, the Hostler Student Center at the American University of Beirut, and the Longitudinal House in Michigan.
Mic Johnson is design principal of RSP Architects and a partner of the firm. Johnson is a former adjunct professor of architectural design at the University of Oregon. After leading his own architectural practice in Portland for several years, he joined Ellerbe Becket as design principal. He joined RSP in 2002.

Colophon

CDes Memo is published by the College of Design at the University of Minnesota bi-weekly, every other Thursday, September through May, on the Web. Please send comments, questions, or submissions to Michael Fraase <mfraase@umn.edu>.

Submissions are due by noon Wednesday prior to Thursday publication. Fall semester publication dates are: September 14, September 28, October 12, October 26, November 9, November 22 (Wednesday because of Thanksgiving; submissions due by noon Tuesday), December 7.

This e-mail was sent by: University of Minnesota, College of Design. 32 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.