college culture

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.

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.

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.

At a Feb. 15 town hall-style meeting a distinguished panel will focus on how shifting perceptions of black culture, politics and ethnicity has affected the ways blacks are perceived and discussed in today’s culture.

Newly minted Aggie constructors received their personalized Texas A&M hard hats at the Department of Construction Science's Nov. 30 honors ceremony. The highly coveted, customized headwear is presented to all department graduates at the end of each semester.

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.

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.

Former students are invited to submit items to the Class Acts section of the archone newsletter. Class Acts highlights the professional and personal achievements of former students and friends of the college. It's a great way to keep in touch with your old classmates. See the "Submit News" link in the newsletter's "featured" section or email news to prollfing@arch.tamu.edu.

“Arlecchino,” the colorful, floral-patterned architectural installation adorning the wall and floor of the College of Architecture’s Azimuth Cafe, has helped earn its designer, Los Angeles artist Elena Manferdini, a $50,000 United States Artists Fellowship.

A group of environmental design students are contributing to a weeklong flurry of construction for the TV show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition,” building a brand new home for a Bastrop County family.

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.

Students will have a unique opportunity to work with internationally renowned, contemporary artists in specialized workshops during the Spring 2012 Artist in Residence program at A&M’s College of Architecture. The workshops are open to anyone in the college, and no previous art experience is required.

As higher education leaders across the nation wrangle with budget constraints and consider reforms aimed at doing more with less, Texas A&M College of Architecture educators continue to embrace the studio, the time-tested cornerstone of design education, as the most critical component of modern design pedagogy.

Anat Geva, associate professor of architecture at Texas A&M is the 2011 recipient of the J. Thomas Regan Interdisciplinary Faculty Prize, an award recognizing faculty who are committed to interdisciplinary work in the built environment disciplines.