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Donors Help Make Collaborations Possible
Thanks to funding provided by some generous donors, the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture has been able to launch a number of initiatives over the past several years that allow students, faculty and researchers to engage in interdisciplinary studies, community service and outreach projects.
Raymond A. Bowers Program for Excellence in Design and Construction of the Built Environment
In 1994, Raymond A. Bowers ('31 B.S. Arch. Engineering) established an endowment to fund the Raymond A. Bowers Program for Excellence in Design and Construction of the Built Environment. The program’s purpose is to foster collaboration among the departments of architectural engineering, architecture and landscape architecture to better prepare Penn State students to become leaders in design and construction. Among other projects, the Bowers Program has helped to fund the American Indian Housing Initiative and student/faculty research at Santa Maria Novella, a rarely studied medieval Tuscan church in Florence, Italy.
Stuckeman Center for Design Computing
The Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, established in 1998, was funded by an endowment created by H. Campbell “Cal” Stuckeman ('37 B.S. Arch.) and his late wife, Eleanor. The center facilitates the broad integration of design computing with the traditional design studio while providing state-of-the-art hardware and software for architecture and landscape architecture students.
Center for Watershed Stewardship
Established in 1998 with a major grant from the Howard Heinz Endowments, the Center for Watershed Stewardship is a cross-college collaboration between the Department of Landscape Architecture and the School of Forest Resources in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Directed by Lysle Sherwin, the center offers a graduate option in watershed stewardship for students pursuing graduate studies in landscape architecture, forest resources, ecology and other related areas. Students who select the watershed stewardship graduate option complete a “Keystone Project” where they work with professionals and community stakeholders to develop a formal watershed stewardship plan for a Pennsylvania community.
Hamer Center for Community Design Assistance
The Hamer Center for Community Design Assistance, established in 1999 and initially funded by a $2 million endowment from the Hamer Foundation—sponsored by Centre County entrepreneur Don Hamer—helps communities, non-profit organizations and government agencies through planning and design-based research. Directed by Michael Rios, assistant professor of architecture and landscape architecture, the center facilitates design-based inquiry, scholarship and evaluation of community-based practice and education.
Astorino Endowment for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
In 1998, Lou D. Astorino ('69 B.S. Arch.) and his children, Christine Astorino Del Sole ('95 B.S. L.Arch.) and Louis P. Astorino ('97 B.S. Civil Engineering), established the Astorino Endowment for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture through the family company. Astorino is an architectural, engineering and environmental consulting firm headquartered in Pittsburgh. The endowment supports study abroad programs and projects emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches involving architecture, landscape architecture and/or engineering.
More Strong Leaders
Over the years, the Department of Architecture has benefited from the skills and experience of many longtime faculty members. In addition to Anderson, recent retirees include Louis Inserra and Don Alvaro Leon. All three retired in 2000.
Inserra, who taught at Penn State for 39 years, was a 1999 recipient of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Distinguished Educator Award, as well as numerous University- and college-level awards for teaching excellence. Leon, a faculty member for 19 years, was part of the Penn State team that created the winning design for the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. In recognition of that achievement, he and colleagues John Lucas, professor of architecture; Eliza Pennypacker, professor of landscape architecture; and Veronica Burns-Lucas, landscape architecture faculty member, 1988–98, received the Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal in 1992.
Gideon Golany, who passed away in 1999, served as professor of urban and regional planning in the department for nearly 30 years. He was the first urban designer/planner to study subterranean developments in Turkey, Tunisia and China.
James Kalsbeek, an associate professor who joined the faculty in 1990, says many architecture faculty members have made their careers at Penn State because of the quality of the program and its students. “Everyday I’m impressed by the students—that’s the joy of working here,” he says, noting the undergraduate architecture program is one of the most competitive at the University.
A number of men with unique combinations of professional and academic experience have led the Department of Architecture since Corbelletti’s death. Current faculty members who have held the post include Romolo Martemucci (interim head), who now directs the department’s study abroad program; Jawaid Haider (interim head), professor in charge of the graduate program; and James Wines, who served as head from 1999 until 2002. A 2003 recipient of the University’s Faculty Scholar Medal, Wines has remained on the faculty while maintaining his professional practice in New York City.
The current department head is Daniel Willis, who had served on the faculty for 15 years before his appointment to the position. Willis is a past winner of the Hugh Ferriss Award for architectural drawing and the author of the book The Emerald City and Other Essays on the Architectural Imagination.
Looking Ahead
Today the Department of Architecture offers undergraduate programs leading to a bachelor of science or bachelor of architecture degree, and a graduate program leading to a master of architecture degree. Facilities include the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing and the Hamer Center for Community Design Assistance, both collaborative efforts with the Department of Landscape Architecture (see left), and the Immersive Environments Lab, where students can experiment with virtual reality design techniques (see sidebar on page 3).
In fall 2005, the department, currently housed in the Engineering Units, will move to the new Stuckeman Family Building for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, located adjacent to the Arts Building on the north part of campus (the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture was formed in 1997). The new building will facilitate further collaboration between the architecture and landscape architecture departments, while putting them in closer proximity to the rest of the units in the College of Arts and Architecture (see box on page 2).
According to Willis, the Department of Architecture’s “crown jewel” is Sede di Roma, Penn State’s “campus” in Rome. In 1992, the department negotiated a long-term lease for instructional facilities within the Palazzo Doria Pamphili. This uniquely historic building, located in the center of the city, just minutes from the Roman Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and other important sites, is fully equipped for architectural and other design studio operations. A semester abroad in Rome is a requirement for fourth-year students in the bachelor of architecture degree program. Students in other majors, including landscape architecture, also use the Sede di Roma facilities.
As
Dick Neuweiler noted in his 1950 essay, architecture students’ hard
work pays off with numerous honors and awards. Today Penn State boasts a
strong track record in winning the prestigious Stewardson Competition, which
involves students from all accredited architecture programs in Pennsylvania.
Last year, the American Indian Housing Initiative, a collaborative service
learning/research project involving the Penn State architecture and architectural
engineering departments, the Hamer Center, and the University of Washington
architecture department, won a National Council of Architectural Registration
Boards (NCARB) Prize for the Creative Integration of Practice and Education.
Faculty members rack up the achievements as well, including major grants,
national and international speaking engagements, and prestigious fellowships.
The future looks bright for the Penn State Department of Architecture. And Willis, as he assumes the leadership of the department, has a simple goal: “to be widely viewed as the best bachelor of architecture program in a public university in the northeast.”
