College of Design

A&AA building to wait; UO-OSU program wins support for wood products research and design

The recent session of the Oregon Legislature was a victory for the University of Oregon, but the School of Architecture and Allied Arts building project will have to wait. “It was an ambitious goal for the school,” said Brook Muller, Interim Dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, “and the UO had a number of important requests for capital improvement on the table.”

1859 magazine features SCYP program

The magazine 1859 features the University of Oregon’s SCYP program in the magazine’s July|August 2015 issue. Writer Felisa Rogers explains how SCYP got its start and notes its many successes in its six-year tenure. “What sets SCYP apart is the scope and cohesiveness of the project,” she writes in the six-page feature story. SCYP—which partners UO students with an Oregon municipality needing assistance reaching sustainability project goals—not only helps both cities and students move projects forward, but it also has boosted city employees’ enthusiasm for their jobs, Rogers notes.

Class designs, installs Lawrence Hall courtyard garden

It was a dream come true for 14 students and a landscape architecture instructor when the UO Campus Operations staff asked them to design and build a garden this spring. 

Arica Duhrkoop-Galas, instructor for the Department of Landscape Architecture Plants course, was delighted when “campus operations approached our class to design a garden for the central courtyard of Lawrence Hall,” she said. “It was an amazing opportunity.”

New grad creates products to improve people’s lives

Liz Zarro, a 2015 Product Design Program BFA graduate, wants to develop "products that are more than just products" and use design to improve people's lives. She designed an exoskeletal back support, called Origin, for Portland's wheelchair basketball team. The product reduces athletes' dependence on their hands for core stability and body repositioning. For her honors thesis project, Zarro designed a biomimetric shelving unit that she has titled Pinicola Shelves.

Jack Ryan named 2015 Hallie Ford Fellow in the Visual Arts

Jack Ryan, associate professor in the UO Department of Art and founding director of the CoreSTUDIO program, has been named a 2015 Hallie Ford Fellow in the Visual Arts. The prestigious award, presented by The Ford Family Foundation, recognized five Oregon visual artists this year for demonstrated excellence of their work and potential for significant advancement in their practices of art. 

Centennial: 2010s look forward to new A&AA home

A&AA is wrapping up its 100th anniversary this month after a full year of events, exhibitions, and celebrations. The school is now embarking on a capital campaign to imagine the future of art and design education and facilities for the next 100 years. In envisioning the school’s future, the A&AA Building Project Work Group in January issued a request for proposals (RFP) from student teams for a competition to design a transformative learning environment for A&AA. In May, the finalists were announced.