College of Design

Urban workshop completes Ukraine plan

Thanks to four years of transnational efforts by UO in Portland architecture students, the first two buildings of a new campus for Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) recently opened near the historic center of Lviv in western Ukraine.

UO architecture Associate Professor Gerald Gast and graduate students from the Urban Projects Workshop of the Department of Architecture in Portland developed the master plan for UCU’s new Stryiskiyi Park campus.

Teaching philanthropy with purpose

Students in the “American Philanthropy” freshman seminar have selected KindTree Productions, a Eugene-based nonprofit organization, to receive a $5,000 grant from Wells Fargo.

Students learn to practice the fundamentals of charitable giving by partaking in the annual course, which is offered through the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management. Groups form to consider local nonprofits that either applied for the grant or were nominated by students. Students visit the nominees to gather information and craft an argument that their organization is most deserving.

Studio redesigns Medford fire stations

Of the five existing fire stations in Medford, four are not up to modern building standards. Students in a UO winter 2014 term architecture studio are working to fix this.

The studio is co-taught by architecture Associate Professor Virginia Cartwright and Senior Instructor Jim Givens. Each student group, with both undergraduate and graduate students, is working on a plan for one fire station. Two sites will be partially remodeled, while the other two will be entirely rebuilt from the ground up.

Students refine cup design for campus

A student-designed and created drinking cup from the ARTC 410 “Prototyping and Manufacturing” course may end up on a table in Carson Dining Hall or the A&AA Willcox Hearth in the future.

The experimental course, under way in winter 2014, combines the disciplines of product design and ceramics and introduces students to social practice, design, and manufacturing. The class instructs students to formulate a design for a cup that is suitable for UO campus food vendors.

Leadership Path Conference features national arts expert Robert Lynch

A free conference designed to give an intimate look at the leadership journey of prominent leaders making a difference will take place Friday, March 7, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in Portland. The half-day, interactive “Exploring the Leadership Path” conference, hosted by the University of Oregon Arts and Administration Program, offers the opportunity to hear from and engage with local arts and culture sector leaders.

Levenberg wins Hatfield Architectural Award

Laura Levenberg, a graduate student in the Department of Architecture, has received the Senator Mark O. Hatfield Architectural Award from the Architecture Foundation of Oregon (afo).  The award, announced in February 2014 for the 2013 award year, includes a $2,000 scholarship.


The award honors both architectural design and community service, two fields of “elemental importance” to Mark O. Hatfield, former U.S. senator and Oregon governor, the afo website states.

Heath to present keynote at New Bedford whaling museum

Professor Kingston W. Heath, director of the UO Historic Preservation Program, will be keynote speaker at “The River and The Rail: A Symposium on Enterprise and Industry in New Bedford,” February 15-16 at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

The conference addresses the historical evolution of the port of New Bedford as a manufacturing and commercial center. Heath’s talk is entitled “Whalers to Weavers: New Bedford’s Promoted and Neglected Legacies.”