Academics

A busy year for the American Institute of Architecture Students Texas A&M Chapter kicked off during the winter break when chapter officers traveled to Phoenix, Ariz. for the annual AIAS FORUM, where they connected with other students as well as new AIA president Jeff Potter ’78.

The Department of Construction Science has launched a $5 million campaign to adapt and renovate historic Francis Hall as the state’s first facility dedicated to construction teaching, research and industry service.

An upcoming edition of a classic textbook featuring a comprehensive collection of architectural drawing conventions and techniques will include examples of Texas A&M architecture and visualization student work.

Construction science students at Texas A&M joined their counterparts at Prairie View A&M spending part of their 2011-12 winter break visiting industry professionals for tips on crafting a property development proposal for a National Association of Home Builders student competition.

Professional landscape architects shared their knowledge with students Feb. 10-11 at the Langford Architecture Center in a series of presentations, discussion panels and charrettes at the 2012 Aggie Workshop, which this year took a holistic approach to design.

A student’s design for a stationary exercise wheel that fits underneath office desks, turned in as extra credit in the fall 2011 Design Process class at Texas A&M’s College of Architecture, was a winning entry in a national invention competition.

An ancient shipwreck off the present day Turkish coast and a Roman map will be discussed by scholars at Texas A&M’s College of Architecture. The ship’s artifacts offer a glimpse at a ancient transportation practices; the 13th Century map captures a pivotal moment in Western cartography.

Videos by Joshua Bienko, assistant professor of architecture, were part of an exhibit that ran through Jan. 7 at a Kansas City gallery that a critic called “smart and engaging work by artists who acknowledge the impossibility of originality in the 21st century.”

The Bryan-College Station Eagle spotlighted "The Design Process," one of the most popular classes taught at the college, in its Dec. 25, 2011 issue. Led by Jorge Vanegas, dean of the college and Rodney Hill, professor of architecture, the class, wrote the Eagle’s Caroline Ward, is the essence of unorthodox.

Texas A&M University President R. Bowen Loftin had a chance to see how former students are redefining the entertainment industry during a Nov. 16 visit to the Bay Area campuses of Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation SKG.

Rodney Hill, a Texas A&M professor of architecture, has been named one of 2012’s “25 Most Admired Educators” by the Design Futures Council, another teaching honor for his already bulging trophy case.

The Texas A&M Department of Architecture is recruiting members for its newly formed Architecture Council of Excellence, which is committed to supporting and enhancing architecture program excellence, building relationships with students, and bridging gaps between the academic and professional worlds.

Bachelor and master’s degree programs in landscape architecture and the Master of Architecture program at Texas A&M were recently ranked among the nation’s best by the Design Futures Council.

No textbooks, no tests, no scantrons — Prof. Rodney Hill’s creativity class doesn’t have a trace of the elements found in a traditional college course, instead relying on discovery and innovation; it’s not every class that requires students to sign a non-disclosure agreement before attending lectures.

Graduate engineering students at Texas A&M advised by Ken Joh, assistant professor of urban planning, earned first place and $10,000 in scholarship money in a sustainable transportation planning contest sponsored by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority.