architecture

Texas A&M’s celebration of Black History Month began Feb. 1 with an exhibit of the acclaimed “Torchbearers” series of portraits by Robert Schiffhauer, associate professor of architecture, at the Langford Architecture Center’s Wright Gallery.

The use of durable construction materials in maintenance and renovation projects can lower a building’s carbon footprint while lengthening its service life, said Manish Dixit, an architecture Ph.D. student at Texas A&M.

Architectural concepts for a gallery and product showroom for Alessi, the world-renowned Italian kitchenware company, developed by two Texas A&M University environmental design students, are featured on suckerPUNCH, a popular and important Internet design forum.

Jeff Potter ‘78, is focusing on making the AIA more meaningful to emerging members of the profession and advancing the value of design during his one-year tenure as president of the 76,000-member American Institute of Architects.

For playing a vital, hands-on role, teaching woodcraft to Texas A&M College of Architecture students and motivating them to realize their creative potential, college woodshop supervisor Jim Titus received the 2012 Linda Todd Outstanding Support Staff Achievement Award.

A new book co-edited by Kevin Glowacki, assistant professor of architecture, is deepening the understanding of ancient houses and household activities in the Greek island of Crete. Glowacki and collaborator Natalla Vogelkoff-Brogan, of Athens, Greece, also penned an introductory chapter.

After two decades focused on improving the quality of life for residents of the impoverished, relatively undeveloped villages, or “colonias,” clumped near population centers on the U.S. side of the Texas-Mexico border, the Texas A&M University Colonias Program is celebrating its achievements.

A diverse group of architectural design and academic leaders shared their expertise at the Texas A&M Department of Architecture’s 2012 Spring Lecture Series. The lectures, open to the public, took place in Preston Geren Auditorium.

The Brazilian government’s role in enacting legislation to preserve the South American nation’s industrial heritage was researched in a paper by Gabriela Campagnol, assistant professor of architecture at Texas A&M, published in a national preservation journal.

Historic preservation efforts undertaken after natural and manmade disasters were the focus of “Disaster,” the 13th Annual Historic Preservation Symposium at the Langford Architecture Center.

Relationships between architectural design and health care for the under and uninsured are the focus of the Center for Health Systems & Design’s Spring 2012 Architecture-for-Health Lecture Series.

Xuemei Zhu, assistant professor of architecture, co-authored a paper summarizing the research behind active living — a new, comprehensive way of tackling obesity involving the built environment — in the new edition of a journal published by the Institute for Comprehensive Community Development.

Michael Percifield ‘93, a former environmental design student, is leading an effort to put a 19th century steam locomotive back in service in North Texas. He oversees operations for the Grapevine Vintage Railroad, which operates train rides in vintage passenger cars from Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards.

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.

Nominations for the 2012 College of Architecture Outstanding Alumni Awards, which annually recognize former students of exceptional accomplishment, are being accepted through Feb. 10. Since its inception in 1997, less than one percent of the college’s former students have received the award, the college’s highest honor.