2009-2010 News & Events Archive

News & Events Archives

Ribbon Cutting for Simpson Strong-Tie Materials Demonstration Lab Planned

The Simpson Strong-Tie Materials Demonstration Laboratory will be dedicated Friday, October 22. When complete, it will be the largest element in the College's Construction Innovations Center which opened in Fall 2008. Students in several disciplines will be able to use the 5,000-square-foot lab to design, build and test a variety of structural components. The Simpson Strong-Tie Materials Demonstration Lab will provide vital support for activities of four adjoining labs in the center, where students will gain hands-on experience with fundamentals of construction management and with residential, commercial and heavy/civil construction.

Please continue to visit the CAED website for additional details closer to the event.

Go to the SST Building Webcam to see construction in progress.

 

ARCE Faculty Member Receives National Award

Faculty Member Brent Nuttall

Brent Nuttall has received the 2010 National Society of Professional Engineers Engineering Education Award. The NSPE offers this award annually to one faculty member at an ABET accredited engineering program who most brings professional practice and licensure into the classroom. Brent will formally be presented with the award at the NSPE awards luncheon in Orlando on July 15th. He will be featured on the NSPE website and the award comes with a $5000 cash prize. The award is sponsored by the Sustaining Universities Program of the Professional Engineers in Higher Education (PEHE) practice division of NSPE.

 

 

CAED & AIA CCC Design Awards Gala

Image of AIA-CCC Logo

The college and the local American Institute of Architects Central Coast Chapter invite you to the 2010 Design Awards Gala Reception on Saturday June 26 at the PAC. It will feature professional work and highlight projects by five CAED architecture students who recently displayed at the Cal Poly 5th Year Architecture Show. RSVPs are appreciated by June 10.

Download the Gala Reception Invitation (pdf)
Email Laura Gough at laura@studio-2g.com

 

CAED Commencement Saturday, June 12th

Image of students at CAED graduation ceremonies

Festivities for CAED grads are Saturday, June 12 in Spanos Stadium, followed by another ceremony especially for CAED grads and their guests. For more commencement information go to the commencement news release in the Public Affairs section of Digital Commons, Kennedy Library. Search  under 2010 articles.

Grad Packs and Lifetime Alumni Email !

The Cal Poly Alumni Association has put together a special Grad Pack with an exclusive Class of 2010 shirt, a membership, a free service with lifetime e-mail forwarding address for staying in touch with classmates and advancing your networking and career and more.

New alumni are encouraged to join PolyLink.
Download the Cal Poly Alumni Association Communication (doc).

 

Architecture Students Win International Award

Mock Firm Skyscraper model

David Lee and Anthony Stahl were awarded the highest honor at the recent 2010 Mock Firms International Skyscraper Challenge, Collegiate Division. Sponsored by Chicago Architecture Today, the competition challenged students to conceptualize a residential tall building design for Mexico City. Lee and Stahl’s project, Barrio de los Paracaidistas, translated the traditional Mexican street into an elevated, open-air, high-rise form that redefines the urban condition in Mexico City.

In addition they also placed first in the following categories: Top American Mock Firm, Top Firm Structure, Top Building Project and Top Marketing Firm. They were runners up in the Top Conceptual Platform category. They competed against more than 30 entries from the US, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Canada.

 

Bank of America Challenge Interdisciplinary Success

Bank of America Challenge Team

An interdisciplinary team of Cal Poly students took second place in Bank of America’s Low-Income Housing Challenge.

The Cal Poly team partnered with EAH Housing of San Rafael to create a physical and financial proposal for Broadway Village: a 70-unit, multifamily, mixed-use development near downtown Oakland. The project was geared toward larger, low-income families with a minor emphasis on housing individuals with HIV/AIDS. The driving force behind the Broadway Village project was to jump-start the revitalization of the Broadway/Valdez corridor in Oakland by setting a high standard of development. This one-acre, mixed-use development was designed to support the present and future needs of low-income families housing in Oakland. The development was qualified for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification.

The team was comprised of 13 students from six departments. Team members included eight students working toward bachelor degrees in Architecture, City and Regional Planning, Construction Management, and Landscape Architecture, as well as five graduate students in Business and City and Regional Planning.

 

Recent Graduate Receives Robert Silman Fellowship

2009 Architectural Engineering graduate Nathan Hicks has been chosen as the prestigious Robert Silman Fellow for Preservation Engineering by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). Drawing from a national pool of applicants the fellowship is offered to a recent graduate in Civil or Structural engineering. Hicks will join Robert Silman Associates in Washington, DC as a permanent employee, but will also spend six months working for the NTHP.

 

NECA Student Chapter Now Active

NECA Student Chapter
NECA Central Coast Chapter Board Members, CAED Construction Management Professors Lonny Simonian and Thomas Korman, and students Conrad Chin Sean Melcher, Alex Emerson and Adam Fischbach.
(Not pictured are Tara Bonifacio and Cody Berger.)

The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) has granted a charter to Cal Poly to organize a NECA student chapter. The chapter is comprised of students from CAED architecture, construction management, and landscape architecture under the leadership of faculty advisors Lonny Simonian and Thomas Korman. Already the new chapter plans to compete in the upcoming NECA Green Energy Challenge Project. Their competition entry will focus on the Corbett Canyon Vineyard facility in Arroyo Grande. To learn more go to Green Challenge website.

 

Construction Sciences Forum on April 7

The student chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute will host the 13th Annual Construction Science Forum on Wednesday, April 7 on campus in the Berg Gallery, Room 105. The forum serves to educate students about the construction industry, new industry products, methods and ideas. The event provides students an opportunity to interact with industry professionals and to better understand career expectations. This year's forum "SPECulating the Future" focuses on the future of industry specifications in the rapidly changing world of design and construction. For more information on the schedule of events for the forum search Digital Commons 2010 articles for Construction Science Forum. For more information on the Construction Science Institute contact the CSI Student Club at calpolycsi@gmail.com.

 

Interdisciplinary Design Course Wins National Award

CAED class design

CAED faculty were awarded a top prize by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). The competition entry was based on an interdisciplinary fourth-year studio taught by architecture faculty Tom Fowler and Jim Doerfler and architectural engineering faculty Kevin Dong. Search Digital Commons 2010 articles for NCARRB to read more about the design course in Cal Poly's news release.

 

Construction Management Wins Multiple Awards in
National Competition

Marine Team presented with first place win

Construction management students continue to build on their reputation for excellence. The CM Department’s 11 student teams won six top-three awards, including 1st places in the Heavy-Civil, and Multi-Family categories for Region 7. The team, shown here with coach and department head Al Hauck, won 1st place in the Marine category at the national level. To read more about the competition results read the ASC news release at Digital Commons by searching Construction Management awards under 2010 articles.

 

Architecture Student Honored for “Deployable Pod” Design

Cody Williams Deployable Pod Project

Cody Williams was selected for the Special Mention: Deployable Pod category in the annual d3 Housing Tomorrow International Architectural Design Competition. According to d3, this year’s competition called for transformative solutions that advance sustainable thought, building performance and social interaction through study of intrinsic environmental geometries, social behaviors, urban implications and programmatic flows. Read the Deployable Pod news release by searching Public Affairs 2010 articles at Digital Commons, Kennedy Library.

 

 

CM Team Has Impressive Finish at NAHB Competition

NaHB Team

A team of students traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the Residential Construction Management Competition at the International Builder’s Show. They placed 6th out of 58 teams who competed from around the country. The competition asked teams to solve a real-life construction dilemma by resolving the issue, creating a workable plan and presenting in front of a panel of judges. Additionally, their coach, Scott Kelting, received the award for Outstanding Junior Faculty of the Year. Read the NAHB news release by searching Digital Commons, Kennedy Library for NAHB 2010.

 

National Recognition for Boathouse Design Earned by
Architecture Student

Bohemian Boathouse

John Vierra won 1st place in the 2009 Bohemian Flats Boathouse Student Design Competition. This year’s competition focused on rewarding small-scale design excellence, highlighting the unique aspects of designing a boathouse and building knowledge about materials, products and assembly contributing to a sustainable and safe environment.

Go to Digital Commons, Kennedy Library and search 2010 news releases for Bohemian Flats to read more.

 

California Contractors Show Their Support for
Construction Management

CM Contractor AwardContractors statewide know that good construction begins with a solid foundation – especially in the form of an excellent education. The California Contractors State License Board presented the Construction Management Department with a check for more than $41,000 – money collected from voluntary donations from contractors acquiring or renewing licenses in conjunction with the Construction Management Education Sponsorship Act (CMESA).

For more information about the award, go to Digital Commons, Kennedy Library and search 2010 news articles for the Contractors Support CM news release.

 

 

Architecture+Construction Alliance

The CAED has joined together with a group of thirteen US Universities that have both architecture and construction programs in the same college. This organization is called the Architecture+Construction Alliance (A+CA). The current major initiative of the A+CA is to foster more interdisciplinary collaboration among our faculty in three key areas. These include teaching combined architecture and construction students, undertaking combined faculty research efforts, and responding to collaborative project initiatives generated by our professional and industry partners.

For more information on the A+CA including a list of members, the mission and purpose, and the listing of six Research Initiatives with individual faculty listings, go to the A+CA web site that is linked to the CAED Centers & Institutes web page.

 

ARCH Professor Thomas Fowler Earns National Award

Chairs Created in Digital-Design Studio

Architecture Professor Thomas Fowler IV is the recipient of the 2009-10 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Creative Achievement Award. He was recognized for the development of the Collaborative Integrative-Interdisciplinary Digital-Design Studio. This studio infuses creativity into collaborative student teamwork.

To read more about how it interweaves scholarship with academia, and professional development with research and service at local and national levels, search Digital Commons, Kennedy Library for the 2010 Fowler news release.

New Materials Demonstration Lab Under Construction

With an anticipated inauguration in Fall 2010 the Simpson Strong-Tie Materials Demonstration Laboratory will be the largest element in the College's Construction Innovations Center which opened in Fall 2008. Students in several disciplines will be able to use the 5,000-square-foot lab to design, build and test a variety of structural components. The Materials Demonstration Lab will provide vital support for activities of four adjoining labs in the center, where students will gain hands-on experience with fundamentals of construction management and with residential, commercial and heavy/civil construction.

 

Two Departments Garner Top National Rankings

The CAED’s architecture and landscape architecture departments placed in the 2010 DesignIntelligence survey, which ranks public and private degree programs nationally. Cal Poly’s Architecture Department ranked third and the Landscape Architecture Department ranked fourteenth among undergraduate programs.

Go to Digital Commons and search for the 2010 DesignIntelligence news release for more information on the CAED rankings.

 

CRP Mitigation Planning Earns $1.5 Million Grant

Northridge Earthquake Photo

Professors William Siembieda, Ken Topping and Mike Boswell - with the help of graduate students and other faculty - have been key players in updating California's State Hazard Mitigation Plan. Their work earned an "Enhanced Plan" designation from federal leaders, bringing in millions of extra dollars for California. As a result, the team received a new multi-year, $1.5 million grant to update the plan again for 2010. "We have recently established the Planning, Design and Construction Institute (PDCI) on campus to facilitate these types of projects," says PDCI director William Siembieda.

 

Architecture Student Recognized for Excellence in Digital Design

Photo of Jester form-Z presentation of her architectural project

Cal Poly architecture student Sarah Jester was recognized for excellence in digital design recently at the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture conference in Chicago. Jester’s recognized project, "Inhabitable Book Library for San Francisco," was undertaken in third-year design studio with Cal Poly Architecture Professor Thomas Fowler.

AutoDesSys, the company that developed the award-winning Form Z digital modeling software, organized the 17th annual awards banquet. Nominated projects are presented to a distinguished jury comprising five individuals outside of AutoDesSys, all experts or theorists of computer aided design. Jurors are charged with selecting the award winners in a setting that does not disclose names of the nominees or school affiliations in the following categories: Architectural Design, Interior Design, Fabrication, Visualization/Illustration and Animation.

 

Vellum/CAED Competition & Exhibition

Photo of two women near a table designed for the competition

The college is pleased to announce the 6th annual Vellum/CAED Furniture Competition and exhibit. Open to the public and sponsored by Vellum Design Build and the CAED.

Opening Reception: Friday, October 30th, 8:30 pm - 10:00 pm at
Atmodsphere, 1119 Chorro Street at Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo.

The exhibition runs Thursday, October 29th through Saturday,
October 31st, 2009.

For additional information, go to the Vellum/CAED Competition web page.

 

Wally B. Gordon, AIA: 2009 CAED Honored Alumni

Photo of Wally Gordon

Wally B. Gordon (B.S 78 and B.Arch 80) was selected by the Cal Poly Alumni Association as the 2009 Honored alumnus from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

"Mr. Gordon is President of DLM and has more than 25 years of experience in architectural design and construction administration for public and private sector clients. Many of Mr. Gordon's efforts have involved coordinating and working with committees and community groups to provide appropriate avenues for effective planning solutions. Mr Gordon's experience also includes the technical coordination and execution of construction documents and construction administration for many school facilities."

In celebration of this honor, the Cal Poly Alumni Association will be hosting the Honored Alumni Awards Banquet on Friday, October 16, 2009 during Homecoming Weekend.

 

Dandekar Named CRP Department Head

Photo of Hemalata Danekar

A nationally ranked department at Cal Poly has a new leader. Hemalata Dandekar has been named department head for City and Regional Planning at Cal Poly, bringing a strong interdisciplinary and international background to the position.

Dandekar was chosen by R. Thomas Jones, dean of Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design. “She has the administrative experience, record of scholarship and familiarity with the environmental design professions,” said Jones. “She will make an immediate contribution to the university community.”

Dandekar is currently professor of planning at Arizona State University. She served as director of the School of Planning at ASU from 2002-2007.

Before ASU, Dandekar was professor of planning at the University of Michigan in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and held senior administrative posts at the university. She holds a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from UCLA, a master’s in architecture from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s in architecture from the University of Bombay.

She is also a registered architect in California. An author of six books and numerous book chapters, Dandekar has done recent work on planning along the U.S. Mexico border and on rural community development and family farms and farm buildings.

 

Architecture Among Nations Best in Degrees to Minority Students

Cal Poly students’ success placed the university among the Top 10 of the “Top 100 Degree Producers 2009” rankings compiled by the magazine “Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

In the organization’s 2009 national rankings, Cal Poly was:

  • No. 5 in architecture degrees to students of all minority groups
  • No 5 in architecture degrees to Asian American students
  • No. 5 in architecture degrees to Hispanic students

"We take great pride in the diversity of Cal Poly's graduates. We're constantly striving to improve the diversity of our student body because we know that greater diversity enriches our learning experience, and it also serves California industries well,” said Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker. “Employers want well-trained scientific and technical professionals able to compete effectively and work comfortably in an increasingly complex, multi-cultural global economy."

The organization released its 2009 rankings in late June; Cal Poly and 12 other California State University campuses made the “Top 100” list. The magazine analyzes data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics to create its annual rankings.

The CSU system “prides itself on creating access to higher education," said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. "Our trustees, presidents, faculty, staff and students have worked to create welcoming and inclusive campuses – resulting in a university system that reflects the rich diversity of the state of California."

For more details on the 2009 rankings, visit the organization’s web site at http://diverseeducation.com.

 

CRP Receives Two Awards

California Chapter of the American Planning Association gives two awards to City and Regional Planning Department projects.

Cal Poly’s City and Regional Planning program’s exceptional work with municipal partners has been recognized for its quality and impact. The 2009 awards committee, coordinated by Jessie Barkley of PBS&J, of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association has given the City and Regional Planning department two academic awards of merit for work completed this past year. This continues a tradition of assisting California’s communities to improve their cities through excellence in planning.

An academic merit award was given for The Downtown Delano Urban Design Studio for the work done by instructor Umut Toker and his students for downtown Delano. This project was nominated by Delano’s Community Development Director, Keith Woodcock. This work has set the guidelines for Delano’s efforts to improve its entire downtown design image and public realm. This project was one of three support efforts that CRP engaged in with the City of Delano over the past year with faculty and students.

An academic merit award was given for the Draft Benicia Climate Action Plan; work done by instructors Adrienne Greve and Zeljka Howard and their students for the Town of Benica’s a Community Development Department. This is a state of the art plan for addressing the city’s energy use and its program to address the challenges of climate change. Ms. Greve will be continuing her work in Climate Action Planning with other cities in California.

The awards will be presented to at the annual chapter meetings to be held in Lake Tahoe on Tuesday September 15, 2009. The California chapter has encouraged the recipients to submit their work for national award consideration to the American Planning Association.

 

 

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Giving to the CAED

Students in the ARCH 241 - Architectural Technology Fundamentals class display their custom-designed and handmade bricks. With the support of WRNS Architects in San Francisco, the class traveled to Pacific Clay in Lake Elsinore to make the bricks, after firing, they were shipped up to Cal Poly.

Learn how to support Learn by Doing at the CAED.

More on CAED support

Hearst Lecture Series

The CAED Winter 2024 Hearst Lecture Series features Eric Long on Friday, March 8, 2024 at 5:00pm PST at the Business Rotunda (03-213).

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