Author: Rebecca Parelman Center for Architecture Foundation

Rebecca Parelman, Program Coordinator at the Center for Architecture Foundation (CFAF), spoke with Kristi Tremblay about her experience interning at CFAF.

Rebecca Parelman (RP): What made you want to intern at CFAF?
Kristi Tremblay (KT): I was looking for an opportunity to gain relevant experience in a non-profit setting and also expand my knowledge into new areas. Having met with CFAF staff and witnessing first-hand the robustness of the programming here, I became convinced that CFAF was the right place for me.

RP: What are some of the rewarding aspects of your internship?
KT: Not only was I encouraged to teach, but also to explore avenues not frequently available in a museum internship. For example, I had the opportunity to design, market, and implement my own lesson plan. To be able to observe and react in real-time within the process was highly beneficial. I gained insight into understanding the precise roles of schools and museums and how to blend the two together in a manner that is advantageous for both.

RP: What are some of the challenging aspects of your internship?
KT: The wealth of architectural knowledge expressed at Center for Architecture was rather intimidating. However, I was able to relate to the inquisitive focus on details, which is shared by both architects and art historians, which is my background. Also, I have further discovered a commitment to promoting human potential through design and education.

RP: Where do you find yourself after your graduation from Bank Street College of Education?
KT: I have been motivated through my experience at CFAF to continue in the field of museum education.

There are many ways to get involved with CFAF including volunteering and interning. For more information about opportunities visit www.cfafoundation.org/volunteer and www.cfafoundation.org/careers.

The Center for Architecture Foundation’s tour series New Buildings New York took 30 architecture enthusiasts to tour Shigeru Ban Architect’s Metal Shutter House. Jeff Spiritos, Spiritos Properties, and Dean Maltz, partner of Shigeru Ban Architects, organized the private tour.

The Metal Shutter House is an innovative addition to West 19th Street, taking its form and name from the metal shutters that are integrated into the design and reflect the warehouses-turned-galleries that are predominant in Chelsea. Maltz and Spiritos provided visitors with a detailed explanation about Shigeru Ban, FAIA’s design intent, as well as about the execution and construction of the project during the past six years. Guests also had the opportunity to tour the penthouse, with its two floor-to-ceiling bi-folding glass doors on either end of the living room façade, three bedrooms, four bathrooms, and approximately 3,300 square feet of interiors with 2,000 square feet of terraces and balconies.

The tour raised approximately $2,500 to help support the Foundation’s Programs@theCenter — interactive gallery tours and hands-on workshops designed to engage youth and families in contemporary topics about the built environment.

The Foundation would like to extend thanks to Maltz for volunteering his time to lead the tour, as well as to Spiritos for coordinating the event on behalf of the Foundation. More New Buildings New York tours are planned for 2011. Visit the Foundation’s website for information, or e-mail info@cfafoundation.org and request to be added to the mailing list.

The Center for Architecture Foundation is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2011 Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals. This year the Scholarship Committee awarded Contexture, of Louisiana State University (LSU), a student-run architecture journal, which aims to promote an appreciation for architecture among the LSU community. Contributors of Contexture include students enrolled in LSU’s BArch and MArch programs, as well as alumni, LSU faculty, and local professionals. Previously, Contexture applied for the Douglas Haskell award for Student Journals in 2009 and received Honorable Mention. Read the winning issue of the Haskell Award Contexture: freshly cut.

The Scholarship Committee also awarded Colorado University at Denver’s landscape architecture journal Root with Honorable Mention. Root, which is entirely run by both current and former students of University of Colorado at Denver’s Department of Landscape Architecture, began to create an open dialogue between landscape architecture students and the professional community. Read Honorable Mention recipient Root: Resourceful Obstacles or learn more about Root at root-lang.org.

The Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals was founded to encourage student journalism on architecture, planning, and related subjects, and to foster regard for intelligent criticism among future professionals. The award is named for architectural journalist and editor Douglas Haskell, who is best known for being the editor of Architectural Forum from 1949-1964.

The next Center for Architecture scholarship deadline is for The Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant on 11.01.11, which was established to further the personal and professional development of an architect in early or mid-career through travel. For application details as well as information regarding other awards that the Center for Architecture offers, visit the Center for Architecture Foundation’s website: www.cfafoundation.org.

Summer@theCenter has finally arrived! The Center for Architecture Foundation’s summer studios offer NYC youth in 3rd-12th grades the opportunity to learn about architecture and design and explore some of the city’s best kept secrets.

The 2011 series began on 06.20.11 with Design Educator Rachel Miller’s Mobile Architecture class, a course designed for students in grades 6-12. Students explored the possibilities for “architecture on the move”: how mobile structures can be multifunctional, convertible, and adapted to various types of habitats. Ben Manley, a trailer hobbyist currently building a sustainable trailer of his own, stopped by to give a special lecture about sustainable structures and hosted a trailer demonstration. The class also took a field trip to Governors Island, where there are a number of temporary public exhibitions on display, including sculptures by Mark di Suvero, the FIGMENT 2011 mini-golf course inspired by “bugs and features,” and the Burble Bup Pavilion, designed by Bittertang, the winner of the second annual City of Dreams pavilion competition sponsored by FIGMENT, the AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY).

After learning about the sustainable uses of mobile dwellings and working together as a group to build a geodesic dome, the class spent a couple days building their own mobile structures. Students worked from small to large scales, constructing life-size tents, including one that rolled on wheels and another that could be transformed into a walking stick.

The Foundation extends a special thanks to Miller and Manley for hosting the course. There are a few spaces left in the Summer Studio programs for middle school students (07.18-22.11) Store Design and Sustainable Cities (07.25-29.11) as well as in Water Citiesfor elementary school students (08.15-19.11). For more information visit the Foundation’s website: www.cfafoundation.org. To join the mailing list for updates on future programs, send an e-mail to info@cfafoundation.org.

Last week, Sonya Glasser and Ellen Donegan’s second-grade class from Hunter College Elementary School visited the Center for Architecture to present their final Learning By Design:NY (LBD:NY) presentation to parents and Center for Architecture Foundation staff. For the past 10 weeks each class has worked with LBD:NY Design Educator Jenny Lee, studying the development of Manhattan from the period of the Lenape people, who called the island Mannahatta, or “land of many hills,” to the present day.

Focusing on one particular section in the Financial District, between Pearl and Broad Streets, and Stone and Bridge Streets, Lee demonstrated how Manhattan has changed dramatically over the years. From wigwams to modern-day skyscrapers, each class created models representing Mannahatta, New Amsterdam, shipping in the mid-1750s, immigration in the mid-1850s, the first skyscrapers of the early 20th century, and the current landscape of the Financial District. Students learned that prior to Henry Hudson’s arrival, Manhattan was a lush island of many hills, which has since expanded to accommodate the city’s increasing population and growing economy. The LBD:NY class concluded with a scavenger hunt through the Financial District, focused on important architectural details from the past.

Thank you to Lee and Hunter Elementary students for putting together a wonderful presentation.

Learning By Design:NY provides school-based K-12 residency programs and professional development workshops to students and teachers. For more information and to learn about ways to get involved, visit http://www.cfafoundation.org or contact Tim Hayduk.

The Center for Architecture Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2011 scholarship program. This year, the Scholarship Committee awarded Mark Thompson of Cooper Union and Nick Tran of Pratt Institute with the Women’s Auxiliary Eleanor Allwork Scholarship. Yinery Baez of the City College of New York received the Center for Architecture Foundation Design Scholarship.

The Eleanor Allwork Scholarship is for students seeking their first degree in architecture from a NAAB-accredited school within New York State. Each nominated student must demonstrate a high level of academic performance and evidence of financial need.

The Center for Architecture Foundation Scholarship is for students seeking their degree in architecture or a related design discipline from an accredited school in New York State. Similar to the Eleanor Allwork Scholarship, each nominated student must demonstrate a high level of academic performance and financial need.

The Center for Architecture would like to thank AIA National for providing a partial matching grant to help support the 2011 Women’s Auxiliary Eleanor Allwork Scholarship. The next Center for Architecture scholarship deadline for The Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant is 11.01.11. The grant was established to further the personal and professional development of an architect in early or mid-career through travel. For application details and information on other awards that the Foundation offers, visit cfafoundation.org.

The Center for Architecture Foundation (CFAF) tour series, New Buildings New York, recently took visitors underground for a first-hand look at the East Side Access, led by the MTA. Donning hardhats, the signature MTA orange-and-yellow vest, and muck boots, CFAF staff and guests traveled 120 feet beneath Manhattan streets to view the excavated caverns and tunnels. Tour guide Mark Rhodes of Hatchmott Macdonald, lead quality engineer for the project, informed guests about the blasting and construction techniques used on the project. Ultimately, the East Side Access will connect the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Main and Port Washington lines in Queens to a brand new LIRR terminal, currently under construction beneath Grand Central Terminal.

The tour was sold out and raised approximately $5,000 to help support the Foundation’s Programs@theCenter — interactive gallery tours and hands-on workshops designed to engage youth and families in contemporary topics about the built environment.

The Foundation extends a huge thank you to Rhodes for volunteering his time to lead the tour, as well as to Jeff Eustace for coordinating such a fantastic event on behalf of the Foundation. More New Buildings New York tours are planned for 2011. Visit the Center for Architecture Foundation’s website for information, or e-mail info@cfafoundation.org and request to be added to the mailing list.

The Center for Architecture Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of the 2011 Arnold W. Brunner Grant: Doris Sung, principal of Rolling Hills, CA-based dO|Su Studio Architecture and adjunct associate professor at the University of Southern California. Through her project, “Sunny Side Up,” Sung plans to challenge the “traditional presumption that building skins should be static and inanimate by viewing building skins as a prosthetic layer between man and his environment as a responsive and active system.” The project will be an outdoor installation that demonstrates the capacity of thermo-bimetal, a heat-sensitive smart material that can self-ventilate and shade, to be an environmental architectural application. Ultimately, “Sunny Side Up” will serve as a canopy that will strategically shrivel and change shape as it tracks the sun and shades the Materials & Applications gallery space.

The Arnold W. Brunner Grant was established for mid-career professional architects for advanced study in any area of architectural investigation that will effectively contribute to the knowledge, teaching, or practice of the art and science of architecture.

The next Center for Architecture Scholarship and Grant deadline is 05.03.11 for the Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals. The Haskell Award was founded to encourage student journalism in architecture, planning, and related subjects, and to foster regard for intelligent criticism among future professionals. For application details [http://www.cfafoundation.org/files/Haskell_Application_Form.pdf ] as well as information regarding the other scholarships and grants offered by the Center for Architecture Foundation, visit www.cfafoundation.org.

Last month, Roberta Washington, FAIA, Center for Architecture Foundation (CFAF) 2009 Board President and current board member, made two visits to C.S. 154, the Harriet Tubman School: first for the CFAF’s Learning by Design:New York (LDB:NY) residency and second per the request of art teacher Ms. Sciascia.

The LDB:NY residency focused on the architecture and landmarks of Harlem. Washington showed slides of the work of African-American architects whose buildings play an important role in the architectural history of Harlem and beyond. Students were excited to hear that Washington, who is the principal of Roberta Washington Architects and a long-time Harlem resident herself, designed several buildings that they recognized in their neighborhood. They instantly felt a connection to the architect and her work. Ultimately, students will use their knowledge and research from their LBD:NY residency to create a “Guide by Cell” audio guide of their neighborhood.

In Sciascia’s art class, students are learning about the built environment and the various design-related professions. During her visit, Washington explained to the 50 second graders the skills required to become an architect and described a typical day in the life of an architect. Students asked many questions, including, “How long does it take to build a project?” and “If the architect does not work out, who takes over the project?” Thanks to Washington, there may be a few more budding architects in our midst.

Special thanks to Washington for donating her time and to the CFAF and LBD:NY. For more information about the Foundation or scheduling a LBD:NY residency, visit www.cfafoundation.org, or contact Tim Hayduk at thayduk@cfafoundation.org.

Event: StudentDay@theCenter — Urban Design Studio
Location: Center for Architecture, 02.03.11
Educator: Heather Zusman

Sixth-graders attending the Math and Science Exploratory School (M.S. 447) took their “exploration” to the Center for Architecture for a StudentDay@theCenter Urban Design Studio, a program that was tailor-made to fit their semester’s theme, “Sustainable New York.” Influenced by Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030, the theme brought students to the Queens Museum of Art to visit the Panorama of NYC and to the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. These field trips helped them garner the skills necessary to complete their final project: a blueprint envisioning sustainable, mixed-use development for Public Place, a six-acre brownfield and former gas plant on the Gowanus Canal.

In the Urban Design Studio, students became urban planners for the day by designing a city block within an imaginary NYC neighborhood, keeping in mind the importance of compatibility, accessibility, light and air, and the needs and desires of its residents. Each student group was assigned a particular user group — families, workers (commuters), business owners, and the elderly — and was responsible for the plan and design of a neighborhood that would benefit that group. Once the students determined the features and buildings to include in their neighborhood, along with its general layout and scale, they got to work. Conceptualizing what their prospective users would need, students developed plans that featured subway stops adjacent to their local factory to benefit workers’ commuting time; libraries, parks, and malls for families; and a nursing home and hospital complex for the elderly constituency. After placing their neighborhood section within a standard city block, students justified how and why their design arrangement best suited their community’s needs. The Urban Design Studio experience will ultimately serve as a skill set for M.S. 447, which will become instrumental when students are designing and developing their vision for Public Place at the end of the semester.

The Center for Architecture Foundation offers Student Days throughout the year to K-12 school groups. Programs are adapted to meet the abilities of different age groups. For more information, and to learn about ways to get involved, visit www.cfafoundation.org or contact Catherine Teegarden at cteegarden@cfafoundation.org.