College of Design

Ruggeri shares sustainability expertise at Morocco consortium and in book about ‘new towns’

Deni Ruggeri, UO assistant professor of landscape architecture, has been invited to speak at the final conference “New Medina: from Pilot Towns to Sustainable Cities” in Morocco from June 9-13. The consortium is the culmination of a multiyear project that assembles experts and stakeholders to share planning strategies for the creation of sustainable “new towns” in Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt.

Artist’s work fuses art, social science

He tweets in French, English, and Farsi. He’ll set up an empty chair in front of his own chair on a busy sidewalk just to see who stops by, documenting the results in photographs. His portfolio includes photographs of shopkeepers holding portraits of dead relatives; photo assemblages “created to raise suspicion”’; photographs gathered from dozens of artists and sold to benefit children with cancer, children in poverty, children in need of human rights protection.

Storytelling, voice key to comics class

Comics aren’t always funny. Think “Doonesbury,” which makes pointed political digs. Or Joe Sacco’s graphic novels about Arab-Palestinian conflicts. And the mid-20th century’s “Pogo,” by Walt Kelly, which engaged in social and political satire. But plenty of comics definitely elicit at least a chuckle if not a ROFL response. What the best have in common is lushly rendered artwork, complex characters, and strong storylines that compel readers to keep coming back.

Architecture professor ready to help produce green buildings with FIT

The new Facade Integrated Technologies (FIT) Testing Facility celebrated its completion April 15 with a “soft opening” that showcased the laboratory’s presence on the entire south face of Onyx Bridge. An "envelope" on the building’s façade is wired with sensors measuring light intensity, solar radiation, wind speed, acoustics and more — all part of an effort to study building performance and how design and systems affect occupants.