9/01/07 + The School of Architecture is pleased to announce that Stephanie Carwile and Kevin Singh have joined the faculty in a tenure-track position. Kevin came to the SOA last year as an Acting Assistant Professor. This is Stephanie's first year at the SOA. Stephanie will primarily be teaching in the Interior Design program. Also, starting this year our 2007 Acting Assistant Professo is, Marty McElveen, who was recently awarded the DaimlerChrysler Emerging Artist Award. Marty will be joining the faculty beginning in the winter quarter.

10/31/07 + New Course Offered
The School of Architecture is offering a new course, Architecture 441, which focuses on the Architecture of Louisiana from 1714 to the 1960's. The course may be taken by either graduate or undergraduate students and is required for those seeking a minor in architecture. The course is being taught by Guy W. Carwile.

11/01/07 + The 2007 Acting Assistant Professor, Marty McElveen, was recently awarded the DaimlerChrysler Emerging Artist Award after completing his Master's of Architecture from the renowned Cranbrook Academy of Art. His thesis, entitled Systematic Surface, was a collaborative effort with colleague, Dharmesh Patel.

McElveen says of the thesis, "Inherent in our design are characteristics that have resonated for years in the work of the Cranbrook creators; a phenomenological device for framing views, an intimate social space, and a marker within the landscape connecting user, architecture, and nature. These elements, combined with progressive methods of design & fabrication, encourage a complete rethinking of the way in which space is conceived, constructed, & ultimately experienced. My work has shifted with the use of digital technology as a tool to promote new ways of permeating the design process & to re-establish a unique position for the architect & his work within a social setting."

Presented to one graduate each year, the vision of the Emerging Artist Award is to introduce promising young artists to an international public and to support them as they take their first steps toward a successful career. The award is comprised of a public exhibition at ArtForum Berlin, DaimlerChrysler Financial Services, and a scholarship for the stay in Berlin.

The prototype piece entitled Polygonal Facets was acquired by DaimlerChrysler & will be on permanent display in the atrium of their headquarters at Potsdamer Platz, a building designed by Renzo Piano.

11/01/07 + Interior Design Program Chair and Assistant Professor Vibhavari Jani presented two papers "Community Engagement and Assistance: Key Components of the Education for the Next Generation " and Global Lessons: Learning from Green and Sustainable Design Strategies Prevalent in Traditional and Contemporary Indian Architecture at Interior Design Educators Council, Pacific West Regional Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 26-28th, 2007.

Prof. Jani also presented papers at Interior Design Educators Council, Mid West conference held in Chicago on October 12-14, 2007. The topics of the papers were Interior Design Educators Role in Developing the
21st Century Curriculum and Why nothing seems the same: Impact of New Technology
On Interior Design Education and its Delivery

Prof. Jani's paper Designing for a Devastated Community of New Orleans: A Collaborative Effort Between Interior Design and Architecture Students was also accepted for the Interior Design Educators Council, South West conference held in Waco, Texas on
October 17-19, 2007.

Prof. Jani's paper titled "Katrina's Impact on Traditional Houses of
New Orleans: A Battle between Speed and Pace" has been accepted for the 4th International Seminar on Vernacular Settlement - 2008. The theme of the seminar is Vernacular Building Types and Settlements in Transition,? to be held at Ahmedabad, India on Feb 14-17 2008.

Interior Design Program Chair and Assistant Professor Vibhavari Jani has just signed a book contract with Fairchilds Publication for a text book on Non-Western Design. Prof. Jani will serve as the chief editor and will collaborate with other scholars for this text book. The text book will incorporate African, Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern Design traditions and is scheduled to publish in 2010.

9/23/07 + Coffeetable book explores Sausalito's houseboat culture
Mark Prado
Marin Independent Journal
Article Launched:09/23/2007 10:26:29 PM PDT

THE CULTURE of the Sausalito houseboat community comes to life in a new glossy picture book, "Houseboats, Aquatic Architecture of Sausalito." Architect and author Kathy Shaffer, who moved to Sausalito in 1992, says she was struck right away by the unique houseboat community, which she said was intriguing and forbidding at the same time. "The houseboats were more undeveloped then," she said at Cafe Trieste along Bridgeway. "There were chickens, and the flea market was down there. It was a bit different than it is now."

In her introduction, she writes that the community then "was not very approachable." Shaffer decided to write a book - which will be on sale Saturday at the 23rd annual Sausalito floating homes tour - on the community, tracing its history. She focused on the correlation between architecture and the culture of a community, a subject she had written a thesis on while at Louisiana Tech University.

She spent two years on research, digging up historic documents and photos and interviewing residents. The result is a 206-page book, filled with simple and insightful prose and a myriad of sharp, colorful images, most snapped by Shaffer.

The houseboat community can be traced back to the 1800s, when the state began selling underwater lots to be filled for development. "The state decided to sell wetlands to raise money, so all around the bay they sold underwater land," said Shaffer, who doesn't live on a houseboat. "In Sausalito, it ended up in private hands and marinas were developed." After World War II, lot owner Don Arques bought up decommissioned boats including landing craft, lifeboats and tugboats, and began renting and selling them as homes to people who found it an inexpensive way to live. Artists and beatniks moved into houseboats and the community was born.

"A house would be built right on top of the boats," Shaffer said, noting most of the new residences did not receive permits. Shaffer said Sausalito was the most logical place - geographically - for houseboats to spring up in the Bay Area. "The way Richardson Bay is and Sausalito is, it creates a real protected cove and the currents are not as strong. It's really calm and perfect for houseboats," she said. In the 1960s, young families abounded and the community had a distinctive counterculture feel, Shaffer said, but during the 1970s and 1980s things changed as it sought legitimacy. "It went through a transition period where some residents wanted it to become permitted and legal, versus those who wanted to be counterculture," she said.

Today, the community is still filled with artists and writers, but it has gone from poor to rich - and the architecture from improvised to highly stylized as the old boats have been replaced by floating concrete barges. "You can see as the group of people changed, the building type changed and the way they built them changed," Shaffer said.

NEW + 1/11/07 + Faculty Exhibit - El Dorado
South Arkansas Arts Center
'Pieces of Eight' is a collaborative exhibition of eight faculty members from the School of Architecture at Louisiana Tech and their creative endeavors outside of the classroom. The exhibit which is being shown at the South Arkansas Arts Center in El Dorado is an eclectic collection of expressions in design and space ranging from the abstract to the realistic with everything in between. The personal voice speaks through the work. The exhibit begins January 11 with an artist reception from 6-8pm and continues through January 31. Contributing artists include: Walter Green, Damon Caldwell, Stephanie Carwile, Tim Hayes, Vibhavar Jani, Michael Williams, Alexis Wreden, Robert Moran, Marty McElveen. South Arkansas Arts Center web site

NEW + 12/20/07 + HabiTech 08
The Louisiana Tech 5th year architecture students/ habiTECH are hard at work with half the school year gone and 6 only months until graduation. They are partnering with Habitat for Humanity to design and build a home in Ruston for their newly selected client/ partner family: Ms. Geraldnetta Evans and her 3 children: Ty Phenesia , Fredrion, and Dy' sane. The students are currently finishing preliminary design, and working to get their plans submitted for a building permit before they leave for Christmas break on December 21st. The class has divided themselves into task groups to research and work more efficiently on things such as design, materials, construction, budgeting, and public relations. Outreach and fundraising efforts are well underway with information pamphlets to be sent out before break, and presentations have been scheduled with the AIA Monroe and local Kiwanis Club in February. If you would like more information on habiTECH or how to help, please visit our website at www.habitech08.com or write us at P.O. Box 3147 Ruston, LA 71272.

11/08/07 + HabiTech 08
The 2007-2008 5th year students will be partnering with the North Central Louisiana Habitat for Humanity again to design and build a home in the Ruston area. Students will take part in helping to select a family, which will receive the new home upon its completion. Some of their goals for the year include: improving their relationships with Habitat for Humanity, learning construction processes from start to finish, working together as a team, and designing to address social and economic issues. The students have been working hard during the fall quarter to research everything from Habitat for Humanity to modular building techniques, and they have recently begun designing what will become another successful senior design/build project. The students are anxious to get the project going as they have just acquired a site located on Martin Loop. Because they are a small class, they are investigating innovative building methods- possibly bringing new construction technologies to the Ruston area.
Web site: http://habitech08.com/