Alumni in the News

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Learning Barge Christened in Portsmouth

[by Jane Ford, UVa News Services] The water of the Elizabeth River sparkled like a jewel in the sunlight Monday as a crowd gathered at Portsmouth's High Street Ferry Landing. Dignitaries, supporters and friends had their eyes focused on a brighter jewel, though: the Learning Barge, a floating environmental wetlands classroom. All were gathered to celebrate the christening of the 120-foot vessel, designed and built by University of Virginia faculty and students in collaboration with the nonprofit Elizabeth River Project and support from more than 50 sponsors. The goal of the floating classroom is to teach students of all ages how to steward the river and its resources, with the goal of making it swimmable and fishable by 2020. The Elizabeth River is one of the most polluted rivers on the Chesapeake Bay. Architecture School associate professor Phoebe Crisman conceived of the project in 2005 while working on an environmental cleanup project on the river. "It has a series of learning environments," she said. "It's built on a barge, which travels from place to place along the Elizabeth, and also potentially other rivers, teaching children and the public about wetlands, about restoration and about green energy systems. The barge is completely off the grid, so we generate our own power, collect rainwater and treat that water onboard." Marjorie Mayfield Jackson, executive director of the Elizabeth River Project, hailed the University's involvement. "The partnership between The Elizabeth River Project as a local nonprofit and the University of Virginia, which is some distance away in the mountains – not even on this river – is a powerful statement that the University is looking beyond the ivory tower, so to speak, and seeing the needs of the state, the needs of the region and making the commitment – quite a considerable commitment – to travel to the need and invent the solution that will make a difference," she said. From the steps for children – up to 60 at a time – to sit on and hear stories about the river, to pumping water into planters of grass wetlands to learn about ways to remove pollutants, to compost toilets and sun-powered lights, every aspect of the design was conceived with education in mind. [for complete article, follow link in headline]

Friday, September 4, 2009

Casey Jones (BSArch'88) Appointed Director of the General Services Administration's Design Excellence Program

Casey Jones (BSArch'88) worked with the GSA’s Design Excellence Program as an associate director prior to establishing the Michigan-based design firm jones|kroloff in 2005 with Reed Kroloff, director of Cranbrook Academy of Art. According to archpaper.com, Jones will “oversee the architect selection and design process for the GSA, one of the nation’s largest development organizations, responsible for building and maintaining everything from border stations to federal courthouses.” Prior to joining the federal government, Jones helped establish the Van Alen Institute, a leading architectural and urban design research center in New York. In May 2007, Architect Magazine recognized Jones as one of the "hidden powers" practicing in architecture today.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Responses to July e-News PushPin: What do you think about the restoration plans for The Lawn?

Email your thoughts to: sarc-news@virginia.edu Responses as of 8/14/09: Preserve the lawn as it has evolved with its inaccuracies and intrusions. We like it this way. Stop the re-dos of Mr. Jefferson's work and strive for the same quality of design in today's architecture at UVA. Dare to challenge Mr. Jefferson's architecture, rather than bowing to it at every turn, and give us the excitement of world class 21st century architecture at the University of Virginia! John Farmer School of Architecture, 1974 = As wonderful as White’s Rotunda may seem to those who weren’t around in the 60’s and early 70’s, The interior room was one large, tall forlorn empty space. Once the Library left in the 30’s it became the reciprocal of a homeless person – it was a personless home. The 70’s restoration inserted sensible uses and spaces into what had been Lurray Caverns, east. The exterior is another story. White’s exterior, green roof and all, was a triumph. Finally, remember Jefferson got to Italy, but gave up the journey as too difficult before he got to Rome. Jefferson never saw the Pantheon in person. As the preservation community chases its tail, may I suggest considering how Jefferson would have designed the Rotunda, if he had gotten to Rome and seen the real thing? White, I presume had seen the real thing, and come to think of it, White’s central room looked a lot like the interior of the Pantheon. Tobin Richter SARC ’67 (BCP) = When I was studying preservation with Murray Howard in the late 1980s, he said there wasn't enough information to reconstruct the parapet on Pavilion X -- Jefferson's drawings weren't detailed enough, and the available photographs weren't clear enough to gauge sizes accurately. Has new information been uncovered that now makes that possible? As for restoring Jefferson's "intentions" -- he frequently changed his mind about things. Better to figure out what really was built, or else leave it alone. Christopher Wigren College '79 Architecture '89 = This response is based solely on the article which does not discuss specific plans so much as it articulates contrasting opinions. What is evident is that many people are caught in the moment of their own experience. Those who criticize the 1970s renovation (which was linked to the Nation's bicentennial in 1976) should stop and consider what a 21st century renovation may be thought of by future alumni and faculty - the operative idea is that "it seemed like a good idea at the time". Everyone needs to take a step back from the architectural details (green versus white roofs, for instance) and consider the basic original Jeffersonian concept - that of the "Academical Village". The Rotunda should be restored as a locus for academic activities. In the 21st century, this may not mean returning it to use as a library, since Alderman long ago usurped that function, but as a vibrant academic node - a coveted, continual meeting place for important forums, university based organizations, or other intrinsic educational activities. I doubt that anyone would argue that Stanford White's Cabell Hall has never been a satisfactory counterpart to the Rotunda. He had good reason to be nervous (although a commission is a commission). Possibly the larger issue would be consideration of the demolition of Cabell Hall, to re-establish the vista that seemed to have satisfied Jefferson at the birth of his original design. As wonderful a space as it is (and it is a space as much as an visually organized collection of buildings) Jefferson's design is not original however. One has only to walk the original grounds of William and Mary, with the Wren Building as the anchor, to see where Jefferson's inspiration originated. Donald R. Greenwood Architecture, 1971 =

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

"Learning and Growing: Garden as Labratory" featuring Megan Bucknam (MP'09)

[From UVa News Services] Two student gardening projects at the University of Virginia are natural education laboratories. At Hereford College, the residents' garden is in its third year, while a student-run community garden was built this spring on the west side of the intersection of McCormick and Alderman roads. "People don't know how food grows," said Megan Bucknum (MP'09), summer director of the 400-square-foot Alderman garden plot that includes 23 raised beds. Students work the organic garden, with most of the produce being donated to the Charlottesville Community Food project, which provides vegetables to low-income families. The volunteers take a small amount of the produce for their use. The Hereford gardens, involving faculty, staff and students, are part of an ambitious agenda. Hereford resident and physics professor Keith Williams, who oversees the gardens, said students learn many lessons by tending their food from seed-pod to plate. Aside from food plants, Williams and his students have planted herbs such as bee balm and borage, which have medicinal uses, and stevia, which can be used as a sweetener. The also plant a variety of flowers to attract bees and repel insect pests. The garden is Williams' organic classroom, as he and his students experiment with planting techniques to determine which plants go well together, using "cover crops" to prevent erosion when the primary crops are not in season and "trap plants," such as eggplant, to draw bugs away from other plants. Initially created to provide fresh vegetables, the Hereford garden now has a broader scope. Williams plans to make ethanol from the corn crop, can some of the produce, dry herbs and save heirloom seeds to plant next year. Students harvested wheat and rye cover crops, which they will mill into flour to use in baking bread. [for complete article, follow link in headline]

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Susan "Syd" Dorsey (BSArch'82, Darden'87) Appointed to Special Commitee on the Nomination of the University's President

[From Charlottesville Newsplex, July 21, 2009] The search is officially on for a replacement for retiring UVA President John T. Casteen III. A special committee of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia will meet in August to begin its search for a successor to Casteen. Casteen announced on June 12 that he will retire on Aug. 1, 2010, when he completes 20 years in office. He is among the longest-serving university presidents in the nation. The board's manual calls for the rector to appoint a Special Committee on the Nomination of a President to "seek and recommend to the board a person to fill the vacancy." "It's the board's responsibility – and its most important task – to find the best person to lead this University," said John O. "Dubby" Wynne in a press release. Wynne is the University rector and chairman of the search committee. The special committee is made up of nine members of the Board of Visitors, six faculty members, two former rectors and two students. Of the 19 members, 11 are alumni. Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, will serve as secretary to the committee. [for complete article, follow link in headline]

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

U.Va. Students Build a Floating Environmental Classroom

About 10 University of Virginia students, along with a handful of alumni, two faculty members and consultants, put in another 16-hour workday Thursday at a Chesapeake shipyard. Their mission: to prepare a floating classroom, dubbed the "Learning Barge," for its September launch date. Thanks in part to a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the students are spending six weeks living in two Virginia Beach townhouses while constructing the classroom, bathrooms, demonstration wetland habitat and breezeway on the solar-powered barge. Since the project's 2006 inception, more than 100 students have been involved through a variety of means: design studios, environmental seminars, engineering courses, competitions, fundraising efforts and construction. [follow link in headline for complete article and photos]

Monday, July 6, 2009

Faculty and Alumni Discuss UVa Restoration Plans in "The Hook"

[The Hook, "The Rotunda: What the devil to do with it?", June 30, 2009 by Dave McNair] As UVA prepares to restore the Lawn, just how much Jefferson to put back into it appears to be a matter of intense discussion. In the Spring issue of UVA’s alumni magazine, an article on the restoration plans, “This Old Academical Village: Preserving a national treasure,” elicited a number of angry letters-to-the-editor in the magazine’s Summer issue, questioning the wisdom of some of the proposed projects. In particular, alumni criticized plans to attach a “parapet” to Pavilion X and change the colors of the Lawn’s white columns and dark green shutters, arguing that just because Thomas Jefferson may have wanted them that way doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.... [for complete article, follow link in headline]

For more news, see the News Archive.

Keep us informed

Please keep us informed by sending news, suggestions for articles, or photographs of recent work for inclusion in the Alumni Notes section of Colonnade. All materials will be included to the extent that space allows.

Send JPEGs and brief descriptive text to the editor, Derry Voysey Wade, at derry@virginia.edu, or send original photos and text to P.O. Box 400122, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4122, Attn: Colonnade Editor.

	Home > Alumni > Alumni in the News Wednesday, September 16, 2009 Learning Barge Christened in Portsmouth [by Jane Ford, UVa News Services] The water of the Elizabeth River sparkled like a jewel in the sunlight Monday as a crowd gathered at Portsmouth's High Street Ferry Landing. Dignitaries, supporters and friends had their eyes focused on a brighter jewel, though: the Learning Barge, a floating environmental wetlands classroom. All were gathered to celebrate the christening of the 120-foot vessel, designed and built by University of Virginia faculty and students in collaboration with the nonprofit Elizabeth River Project and support from more than 50 sponsors. The goal of the floating classroom is to teach students of all ages how to steward the river and its resources, with the goal of making it swimmable and fishable by 2020. The Elizabeth River is one of the most polluted rivers on the Chesapeake Bay. Architecture School associate professor Phoebe Crisman conceived of the project in 2005 while working on an environmental cleanup project on the river. "It has a series of learning environments," she said. "It's built on a barge, which travels from place to place along the Elizabeth, and also potentially other rivers, teaching children and the public about wetlands, about restoration and about green energy systems. The barge is completely off the grid, so we generate our own power, collect rainwater and treat that water onboard." Marjorie Mayfield Jackson, executive director of the Elizabeth River Project, hailed the University's involvement. "The partnership between The Elizabeth River Project as a local nonprofit and the University of Virginia, which is some distance away in the mountains – not even on this river – is a powerful statement that the University is looking beyond the ivory tower, so to speak, and seeing the needs of the state, the needs of the region and making the commitment – quite a considerable commitment – to travel to the need and invent the solution that will make a difference," she said. From the steps for children – up to 60 at a time – to sit on and hear stories about the river, to pumping water into planters of grass wetlands to learn about ways to remove pollutants, to compost toilets and sun-powered lights, every aspect of the design was conceived with education in mind. [for complete article, follow link in headline] Friday, September 4, 2009 Casey Jones (BSArch'88) Appointed Director of the General Services Administration's Design Excellence Program Casey Jones (BSArch'88) worked with the GSA’s Design Excellence Program as an associate director prior to establishing the Michigan-based design firm jones\|kroloff in 2005 with Reed Kroloff, director of Cranbrook Academy of Art. According to archpaper.com, Jones will “oversee the architect selection and design process for the GSA, one of the nation’s largest development organizations, responsible for building and maintaining everything from border stations to federal courthouses.” Prior to joining the federal government, Jones helped establish the Van Alen Institute, a leading architectural and urban design research center in New York. In May 2007, Architect Magazine recognized Jones as one of the "hidden powers" practicing in architecture today. Friday, August 14, 2009 Responses to July e-News PushPin: What do you think about the restoration plans for The Lawn? Email your thoughts to: sarc-news@virginia.edu Responses as of 8/14/09: Preserve the lawn as it has evolved with its inaccuracies and intrusions. We like it this way. Stop the re-dos of Mr. Jefferson's work and strive for the same quality of design in today's architecture at UVA. Dare to challenge Mr. Jefferson's architecture, rather than bowing to it at every turn, and give us the excitement of world class 21st century architecture at the University of Virginia! John Farmer School of Architecture, 1974 = As wonderful as White’s Rotunda may seem to those who weren’t around in the 60’s and early 70’s, The interior room was one large, tall forlorn empty space. Once the Library left in the 30’s it became the reciprocal of a homeless person – it was a personless home. The 70’s restoration inserted sensible uses and spaces into what had been Lurray Caverns, east. The exterior is another story. White’s exterior, green roof and all, was a triumph. Finally, remember Jefferson got to Italy, but gave up the journey as too difficult before he got to Rome. Jefferson never saw the Pantheon in person. As the preservation community chases its tail, may I suggest considering how Jefferson would have designed the Rotunda, if he had gotten to Rome and seen the real thing? White, I presume had seen the real thing, and come to think of it, White’s central room looked a lot like the interior of the Pantheon. Tobin Richter SARC ’67 (BCP) = When I was studying preservation with Murray Howard in the late 1980s, he said there wasn't enough information to reconstruct the parapet on Pavilion X -- Jefferson's drawings weren't detailed enough, and the available photographs weren't clear enough to gauge sizes accurately. Has new information been uncovered that now makes that possible? As for restoring Jefferson's "intentions" -- he frequently changed his mind about things. Better to figure out what really was built, or else leave it alone. Christopher Wigren College '79 Architecture '89 = This response is based solely on the article which does not discuss specific plans so much as it articulates contrasting opinions. What is evident is that many people are caught in the moment of their own experience. Those who criticize the 1970s renovation (which was linked to the Nation's bicentennial in 1976) should stop and consider what a 21st century renovation may be thought of by future alumni and faculty - the operative idea is that "it seemed like a good idea at the time". Everyone needs to take a step back from the architectural details (green versus white roofs, for instance) and consider the basic original Jeffersonian concept - that of the "Academical Village". The Rotunda should be restored as a locus for academic activities. In the 21st century, this may not mean returning it to use as a library, since Alderman long ago usurped that function, but as a vibrant academic node - a coveted, continual meeting place for important forums, university based organizations, or other intrinsic educational activities. I doubt that anyone would argue that Stanford White's Cabell Hall has never been a satisfactory counterpart to the Rotunda. He had good reason to be nervous (although a commission is a commission). Possibly the larger issue would be consideration of the demolition of Cabell Hall, to re-establish the vista that seemed to have satisfied Jefferson at the birth of his original design. As wonderful a space as it is (and it is a space as much as an visually organized collection of buildings) Jefferson's design is not original however. One has only to walk the original grounds of William and Mary, with the Wren Building as the anchor, to see where Jefferson's inspiration originated. Donald R. Greenwood Architecture, 1971 = Wednesday, July 29, 2009 "Learning and Growing: Garden as Labratory" featuring Megan Bucknam (MP'09) [From UVa News Services] Two student gardening projects at the University of Virginia are natural education laboratories. At Hereford College, the residents' garden is in its third year, while a student-run community garden was built this spring on the west side of the intersection of McCormick and Alderman roads. "People don't know how food grows," said Megan Bucknum (MP'09), summer director of the 400-square-foot Alderman garden plot that includes 23 raised beds. Students work the organic garden, with most of the produce being donated to the Charlottesville Community Food project, which provides vegetables to low-income families. The volunteers take a small amount of the produce for their use. The Hereford gardens, involving faculty, staff and students, are part of an ambitious agenda. Hereford resident and physics professor Keith Williams, who oversees the gardens, said students learn many lessons by tending their food from seed-pod to plate. Aside from food plants, Williams and his students have planted herbs such as bee balm and borage, which have medicinal uses, and stevia, which can be used as a sweetener. The also plant a variety of flowers to attract bees and repel insect pests. The garden is Williams' organic classroom, as he and his students experiment with planting techniques to determine which plants go well together, using "cover crops" to prevent erosion when the primary crops are not in season and "trap plants," such as eggplant, to draw bugs away from other plants. Initially created to provide fresh vegetables, the Hereford garden now has a broader scope. Williams plans to make ethanol from the corn crop, can some of the produce, dry herbs and save heirloom seeds to plant next year. Students harvested wheat and rye cover crops, which they will mill into flour to use in baking bread. [for complete article, follow link in headline] Thursday, July 23, 2009 Susan "Syd" Dorsey (BSArch'82, Darden'87) Appointed to Special Commitee on the Nomination of the University's President [From Charlottesville Newsplex, July 21, 2009] The search is officially on for a replacement for retiring UVA President John T. Casteen III. A special committee of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia will meet in August to begin its search for a successor to Casteen. Casteen announced on June 12 that he will retire on Aug. 1, 2010, when he completes 20 years in office. He is among the longest-serving university presidents in the nation. The board's manual calls for the rector to appoint a Special Committee on the Nomination of a President to "seek and recommend to the board a person to fill the vacancy." "It's the board's responsibility – and its most important task – to find the best person to lead this University," said John O. "Dubby" Wynne in a press release. Wynne is the University rector and chairman of the search committee. The special committee is made up of nine members of the Board of Visitors, six faculty members, two former rectors and two students. Of the 19 members, 11 are alumni. Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, will serve as secretary to the committee. [for complete article, follow link in headline] Tuesday, July 14, 2009 U.Va. Students Build a Floating Environmental Classroom About 10 University of Virginia students, along with a handful of alumni, two faculty members and consultants, put in another 16-hour workday Thursday at a Chesapeake shipyard. Their mission: to prepare a floating classroom, dubbed the "Learning Barge," for its September launch date. Thanks in part to a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the students are spending six weeks living in two Virginia Beach townhouses while constructing the classroom, bathrooms, demonstration wetland habitat and breezeway on the solar-powered barge. Since the project's 2006 inception, more than 100 students have been involved through a variety of means: design studios, environmental seminars, engineering courses, competitions, fundraising efforts and construction. [follow link in headline for complete article and photos] Monday, July 6, 2009 Faculty and Alumni Discuss UVa Restoration Plans in "The Hook" [The Hook, "The Rotunda: What the devil to do with it?", June 30, 2009 by Dave McNair] As UVA prepares to restore the Lawn, just how much Jefferson to put back into it appears to be a matter of intense discussion. In the Spring issue of UVA’s alumni magazine, an article on the restoration plans, “This Old Academical Village: Preserving a national treasure,” elicited a number of angry letters-to-the-editor in the magazine’s Summer issue, questioning the wisdom of some of the proposed projects. In particular, alumni criticized plans to attach a “parapet” to Pavilion X and change the colors of the Lawn’s white columns and dark green shutters, arguing that just because Thomas Jefferson may have wanted them that way doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.... [for complete article, follow link in headline] For more news, see the News Archive. Keep us informed Please keep us informed by sending news, suggestions for articles, or photographs of recent work for inclusion in the Alumni Notes section of Colonnade. All materials will be included to the extent that space allows. Send JPEGs and brief descriptive text to the editor, Derry Voysey Wade, at derry@virginia.edu, or send original photos and text to P.O. Box 400122, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4122, Attn: Colonnade Editor.	Welcome People / Staff Alumni in the News Events / Calendar Reunions Keep In Touch Get Involved Giving Opportunities The Dean’s Forum Campbell Hall Celebration RSVP Alumni Services Career Services Colonnade — Spring 2009 UVa HOOS Online
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