Deep in the Heart of Texas!

This past week graduate students as well as the senior interior design studio took a trip down south to Texas. The agenda included Dallas and Austin as the cities of interest. Our upcoming project (a boutique hotel) is situated in Dallas so we were able to do detailed site studies as well as check out the local architecture. We headed to the Stockyards in Dallas, checked out a W Hotel, toured the new Cowboys football stadium (shown above), and enjoyed the Kimball Art Museum. We were also given a fantastic tour of the architecture firm HKS. After two days in Dallas we were off to Austin for two more office visits with Noack Little Architects and Interior Design and PageSouthernlandPage. Each firm was vastly different in scale and management opening our eyes to the different avenues we have when choosing employment opportunities. Another one of the exciting points of the visit to Austin was checking out the University of Texas architecture program. which is the largest in the nation. We headed home Saturday evening to regroup and now we’re back to designing!

--Laura Stock, M. Arch. Student

More images from Texas:

Summer 2009 Graduate Studio

This past summer the third class of graduate architecture students began their pursuit of the Master of Architecture degree! The class is currently working and putting in the extra hours to ensure the NAAB accreditation for the Master of Architecture program. The class of 15 graduate students took Architecture 550: Regional Architecture Studio. The classes were divided into two section taught by Dr. Michael Brazley and Professor Robert Swenson. Each section had a different project, Dr. Brazley’s section focused on a hi-rise mixed-use design located in either Chicago, IL or Louisville, KY. Professor Swenson’s class focused on a math, science and fine arts academy to service the areas of Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, and Western Missouri.

Professor Robert Swenson’s section took a few field trips this semester. The goal of the these trips were to visit the Illinois Math and Science Academy (Aurora, Il), Arkansas Math and Science Academy( Hot Springs, AR), and Brehm Preparatory School( Carbondale, IL). This gave the students an idea of the project they faced for the semester. The trip also included visits to the William Clinton Presidential Library (Little Rock, AR), the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio River (Cairo, IL), trips to study the areas of Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, and Southesast Missouri, and individual travel to student’s respective sites.

Dr. Brazley’s class traveled to Chicago, IL this summer. They spent a few days visiting, studying, and scrutinizing, sites in Chicago. They then proceeded to choose a site based on each students individual decision on which site offered the best solution to their design problem. While in Chicago they also visited a few Chicago firms. This gives the students a perspective of how the practice of architecture is implemented. Often times students can become blind to the “real world” practice of architecture while they are immersed and engulfed into their respective semester projects. All of this summer’s Studio Projects are displayed in Quigley Hall on the 1st floor for the next few weeks. Feel free to come in and take a look at what the students are up to!

--Jason Kubichan, M. Arch. Student

Saluki Seniors Take First Place!

Congratulations to Maria Vera's section of Architecture 452 (Senior Studio) for receiving a first place award in the Rouse Detroit Competition! Rouse Detroit is a competition to solicit ideas to reinvent the city of Detroit, Michigan.

The SIU students submitted their work from spring senior studio. They designed a renovation for an existing high school in Detroit incorporating steel from nearby recycling efforts in the automotive industry and many other green technologies and ideas. The design is visible at the top of the right column on the link above. It is labeled SoIL.

Among the team members who worked on the design were Matthew Jackson and Kang-Hsin Fan, both of whom are continuing their education in the Master of Architecture program at SIUC. Congratulations to Professor Vera and her class!

Congratulations, Graduates!

Congratulations to the Class of 2009! From the left in the image above are Garrett Lunsford, Alan Knepp, Matthew Pica, Ryan Keutzer, Matthew Highlander, Garret Lukens, and Assistant Professor Craig Anz. Graduation was held on Saturday, August 8 in Shryock Auditorium.

A reception for the graduates and their families and friends was given in Quigley 119, the new School of Architecture Gallery. Each student displayed work completed for the design thesis portion of the Master of Architecture program. Approximately 52 attended the reception.

The Master of Architecture program at SIUC is a 15-month, 42-credit program designed to be completed by students who have earned a pre-professional degree in architecture. The program begins in June of one year and is complete in August of the following year. Some students choose to spend longer than 15 months on campus completing the program.

For the 2009-2010 school year, 21 students have been admitted to the Master of Architecture program and 12 continuing students are nearing completion of their programs. Thanks to Professor Bob Swenson for the photograph!

Italy in Stonework

2007 SIU architecture graduate Cassandra Grey is working on the restoration of the ca. 1910 Ratliffe Residence in Pikeville, KY. Cassandra works for Summit Engineering in Kentucky.

In the image of the house above, did you notice the stone shaped like Italy that is worked into the masonry? The detail image helps it stand out. The stone mason immigrated to the area from Italy and as a mark of his work, he shaped and placed Italy stones into his work.

The image below is from a church in nearby Whitesburg, KY. Can you find Italy in the stonework here?

Here's a hint -- do not look for just one stone. This Italy is made of seven stones and it's on the lower right below the plaque.

Thanks to Cassandra for sending the images!

If you are an SIU architecture graduate, we'd love to hear from you! JDobbins

Heritage Conservation Network

Several SIU students are spending their summer restoring a shotgun house in historic Cairo, Illinois. Read the story in the Heritage Conservation Newsletter. Architecture student Toni Lettiere is shown scraping paint on the porch in the lower image in the newsletter.

Located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, Cairo has a rich historical tradition. In 2005, Stace England released an album dedicated to songs that tell the story of Cairo. You can hear it at Emusic.com. Read the National Public Radio story by Rachel Jones to learn more about Cairo's history.

The Concrete Project

Tuesday, April 28 was a busy day in the Quigley courtyard! ARC 362 (Structures II) students were busy pouring their concrete beams for testing next week. Professor Robert H. Swenson has taught this course for many years and includes hands-on learning activities for the students.

Athena Sandravelis (L) and Shane Healey (R) have built their forms, placed the tension reinforcing, and are ready to begin the pouring of the concrete.

Here is a closer view of the beam design.

After allowing the concrete to cure for seven days, the students will load their beam designs and test them to determine how strong their creations are.

Students Yuko Aoki and Andrew Bevis work on their beam design. Talk about an international project! Yuko is from Japan and Andrew was raised right here in Jackson County, Illinois!