February AIA-SWO Chapter Meeting Recap

Kurt Albrecht, AIA presents the Ninkasi Campus project at the 2013 Professional PIN-Up (my photo)

For the second year in a row, the February AIA-SWO chapter meeting was a collaborative effort partnering AIA-SouthwesternOregon with Design|Spring and the University of Oregon chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) to produce the Professional PIN-Up. Like last year, the event took place at Lawrence Hall on the University of Oregon campus and drew a rapt (and hungry) audience of students from the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. 

PIN-Up featured four AIA-SWO member firms. Each firm showcased one of its current projects by discussing the design concept, design process, and dynamics of getting the job done. The latter aspect of the presentations was of particular interest to the students as it provided a glimpse into how “book learning” translates to the realities of professional practice. 

The following firms participated (their respective projects are listed in parentheses):

• PIVOT Architecture (UO Science Library)
• Chuck Bailey Architect (Ninkasi Campus)
• Nir Pearlson, Architect (Lorane Ridge House)
• TBG Architects & Planners (15^th Avenue Apartment Building) 

Additionally, students from Associate Professor Esther Hagenlocher’s Interior Construction Elements class presented a wide variety of design concepts for transforming the Octagon into a worthy center for architecture. With the help of Esther’s students and others, AIA-SWO 2013 president Will Dixon, AIA and the Octagon committee are quickly gathering a wealth of ideas. With luck and some fundraising, AIA-SWO will soon be able to implement the best of these. 

John Lawless, AIA (left) and Andika Murandi, AIA (right) of TBG Architeccts & Planners present their design of a new student apartment building (my photo)

If you missed the event, check out Lori Stephens’ exercise in cinéma vérité. Lori broadcast the meeting via Google+, streaming it live while also recording it for later viewing. Her goal is to develop a reliable means for AIA-SWO members who cannot always attend chapter events to remotely connect and participate. 

Big thanks to the sponsors for the Professional PIN-Up: Archiflash, Tracktown Pizza, and the Architecture Foundation of Oregon (AFO). 

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The February chapter meeting was also the first opportunity for many AIA-SWO members to meet Judith Sheine, the new head of the Department of Architecture in the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts. Judith comes to Eugene after serving as chair of the Department of Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is a practicing architect and an Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture distinguished professor. 

Judith Sheine

Notably, Judith is the author of several books about the pioneering California modernist architect R.M. Schindler. She co-edited, with Lionel March, R.M. Schindler: Composition and Construction (Academy Editions, 1993) and authored R.M.Schindler: Works and Projects (Editorial Gustavo Gili, 1998) and R.M. Schindler (Phaidon Press, 2001). Her most recent book, co-authored with Robert Sweeney, documents Schindler’s Kings Road house (University of California Press). 

The March AIA-SWO chapter meeting (at The Actors Cabaret, March 20) will feature a presentation by Judith about the work of Rudolf Schindler. I hope to see you all there.