Tag / Hampton University Department of Architecture

by shannonchance

Gravitational Pull

cabins 2

Hampton University’s second year architecture students are learning about gravitational forces and lateral loads by designing post and beam structures using a simple kit of parts (and adhering to a lot of fairly complicated rules).

The intention of the assignment is for students to learn about cantilevering, stacking, and hinging.  They also have to respond to environmental factors and work together in groups to enhance the site design concept developed by another student in the studio.  You can see one of the site design models in the photos below.  The cardboard frames you see represent the structural systems of small cabins that nestle into the site design.

I’ve asked them to build the structures at such a large scale (1″=1′) so they can really get the feel of what the various structural components are capable of doing.  Once they achieve suitable concepts, they will model their frames in wood.

Fingers cross that that will happen by Wednesday!  Thanksgiving is just around the corner… only three weeks of classes left to go this semester… so much to learn, so little time.  They still have to have the interior space, design building skins, and illustrate their designs with diagrams and measured drawings.  All that, in addition to completing their Physics, Architectural Representation, Architecture History, and Architectural Ecology course work.  Whew!

This group is designing cabins for a “Global Unity Camp.”
This group is evaluating the design of a structure based on the form of a tree.
Cedric and Sheldyn are working on a cluster of cabins for “Camp Nebula.”
by shannonchance

Making the Mark as an Enterprise Rose Fellow

Mark (to the far left) with community members from Boston.

Mark Matel (to the far left) with community activists in Boston.

Thanks to a Facebook post by my (awesome) former student, Elbert Whitfield, I just discovered an article titled Enterprise Rose Fellowship Redefines Community Design at NeighborWorks Organizations, which features former student Mark Matel.

I’ve worked with many extraordinary students at Hampton University, like Elbert and Mark.

Today, I’m boasting of Mark Paulo Ramos Matel’ success.  I had the honor of teaching Mark in architectural design studios, study abroad, and environmental sustainability courses while he was working toward his Master of Architecture degree at HU.

Mark Matel (right) with fellow student Leon Peters presenting a second year design project at Hamtpon University.

Mark Matel (right) with fellow student Leon Peters presenting a second year design project at Hamtpon University.

Mark was an ideal candidate for the Enterprise Rose Fellowship, which the article explains is “a highly competitive and innovative program that places some of the nation’s finest early career architects in underserved communities across the country to team up with community development host organizations.”

Mark is intrinsically motivated to succeed, to help people, and to spearhead new initiatives.  His energy level, work ethic, creativity, self-direction, and ability to collaborate effectively were unparalleled among the students I have encountered in my 15 years of university-level teaching.

Mark was a major player in the formation of our department’s Studio Culture Policy and he represented our department impressively at the local and state level.

An exhibition that Mark and his colleagues Brandon Clarke, Smitty Lynch, coordinated along with other members of our spring break trip to Prague.

An exhibition that Mark and his colleagues Brandon Clarke, Smitty Lynch, coordinated along with other members of our spring break trip to Prague.

He is also a highly skilled designer, as is evidenced in design awards from Auburn and Hampton Universities.

Mark earned a NAAB-accredited degree from Hampton University – a program emphasizes urban planning as well as architectural design – and he then earned a design-build degree from Auburn University to boot.

To interview for the Enterprise Rose Fellowship, he went to Boston along with the two other candidates (both from top Ivy league schools).  After a rigorous multi-day interview, representatives from the community and the fellowship program voted, and then wholeheartedly extended the three-year fellowship to Mark.

During his time at HU, Mark’s research regarding water systems in the Philippines, and his work with the Virginia AIA’s Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA) program, were particularly relevant in preparing him for his work as an Enterprise Rose Fellow.

Mark sketching in Prague.

Mark sketching in Prague.

Marks’ activities all had an underlying theme of social activism related to the built environment.  He has always been able to think and work at multiple scales and with complex, inter-related issues.  His architectural studies enhanced these abilities.

Our department nominated Mark to represent Hampton University as part of Virginia AIA’s ELA program and his work with the organization exceeded our expectations.  The focus of the ELA program that year was on community revitalization and leadership.  Mark was highly engaged in his cohort’s project and he even defined the program for the subsequent year’s cohort.  (He identified specific conditions that needed to be addressed in Norfolk, Virginia and he helped get the new ELA group involved in fostering change where he knew it was needed.)

In his classes and teaching assistance-ships at Hampton University, Mark reflected a high level of engagement as well as what Daniel Goleman calls “emotional intelligence.”  Mark has the ability to share knowledge and to teach others techniques and strategies for improving themselves and their environments.

While he was at Hampton University, Mark was a very important part of defining a positive, learning culture within the academic context, as well as in the professional context (at the local and state levels) and in the larger community.

I couldn’t be prouder of Mark and all his many varied accomplishments.

You can see more of our trip to Prague in my archives.  My own presentation boards from Prague are also available for viewing.

(Sketch copyright Mark Matel, 2008) For our exhibition we used our sketches…
(Copyright Mark Matel, 2008) …to make formal presentation boards so we could share our experiences with the rest of our department.
(Copyright Mark Matel, 2008) Mark has a knack for producing beautiful graphics.
(Copyright Mark Matel, 2008) An assignment I gave for our trip….
(Copyright Mark Matel, 2008) …was to identify one (or more) urban elements…
(Copyright Mark Matel, 2008) …and document the element(s) throughout the week. Mark selected public transportation, texture, and graphics.
by shannonchance

Roman Dreams-Come-True

...on my way to the Pantheon (my favorite building in the world!)

At the Pantheon

After sketching yesterday morning, I spent almost all of the day editing the article we hope to have published in the Journal of Engineering Education.

I was inspired by emails that Mike Murphy, Eddie Conlon, and I received from the editor of the book we’ve written a chapter for.  He emailed us:

The chapter is a very timely, central and relevant chapter for Springer vol II. It would also have fitted nicely into vol I section I. The chapter has a clear, logical, and coherent structure, is well written and very interesting to read. In particular in clarifying the confusion surrounding the engineer and engineering technologist distinction the chapter provides new and useful insights. Moreover there is a good integration between theoretical positions mentioned in the introductory framing of the identity issue and the remaining part. Research problems and methods are clearly stated.

...where I nearly got clubbed by a Roman!

I nearly got clubbed by a Roman!

The chapter is accepted for publication in its present form. Congratulations.

and then the next day:

Your chapter is very good and there is absolutely no reason to change anything. My congratulations to you and your co-authors. Well done.

These messages were a dream come true!  They helped keep me focused through many hours of editing yesterday.

At 4:30 PM, I headed out for a tour of the Villa Farnese, a sandwich and ice cream (I hadn’t eaten since breakfast), and a little stroll through the city.

I haven’t shown it here, but I strolled past the site I often use for projects with my Hampton University students. There’s been construction activity on the site for the past two years, because a parking garage was planned. For years, they’ve been excavating here (because there are Roman ruins under the ground everywhere here and they have to study and document them). The signage surrounding the site is now different from it was last summer and last September (when I last visited). I’m hoping this change means someone important decided against installing a parking garage; it would be a travesty to put such a structure on Via Gulia!

From Borromini’s clock tower at Piazza Orologio…
…I headed east for an ice cream at the Frigidarium (2 Euro for two flavors dipped in chocolate!)….
…and I headed onward toward Piazza Navona…
…where I nearly got clubbed by a Roman!
After Navona, I usually continue through the courtyard of San Ivo…
…on my way to the Pantheon (my favorite building in the world!)
by shannonchance

Passage in Toulon

I’d forgotten how much I love Toulon, France. It’s a naval town, and the sister city of Norfolk, Virginia, where I live in the States.

The little plazas–scattered throughout Toulon–are amazing. Full of character and life. And, they are so close together that you’re never more than half a block from a lively public space.

Our Hampton University architecture program has worked with officials and urban planners in Toulon each summer since 2010 to develop design strategies for revitalizing the city using architecture and urban design.

This year’s HU students in the plaza in front of the opera house, on the way to an event.
Reception hosted by the Sister Cities organization in Toulon.
A sketch I made this year of a pedestrian friendly street in Toulon. We got to see inside an apartment on this street in 2010.
This refection photo from Toulon was part of my recent exhibition.
by shannonchance

Discovering Uzes, France

I’d never been to Uzes, France even though some of my Hampton University architecture students had.  Uzes is home of the famous urbanist, Leon Krier, though we didn’t get to meet him there this year.  We often use his book, The Architecture of Community, in my Urban Theory class.

Visiting Uzes made for a wonderful day of learning and exploring.  I even wrapped with two decent sketches of my own.

Arriving in Uzes, Mason sent us off…
…into the market…
…and lunch on our own.
Then to work–sketching…
…and discovering details of the town.
Learning to sketch from Ray Gindroz…
…a famous architect and urban designer.
One of my sketches in progress.
A courtyard of Uzes.
A street in Uzes.
A small little plaza along a street in Uzes.
My sketch of the market square, after the market finished.
The trees make this plaza very pleasant.
by shannonchance

Arriving in Nimes

Nimes is a beautiful town in southern France that is chock full of Roman artifacts. It’s where I met the Hampton University architecture students, mid-way through their study abroad program in France. I typically organize one of these trips each summer. This year, Prof. Mason Andrews had the whole cohort of third-year architecture students on the trip to France–some years we offer two different trips.

The new plaza outside Nimes’ train station
The organizers of the 2013 Hampton University architecture trip to France: Mason Andrews, Ray Gindroz, and Dave Chance.
A church in Nimes.
The Roman arena in Nimes.
An arch at the Place Marche.
The Masion Caree… freshly renovated.
Dave and his cafe gourmand.
A modern housing complex outside the historic center.
by shannonchance

Expanding your Learning Styles

Iroda Karimova said in earnest that she misses my crits! (!?!!??)

As per my prior post, Iroda Karimova said in earnest (while I was visiting the Hampton University Department of Architecture two weeks ago) that she misses my crits! (!?!!??)

Because I’m an active blogger I’m forever getting the question, “Do you ever work?”

The answer is yes; here’s a quick example.

My former student int he Department of Architecture at Hampton University, Iroda Karimova, emailed this to me from her smart phone today:

It was also nice to talk to you too. We haven’t see you for a while. I hope you are enjoying your oversea experience. I sometimes read your blogs, to see how you we doing.

Yes sometimes I wish I could hear your critiques, especially when I did good :). Your critiques were short, to the point, emphasizing important accomplishments, and sometimes not too enjoyable but helpful.
 
 Thank you for sending me this post.
 See you soon.
____
Whew! It sounds like I was doing my job correctly. Part of that  job is to help students learn to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. I’ve got to challenge them to address weaknesses I see. Effective teaching requires a careful balance of challenge and support (Sanford, 1962). I aim to provide that and to help students reach just a bit farther than they are comfortable doing (this is called a “plus-one” approach to teaching).
Good students, like Iroda, recognize that challenges are presented to help them grow and that the professor’s main role is to help guide them in their own learning. Receiving critique is never pain free, but it is necessary for growth and development.
Here’s the very quick reply I dashed off:
Thanks for your note, Iroda!  

 
You always do excellent work.  I wanted to make sure to help you reach for the stars, though.  You’re really terrific at technical ways of thinking.  As a second-year instructor, my job is to try to help students develop fluency in multiple ways of thinking… particularly the ways they find foreign or uncomfortable.

 
I’ve attached a chart to explain (it’s from a paper I was working on Tuesday). Most students come to college very good at one corner/quadrant of the chart. You were exceptionally good at Convergent thinking. I’d say you left second year with new skills in that realm, but more importantly, with new skills in the other three quadrants as well.
 
Cheers,
Shannon
_____
Below is a chart I made to describe Kolb’s (1984) theory. It is based on a similar chart published by Evens, Forney, and Guido-DiBrito (1998). You can read more in the paper I created for the National Conference on the Beginning Design Student (MADE Proceedings Chance Writing Architecture). If you reference it, please cite the source. The citation for the paper is:

CHANCE, S.M. (2010).Writing architecture: The role of process journals in architectural education. MADE: Design education and the art of making (160‐170). Charlotte, NC: College of Arts + Architecture. Presented at the 26th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student in Charlotte, NC.

Kolb chart by Shannon Chance

by shannonchance

A Visit to Bemis

Bemis lawn with Bemis Laboratories to the right, home of the Hampton University Department of Architecture.

Bemis lawn with Bemis Laboratories to the right, home of the Hampton University Department of Architecture.

I almost forgot to show you my January 2013 visit to Hampton University. The semester starts earlier there than at most universities, so I had the chance to visit before returning to Dublin, and while HU classes were in session. That way I could see my students as well as other professors.  I snapped some photos along the way of things that caught my eye….

Everything seemed the same, until I got to the main stair. I never expected to see a big photo of myself mounted in this prominent location!
I caught up with many of my former students. All these folks have travelled with me to Italy: Ed Glover, Alex Taylor, prof. Mason Andrews, and Sharlita Green.
Iroda Karimova said in earnest that she misses my crits! (!?!!??)
One of students garnered a donation of plotters from HP. Way to go!
This is the interior of the new student center…
…with its grande central stair wrapped by a third-floor track for running.
Our campus has such rich history — architecturally, socially, and culturally.
I wandered around campus delivering Christmas presents. Here’s our lovely Trustee House.
by shannonchance

Faculty Lunch at Home

I returned to the US just in time to attend the Hampton University Department of Architecture faculty holiday luncheon.  This year the Chair of our Department, Mr. Robert Easter, hosted it. (Thanks, Robert!!!)

We dined at No Frill Bar and Grill off Colley Avenue in Norfolk.  (This was a fabulous selection of places to eat!  Many thanks to prof. Mason Andrews for the idea — I have missed this restaurant.)

The luncheon flew by so fast that I only caught the briefest glimpse of what’s been going on at HU.  It looks like the department has been doing just fine without me, though, which is very good to know!  🙂

Here are some of the characters I spend my workdays with back home:

The Hampton University faculty of architecture…
…at our 2012 Christmas lunch.
The talented, energetic, and creative Dr. Carmina Sanchez.
The woman on whom we all depend, Ms. Deborah Bowers. Notice that she has a halo!
James Ford, a new adjunct who is helping teach first year studio. We can also be seen together on HU’s website.