Spring 2010
College of Design Events Series

Lectures

Jenna Fletcher
Program director, Embrace Open Space, Saint Paul

Why Parks and Natural Areas are "Need to Haves" as the Twin Cities Grows
Monday, February 15, 2010 6 p.m., 100 Rapson Hall
H.W.S. Cleveland Fund Lecture

Intuitively we know -- and study after study confirms it -- that parks, natural areas and trails are among citizens' most valued community amenities. In this challenging economic climate, however, funding is often cut because they are perceived as "nice to haves." Fletcher will look at why parks, natural areas and trails should be considered "need to haves" due to their economic and community development impact. Embrace Open Space's research on residential home values shows a significant "open space premium" for homes located near parks, natural areas, and trails. Fletcher will also examine emerging health and open space research, and explore the climate-smart aspects of temperature-moderating open spaces in the context of denser development patterns.

Jenna Fletcher leads Embrace Open Space, an initiative that fosters conservation and stewardship of natural areas and parks in the 11-county Twin Cities area. Embrace Open Space promotes sustainable land use and increased protection of sensitive natural areas by elevating the awareness of economic and other benefits of parks and natural areas. Specifically, the initiative works to encourage cities, townships and counties to work towards a greener vision.

Fletcher has also worked for the State of Minnesota as a policy analyst on forestry issues, and researched urban smart growth practices for ICF Consulting, a national environmental public policy consulting firm. She was a fellow in the Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows Program at Sustainability Institute, where she received training in systems thinking, reflective conversation, and visioning. Fletcher has a Masters in Conservation Biology and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.

• Download podcast of Jenna Fletcher lecture (.mp3; 16.3MB)

Monday, March 8-Friday, March 12, 2010
Cass Gilbert Fund Lectures

A week of lectures by visiting practitioners from across the United States and beyond designed to provoke leaps in perception about what design can be, in conjunction with topical workshops for architecture students. Explore design methods, theories, and emerging practices as well as multidisciplinary collaborations, innovative hybrid design, and other experimental design approaches. The design community is invited to participate and learn within this new lecture format.

Andreas Vogler and Arturo Vittori
Architecture and Vision

From Pyramids to Spacecraft
Monday, March 8, 2010, 6 p.m., 2010, 100 Rapson Hall

Ariel Apte Carter, graphic designer; Vicki Hooper, associate vice president, HGA; and Sandy Parsle, human resource director
HGA

Positioning Yourself in the Future Profession
Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 12:15 p.m., Bell Auditorium

Margaret M. Vogel-Martin
Advanced research specialist, 3M Display and Graphics Lab

Architectural Core Daylighting
Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 6 p.m., 100 Rapson Hall

Ronnie Parsons and Gill Akos
Studio Mode

Associative Protocols: Parametric Modeling with Grasshopper in Conjunction with Digital Fabrication Technology
Friday, March 12, 2010, 4:30 p.m., 100 Rapson Hall

Bruce Chamberlain
Vice president, Hoisington Koegler Group, Inc., Minneapolis

Resilient Cities -- An Urban Design Imperative
Monday, March 29, 2010 6 p.m., 100 Rapson Hall

Landscape Architecture alumni reception follows lecture
H.W.S. Cleveland Fund Lecture

Growth and progress versus sustainability and stewardship -- the balance between these forces is becoming more delicate by the day. If misfortune falls on the world's nations, or America's cities, which ones will fare the best? The answer lies in a place's inherent resiliency. CDes alumnus Chamberlain (BLA '89) explores this increasingly central tenet of urban design through his recent works and probes the important questions design professionals will face as they seek to create resilient cities.

Bruce Chamberlain, vice president, Hoisington Koegler Group Inc., a Minneapolis urban design firm, is a national award-winning landscape architect who has spent the past 20 years helping communities envision their future. He translates powerful lessons from his rural childhood and urban lifestyle into a uniquely holistic approach to design that is becoming increasingly relevant in a world more tenuous than once thought.

Chamberlain's significant works include the Mississippi River Greenway Strategic Plan; Smart Growth Twin Cities; master plans for the Vikings stadium district, Bassett Creek Valley, and the Twin Cities Army Ammunitions Plant; and the ongoing transformation of downtown Mound, Minnesota.

Chamberlain received his bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from the University of Minnesota, has studied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology -- Melbourne, Australia, and has traveled extensively. He is past-president of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and sits on the Minneapolis Mayor's Great City Design Team and the Above the Falls Citizens Advisory Committee. He lives with his family in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis.

• Download podcast of Bruce Chamberlain lecture (.mp3; 13.1MB)

Andrea Ponsi
Adjunct professor, College of Architecture and Environmental Design Florence Program, Kent State University

Cityscapes: Drawing Analogies
Wednesday, March 31, 6 p.m., 2010, 100 Rapson Hall
Cass Gilbert Fund Lecture

Drawing is a creative tool that allows us to observe (represent), analyze (diagram), abstract (interpret), and invent (design). Structured according to these four components of the drawing process and applied to the investigation of urban space, Ponsi examines sketching as a fundamental activity in the design process. Graphic material will showcase Ponsi's work, including natural landscapes, cityscapes, and individual buildings, with a focus on Italian cities and the overlap of historic urban layers, architectural typologies, and styles.

• Download podcast of Andrea Ponsi lecture (.mp3; 18.7MB)

Mary Margaret Jones
Senior principal in charge and president, Hargreaves Associates, San Francisco

Transformative Landscapes
Monday, April 5, 6 p.m., 2010, 100 Rapson Hall
H.W.S. Cleveland Fund Lecture

An exploration of the evolution of the work of Hargreaves Associates, from planning and design that is specific to the site -- including its historical context, its natural processes, and the uses aspired to for that site -- to built landscapes that reached toward real, visceral connections between culture and the environment as well as connection between the land and its people. Jones will highlight projects within the public realm, embodying a commitment to civic vitality and creative solutions that meld cultural desires, functional needs, and site.

Mary Margaret Jones has served as senior principal in charge for such award-winning projects as the 2000 Sydney Olympics Master Concept Design, University of Cincinnati Master Plan, Guadalupe River Park and Crissy Field in San Francisco's Presidio. She has recently led the firm's work on Discovery Green in Houston, the Los Angeles State Historic Park, and Denver's Union Station District. She is also currently overseeing the planning and design for the Parklands for the London Olympics 2012. Jones has served on numerous juries, lectures widely, and is active in the public forum of design and development issues. She is a fellow and member of the Board of Trustees of the American Academy in Rome and a past Visiting Critic in Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Design School. Jones is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Sr. Fellow of the Design Futures Council and is President of Hargreaves Associates.

• Download podcast of Mary Margaret Jones lecture (.mp3; 14.9MB)

• Download the Spring 2010 College of Design events and lectures poster (.pdf; 7.4MB)

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