ENVirons Magazine (Winter/Spring 2017)

The Magazine of the College of Environmental Design | Winter / Spring 2017

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The Magazine of the College of Environmental Design | Winter / Spring 2017

Photos by William Gunn, Wolverine Photography

Table of Contents

Calling all alumni: We want your stories Tell us about a turning point that led you on your career path. What did you learn from that experience? It could be your first internship or the job that paved the way for your career. Share your story and be featured in the summer issue of ENVirons magazine. Submit your story by April 28 to env@cpp.edu using “My Career” in your subject line.

Dean’s Note

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Homework

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Site Seeing

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Changing the World

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A Magical Place

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ENV Bookshelf

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Rankings

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FAQ

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Club Ed

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Artspeak

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Broadening Horizons

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Anniversaries

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2017 Dale Prize

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Design Briefs

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Noir L.A.

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Class Notes

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Calendar

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2 ENViron s “ Nexus,” 2015,

by David Hylton; digital painting, nano-structure composite on box canvas; courtesy of the artist. Artist Copyright © 2015.

“ #1_Italia,” 2015, by Daniel K. Sorrell; cut cardboard collage on wooden panel; courtesy of the artist. Artist Copyright © 2015.

Landscape architecture students in contemplation at Paley Park during a New York field trip.

Professor Andrew Wilcox, Department of Landscape Architecture

“Human Traces on Earth,” 2015, by Ann Phong; acrylic mixed media; courtesy of the artist. Artist Copyright © 2015.

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Free Wheeling

In summer 2016, iCan Shine – an international nonprofit that teaches people with disabilities how to gain independence through recreational activities – held its first bike camp in the Los Angeles area, and ENV students and faculty turned out to lend a hand. Associate Professor Melissa Flicker, Assistant Professor Anthony Acock and graphic design students Daniel Aley, Nicolas Amores, Jasper Chou, Chad Lynn, Danielle Giberti and Brian Watts joined 80 other volunteers to help give iCan campers a lifelong love of bicycle riding and the thrill of flying on two wheels.

MANAGING EDITOR Samantha Gonzaga

dean’s note

ART DIRECTION Assistant Professor Anthony Acock, Department of Art

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COPY EDITOR Gary Fong EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Kateri Butler COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN Michael Woo, Dean Martin F. Sancho-Madriz, Associate Dean Jenkins Shannon, Senior Director of Development Professor George Proctor, Chair, Department of Architecture Associate Professor Ray Kampf, Chair, Department of Art Professor Andrew Wilcox, Interim Chair, Department of Landscape Architecture Associate Professor Dohyung Kim, Chair, Department of Urban and Regional Planning Professor Kyle D. Brown, Director, John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies ENV Online env.cpp.edu/env Follow ENV facebook.com/cppenv twitter.com/cppenv

Printed by Chromatic Inc. A very special thank you to Juliana Terian (’80, architecture) for her generous gift which has made this magazine possible, and for her continued support for the College of Environmental Design.

Cover Sculpture pedestal in a viewing courtyard off the main foyer gallery of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, Italy, by Professor Andrew Wilcox, Department of Landscape Architecture. For more ENV in Italy, see page 22.

Brian Watts (’17, graphic design), left, Daniel Aley (’18, graphic design) and Jasper Chou (’17, graphic design) stand with iCan Shine Bike Camp participants.

Dean Michael Woo mingles with students at the Interim Design Center during Fall 2016 session of Dessert with the Dean, a quarterly program designed to connect him with ENV students.

The Traits of a Great Working-Class College of Environmental Design Late on a January night, I was casually scanning the online edition of The New York Times when my attention was drawn to the headline “America’s Great Working-Class Colleges.”

The column by David Leonhardt reported the findings of a comprehensive nationwide study of college graduates and their incomes, which was based upon an analysis of millions of anonymous income-tax filings and financial aid records.

Leonhardt’s Jan. 18 column included a chart listing “An Upward Mobility Top 10,” identifying the U.S. colleges and universities that showed the best record of taking students from low-income backgrounds and bringing them into the middle class.

Cal Poly Pomona was ranked No. 5 nationally, with 81 percent of its graduates who come from low-income families (the bottom fifth of income distribution) ending up in middleclass or higher income levels (the top three-fifths of incomes).

I knew that Cal Poly Pomona was good at opening doors for students to enter the middle class. But placing fifth nationally is a spectacular accomplishment.

If our university is a powerful tool of upward mobility, what does it mean for ENV? What makes us a “Great Working-Class College” of Environmental Design?

Nicolas Amores (’17, graphic design) runs alongside an iCan Shine Bike Camp participant as he learns how to a ride a bicycle for the first time.

Chad Lynn (’16, graphic design) and Danielle Giberti (’17, graphic design) strike a pose with an iCan Shine Bike Camp participant.

First, it means that one of our great strengths is the diversity of students choosing ENV undergraduate majors and master’s degree programs (especially the significant percentages of immigrants and the first members of families to attend college). The high quality of our academic programs and the relatively low cost of tuition is an

“ America’s Great Working-Class Colleges” An Upward Mobility top 10 Colleges ranked by percent of students from the bottom fifth of the income distribution who end up in the top three-fifths.

1) New Jersey Institute of Technology

85%

2) Pace

82%

3) Cal State, Bakersfield

82%

4) University of California, Irvine

81%

5) Cal Poly Pomona

81%

Another implication is that students coming from workingclass or low-income backgrounds might not only diversify the student body, but also might influence the overall tenor of the college. If students remember where they come from, it could be a strong factor in encouraging the college to maintain a focus on the environmental design problems of workingclass and low-income communities that otherwise might be neglected by other universities.

6) Xavier of Louisiana

80%

7) Stony Brook

79%

8) San Jose State

79%

9) Baruch

79%

10) Cal State, Long Beach

78%

The New York Times article notes that state budget cuts have taken a toll on public universities, which historically were dedicated to the upward mobility of children of the working class and the poor. But Leonhardt concludes that “many of them are performing much better” than expected after the budget cuts. “They remain deeply impressive institutions that continue to push many Americans into the middle class and beyond — many more, in fact, than elite colleges that receive far more attention.”

Source: David Leonhardt, “America’s Great Working-Class Colleges,” New York Times, Jan. 18, 2017.

unbeatable bargain. Furthermore, Cal Poly Pomona’s learnby-doing philosophy applied to the environmental design disciplines gives our graduates a competitive edge in the job market, especially in the eyes of California employers who know that our graduates are more likely to have the practical job skills to hit the ground running.

In the pages of the current issue of ENVirons magazine, you’ll see some of the slices of life in a great working-class College of Environmental Design.

Michael Woo Dean mwoo@cpp.edu

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All images by Professor Pablo La Roche, Department of Architecture

homework

affordable sustainable

Doing Good Cal Poly Pomona had been collaborating with the nonprofit organization Corazón to design a community center in Cerro Azul, close to Tecate, Mexico, just south of the border with the United States. The center opened in November 2016 and will provide skills-training workshops for adults, day-care facilities, meeting spaces for the community and housing for volunteers.

Students in my architectural design studio in fall 2012 designed the first version of the center with participation from Corazón and the community. Later, in an elective course, the students proposed — and in some cases built and tested — low-cost sustainable systems such as rainwater harvesting, low-cost solar hot water, a variable insulation-shading window, low-cost passive cooling systems such as roof ponds, radiators, cool towers, cooling with phase-change materials, passive heating with directgain Trombe walls, water-wall systems and even a rammed-earth wall.

degrees Fahrenheit with an outdoor temperature of 98.5 F (more than 28 degrees cooler).

The evaporative cooling tower and the solar attic were further refined and incorporated in the final construction.

In the summer, a cool tower provides cool air inside the building through downdraft evaporative cooling using simple showerheads — essentially comprising the building environment’s equivalent of an air-conditioning system — and using no other energy source other than a one-halfhorsepower pump. The tower is able to cool air to 69.5

Projects such as this one provide students with the opportunity to do good while learning from practice.

Furthermore, this is an opportunity to implement low-cost sustainable systems and strategies that contribute to a contemporary vernacular in communities where sustainability is not a matter of saving energy, it is a matter of health.

—Professor Pablo La Roche, Department of Architecture

In the winter, the solar attic heats the air and a small fan pumps it down under the raised floor, warming the indoor space from below. Thermal mass in the attic stores heat to provide nighttime use. We expect to train the community in the construction of these systems so they can build them and provide a source of income while improving their conditions. This is true social, economic and environmental sustainability.

From the Heart The primary mission of Corazón is to serve the impoverished people of northern Baja California by promoting selfsufficiency and responsibility. Simply put, we believe that we help the most when we intrude the least. Our goal is to guide participants as they learn to support themselves, relying on one another and learning to become a self-sufficient community.

Corazón’s affiliation with Cal Poly Pomona began over a decade ago when Professor Irma Ramirez and her students designed innovative signs and information boards for our communities in Tijuana, Mexico. As a member of Corazón board of directors, Irma introduced us to Professor Pablo La Roche, whose work with sustainable architecture could mesh well with the Corazón program.

Professor La Roche was immediately receptive to this effort.

His life’s work is focused on promoting sustainable architectural design and systems. I believe he understood the opportunities and benefits for Corazón and Cal Poly Pomona when we requested his help with the design of a community center for the Tecate village of Cerro Azul. He set up a competition among his graduate class, invited Corazón members to provide input and added professors from related disciplines to the project.

Our remarkable community center opened on Dec. 15, 2016.

We believe that the completion of the center will not signal the end of the Corazón-Cal Poly Pomona relationship.

Rather, this represents the beginning of the next stage. The vision has always been that this center would be a living laboratory to continue work in sustainable systems that could benefit the Corazón community. This carefully researched and optimally oriented cluster of five buildings will be the centerpiece of the rejuvenation and revival of the Cerro Azul community.

>>

Our affiliation with Cal Poly Pomona has allowed us to better serve all of our communities. We hope we have enriched the campus community by showing that service to others can be a deeply rewarding experience.

— Terry Mackprang, Corazón U.S. vice president

For more information on Corazón and Cerro Azul, go to corazon.org/en

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A Sustainable Future

A Journey

Key to Success

Helping Hands

I was standing on the Cerro Azul community center site, looking at the half-finished community center building and thinking, “We’re going to need a lot of work on this.” That was Jan. 31, 2015. It was my first trip to Cerro Azul, Tecate, Baja California, and it also was my first trip to Mexico.

Research and design ideas for Corazón Community Center in Cerro Azul began in fall 2012 when I was a student in Professor Pablo La Roche’s studio. Our class came up with individual ideas then paired up with a classmate who had a similar vision of what the community center should represent. As a studio we visited the community, spoke to residents and became familiar with the Corazón team.

I had an opportunity last year to help others by joining a nonprofit organization called Corazón, which provides shelter to the residents of Tecate, Mexico. Corazón was a starting point to connect my passion for architecture and education with a desire to help others. Despite the language barrier, we communicated and worked as a team, learned new skills and felt a sense of community among people from both sides of the boarder.

There are many reasons why people choose to study architecture.

I had a fervent desire to help others, and Corazón has offered me the greatest opportunity to fulfill that passion.

We all have a pair of useful hands, and helping others should become an involuntary action like breathing. No one breathes to impress others. We do it because it is necessary. Although I was not part of the studio that conceived the initial design, I was fortunate to be part of a subsequent studio that tried to develop alternative, low-cost sustainable systems to improve building performance and reduce environmental impact for Cerro Azul Community Center in Tecate, Mexico.

I came to Cal Poly Pomona as a postdoctoral researcher in the sustainable design research group hosted by Professor Pablo La Roche. The Cerro Azul community center was one of my first projects. After the first trip, Pablo and I had regular meetings and developed a design for the community center building and construction details of the cooling tower and solar attic as well as a masterplan for the site.

Because construction materials were limited by the budget, it was a challenge to find a way to build a low-cost cooling and heating system.

We also incorporated ideas from community members into the design.

Throughout the meetings, we developed details of the affordable system, and those were applied and adjusted in the construction. The initial results of the cooling tower and solar attic test were impressive. After two years of hard work, the opening ceremony was held on Oct. 10, 2016.

Projects such as this one

provide students

with the opportunity to do good while LEARNING from PRAC–Professor Pablo La Roche TICE 6

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The Cerro Azul project has been a good opportunity for me to think about the affordability of a passive system and its practical application. I also learned about collaborating with experts, volunteers and community members. In particular, it was a great experience for me and other volunteers to witness how the community participated and developed their own center. In the process, I learned about affordable sustainable design. I believe that the Cerro Azul community center is not just a gathering place for the community, but also an important asset for a sustainable future. It was an immense pleasure for me to be a part of it. I cannot wait for other opportunities.

— Jason D. Yeom. John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies postdoctoral researcher (2015); current postdoctoral researcher, Building Science, School of Architecture, University of Southern California

Hailey Peitzman and I felt that Corazón was about more than just creating a sense of togetherness — it was also about assisting in the development of self-sufficiency. There were about six ideas presented to the Corazón Corazon president, vice president and executive director; our design was selected. The following quarter, La Roche created a studio that focused on the sustainable systems incorporated, some of which you can see in the center.

In summer 2013, I worked with La Roche and Corazón Vice President Terry Mackprang to further develop the center. The layout stayed the same, but the sustainable function definitely shaped the form.

I believe we broke ground in fall 2013 and it has been a journey since. Together with Corazón, volunteers and community center members (most of whom are women), we have given the hills of Cerro Azul a vibrancy.

It has been exceptional to start this off as a student, continue it as a summer internship and finish it as a “Blue-Shirt” Corazón volunteer — La Roche and I have one from CPP. You can definitely leave it up to Cal Poly Pomona to give students the opportunity to have a real hands-on experience. I intend to stay a part of this organization and become more involved.

— Barbara Gonzalez (’14, bachelor’s in architecture; minor in regenerative studies)

Growing up, my house was taken away from my family in the 2003 Iraq War and I was nearly homeless for months.

[Charek was born in Iraq and fled Baghdad with her family in 2006 in the wake of the Islamic State’s persecution of Christians in the sectarian chaos following the 2003 Iraq War.] When I first met the members of the community, I felt connected and obligated to help them not feel the way I had felt: lost and hopeless. I believe a safe home is essential to life. I was fortunate to be part of the building process of the community center; the project was a great handson experience that applied what I learned in the previous quarter.

As a volunteer of the organization, my responsibilities consisted of not only offering my knowledge in architecture and sustainable design, but also teaching participants how to read plans and build according to specifications and incorporate passive design to improve efficiency. Spreading good deeds will help contribute more to the community, build better houses and help children succeed in school.

— Hiba Charek (’18, bachelor’s in architecture, minor in regenerative studies)

“I started volunteering for Corazón in 2015, after I graduated from Cal Poly Pomona. I have seen the project grow and morph from Barbara Gonzalez’s initial master plan to quick design changes at the construction site

by Terry Mackprang (the vice president of Corazón) to classroom building redesign by Pablo La Roche and I to hundreds of paint and murals by community volunteers. It now stands as a symbol of a sustainable community.

I see my experience with Corazón as an extension of Pablo’s studio into the real world. The sweat, the blisters on my hands and the exhaustion after returning from a long day of volunteering in Mexico are all indicators that learning doesn’t always occur inside an air-conditioned classroom.

This project is an excellent example of how a class and a dedicated professor not only can positively impact his students but also an entire community.

—Arianne Ponce (’15, architecture)

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site seeing

“L.A. River” by Professor Rick Willson, Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Places and Spaces That Inspire Better Living INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT GREEN Industrial District Green (IDG) is a nonprofit organization that promotes greening projects in the industrial neighborhoods of Los Angeles, specifically the Arts District and Skid Row. In keeping with its mission, the organization facilitates the planting and maintenance of trees in these areas through treeplanting events.

Cal Poly Pomona landscape architecture students participated in one of these events in October 2016, assisting with the planting of several African Sumacs along Central Avenue near Triangle Plaza. The event drew community members of all ages.

As part of IDG’s maintenance regime, it has established a relationship with The Spirit Guild, a distillery in the Arts District, to collect wastewater from the distilling process and use the water to irrigate trees. Watering trucks will be provided by another partner organization, Koreatown Youth + Community Center (KYCC). Water recycling offsets the large amounts of energy expended on water distribution in California. IDG is trying to expand this endeavor by reaching out to other distilleries in the area. To find out more about IDG and upcoming events, go to industrialdistrictgreen.org.

—Assistant Professor Rennie Tang, Landscape Architecture

dA CENTER FOR THE ARTS Back in the late 1970s, artists lived in downtown Pomona lofts and created a community. Several of these artists, led by Chris Toovey, worked with businesses to create a safer and more affordable loft area and also established a gallery site. It was first called dA Gallery, and became a hotspot for unique shows and gave opportunities to share creativity.

Since then, dA Center for the Arts has become a cultural hub for residents and artists. In 1988, dA Center incorporated and received nonprofit status. The board of directors was composed of artists who worked with local schools to offer art programs. dA’s exhibitions, art classes and workshops are held in a 12,000square-foot storefront space on Pomona’s Main Street in the Arts Colony. Located nearby is the American Museum of Ceramic Art, Latino Art Museum, another gallery and music venues. The Second Saturday Artwalk attracts many visitors.

Weekly workshops in drawing, ceramics and painting are offered. Writing workshops for teens are scheduled three times a week. Summer events include theater for teens, concerts and a play/perform program for all ages.

— Lecturer Joyce Hesselgrave, Art

BOYLE HEIGHTS In President Trump’s warped world, a place like Boyle Heights in Los Angeles is full of bad hombres. As an urban planner and a former resident of this lively and vibrant place, I highly recommend that all Cal Poly Pomona students spend a day

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exploring Boyle Heights.

Instead of seeing drug dealers on street corners and in parks, they’ll witness Latino immigrant street vendors selling everything from carne asada tacos to bacon-wrapped hot dogs, from paletas de fresa to fruit salads with chili powder and mucho mas.

Instead of seeing criminals roaming the streets, they’ll witness artists — established and novice — beautifying their communities. From the East Los Streetscapers — a muralist art collective from the mid-1970s — to the artistic millennials, artists are creating new forms of self-expression at Self-Help Graphics & Art and beyond. While Self-Help Graphics has gone through many changes, this community art center remains a vital place to help foster the next generation of Chicano artists.

At the center, artists hone their technical skills and have a space to show their work.

Instead of encountering rapists, they’ll see many food lovers, or foodies, enjoying the plethora of dining options in Boyle Heights. From the delicious tacos and sopes (with red or green salsa) at King Taco to the variety of food found at El Mercado de Los Angeles, all of these choices make for a unique cultural experience.

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In short, when we aim to create a “better living” for workingclass residents in places like Boyle Heights, prior to developing and implementing redevelopment plans, let’s not make false assumptions.

— Assistant Professor Alvaro Huerta, Urban and Regional Planning and Ethnic and Women’s Studies

THE CLAREMONT COLLEGES AND THE RANCHO SANTA ANA BOTANICAL GARDENS Life’s too complicated? Deadlines getting you down? The thesis proposal is just not moving? I have the perfect solution to your troubles: Take a walk in the Claremont Colleges and, if needed, tack on a stroll through the adjacent Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens — both delightful, close and practically free.

The Claremont Colleges are an association of independent colleges noted for their distinct architecture and landscape design. The Claremont Colleges were started in the 1920s and included building designs by Gordon Kaufman, a noted society architect who designed the Santa Anita Racetrack, buildings in Westwood and Santa Barbara, countless residences and Scripps College, the women’s college at Claremont. There are modern buildings designed by Edward Durrell Stone, noted for his embassies. It’s all here: dappled sunlight tracing the shadows of old trees on beautiful courtyards, picture-perfect green spaces where one happens upon an outdoor class or a landscape re-creating ancient tribal rituals in California.

The Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens is an enormous open space preserve dedicated to the authentic California landscape.

Winding paths take you to desert gardens, real California scrub, majestic oak woodlands and mountain environments.

A membership (very affordable) is required but pays for itself in unnecessary counseling bills. A walk here, with or without company, clears the head and is highly recommended. What gets to you immediately is the quiet — OK, except for the nearby airport. Overall, a beautiful place within easy reach.

— Professor Luis G. Hoyos Department of Architecture ENV iro n s

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changing the world Mike Lee

Land of Opportunity Change is the operative word when it comes to cities facing challenges on unanticipated fronts: altered demographics; fluctuations in commercial, industrial and real estate development; and the dissolution of the state’s redevelopment agencies that provided funding for local public services since their inception in 1945.

For Mike Lee (’95, urban and regional planning), economic growth means identifying opportunities and finding creative solutions in the midst of uncertainty.

“I think that planners need to be able to adapt to market demands,” says Lee, the economic development director at the city of Moreno Valley. “Five years ago, we did not realize how quickly some of our shopping centers are becoming vacant because of e-commerce. Technology in the future may change the traffic and land-use patterns and the way people live. Planners need to understand how future technology will impact the community and adapt to a very, very rapidly changing landscape.”

In Moreno Valley, Lee’s redevelopment team has been busy maximizing untapped potential. A third of the land in Riverside County’s second largest city is not developed.

Projects were aimed at leveraging prospects in growing sectors such as logistics, medical and e-commerce. Recent projects include the construction of Karma Automotive’s 555,670-square-foot hybrid vehicle manufacturing facility; the Aldi grocery company’s 825,480-square-foot western regional headquarters; completion of Deckers Outdoor Corp.’s 800,000-square-foot primary North American e-commerce and distribution center; the 1.25-million-square-foot Amazon Fulfilment Center that created 2,000 jobs; and the future World Logistics Center, a 40.6-million-square-foot industrial business park that would be the largest in California history.

The approach to redevelopment and revitalization differs for each city, he says. In Pomona, where he served as an economic development specialist before being promoted to redevelopment project coordinator, that meant growing its business sector to bring shopping centers and jobs without diluting the cultural heritage of one of Southern California’s oldest cities.

By his reckoning, Lee’s most complex and challenging project was helping to rewrite the history of a former toxic waste landfill.

For decades, the 583-acre BKK Corp. landfill in West Covina had been a blight in a city with more than 100,000 residents.

The landfill was responsible for the 1984 evacuation of 21 families from a neighborhood where explosive methane gas seeped into the soil. Lee, the assistant city manager and community development director at the time, was involved in the redevelopment of the site. More than 2,500 residents and businesses provided their input and vision for the landfill’s next incarnation, while city officials worked to best address cleanup, health and safety issues, groundwater contamination, and the site’s adverse effect on property values.

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Sara Abed

Layla Shaikley

It took eight years to turn the landfill into a landmark. In 2007, the West Covina Commercial Center and Sportsplex opened to much fanfare. The 315-acre development has three components: a public golf course, the Big League Dreams Sports Park and 300,000 square feet of commercial retail. The project was credited for the creation of 1,000 jobs, rising property values and the injection of $74 million in economic benefits to the region.

provide.

While participating in this project, I felt it was time for me to use my design skills to support my refugee neighbors in Orange County. Thirsty for inspiration, I came across an article about a nonprofit organization called the Roughwood Seed Collection.

It is a nonprofit organization in Devon, Pennsylvania, that harvests seeds from different parts of the world. My goal was to try to obtain seeds from them that originate from Syria.

This was the start of United We Farm, an initiative created by Humanitarian Design Alliance, an organization I co-founded with a several Cal Poly Pomona alumni.

United We Farm is a communal farm that welcomes and provides for refugees by producing organic produce. I started this project with Andrew Kanzler, Earnest Little, Jonathan Stalvey, Kevin Yuan and Jerry Zuniga. We wanted this farm to be accessible to the public and we chose a lot in Garden Grove.

We chose this location because of its proximity to World Relief, which is one of the major refugee agencies in the nation that provides compassionate and holistic care for refugees from the moment they arrive through their journey to be self-sufficient.

helping cultivate a forum in which Iraqi innovations and talents can contribute to the city’s reconstruction.

“The [city] council wanted two things,” Lee says. “Recreational use on the site, and we went through many different studies.

But we also wanted to pursue projects that made sense economically to fund the complex.”

The project won the 2009 Helen Putnam Award for Planning and Environmental Quality, the 2009 Phoenix Award for Region 9 and the 2009 Grand Prize National Phoenix Award honoring brownfield redevelopment and revitalization.

These types of projects, Lee says, exemplify the contributions of planning to the environment.

“Urban planning is about making a change in society,” he says.

Seeds of Activism

By Sara Abed (’14, landscape architecture)

For some time now, I have been following stories about Syrian refugees and their struggles to seek safety in other countries. Their stories and the stories of my Syrian relatives had an emotional impact on me. I sought opportunities to welcome and aid refugees.

Unsure of whom to speak to or which organizations to join, I reached out to Arab-Americans in my community who have been supportive of this cause. This is how I met Sama Wareh.

Sama is a Syrian-American artist, an environmental advocate and humanitarian worker. I found out about Sama’s humanitarian efforts to support refugee families, both locally and abroad, through an article in the Orange County Register.

In the article, Sama discusses her journey to the Syria-Turkey border and how she raised funds among friends, family and neighbors in an effort to buy and donate basic goods that many refugee families lack. Sama’s inspirational story motivated me to be proactive.

I reached out to Sama on several occasions and sought advice from her. During one of my first conversations with her, she spoke of a former refugee from Romania, Monica Curca, who was starting a project called the Refugee Guidebook. I soon became a participant in this project and I got an opportunity to learn more about the challenges refugees face as they resettle in the United States: language barriers, financial challenges and a lack information to help them assimilate. The guidebook is a supplement to the challenging work that refugee agencies

The Humanitarian Design Alliance approached Garden Grove’s Parks and Recreation Department to propose the garden project.

Unfortunately, we were unable to proceed with our project because future commercial development would replace the lot.

Unable to design and build our project, we decided that it was best to create a mobile farm. This idea is still in the works.

Since then, I’ve been focusing on other ways that I can contribute to my community. Motivated by a strong passion for social justice, I became a grass-roots activist in the Democratic Party and was elected to be a member of the California Democratic State Central Committee representing Assembly District 68 (inland central Orange County) at the annual California Democratic Convention. My duties include planning and attending informational meetings throughout the region and working with other delegates to represent my community, and voting on behalf of the district at regional meetings.

As a landscape designer, I’m proud to bring the spirit of ENV’s Department of Landscape Architecture — in the words of our department motto “Bravely Curious” — to my role as a party activist.

Shattering Stereotypes Layla Shaikley (’11, master’s in architecture) seems to be everywhere.

She’s been in the New York Times, fpenned an editorial for The Atlantic and was interviewed on National Public Radio.

She was a spotlight feature in CNN Money for WISE Systems, a software logistics optimization company she co-founded two years ago. She’s the co-founder of TEDxBaghdad,

She also has a big role in “Muslim Hipsters: #mipterz,” a viral YouTube video she co-produced to debunk stereotypes of what it means to be a Muslim American woman. In the 2-minute video, she and a group of girlfriends — aspiring culture makers, young professionals, sophisticates dressed to the nines — skateboard, ride motorcycles and traverse the urban landscape in their hijabs with chic confidence.

Their scenes are intercut with U.S. Olympian fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad lunging and parrying with a partner. The depiction, set to Jay-Z’s “Somewhere in America” (“Might crash ya internet/And I ain’t even into that”), drew appreciation and controversy. It accomplished what the video set out to do: stoke a national dialogue about gender, culture and identity.

“If there’s an issue with narrative, the best way to represent yourself is often visual,” Shaikley says. “Good design is a good way to start a conversation, including misunderstood identity.”

Viral video celebrity may be a fleeting moment, but her point about American plurality is not. Shaikley grew up in Pomona, one of two sisters and four brothers born into an Iraqi family whose immigrant parents encouraged their children “not to put ourselves in categories.”

“Even though you come across being a stereotype of being a woman, a woman of color, it’s important to never let the stereotypes define you and box you in,” Shaikley says.

She’s on the move these days, and has been since the final leg of her architecture graduate program at the College of Environmental Design.

“Cal Poly Pomona was one of the richest experiences in my life,” she says. “I truly fell in love with design. In my final quarter I took a course, ‘Colonization in Mars,’ with Professor Michael Fox.” The theme inspired her to set her sights beyond her architectural interest in post-conflict housing. She was accepted into a NASA internship — only aerospace and astronomy applicants are usually selected — on the strength of her technical design background.

She later moved to Boston for graduate studies in architecture and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During that time, she became an architectural consultant for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) for Iraq and the UN-Habitat’s Cairo program.

Shaikley also served as a fellow for MIT’s Special Interest Group in Urban Settlements in a field study in the Amazon. She worked as a research affiliate in the MIT Media Lab in the early days of WISE Systems, eventually paving the way for the firm’s membership in the Media Lab E14 Fund, a co-investor in startups hatched at MIT. Somewhere in the bustle of blending architecture and technology, international development work, entrepreneurial pursuits and ongoing participation in a national conversation, Shaikley carved out another facet in her identity: STEMinist, a portmanteau for feminist and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

Appetite for Success 2017 ENV Distinguished Alumna of the Year: Danielle Takata (’01, Graphic Design) At the turn of the millennium, “digital convergence” — the merging of mass communication outlets through digital media platforms — was a buzzword. The emergent role of the internet altered how individuals, businesses and organizations communicated, signaling a market-shifting inevitability rife with uncertainty and opportunity.

Danielle Takata was in the home stretch of her studies in the Department of Art, juggling class projects while growing a new business with a small group of fellow Broncos majoring in computer information systems: Dreambox Creations, Inc. The fledgling company was no dot-com gimmick, intuiting a future demand for website builders. Over the years, it has evolved into a leading digital advertising agency catering to the restaurant industry.

“It seems like only yesterday when I was a third-year student in the College of ENV,” says Takata, Dreambox’s creative director. “I was working at two jobs, attending classes and starting a company. We’re now entering our 18th year being in business.”

Since 1999, the Diamond Bar-based design firm has gone from six to more than 20 employees, with about a quarter recruited from Cal Poly Pomona. In addition to website design and e-commerce strategy, Dreambox’s menu of services ranges from digital and email marketing to cultivating sales and brand campaigns. It has created visual identities for national brands such as Pieology, Taps Fish-House & Brewery, The Flame Broiler, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Patina Restaurant Group, Panda Restaurant Group and Yard House.

“I am eternally grateful for the exceptional education that I received at Cal Poly Pomona and privileged to have had amazing professors who are leaders in the industry,” Takata says.

“As the company continues to expand and we hire new team members, we are always eager to bring fellow Broncos on board.”

But ultimately, she returns to her passion: “My main focus 99 percent of the time is to build my company.”

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Stephanie Coronado

in Pennsylvania I worked for a nature center and lived in an intern house that was completely zero waste.

Everything got reused, recycled or composted — we literally did not have a trash can. So learning there was a sustainable cooperative here in Pomona with people my general age who also wanted to live sustainably made me so excited. I also thought it would be a great way to make friends and form a community.

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Bradford House

ENV Students and Alumni Have Been Calling the Regenerative Co-op of Pomona Home Since the Beginning In 1999, a group of John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative

a sustainability seminar with workshops ranging from

Studies graduates led by William Korthof founded a

making bio-diesel to ecological and social justice.

“There is substantial tradition to call upon now and shared rituals that have evolved,” says Rosen, who notes that “friendship, patience, shared experiences — some horrible — and forgiveness” are all part of what it took to get Regen up and running.

community called the Regenerative Co-op of Pomona. “They wanted to continue learning and working together for the environment,” says Korthof’s mother, Lisa Rosen, who has been involved with Regen since the beginning, and moved in after her son was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2014. “They accomplished more as a group and were happier working together. They took out the lawns and put in irrigation and fruit trees.

They took trips and had parties. There were meetings and they thrashed out basic rules for community living. Lois Arkin [who founded the Cooperative Resources & Services Project Institute for Urban Ecovillages in 1980 and is a longtime advocate for intentional communities and urban sustainable living] of L.A. Eco-Village provided a lot of encouragement and advice.”

Korthof and childhood friend Monica Martinez bought the Bradford Street house, which became the first property owned by the co-op. Today, Regen is composed of four houses and regenerative principles have been put into action everywhere: solar power, gray-water systems, organic gardening, rain-water basins, energy-efficient appliances, edible landscaping. Every spring, Regen hosts

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“The day before he was killed, William said there had probably been about 1,000 people who had lived in the coop, and of all the things he had done, he was most proud of that.

It’s an upbeat adventure to try to make this community a continuing reality.”

Current resident Colleen Fisher, who’s working on her master’s in regenerative studies, former resident Eve Sanford, a 2014 urban and regional planning graduate who runs the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition’s Advocacy and Policy Program, and URP majors Jae Riddle, a current resident, and Marc Abraham, a former resident, share their thoughts about Regen and co-op living.

MOVING IN Eve: I first heard about Regen as a freshman when I met Elektra Grant, an awesome regenerative studies grad student who was living there at the time. She led me on a tour of the place where I found myself pretty smitten with the gardens, solar and people I met.

Colleen: I was living in Pennsylvania last year taking a gap year between undergrad and graduate school, and when I decided to come to Cal Poly Pomona, I reached out to one of my professors to ask where graduate students normally live. I had never been to Southern California, so I didn’t really know anything about the area. She put me in contact with Hank Phan, an URP major who lived in the co-op. He and I emailed back and forth and he gave me information on how to start the process of interviewing and getting a room in the co-op.

Jae: I initially heard about Regen through Colleen, and I was interested in living there because I felt that the co-op reflected a lot of my own values.

Marc: I heard about it from a friend in a regenerative studies class as well as Professor Gwen Urey.

Colleen: I was so excited to live there because when I lived

Eve: By the summer of my junior year, I was living a few blocks away and hanging out at Regen more and more, showing up for their big co-op dinners and eventually was recruited to build a solar project at Burning Man with an awesome guy, Will Korthof, who founded Regen. Before I even had time to wash the dust out of my gear, I interviewed and moved in.

At that point, the interview was more for fun, but for prospective residents it’s a way to get to know the co-op, Regen values and ensure that you’ll feel comfortable living there and, in living there, contribute to the community.

Jae: There is a two-step interview process. The first step is called the “informal” where a potential resident takes a tour of all four houses and joins us for one of our community dinners.

It’s very casual and we get to know him or her a little bit more. The second step is the formal interview where the individual joins us for another dinner and afterward we ask him or her a list of questions to get to know how they function in group settings, deal with conflict and diversity, etc.

Marc: At the second interview, they asked about interests, hobbies, what I think the word “regenerative” means. I gave the textbook definition because I was taking a regenerative studies class for my minor — sustainable living for the sake of ensuring resources for future generations.

Colleen: The interview process is different for people who are local versus those who are coming from out of town like me.

I had to email the housing coordinator with my general desires to live in the co-op then he set up a Skype interview with me. The Skype interview was with the entire coop, which can definitely be intimidating. They asked me a list of questions, ranging from cleanliness to favorite books, really just trying to get a feel for what I would be like to have in the community. Then there is a 48-hour window when they discuss and can email follow-up questions, and then an email is sent accepting or denying a person.

ROOM MATES Eve: Regen is made up of four large Craftsmen homes with about five to nine people per house. There are around 35 people during the school year, but that can drop to less during summer when students embark on adventures. In addition, there are many co-op-like houses in that part of the Lincoln Park neighborhood so it can be tricky to draw a line where Regen ends and others begin. It’s a great community.

Photos by Nathan Ochoa

a magical place Jae: Each house has a name — Bradford, Kingsley, Palo, Kingsford. Right now there are 28 people living in the co-op.

We have students from Cal Poly Pomona and the Claremont Colleges. We have couples and singles. There are former residents who are now married and met through the co-op years ago. Our residents range from early 20s to 70 — it’s wonderfully diverse.

Eve: Many students live there but also artists from downtown Pomona, working professionals, couples. The place has always drawn a pretty strong showing of ENV students — landscape architecture, planners, architects.

What is common among all Regenites is a shared belief and call to practice sustainable living. Will Korthof worked diligently to get the Regen houses off the grid — even putting back in the grid. For example, solar on rooftops that Southern California Edison buys power from and which charges someone’s EV. Gray-water systems, composting and worm systems, efficient lighting, passive cooling. He’s an inspiration to me.

Colleen: Almost everyone has their own room, and rooms range from very small basement rooms to back houses to suites with bathrooms to just regular rooms. There is a nice variety. I have a midsized room in the upstairs of Kingsford. Our house has a beautiful garden in the front and back, with persimmon trees, apple trees, strawberries, oranges, kale, spinach, onions and so many other vegetables growing. We have lots of bikes in the main room because biking is a big thing in the co-op. We also have a house dinner once a month to hang out and bond just as a house.

Jae: My room is in Palo and I love it. It is very decorated and has twinkling LED lights strung around the walls. I used to have a whole garden of potted indoor plants but a lot of them have died. Palo house is wonderful — it’s known as being a very social household. We have a big kitchen that makes it easy to cook with friends, we have a bookcase full of board games and card games, and it’s the only house with a television so there are movie nights and video-game competitions.

We recently had a chicken coop built in the side yard so now we have chickens in our garden. Same as the other three houses, we have solar panels, gray-water systems and we do not have a clothes dryer — we hang dry everything.

Eve: I shared a room in Alvarado house, which at this time is no longer part of the co-op. I would describe it as the bicycle riding/woodworking/nerd/retreating space. Suffice to say that it was a super-creative, supportive, idea-bouncing, tool-and-coffee-sharing place. My house loved kicking around project ideas, getting burritos at Lily’s, playing

Frisbee 13 constantly tried in Lincoln Park. My roommate Peter to convince me to ditch school to go windsurfing. In retrospect, I should have done that more.

Colleen: Monthly rent depends on the room — it can be anywhere between $300, which is a very small basement room, to $1,200 for the casita, which is a small back house with one room, but has a private small kitchen and bathroom. Monthly rent includes communal dinners five nights a week — saves so much money — as well as utilities and generic household supplies such as toilet paper, soap, paper towels, cleaning supplies and deter-gent. This helps to have only biodegradable and sustainable products in use.

Groceries are a house-to-house thing and are communal.

So one person shops each week, and house-mates pay between $10 to $15 each week for groceries.

COMMUNAL LIFE Jae: Everyone signs up to be an active member of the co-op when they join. This involves planning events or attending events organized by other members. We try to stay involved in not just our own Regen community, but also the greater community of Pomona. Different members will keep in contact with different organizations and encourage others to get involved. We hold “skill share” nights where a resident puts together a workshop and invites other co-op members to come and learn something. There have been workshops from “How to Brew Your Own Beer” to “How to Breakdance.”

There are a lot of rules that come with living in the co-op and the purpose of them is to make sure that all members are accommodated. How chores are done is determined on a house level rather than on a community-wide level. All the homes have gardens so a lot of our dinners feature fresh and locally sourced produce.

Colleen: My house currently has a house meeting once a month to figure out what needs improving in our system and talk about house needs. We each have a set chores we do each week, and it does not rotate. So my official chore is cleaning the kitchen in terms of counters, stoves and sinks.

I do this before Sunday of each week. There are communal meals five nights a week, and each person needs to cook one of those nights — it’s a big potluck. Everything is vegetarian in our houses, even if the people are not. So if people want to eat meat, they have to go do it at a restaurant or someone else’s house.

Thursdays after dinner there are movie nights, Mondays is poetry club, some Tuesday nights we all go to DBA to watch some of the co-op members do open-mic night.

Eve: Each house ends up finding a system that works for them. As a result, some are cleaner than others, some might host guests more, etc. Chores are worked out within the houses but equally shared. For big tasks, things like garden days are organized where everyone comes together to tackle planting for the season. Regen hosts co-op meetings every evening Sunday through Thursday. All of the members

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env bookshelf Must-Reads by ENV Faculty Members

Photos by Nathan Ochoa

ARCHITECTURE

“Protecting Suburban America: Gentrification, Advocacy and the Historic Imaginary” (Bloomsbury, April 2016). In her study of suburban America, Professor Denise LawrenceZuniga draws on architecture, anthropology, planning and urban studies to analyze the sociology and politics underlying historic preservation and gentrification. Her book compares the preservation practices of five American suburbs as they adapt to immigrant and gentrifying populations. The case studies may be California-centric, but its themes — the cyclical nature of neighborhoods — are global.

“Interactive Architecture: Adaptive World (Architectural Briefs)” (Princeton Architectural Press, May 2016). In this book, Professor Michael Fox explores how structures can process information, make observations, and utilize tools to translate natural systems and create seamlessly integrated environments, from data-driven light installations, responsive sculptures and performative materials to smart highways, dynamic spaces, kinetic facades, and adaptive buildings.

get together once a month for a discussion on the co-op and to tackle the big decisions in a consensus decision-making model. It’s not uncommon for someone to organize a BBQ or wine night on the weekends. Dinners rotate and each house has an assigned night where the residents cook and prepare dishes. There’s always some great cooks spread throughout the community and you can’t wait to see what they bring to the table.

Marc: One of the upsides of co-op life is the community dinners — interesting people and conversations. A diverse crowd helps build an understanding for other cultures.

Jae: Your day at Regen will differ with which house you live at. When I lived at Kingsley house, the house was empty by 9 a.m., everyone came home at 6 p.m. and hung out in the kitchen, went to dinner, then hung out in the kitchen again.

I live at Palo now and everyone here is either a student or a working artist so there’s always someone milling about — you do your thing and you come home and see your house-mates. No matter your house though, everyone gets hit with the same emails. We’re all linked on a list serve which is like having several massive group texts going on all day.

It keeps us in-formed and on the same page even when we might not see each other for a few days or few weeks.

Colleen: There is always someone to talk to, learn from and hang out with. We have an email list server so you can write on that about something you want to do, like go for a hike, and within an hour, people will respond and you’ll invariably have at least one per-son who wants to come join you. I also love living with such a diverse group of people — I learn so many things from each person and their unique perspectives.

Eve: Regen is a super supportive, creative community where residents care deeply about each other and form lifelong friendships. There’s something truly magical about sharing space and what comes from being open and being in proximity, especially among activists, artists and anyone exploring their identity. I’ve seen so much personal growth there among residents, ideas challenged, projects tackled, adventures had. While I lived there, I met people who inspired and forever cemented my commitment to improving the communities I have the privilege of being in. It’s a magical place.

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Jae: We get the privilege of learning how to be sustainable in everyday practices like hang-drying our clothes and recycling our water. I would have never opted for sulfate-free bath products but it’s mandatory for me now due to the gray-water systems, and I’m glad that every time I shower I’m using environmentally friendly products where I may have never made that choice before.

Marc: Close-knit living brings out peoples’ idiosyncrasies. People didn’t know where boundaries were sometimes.

Eve: There are all the normal downsides that come with living in shared quarters. Your favorite mug might go missing for two weeks.

Someone never washes their silverware — or worse.

Colleen: You don’t necessarily get to choose who you live with, since you only get to choose between whichever rooms are open when you get accepted. Therefore, you might end up with people you don’t always click with. However, the co-op is a very open environment, and we stress communication and avoiding being passive-aggressive, so generally conflicts are solved quickly.

Jae: It can be difficult to have a proposal passed because all decisions have to be approved by all members. We have monthly community meetings that are often long-winded because we’re all coming from different backgrounds so disagreements happen and everyone wants their opinion to be voiced. And that’s fine, but at one meeting we had a 30-minute debate on how toilet paper should be distributed. It’s those moments that make living with 30 people feel a little ridiculous.

HOUSE PARTY Marc: Everyone comes together for the Halloween party — cooks, makes decorations and has a good ol’ time. I invited friends from Cal Poly Pomona. A friend visiting from Korea who I met during study abroad joined in as well. There was a fire show in the backyard at one point.

Colleen: Our annual Halloween party is always hilarious. People go all-out with their outfits and it’s one of the few times of year that almost everyone in the co-op sets up and plans together and parties together, and so many past Regen members come back to visit as well.

Eve: The community dinners were always a favorite of mine, sharing long meals and wine with friends. And the night we packed the city council to support Pomona adopting the Bicycle Master Plan made me

so proud. Halloween and countless other dance parties we had.

Night bike rides around Bonelli Park. Playing games. Trying things like welding and windsurfing for first time. The inside quirks you come to learn about your house-mates.

Jae: One of my housemates, who studies geology at Cal Poly Pomona, built a merkaba in the backyard. It’s basically two pyramids facing opposite directions nestled inside one another and it’s supposed to be a spaceship used to travel inter-dimensionally. It was a huge hit when it was built and sparked a lot of dinner conversations about space travel, time and space, and if aliens exist and why people think so. Now it sits in the backyard on a neat little rug and people love getting inside of it when we have parties.

Eve: If you’re considering co-op living, do it. You have your entire adult life to experience a variety of living situations and if you’re willing to forgo matching dishes for a few more years, you won’t regret living in a co-op like Regen. Millennials need to form more co-ops, especially when you consider that our other option is to pinch pennies and buy a home in the exurbs. I’ve traveled and talked to people all over the West Coast. What you hear from Seattle to San Diego is that housing is never going to be the same. Millennials need to be serious about building community, organizing and looking into land trusts (on a larger scale) and shared-equity home ownership (on a smaller scale). For more information on projects like these, I recommend researching Los Angeles EcoVillage as a start.

Colleen: Regen is a wonderful place. I want to live in an intentional community everywhere I live now.

Jae: I think that we’re going to see a trend toward living in a communal environment, maybe not in more suburban areas like Pomona, but definitely in denser urban environments. When you live in a co-op you feel fulfillment from participating in your organization and working with others to create your ideal lifestyle. I feel very lucky to have this experience and I hope that anyone with similar interests will also get the chance to live in a co-op or start their own. Some of us are talking about setting up new co-ops in locations like Ventura and Portland. I hope that our co-op continues to grow so that this experience can be shared with more people all over.

To learn more about Regen, go to regen.org.

ART

“Fabricating the Tenjukoku Shucho Mandara and Prince Shotoku’s Afterlives” (Leiden: Brill, November 2016). Associate Professor Chari Pradel’s comprehensive study of the eponymous mandara is a new interpretation of the embroidered textile fragments associated with Prince Sh0toku, a politician from Japan’s Asuka period (574–622). Her analysis of visual records from this era found that the mandara work is not Buddhist in origin as previously believed, but related to Chinese funerary iconography brought to Japan by immigrants from the Korean peninsula.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

“Powering Places: Land Art Generator Initiative Santa Monica” (Prestel, December 2016).

Santa Monica Pier is the site of

the fourth Land Art Generator Initiative design competition.

Entrants were challenged to create a piece of civic art that also acts as sustainable and renewable energy infrastructure for the city of Santa Monica. Projects

by Assistant Professor Barry Lehrman and two teams of landscape architecture students from his LA302L class — Kevin Lei, Andres Reygada and Antonio De Jesus; and Timothy Tay, Lance Hassani and Chunguang “Ted” Pan — are among the collection of essays, renderings, illustrations and diagrams in this colorful 240-page anthology of innovative and artistic solutions that employ

the latest wave, tidal, wind and solar technologies.

Associate Professor Weimin Li and Professor Lee-Anne Milburn co-wrote the paper “The Evolvement of Design Tools and the Emergence of Geodesign in Landscape Architecture” published in the Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning, Geodesign Special Issue 2016. Li also penned the chapter “Complex Landscape, Simplified Representation — Integrating Data-Driven and Idea-Driven Technologies for Landscape Representation” for the textbook “Representing Landscapes – Hybrid” (Rouledge.

May 2016).

URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

“Parking Management for Smart Growth,” ACCESS magazine (fall 2016): “Parking is the sacred cow of land uses.” Professor Rick Willson’s article shares the title of his 2015 book. In this adaptation, he asks how we can transition from too much parking to a more efficient use of a smaller parking supply. He argues that transportation management can reduce parking demand, and parking management strategies can further reduce the number of spaces needed to meet demand. accessmagazine.org/articles/ fall-2016/parking-management-for-smart-growth

“Launching Your Planning Career: A Guide for Idealists”: Professor Rick Willson started a blog series for the American Planning Association in which he offers counsel about reconciling the realities of the profession with the pursuit of sustainability and social justice. A new entry is posted every two weeks. planning.org/careercenter/idealistblog

“People of Color in the United States: Contemporary Issues in Education, Work, Communities, Health, and Immigration [Volume 4]” (ABC-Clio Greenwood, October 2016). Assistant Professor Alvaro Huerta and coauthors Norma Iglesias-Prieto and Donathan L. Brown examine the obstacles still faced by people of color. Topics range from health issues to employment to salary discrimination.

Press Clippings

A NEW WAVE OF WATER FILTER

Professor Barry Lehrman and his 302L students weren’t the only ones who made an impression at the 2016 Land Art Generator Initiative competition in Santa Monica. Professor Pablo La Roche at ENV’s Department of Architecture garnered media attention for his entry “Cnidaria Halitus,” a row of jellyfish-like structures that collect and filter water through a centralized pipe system.

The design submitted by his team from CallisonRTKL was a finalist, notable for the way it harnesses sun and tidal energy to process and create up to 600,000 liters of daily potable water — about 219 million liters of drinking water annually.

It works this way: Water transported to the center of a Fresnel lens evaporates using heat from the sun, and the energy from breakwater waves activate the turbines of the boilers that power the evaporation process overnight. The structure takes on a lifelike quality when the transparent fabric of the lens expands and contracts with water vapor.

The Guardian newspaper says designs like this “illustrate the possibility of marrying aesthetics with renewable energy and water technology and educate the public about the challenges of addressing climate change and feeding a growing population.”

BEING A PLANNER IN TRUMP’S AMERICA Professor Rick Willson penned an open letter to urban and regional planning students about responses to the presidential election. “Fear abounds in different forms – among voters, among people in groups he targets, and more generally, in fear about the future,” he writes. “The future is the business of planning, and so responding to this fear is our work.” Read his missive in full at http://bit. ly/2okyXnO.

As an alternative final project for his URP521 class, Willson challenged his students to write op-eds about how planners should respond to the new administration.

Graduate students Jin Eo, Jaclyn Garcia, Alex Okashita and Bryan Shiang are aspiring transportation and environmental planners who work and consult for cities in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Their piece was picked up by Streetsblog LA: “Millennials who grew up under an Obama presidency are more educated and open, and they do not tolerate hate. These characteristics are needed more than ever when the results from the recent elections have shown how different Los Angeles is from the rest of the United States. Los Angeles is an arrival city, accepting diverse immigrants with open arms. We have chosen to protect our Muslim, Hispanic, Asian, black, and LGBTQ communities.” La.streetsblog.org/2016/12/06/youngplanners-how-millennials-can-help-los-angeles-in-thecoming-years

OTHER NEWS

Assistant Professor Axel Prichard-Schmitzberger’s work was the cover story for several magazines. His Los Angelesbased firm Domaen’s project VIL, a 6,000-square-foot creative office in Pasadena for the production company Conscious Minds, has been featured in Pasadena magazine (June 2016); Bob magazine, South Korea (June 2016); and AMC magazine, France (Interieurs, 2016).

Schmitzberger also received media attention for his work on a Beverly Hills residential remodel featured in the Porcelanosa Showcase Catalogue Italy (2016); and on the Ell residence, a 5,500-square-foot house in Benedict Canyon, which was featured in Design Boom (July 2016).

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rankings ENV and Cal Poly Pomona Earn High Rankings

A national survey ranks Cal Poly Pomona among the top 10 U.S. colleges that enable students from humble backgrounds to rise to middle-class careers. The study released in January by the Equality Opportunity Project (equality-of-opportunity.org) ranked Cal Poly Pomona No. 5 in the nation for helping students climb the economic ladder.

This report card is the result of an analysis of anonymous data from 30 million U.S. college students, using statistical data such as students’ earnings and their parents’ incomes.

faq Jae Riddle

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A New York Times opinion piece titled “America’s Great WorkingClass Colleges” acknowledged that public universities and colleges continue to provide quality education even while struggling under state budget cuts: City College of New York and California’s public universities “fulfilled the country’s highest ideals — of excellence, progress and opportunity. Many of those same colleges, and many others, still do.”

Dean Michael Woo says Cal Poly Pomona succeeds as a gateway to the middle class because of its accessibility for the region’s large immigrant population and low-income families, and the ongoing collaborations with local employers to produce graduates with practical skills shaped by the university’s learn-by-doing philosophy.

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April Marie Castro

ENV stands apart from national programs as one of the few that unite the disciplines of architecture, graphic design and art history, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning. Student work regularly receives acclaim, and faculty members frequently are sought after for their expertise and appointed to state and national advisory boards.

The caliber of the college’s undergraduate and graduate programs have been recognized nationwide.

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DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

DESIGNINTELLIGENCE 2017 NATIONAL RANKINGS >> Undergraduate Programs: No. 19 >> Graduate Programs: No. 24 >> Interior Design: No. 10 >> Computer Application: No. 8 >> Construction Methods and Materials: No. 5 >> Cross-Disciplinary Teamwork: No. 9 >> Sustainable Design Practices & Principles: No. 9

Rosalina Arteaga

DEPARTMENT OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

DESIGNINTELLIGENCE 2017 NATIONAL RANKINGS >> Undergraduate Programs: No. 11 >> Graduate Programs: No. 14

Amanda Alcantara

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THEBESTCOLLEGES.ORG 2017 BEST LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PROGRAMS >> Graduate Programs in U.S.: No. 3

DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

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COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY GUIDE >> 2016 Top Urban Planning Schools in the U.S.: No. 14 PLANNING ACCREDITATION BOARD >> The only university in Southern California with undergraduate and graduate programs both accredited by PAB. 16

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Jason Martin

Help! Why do I have a registration hold and how do I get it released?

Jae Riddle (junior majoring in urban planning): “Registration holds are part of policies and procedures in place by the university. They keep your personal records up to date and help you stay on track to complete your degree. The most common hold for ENV students is the Advising Hold, which can be removed by meeting with your faculty advisor and reviewing your course plan to ensure that you’re on the right track. Other types of holds may appear unfamiliar, but Bronco Direct will provide a link to directions for removing the hold. If you have more detailed questions regarding your hold, stop by the Student Success and Advising Center in room 7-200 and we’ll get you squared away and ready to register.”

How do I find and interpret my Degree Progress Report?

April Castro (junior majoring in architecture): “Your Degree Progress Report allows you to track courses needed to obtain your degree. On the Bronco Direct portal — specifically your Student Center page, next to where your class schedule is located — there is a drop-down menu with the title Other Academic Click on the arrow and go to Degree Progress Report; press the blue arrow. This page will show all of the courses needed to complete your degree. Green circles with a check mark indicate the required class or area is complete, red blocks indicate the class has not been completed and yellow diamonds indicate the course is in progress. Under some tabs there will be courses listed as alternatives to completing the task as well as the quarter it is offered.”

What is an IAP and how does it apply to me?

Rosalina Arteaga (sophomore majoring in landscape architecture): “The IAP, or Individual Academic Plan, is a personalized roadmap to graduation. It is a long-term academic plan that helps students navigate their time at Cal Poly Pomona. All students must submit an IAP prior to graduation.

This insures that the courses needed by students will be made available by the university based on course demand. An IAP is essentially a plan of action completed by the student; this information provides the university with a better understanding of what courses are needed by students.

“It is important to note that an IAP may only be submitted once and must be approved by the student’s advisor. Advisors do not receive automatic notifications that a student has submitted an IAP for approval, so it is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her advisor. Students who are pursuing a minor should check with their minor advisor prior to submitting their IAP. Students seeking help completing their IAP have resources such as the Student Success and Advising Center, peer mentors, and advisors available.”

DEPARTMENT OF ART

ANIMATION CAREER REVIEW >> 2016 Top 10 Graphic Design Schools and Colleges in the West: No. 10 >> 2016 Top 50 Graphic Design Schools and Colleges in the United States: No. 21

The College of Environmental Design has launched the ENV Peer Mentor Program. To qualify, a peer mentor must be a student majoring in an ENV program. They are tasked with helping students acclimate to the university by familiarizing them with campus policies and procedures, and providing workshops on issues ranging from stress management to semester conversion.

They hold office hours at the Student Success Center on the second floor of Building 7, room 200. The inaugural group of peer mentors share the questions they encounter most frequently.

I’m graduating in June. What deadlines do I need to know to make sure I actually do?

Amanda Alcantara (senior majoring in fine arts): “Excited to walk across that stage and finally receive your diploma? From one graduating senior to another, don’t forget these major deadlines in order for you to graduate in June. In order to receive graduating senior priority registration, you must have applied for graduation by Jan. 27, 2017. If you apply after this date, you will NOT receive priority registration. The last deadline to apply for graduation is April 14 in order for your name to appear in the program. Don’t ignore these crucial deadlines. Also remember to constantly check your Degree Progress Report on Bronco Direct to make sure everything is in order. Graduation information and deadlines can also be found on the Cal Poly Pomona website at cpp.edu. Ensure that you’re on the right path to graduating and always double check with an advisor. Go Class of 2017!”

What is MyPlanner and how can it benefit students?

Jason Martin (junior majoring in urban planning): “MyPlanner is an online tool within the Bronco Direct student portal that helps students fill out their quarterly schedule until semester conversion in fall 2018. Once classes are input into MyPlanner, reports generate to show a necessity for wint er / sp ring 2017 17 classes ENV iro n s in certain quarters. Students benefit from the generated report because it shows administrators which courses are in demand and assists departments in scheduling accordingly.”

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club ed Student organizations represent opportunities for camaraderie, creativity and community involvement at the College of Environmental Design. The groups support — and at times take the lead — in organizing department events, arranging tours of firms, supporting community service projects and ensuring that ENV has strong representation in student government ORGANIZATION: College of Environmental Design Council (ENV Council) MEMBERSHIP: Nine council members, 12 student officers representing ENV clubs About: The council ascertains the needs, desires and attitudes of the college by reflecting the ideas and interests of students and faculty. It also seeks to strengthen and promote channels of communication and interaction among its members and with the faculty, staff, administrators and student government. It acts as a liaison between students of the college, council members and ASI Senate.

Snapshot: The ENV Council hosted a panel discussion at the college’s March 4 open house, highlighting the student experience for admitted and prospective students pursuing the design disciplines.

LEARN MORE: cppenv.com; facebook.com/groups/cppenv/; Instagram: @cppenv; contact: envcouncil@cpp.edu —Katarina Kushin, ENV Council president ORGANIZATION: American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) MEMBERSHIP: 107 About: The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) is an independent, nonprofit, studentrun organization dedicated to providing programs, information and resources on issues critical to architectural education. The mission of AIAS is to promote excellence in architectural education, training and practice; to foster an appreciation of architecture and related disciplines; to enrich communities in a spirit of collaboration; and to organize students and combine their efforts to advance the art and science of architecture.

Snapshot: AIAS hosted its Winter 2017 Interim in January at the Interim Design Center, a showcase of the best student work from fall quarter.

Doing Good: Each year, AIAS coordinates a Thanksgiving potluck for students who cannot make it home for the holidays. We had our largest turnout last year and served more than 200 people. Our officers shared home-cooked food and old family recipes. Local vendors donated some of the food, including doughnuts and pastries. We encourage students to contribute to the event and give back to

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their communities at food drives during the holidays.

Our members participated in the L.A. Arboretum’s annual Thanksgiving food drive.

apsacpp.weebly.com, facebook.com/groups/apsacpp, Instagram @apsacpp, apsacalpolypomona@gmail.com —Vincent Gillespie, ENV Council APSA representative

LEARN MORE: facebook.com/groups/calpolypomonaaias Instagram: @cpp_aias —Ryan Keenan, AIAS president

APSA also hosted a public speaker from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She addressed the effect that the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics had on Rio and how similar events affected other cities. Theresa Williamson has been featured on NPR and BBC News. It was a pleasure to hear her speak on our campus.

Our organization will aim to coordinate additional lectures.

— Renzo Pali, APSA president

ORGANIZATION: American Planning Student Association (APSA) MEMBERSHIP: 53 About: APSA is the primary resource for students majoring in urban and regional planning (URP) who seek connections and want to build relationships with members of the planning profession. APSA helps students enhance their education through recreational and professional development events. APSA is affiliated with other organizations at Cal Poly Pomona and across Southern California, such as the URP Alumni Association, California American Planning Association and Graduate Planning Student Association.

Snapshot: APSA assisted the URP department with the annual Dale Prize Colloquium and banquet that recognizes a scholar and a practitioner for their accomplishments and contributions to the planning profession. The department celebrated its 50th anniversary in February.

Doing Good: With a learn-by-doing attitude, APSA works with professors and organizations such as the City of Pomona in volunteer events. Last December, we helped the city collect data in a one-day survey at city parks. The event was part of the city’s effort to update its Master Parks Plan.

After training and practicing with the city’s new Pomona Go app for iPad and iPhone, teams of three to five students staked out parks in Pomona to geocode amenities at each site. The teams documented the location of playground equipment, benches, trash cans, basketball courts, tennis courts, baseball fields, soccer fields, water fountains, restrooms, swimming areas, community centers and parking spaces. When available, students took pictures of the objects to document their condition.

With about 30 volunteers and 13 parks to cover, it took us over four hours to document everything. The city was grateful for our help in the crucial task of data collection. Now, residents can use the app and quickly find the location of parks based on amenities and have a well-organized inventory of park amenities.

LEARN MORE:

ORGANIZATION: Graduate Student Planning Association (GPSA) MEMBERSHIP: 19 About: The Graduate Planning Student Association (GPSA) aims to connect Cal Poly Pomona graduate planning students with alumni, professors and professionals in the planning field. GPSA hosts events throughout the year such as field trips to local planning firms, workshops, and networking and social events. We aim to alleviate the stress of graduate school by providing camaraderie and a sense of community.

Snapshot: GPSA assisted with the Dale Prize Colloquium and banquet honoring a practitioner and a scholar who have made significant contributions to urban planning.

GPSA will also get students together at a spring bike tour through northeast Los Angeles and learn about the infrastructure and history of urban planning in the area.

Doing Good: GPSA aims to connect Cal Poly Pomona students to the urban infrastructure and planning of Los Angeles County and its surrounding areas. This year’s club officers want to ensure that students have options of getting together other than banquets at the university. We plan to join ocean cleanup efforts in Los Angeles and Orange County. This would be an easy way for graduate students with families to get involved with the club outside of class.

In keeping with the planning theme, we will partner with a city to do conduct community outreach. That could include outreach about general plan updates and city council meetings where residents can make their voices heard on issues. The objective is to get GPSA members involved with a community and continue those ties with future students. We aim to show that our members are dedicated to working with communities.

Elise Ahn (’17, landscape architecture) and Julia Baek (’17, landscape architecture) assist Casa Yonde residents with their edible garden.

LEARN MORE: calpolypomona.collegiatelink.net/organization/gpsa, facebook.com/groups/thegpsa, thegpsa@gmail.com —Christine Rivera, GPSA secretary ORGANIZATION: Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society, Beta Psi Chapter (TSD) MEMBERSHIP: 40 About: Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society provides national recognition to high-achieving students in the Department of Architecture. The objective is to celebrate excellence in scholarship and to award students who attain high scholastic standing. This invitation-only club offers a lifetime membership and recognition from potential employers. Members of the club are composed of the top GPA earners in each graduating class. Graduates of Tau Sigma Delta receive a certificate of membership and a distinguished stole at graduation. Tau Sigma Delta also hosts a range of events throughout the year, including an upperclassman/ underclassmen mentorship, firm visits, social events and guest lecturers.

Snapshot: In winter quarter, TSD held a Class of 2019 induction ceremony where the newest members of the club were congratulated for their high honors.

Doing Good: One of Tau Sigma Delta’s main assets is the breadth of knowledge from each architecture class. TSD has become one of the main resources for many incoming architecture students. We strive to establish a mentor/mentee connection across architecture classes. TSD does this by creating opportunities for socializing between upperclassmen and underclassmen. Every year, TSD invites all freshmen in architecture to bowl with the rest of the upperclassmen.

During fall quarter, TSD hosted a “speed dating” event to match freshmen with potential mentors to guide them through their first year. Events are held throughout the year to help maintain this connection. TSD hopes to foster the connections not only between students, but with the larger architecture community.

LEARN MORE: calpolypomona.wixsite.com/tausigmadelta/ —Jerrin Garcia, TSD president ORGANIZATION: AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS (ASLA) MEMBERSHIP: 80 About: The American Society of Landscape Architects, Southern California Chapter at Cal Poly Pomona, thrives to build connections among students, professors, professionals and alumni. Our goal is to have all undergraduate and graduate

students build supportive relationships that promote success in the program. We hold workshops, lectures, socials, barbecues, raffles, speed mentoring, firm visits and mixers to initiate those relationships.

Snapshot: ASLA provided assistance to the department during winter and spring quarters with exhibits and a lecture series: >> I NDIvisuals, an exhibition displaying a collection of sketchbooks from the creative minds of landscape architecture students. >> Women in Landscape Architecture: an afternoon discussion on the role of women in landscape architecture as reflected in the contributions of Ruth Shelhorn and five decades of alumnae. >> Alumni Mixer: A celebration of our past and a toast to the future. >> The reseeding of Wildflowering Site #37 in the courtyard in front of the College of Environmental Design building. >> A special CPPLA 60th anniversary public lecture series that runs into May. The series will bring designers, critics, writers and other creative individuals to campus to share their experiences and knowledge with the department. >> As part of the club’s effort to facilitate student outreach, events coordinator and graduate student Timothy Curran participated in San Bernardino’s Pacific High School Career Day on Feb. 23.

Doing Good: During summer 2016, Elise Ahn and Julia Baek, who are both seniors majoring in landscape architecture, worked with the Koreatown Immigrants Workers Alliance (KIWA). Established in 1992, KIWA is a community-based nonprofit organization that combats racism, poverty and social inequality.

KIWA assists workers and addresses exploitation among the Koreans and Latinos who live in Koreatown.

Elise and Julia worked at KIWA headquarters, which is situated below a 52-unit affordable housing complex called Casa Yonde. One of KIWA’s first development projects, Casa Yonde is a green residential community that houses low-income families, homeless families and at-risk youth transitioning out of state custody or foster care. The focus of the internship was to create an active social space for residents.

Elise and Julia researched viable ground-up interventions suitable for a narrow space. Casa Yonde stakeholders examined possibilities such as a café, an edible garden, a gathering space or a sitting area. Several surveys were taken to get input from residents and KIWA staff members. After careful consideration, an edible garden was selected as the project. To facilitate community involvement, Elise and Julia held a design workshop and invited stakeholders to create edible garden designs.

After days of planning and preliminary construction, a final construction workshop was set. A majority of the participants were women, who helped construct and paint planters and vertical gardens. Through all the hard work and sweat, they learned, struggled and bonded. On the final day, participants completed the project by installing soil and plants. Elise and

Julia hope the garden will strengthen Casa Yonde’s social fabric, improve the aesthetic quality of the space, transfer knowledge gained from the construction project and heighten a sense of empowerment.

LEARN MORE: env.cpp.edu/la/la, facebook.com/groups/124294477601665, scasla. cppla@gmail.com, Instagram: @CPPASLA (club) & @CPPLA (department), Tumblr: American Society of Landscape Architects CPP —Kara Bolin, ASLA historian ORGANIZATION: Art Student Alliance/American Institute of Graphic Arts (ASA/ AIGA) MEMBERSHIP: 30 About: AIGA is recognized nationally as an organization for designers to network and attend professional design events.

ASA is a student-run organization and a university chapter of AIGA. ASA/AIGA hosts workshops, speakers, and events for student representatives of the art program, providing members with potential networking opportunities inside and outside of the campus community.

Snapshot: ASA/AIGA hosted a screen-printing event during winter quarter featuring Stephanie Wagner, the art department’s printmaking professor. ASA/AIGA also hosted two lectures from two distinguished graphic artists: Devin Kennedy, co-founder and creative strategist at Venice Beach-based Artist Colony; and New York-based graphic artist Nick Misani, whose eponymous design company completed projects for the Dalai Lama, Pope Francis and former U.S. Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Doing good: Last year, ASA/AIGA members and graphic design students collaborated and designed several large poster prints dedicated to Nohemi Gonzalez, the industrial design student from Cal State Long Beach who was killed in the 2015 Paris terror attack. The prints were meant to be interactive art pieces in which students could write supportive notes as they passed by in the hallways of the art building. The prints were later sent as a gift to the Gonzalez family.

At the end of fall quarter, ASA/AIGA found out that an alumna from the art department had been diagnosed with eye cancer.

ASA/AIGA designed posters to advertise a benefit show last December.

LEARN MORE: facebook.com/groups/CPPAIGA, Instagram @asa_cpp hjvehrs@cpp.edu.

—Hannah Vehrs, ASA/AIGA president

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artspeak

When I joined the gallery, some of the other workers were gone for the summer or leaving in the fall. I was put in a position of leadership very early on and had to quickly learn how things worked in order to guide those around me. Although it was scary at first, I have become comfortable with being put in charge of people and have no problem communicating to others what needs to get done.

As gallery assistants, we set up and take down shows. We interact with the artists throughout the show. We are trained in handling works of all media and how the pieces are displayed, working with the artists, helping them with site-specific installation art, and on packaging their works at the end of a show. Hearing how thankful and pleased artists are because of the care we exercised with their works are some of the best moments.

There are many details that go into putting on a show that I never knew or thought about before working at the gallery. We are not only told to move walls and put up works, but also told why a piece of art is placed there and taught the basics of putting together a show — techniques such as creating focal points throughout the building so that visitors move throughout the entire space, something that, as a viewer, you don’t even realize you’re doing.

My favorite part of working here is the art itself, being able to see new art every few months. I love the transformation that happens during each show, coming in one day to work on receiving the artwork and then coming in during my next shift to find the works up on the walls and complete. It’s amazing to me. We create an environment to showcase these artworks and take viewers through a journey. It was us who put everything together to tell a story and guide visitors from one piece to another.

— Maria de Lourdes Munoz, graphic design major

In the time I’ve worked for the galleries, I’ve acquired a wealth of learning experiences. Michele Cairella-Fillmore, the director of the galleries, instructs all the staff on museum-standard art handling, packing and installation. I really enjoy the team atmosphere in the galleries. From installing or uninstalling a show to communicating with artists and the public, all our staff is assigned specific duties that come together as a whole product in the end. I enjoy my involvement in the process of creating an exhibition from the beginning to the end, with all the details it entails.

Working with the ENV art collections led to an internship at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in the registrar’s department. This opportunity has had a significant impact on my educational and professional goals for the future.

So far, my favorite exhibition has been Ink & Clay 42. Ink & Clay is the largest and most time-consuming show we do annually. Aside from the level of involvement needed in putting the show up, I enjoy that it’s a national competition that includes a large number of artists and artworks. It is interesting to see a variety of artists under one roof, their similarities and differences in technique, as well as the messages they’re aiming to deliver.

The experiences I’ve gained have made me a more observant, detailoriented person, and strengthened my work ethic. It has also made me feel like a well-rounded employee because of the variety of responsibilities assigned to me. Through my responsibilities to correspond on a regular basis with co-workers, supervisor and outside parties, working at the galleries has enhanced my communication skills. I’m more conscientious of what a professional and well-balanced work environment is like and feel confident about advancing professionally within the art sector.

— Raynell Macdonald, art history major

University Galleries’ curator Michele Cairella Fillmore directs student assistants with exhibition installations at the W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery.

“Spiral” by Stephanie Wagner

University Galleries’ Curator Michele Cairella Fillmore Lauds ‘Leaders in the Making’ As I see it, the work we do in the galleries is a marriage of architecture, design, graphics design, art and art history.

The architecture, art history and graphic design majors who work in the galleries learn the elements of design in a real, three-dimensional functional space. Students learn about the abstract concepts of curating exhibitions, how the dialogue between viewer and artwork is influenced by the environmental design and components of the space, and how it is manipulated — the placement of art can tell a story, arrangement can dictate how things are perceived.

They learn about the aesthetics of presentation.

They are exposed to standards of practice equal to museums, art centers and commercial galleries in regard to art handling, packing, transport, installation and gallery preparation. In addition, they learn about policies and procedures for artwork loans, donations, art sales, assessment, and reporting on artwork condition, insurance valuation and appraisal of art. They also learn how to catalogue, photo-document, register, store, protect

and preserve the artwork in our care.

Staff members also learn about teamwork: support each other — and me — every day. When it is time to install a show or work on a new design or start a graphics campaign, everyone steps up their game. There is a sense of camaraderie and respect. Oftentimes, they partner or collaborate to brainstorm solutions to problems, create prototypes when needed, experiment through trial and error and successfully execute. What I see happens more often than not. Every day, students are “leaders in the making.” They know how to work as a team, and recognize when and how they are needed for individual contributions.

The friendships I see evolve between students, the engaging questions they ask about art, art history and careers in the arts, the recognition from artists who work with us, the quality of work we accomplish, and the high standards of museum/gallery practice that artists and lenders witness are reflective of the students and what they accomplish in the galleries and collections.

Some preconceived notions that I had about working in a gallery before starting at the W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery were mostly focused around the glamorous openings, the exciting exhibitions, and the interesting artists and art professionals. I had no idea about the hard work and attention to detail that is required for every exhibition or the number of projects the team at the Kellogg gallery is working on, whether it’s an upcoming exhibition, a design proposal for an office space in the university or taking inventory and cataloguing one of the seven art collections under the oversight of the College of Environmental Design.

I chose to work at the gallery because this is what I want to do: exhibition design. I study architecture and it is helpful in many ways.

We use visual and architectural presentation skills when we create mock-ups of office designs for the deans of different colleges using art from our permanent collection and when using a scaled-down model of the galleries to design exhibitions with works by professional artists prior to a show’s installation. The software we use in our classes is implemented into our work at

I have gained many skills and tools that I can use to be more successful in my career: art handling and installation, interacting with artists, collection management stewardship, and principles of exhibitions design — all of which are valuable to me as an art historian. With these skills, I have a better chance of being hired.

We are also exposed to diverse and new art forms and different art media. Technological art that uses sound or visual installation and projection helps us learn and understand how to use and design spaces with these different tools and equipment that are used in realworld technological art forms.

the gallery.

One of my most memorable experiences was working in the Sasha vom Dorp show, which was the first show I worked on as an intern. I had the opportunity to meet and work with a renowned artist and learn about his process and theory on creating art. At the same time, I was pleased to find that artists are normal people with families, lives and aspirations. This was also my first time going through the process of setting up a show from installation to the opening, working on exhibition days, and retrieving the art at the end of the show. This experience is exactly what our university promotes, which is to learn by doing.

I’ve had many memorable experiences at the gallery — from latenight art installations to surprise birthdays and goodbye parties to relocating a piano from the Channing Gilson Collection across campus to transporting an airplane turbine in the library’s elevator for an exhibition by artist Sasha vom Dorp. The best experience, and the one I am most thankful for, is all the great co-workers and artists that I’ve met and worked with because of this job — creating professional relationships that will last well into the future.

Michele, our gallery director, besides being our boss, is our teacher and friend. We learn so much on a daily basis, and it is also a fun environment. The gallery has become a place where I can relax and focus on a particular project. Sometimes, I temporarily forget what is going on in the outside world because I really enjoy and feel passionate about the projects and tasks that come to fruition through my work at the gallery. I am very thankful for this job because it has affected my experience at Cal Poly Pomona in a very positive way.

—Socrates Medina, architecture major

Our gallery curator, Michele Cairella-Fillmore, has become a mentor as she directs us and teaches us about the art world and what it means to be an art professional. Learning these skills and tools from Michele and my co-workers has made my time here invaluable.

— Jesus Corona De Niz, art history major

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“Bridge” by Gina Lawson

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broadening horizons Study Abroad Program to Visit the Charming Italian Town of Castiglion Fiorentino

inspired again.

The Amici di ENV (Friends of ENV) tour will depart this fall, when the best seasons for food, drink and weather in Italy converge. Castiglion Fiorentino will be home for nine days and eight nights of creative exploration, local food and, of course, wine. Accommodations will be provided at a local agritourismo, Borgo Gaggioleto. In addition, excursions to visit artisans and sites in the region also are scheduled. Travelers have the option of designing their own itineraries. Workshops in print-making, cooking and truffle hunting are some of the trip options.

The dedicated team at the Santa Chiara Study Center has hosted more than 600 students from Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Davis students, and has introduced them to the culture and history of Italy over the past 25 years. The program’s presence in Castiglion Fiorentino is not by chance — this relationship is tied to the history of the center, the program and the mission of founder Paolo Barucchieri. In turn, landscape architecture program participants have become members of the Castiglion Fiorentino community.

Phil Pregill, the founder of the Italy program, will join department chair Andy Wilcox to lead the tour. While in

60th Anniversary Amici di ENV Tour Dates: October 7-15, 2017 Cost: $4,200 per person based on double occupancy Single supplement: $800 Trip at a Glance Accommodations at an agritourismo in Castiglion Fiorentino. Borgo Gaggioleto is a cluster of villas built on 1,000-year-old foundations. Each villa has two or three rooms, including a private bedroom and private bathroom.

Guests will share the public spaces of each villa (kitchen and dining room).

All guests will have access to the pool terrace and gardens of the Borgo Gaggioleto.

Seven dinners, six lunches and eight breakfasts are included; meals will be provided at restaurants, farms and at the Santa Chiara Study Center.

The tour does not include airfare or hotel accommodations beyond the itinerary. Participants should fly into Florence or Rome and take the train to Castiglion Fiorentino. The tour will begin and end at the train station of Castiglion Fiorentino.

Landscape Architecture Professor Philip Pregill, Founder of the Department’s Study Abroad Program, Reflects on 25 Years of Italian Adventures

A $500 nonrefundable deposit per person is required to reserve a space on the trip. All profits from the tour support the Department of Landscape Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona.

Questions about the trip can be directed to Andrew O. Wilcox, professor and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, at aowilcox@cpp.edu.

Looking back over the past 25 years of the Italy program, I am reminded of how significant it has been for the students to experience the layers of culture in the regions of Europe. I

Bookings can be made through Laura Kuntz-Lewis, alumni administration coordinator, at 909.869.5387 or lflewis@cpp. edu.

also think about my own travel in Europe the summer before

graduate school and the value of the experience as a basis for engaging European cultures. However, an advantage that Cal

Poly Pomona students have had is time — their three-month

Art and Seoul

stay in the region — and the opportunity to interact with

the host community of Castiglion Fiorentino. Since 1993, the

Study Abroad Program to South Korea Puts Global Spin on Graphic Design

Ancient Korean traditions and cutting-edge technology are on the agenda for ENV’s newest summer study-abroad program.

Art 299: Experiential Graphic Design in a Global Context: Seoul, South Korea, led by Assistant Professor Sooyun Im of the Department of Art, will give students a unique introduction to design perspectives based upon immersion in traditional and contemporary Korean culture.

“Seoul is a vibrant city where deep traditions and 2,000 years of history coexist with the face pace of innovative technology,” says Im, a Graphic Design faculty member. She says that students will be exposed to global influences, technologies, and environmental and cultural elements through the

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group has maintained an enduring connection with the town, including student participation in language exchanges with

the junior high school, Sunday lunches with families and

common language of design.

Seoul — designated in 2010 as the World Design Capital by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design and as a Creative City of Design by UNESCO — is engaged in implementing diverse programs to impact social and economic conditions, and design is a part of everyday life.

Students will visit museums, cultural events and design-related sites, as well as participate in seminars and lectures at design firms and universities. The goal is for students to develop a richer understanding of contemporary global design and gain diverse perspectives and deeper knowledge about design in other cultures.

It may sound like a cliché, but the study abroad trip to Tokyo was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. There’s no other way to express it. I’ve had an interest in Japan and its culture since I was young. My curiosity was immediately piqued when I heard that the art department was planning a study abroad trip to Japan. I became even more enthusiastic once I learned that we would meet designers and visit design-related companies. Financial costs and traveling so far from home were concerns in my mind before signing up for the class, but it was well worth it because my experience in Japan was priceless.

While in Japan, everything was a new experience. My designer peers and I stayed in a business hotel, visited amazing design teams, got lost in Tokyo, ate all kinds of local cuisine, sweated like never before in the humid summer heat and absorbed the atmosphere of Tokyo. Just walking through the city and seeing how designs and advertising were implemented was fascinating. Getting the chance to meet and hear from industry professionals in another country was extremely insightful. I feel grateful to have been able to be part of such a beneficial study abroad opportunity. I would definitely encourage others to jump on board if the opportunity arises.

— Lindsey Johnson, (’17, graphic design)

Italy, experts, artisans and friends of the program will share their experiences and insights.

participation in grape harvesting in vineyards near the town.

Professor Philip Pregill

The annual field trip to San Gimignano is another location that catches the group’s attention as a cultural and visual opportunity. It also brings to memory a visit to the community when one of the students was so focused on sketching the town from the top of the Torre Grossa that he lost track of time and was briefly locked in the tower. Several years later, a student — while hiking in the hills near Castiglion Fiorentino — scrambled up a tree to avoid an aggressive cinghiale, the Italian version of a wild boar. Over the years, the range of such experiences, from arranged community events to unexpected incidents, has contributed to enriching the unique identity of each session.

Tokyo, Japan is a colorful, exotic city cloaked in culture, technology, and excellent design. Each aged architectural structure or environmental graphic holds a silver lining of Japanese spirit and aesthetic powered by efficiency and organization. Its richness lies in the sincerity of the people, the quality of the products, and the wholesomeness of the food. I went to Japan with the hopes of studying Visual Communication Design in the Megalopolis. What I brought back to California was more than just souvenirs and trinkets; rather, I carried with me an enriching experience of immense opportunities I could implement in my future goals.

This educational program was wildly different from anything I’ve practiced. My expectations and assumptions were of the “study abroad” norm: go to class for a few hours, complete daily assignments, and later venture out into the city with limited time. I was immediately surprised to discover there were no specific classes, but only daily design firm and agency visits. There were no daily assignments, but a cumulative book at the end to illustrate our experience. There was no limit to the adventures we decided to embark on, but heaps of time to learn and grow with other peers. It was through this program in which I truly perceived design as more than aesthetic, but an experience. No book, no class, no conference could fully demonstrate and unveil the significance of design in the city. Its presence is like veins through it all, impelling the functionality of transportation, forcing the efficiency of tasks, and driving the organization of the city. Design was not something a foreign student could learn through lectures in Tokyo, but something to participate in.

Study Abroad Tokyo ended up being one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve flourished through as an individual, as a student, and as a visual communicator. It’s invaluable lessons and secrets will carry with me endlessly.

— Lea Catbagan, (’17, graphic design)

Other cultural opportunities have included weekly field trips that provided special opportunities for absorbing the subtleties of the Italian region. I’ve always looked forward to the trip to Siena and seeing the group sitting in the Piazza del Campo, with sketchbooks and pencils or pens in hand, diligently attempting to capture the light, form and texture of the unique piazza. Surprisingly and despite the current emphasis on digital media and applications, students have responded positively to these opportunities, including the use of drawing, watercolor, and oil painting, with a commitment to producing engaging images in traditional media.

The program is open to all majors in the College of Environmental Design.

The program dates are June 17 to June 29. The approximate cost of the trip is $3,275 and includes summer tuition. There are still a few spots available; please send in application immediately.

For more information, go to www.cpp.edu/~international/studyabroad/programs/index.shtml

Philip Pregill

The College of Environmental Design is partnering with the Department of Landscape Architecture to reveal the splendor of Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. The site of the longest-running international program in the college, Castiglion Fiorentino has been home to students of landscape architecture for 25 years. The weeklong trip will provide an opportunity for students to connect with the community and the landscape. The program has proven to be a fundamental piece in the education of generations of landscape architecture students. The tour, which is limited to 20 students, will explore a part of Italy that is well off the beaten path. For those who have spent time at the Santa Chiara Study Center, it is a chance to reconnect and become

A Yen for Japan

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Professor Gwen Urey and Manuel Munoz

Francis Dean, second from left

Tori Kjer

50 Years: Back to the Future for Urban and Regional Planning

Landscape Architecture Branches Out Over 60 Years

In the early years at Cal Poly Pomona, there was no College of Environmental Design and no Department of Urban and Regional Planning. A Cal Poly Pomona student could major in landscape architecture (in the College of Agriculture) and choose some urban planning courses. URP became a degree program in 1967, predating by three years the founding of the School of Environmental Design.

URP’s formative years were shaped by the leadership and professorships of three 20th-century pioneers in design: planner William Dale, the school’s first dean; Margarita McCoy, the nation’s first female tenure-track planning professor; and modernist architect Richard Neutra, a lecturer who had a joint appointment with the Departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning.

The Department of Landscape Architecture pre-dates Cal Poly Pomona. Back when the campus was known as California State Polytechnic College, Kellogg-Voorhis, the landscape architecture department was part of the School of Agriculture, and eventually became part of the Department of Environmental Design. It was the oldest degree program by the time the Department of Environmental Design became an independent school. One of its early leaders was Francis Dean, co-founder of the influential international landscape architecture firm EDAW. Today, the program is one of the largest of its kind in the United States and is ranked in DesignIntelligence’s Top 20 for undergraduate and graduate studies.

Today, the department has the distinction of being the most diverse program of its kind in the nation, offering concentrations in infrastructure transportation, urban design, historic preservation and in a formal capacity next year: social justice.

Professor Gwen Urey and alumnus Manuel Munoz (’09, urban and regional planning) reflect on the evolution of planning, from the challenges of teaching and practicing the discipline to its current role in the public discourse about social equity.

Urey has taught in the department for 22 years. Munoz serves as an associate planner in the city of Azusa.

Urey: There’s more awareness among the public of what planning is, but definitely what urban issues that governments are involved in and interest in public participation and changes that make cities more livable, more interest in health combining with planning. So that has changed the context a little bit.

Our students have changed. When I first came here, they were a little bit more white, not as well-prepared. So the students at Cal Poly Pomona got increasingly, increasingly much better.

That has made it more fun to teach because we spend more time on planning and cities and less time on, “This is how to make a sentence.”

Munoz: Starting the planning program was a little different for me because I already had a background in construction and the built environment. Looking at it through the course’s eyes really influenced my passion for planning because initially

I just thought of shopping centers and malls. I did want to be an architect and design stuff. But I really saw the context of planning and how certain decisions will affect something else in the long-term sense. That was the really big thing that made me step back and think, “Wow, this is not just a job — it’s a profession that you can develop into a passion and has a lasting effect on the community.”

Urey: Planning is in the news more. Especially in Southern California. Most recently, the City of L.A.’s Measure S [a ballot initiative rejected by voters that proposed a two-year moratorium on projects requiring general-plan amendments] — everybody’s talking about it, right? That was directly about planning. Some of the laws that have come in the 21st century about land use and transportation, it’s in the news all the time.

I think young people may be starting to be more aware that they can get an undergraduate degree in planning — they’re aware that there’s something called planning.

Munoz: That’s very true. When I worked with my dad in construction, I didn’t realize there was an actual degree in planning. When I’d go with him to the city, I thought the city person was just like a city employee. I didn’t think there was a whole degree and career track until I started looking at colleges and I was like, “Oh, wow. I can really do this.”

Especially for the undergrad, a lot of people don’t know that we’re accredited —we’re one of the very few in the nation that are accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board, so that speaks volumes for our program. Most urban programs are at the master’s level.

When I started the program, I already had an internship so I was already kind of in the field. Working and being in the program, I thought, “Oh, as soon as I graduate I’m gonna be able to get a full-time job and hit the ground running.” But that wasn’t the case. I remember graduating and I remember the news: How to survive the recession. Not only that, but I saw a big difference from our department where they were emailing a bunch of job openings, and literally from one day to the next there was no email. It was shocking. It was very difficult. Luckily I was able to obtain planning internships while still in the field. I didn’t give up, in comparison to my fellow students. Some people just switched gears. (Munoz graduated at the onset of the Great Recession).

Urey: It was pretty hard [teaching planning during the Great Recession]. But it was more a matter of — especially the things I teach, like research methods and history, and infrastructure

— what you can teach about. Well, in a recession, this is what happens. But there’s still plenty to teach. On the faculty side, it was trying to manage people’s expectations and help them think about other things to do. I do think that our degree, of any undergrad degree, is one of the best generalist degrees. Helping students see that we’ve been orienting them toward this degree in planning, but if there are new jobs they really have a lot of competition.

Munoz: Specifically in Azusa, luckily we were able to retain some city-owned properties. When redevelopment agencies got dissolved, they were able to keep that and move forward with projects. Combined, we’re going to have a total of five projects in downtown. So within three years, downtown is going to completely change, which is good in the sense that we just adopted a transit-oriented development specific for the opening of the Gold Line. We adopted that at the end of 2015. People are really going to see that and they’re going to see it come alive.

In Azusa, it’s a great time. I always tell people there’s a lot of change ahead and that’s when you really need to get involved.

One of the big downtown projects was — we did our request for proposals and it basically boiled down to a Laemmle theater as an anchor tenant or a bowling alley. And we have a lot of strong support for the theater, and that’s when the community got involved and it’s really spearheading which way downtown’s gonna go.

Urey: Well, Manny was exceptional as a student. I don’t know if you know this background about Manny, he got this thing established through APA. It was an internship program for high school students.

Munoz: It was a scholarship program.

Urey: Yeah, so it eventually faded away. It lasted for a couple of years and it did help us for a time when things were bad for planning to connect our program to high school students.

Munoz: When I was president of the American Planning Student Association, my whole thing was I wanted to introduce planning at the high school level. I love planning. I have that strong passion. When I was in high school, I remember never hearing about that or hearing about this whole field or just the built environment as far as architecture and landscape architecture and all that. I thought we can do a scholarship where we can get attendance through students and get monies in there to get into the program. Through APSA, we have funds that we can allocate to one scholarship. I was president for two terms.

It was going well, but then after that we ran out of funds so it died down. But I did take that up to the American Planning Student Association California chapter. Now that I’m URP alumni president, I’m hoping we can revive that and make it a state goal, a program, part of the alumni association to really push forward because now APA is really pushing forward

URP 50, Page 27 >>

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Professor Emerita Joan Woodward

Courtesy of Pacific Coast Architecture, University of Washington)

anniversaries

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Joan Woodward taught in the Department of Landscape Architecture from 1990 to 2008, served as graduate program coordinator and a faculty fellow at the John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, and is professor emerita of landscape architecture.

Tori Kjer (’06, master’s in landscape architecture) is the Los Angeles Program Director at Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization that promotes parks and protected lands.

Woodward: I came to Cal Poly because John Lyle’s “Design for Human Ecosystems” showed what a theoretically grounded, timetested teaching and design method could accomplish with diverse groups, in complex environments, in a short time. I still think this method is absolutely relevant to problem solving and learning today, and find that it squarely addresses the acute information and options overload students are wrestling with today.

What changed is that I arrived when there was still polarity between process- and form-based design, with my sympathies being more in the former camp. Over time, my interest in human processes increased and my classes reflected this shift. So one year at a student banquet, during the annual faculty roast, students presented an exposé on faculty’s personal gardens and whether or not we practiced what we preached about good design and maintenance! And…we did not! Why? Because we were really, really busy. My research and teaching focus then shifted to change what I preached because I could not change what I practiced—too busy—and I began to learn lessons from landscapes intentionally designed for care, that had been released from this care for a variety of reasons, but still maintained ecological and aesthetic function.

If landscapes could withstand neglect and change well over time, then we were better accommodating human needs and ecological processes. So I began requiring students to show their designs in 30 years with and without care, and going back and designing for the latter scenario. At the time, thinking about time was difficult, but believe more are tackling this necessary step in teaching.

Kjer: Officially, I found out about landscape architecture over brunch one morning with some friends. I had been in Los Angeles for about three years and I was working for a nonprofit that was looking at access to healthy food in communities and helping to establish

an LA food policy council. At that moment I realized just how much the built environment directly impacts health, quality of life of communities and that resources and access to things like healthy food and open space isn’t distributed equally in communities.

Woodward: Now when I’m asked by groups in my desert community to teach absolute beginners in landscape design, and have to winnow my knowledge to 45 minutes, I find that the best place to start is not LEED/SITES standards or Xeriscape principals: it’s to illustrate what propels us and orients us in a landscape— pure behavioral design, à la Rachel and Stephen Kaplan (specialists in environmental psychology), grounded in years of empirical landscape preference study. I think this is the best gateway for newcomers to landscape design.

Kjer: The idea of learning how to really think about and then plan systems change in communities seemed amazing.

I’m so, so thankful that I was able to go to Cal Poly and study under Joan in the grad program. The fact that it’s located in Los Angeles, where there’s a convergence of all these different issues that go with what Joan is talking about, this idea of designing for a resilient landscape. Joan made such an impression on us in grad school, and I absolutely carry it and use it today in my work as a landscape architect.

Woodward: When I began teaching, this was when postmodernism was really erupting. There were a lot of versus, like art versus ecology, versus research, versus practice. Now the explosion of integrated fields, disciplines, sources of inspiration – it’s just amazing. At Cal Poly we created a Creativity Award at one point. We realized that grades weren’t necessarily the only reflection of what our students were offering. We used criteria lifted from the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur “genius awards” about the ability to connect disparate fields and to think outside the box. We used their criteria and awarded that in our second-year practice studio. I think that is becoming more the norm in what I see in the literature, that people are shape-shifting between disciplines and between certain sources of inspiration that is just producing this great fervor, I think, in our profession. It’s an exciting time to be involved. Community participation is now expected as opposed to being the exception.

That is a really big evolution since I started teaching. What I find from time to time is that the message is still the same. All the things that Tori described I’m just thrilled to hear. For these ideas, the time has come. We’ve been waiting and working towards tipping these things for so long. Now the critical mass is being reached, and it has happened. I find it so exciting. And the message really isn’t that different. I don’t if that has changed that much. In fact, I was at a program last month where someone got up, he’s about 30 years old, and he credited another 30-year-old with inventing the term “regenerative design” [laughs]. I got such a kick. The messengers are now outstanding at marketing, at media, at really leading that critical message to the masses. I really think that the messengers

are better, and the audiences more receptive.

Kjer: The Trust for Public Land’s mission is a perfect fit for a landscape architect. Los Angeles County has it all – we’ve got the mountains, we’ve got the ocean, we’ve got deserts, we’ve got everything. Because of the scale it can be challenging to focus and prioritize. Here in Los Angeles and around the country, we’re thinking about planning for healthy, livable communities that have equal access to parks and open space. My landscape architecture training comes in handy when we are thinking about where to prioritize and plan for protecting critical open spaces or when we are designing and building new neighborhood parks. The L.A. River is a great example of where the proactive and ecosystem based approach is needed. How do you design with natural systems and public access when a site was purposely developed to keep water and people out.

Woodward: The mass media is everywhere now, and landscape architecture is such an appealing field because it pulls design and the environment together. I think it scratches a lot of itches for people. In Los Angeles, it’s like, you’re doing it Tori! I like being on this side of the tipping point.

Kjer: It’s hard to pick just one memory. When I started the program I had been working for 10 years and left a job to go back to school.

It was a life-changing experience and it’s amazing how much you can learn and grow in three years. The great thing about Cal Poly is how much we were really used LA as a classroom. There were field trips all time, visits to the community and visits up to the San Gabriels. I have to say one of my favorite experiences with Joan was going to Marine Land, one of the places she that she was studying as a part of her Resilient Landscape Project. Finally, the professional relationships and friendships that developed as a result of being in the program.

Woodward: That class really had a real esprit de corps. I have a lot more years to reminisce about. I remember asking our beloved colleague, Francis Dean, upon his retiring from teaching and following his stellar design career as a founding partner of EDAW, what his favorite project was. “Joan,” he said, “It’s not the projects that matter, it’s the people.” So my favorite memories range from my first quarter at Cal Poly – when John Lyle hands-down won the faculty pumpkin-carving contest by simply cutting two holes on either side and revealing the pumpkin’s ultimate structure and function –to my last class when I taught a Modules Week event along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, where stalwart grad and undergrad students camped, braved 40 mph winds, and worked by lantern light together to produce designs for a new state park that the sponsors hailed as being better than those professionally produced and are still being talked about today. In between these bookends, days were highlighted by indefatigable students, Tori at the head of the line, who brought intelligence, grace, creativity, and productivity together to achieve their goals in design and planning. Francis was right.

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2017 dale prize The 2017 William R. And June Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban and Regional Planning were awarded at a ceremony on Feb. 2 at Kellogg House. Donald J. Waldie, the former deputy city manager of Lakewood, won the Practitioner Prize and Dowell Myers, professor at USC, won the Scholar Prize. This year’s theme was “Southern California Suburbs: Looking Forward and Looking Backward.” Awardees spent two days on campus, met with students in classes, and participated in a colloquium and other events.

Giving ‘Suburbia’ a Sense of Place

By D.J. Waldie I live in a suburb.

The creation of that kind of place after World War II was propelled by images. For developers, the intended image was modernity in familiar surroundings. For buyers, the image promised comfort, security and privacy. For the critics of suburban places, the images were scenes of soulless anomie, desolation and loss. These powerful images – some changing over time, some strangely fixed – still frame our relationship to suburban places, directing our attention, distracting our gaze and often substituting their assumed authority for our own memories.

I’m drawn to the ways in which we’ve imagined suburbs into being because of what happened when a young photographer named William A. Garnett began to fly over 6 square miles of lima bean fields about 23 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Garnett’s assignment, between January 1950 and May 1954, was to photograph the building of a tract of 17,500 houses called Lakewood. It’s where I live.

Garnett’s photographs of deeply shadowed geometric forms, empty of life on a titanic grid, made Lakewood the blighted emblem of placelessness in 1950. Progressive architects and city planners, who had presumed to mold working-class neighborhoods for the betterment of working-class lives, were appalled by the houses that working people bought. Although Garnett’s disturbing photographs were out of date as soon as the prints were dry, they helped create an image of “suburbia” that became perfectly timeless. I sometimes think the suburbs became the thing labeled “suburbia” because of altitude and contempt.

No one knew, when the tract houses of Lakewood were being built, what would happen when tens of thousands of workingclass husbands and wives – so young and inexperienced – were thrown together and expected to make a fit place to live. It was a rough demand that was roughly answered.

Dowell Myers on ‘Knowing and Making the Future: California Suburbs at the Forefront’

whom had come from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and other places in the Dust Bowl era.

Southern California’s suburbs have always been at the cutting edge of change, but what’s in store for the future?

Conflicting beliefs are competing to guide us: Some say the future is just an extrapolation of recent years, and others emphasize the need to return to a nostalgic past.

Nonetheless, the ingredients for the next 10 to 20 years are already with us. We already have completed great technological change (the digital revolution) and great social change (new gender and family forms). Of course, the implications of those changes are still being played.

At least their home wasn’t in an oil camp outside of Taft or rented rooms in a clapboard tenement in Los Angeles or a farm worker’s shack somewhere west of Fresno. My parents’ new friends, who had recently lived in those places, were grateful for the comforts of their not-quite-middle-class life. For those who came to Lakewood then (and still come today), the aspiration wasn’t for more, but only for enough.

“Exceptionalist” claims have flattened suburban history into doom-laden darkness or vapid sunniness (the latter, always wreathed in irony). And because much of everyday America is now suburban, some cultural critics continue to see these places as aesthetically, politically and morally perverse as well.

In a memorable speech by James Howard Kunstler at the 1999 Congress for the New Urbanism, the kind of place where I live was described as “the dwelling place of untruth.” The title of Kunstler’s speech was “The Place Where Evil Dwells.”

The largest changes will stem from demographic shifts of immigration, race and aging. These demographic dynamics are what most distinguishes Southern California from the rest of the nation. One surprising point is how little our suburbs, as a whole, differ from the city of Los Angeles.

Diversity permeates the entire county of 10 million people, a region larger than many states and most metropolitan areas. Comparison with the top 20 largest metropolitan areas shows that, unlike the others, we just do not have a stark separation between city and suburb.

D.J. Waldie

Garnett’s photographs of the making of Lakewood were essential in creating the non-place where “suburbia” is simultaneously imagined into being and rejected. But there is no “suburbia.” There are only the contingent histories of suburban places and the longings of those who live in the commonplace.

Southern California is also different in that racial change and immigration accelerated dramatically in the 1970s and ’80s, ahead of most of the nation. Now that change has slowed to a stable pace, which is again ahead of the rest of the nation. We have entered a future where no group will grow to be a majority and where the percentage of the foreign-born population is holding at a constant level (36 percent).

D.J. Waldie is the former deputy city manager of Lakewood. In books, essays and commentary, he has sought to frame the suburban experience as a search for a sense of place. Often using his hometown of Lakewood as a starting point, Waldie’s work ranges widely over the history of suburbanization and its cultural effects.

A surprising slowdown in population growth accompanied this change. Forecasters have downsized expectations for total growth, and predict the region to reach 12 million over 30 years later than was earlier believed. The moderated pace of growth gives planners a better chance to make improvements. Also, with fewer migrants arriving, our growth has been more home-grown. That includes the children of immigrants, who are our greatest resource for the future as workers, taxpayers and home buyers.

Dowell Myers

What happened next was the usual redemptive mix of joy and tragedy, for which the country western music coming out of Bakersfield was some consolation for my neighbors, most of

Tract Houses, 1951. Photographs of Lakewood were the foundation of a critical aesthetic that depended on wi nt e r / spr i ng 2017 26 ENViron s what was missing from the photographs: an internal scale of reference, the organizing line of the horizon and human figures

Photos by William A. Garnett

Our big changes for the future stem from steady aging of two generations: baby boomers and millennials. Our region is becoming a gerontocracy of retirees who may never move from the places they already reside. Nonetheless, their communities will feel pressures of greatly changing needs.

Lakewood, 1951. Deeply Shadowed photographs of rows of houses seen from 1,000 feet helped to make “suburbia” an object of dread to the critics of the post-war suburbs.

The biggest question is the future course of the millennials (born 1980 to 1999), whose peak numbers have passed age 25 and are headed for 35. The millennials will be moving to the suburbs in search of better housing at a better price, and they will demand better-planned communities, including clustered urban-like amenities. Once again, Southern California suburbs can lead the nation in changes for the 21st century.

URP 50 >>

through the ambassador program the urban planning profession as a whole. Lining up all our resources to push the profession ahead.

In Southern California, Cal Poly Pomona is a jewel in that we’re the only accredited program and we’re strongly design-based. Now as a professional planner, that goes a long way, having a design background, being able to interact with a developer and give recommendations on a project that would be beneficial to the community.

roads, they want to be able to drive their cars everywhere versus in Huntington Park they want more bus lanes, they want dedicated light rail, and it’s kind of educating the community. You still have the same way how you educate, but it’s how you deliver it and really understand the community. That’s the big thing we learn at Cal Poly Pomona is having the skills sets to be able to entertain all those issues.

Right now we’re focusing on the 50th year anniversary alumni banquet, and after that we want to jump on [the scholarship program] hopefully next year. We want to use that as a catalyst for other alumni to get involved back at our program, but also give back and either go to schools to advocate for the profession and connect the high school students and the alumni profession.

Urey: And understanding the social and political context of where it is you’re doing planning. In the course that I teach on infrastructure, students have to do some kind of research and try to get them to deal more with the social and political context more than in my other classes. And so if you’re looking at something like a new neighborhood park and you’re thinking about Huntington Park or you’re thinking about it in Beverly Hills,not only is what the people going to want are different, where you get the resources for it and the politics of it is going to be different. Knowing how to read those is part of being effective.

Urey: We are interested in the built environment, but also how it relates to the natural environment and a real focus on how people are going to use it.

Munoz: We’re the glue. We bring everyone together. We bring the architects, the landscape architects, we glue everything together to make a broader vision, to ultimately where the goal is for the community, whether it’s sustainability, urban design, historic preservation and so forth, for the greater good.

Urey: Planning has a little more explicit emphasis on equity, so is this project something that’s gonna be good for everybody?

And the little people that have fewer resources or have handicaps.

Munoz: I’ve worked in so many cities, from Beverly Hills to Huntington Park, where the demographics are the complete opposite and seeing that, every city is different, but there is at least a common thread and every community has a particular issue and they tackle it firsthand or they don’t. I think now, looking back, I think throughout that we are in a region where we are so diverse but how you approach the problem is common. For example, Beverly Hills — they don’t want mass transit, but Huntington Park, they want that.

In their eyes, they want more

[In 2018, Cal Poly Pomona will convert from the quarter to semester system.] We took conversion as a real opportunity to take all of our curriculum and shake that out of the bag and totally reorganize it.

Students that come in during the semester are going to have to select an option. We’ve been more of a general planning and elective that lets people, you know, become dilettantes and it seems they choose electives based on scheduling. But now they’re gonna have one that’s about justice. We do have a very revised core. So a lot of the electives will be kept, but we added some, especially for social justice.

It’s something we always target. Now it’s going to be more integral, and I think for designers to do that got started with Ferguson, [Missouri,] with Trayvon Martin, becoming more aware that we need to be giving students and, ultimately. graduates a little but more understanding and tools to make that part of the practice.

What a great time to be a young planner in Southern California.

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design briefs

Help Honor Raphael Soriano’s Legacy To the design community: Raphael Soriano was one of the leading visionaries of midcentury modern architecture, renowned for his innovative use of steel and glass in residential designs. Along with other architects of his generation, Soriano recognized the powerful appeal of Southern California’s Mediterranean climate and sunlight even for an individual inside one of the houses he designed. Soriano excelled at using design to connect indoor and outdoor spaces, a hallmark of the mid-century style.

VDL Studio in Silver Lake and Painted Desert Complex Receive National Landmark Status

By Samantha Gonzaga

For decades, the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences, the family home of Austrian-American modernist architect Richard Neutra, captured the zeitgeist of politics, architecture, art and design.

In January, then-U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell designated the Neutra home as a national historic landmark, listing it among 24 new sites. Also added to the roster was the Neutra-designed Painted Desert Community Complex in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, bringing the federal government’s official registry to 2,532.

“I am incredibly pleased that the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences has been designated a national historic landmark,” said Professor Sarah Lorenzen, VDL Research House director. “This will significantly raise the visibility of the house, enhancing opportunities to fully restore the house, to further develop cultural and arts programming, and to maintain the house as a resource for Cal Poly Pomona students and the community.”

who wrote a letter to Jewell supporting the Neutra house nomination.

“This decision in the closing days of the Obama administration is a dramatic gesture underlining the fact that midcentury modern architecture is a vital part of America’s cultural legacy,” said Michael Woo, dean of the College of Environmental Design and a former Los Angeles city councilman.

The Neutra house was built in three stages: In 1932 and 1940 with Neutra as designer, and in 1964 redesigned with his son, Dion, after a fire destroyed the original house. The property could accommodate three households and a small office on a 60-by-70-foot lot.

The Neutra VDL Studio and Residences has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 2009. Its listing in the NRHP marks it as a site worthy of preservation. There are more than 90,000 NRHP properties listed, of which 534 are in Los Angeles County.

Inclusion in the highly selective national historic landmark list illustrates the significance of the Neutra home as a piece of American heritage. The national landmark designation was based on three criteria: >> Neutra’s

stature as a person of national historic importance for his influence on California modern architecture. >> The

residence’s centrality to numerous career highlights in Neutra’s design projects and book authorship. >> Its

demonstration of the ideas of the economic assemblage of industrial components and landscape to serve social needs.

In the late 1960s, Neutra was as a lecturer when the College of Environmental Design was a fledgling department. To honor Neutra’s ties to the university, his family donated the property in 1990 to the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation and it would be managed by the college. Donations from several foundations funded more than $300,000 in repairs and improvements implemented under Lorenzen’s supervision, ensuring the longevity of his legacy. The home is used to educate college students and the public about Southern California’s heritage as a laboratory for modern architecture.

Richard Neutra’s son, Dion, is an architect who lives near the VDL Studio in another Neutra-designed structure and runs the Neutra Institute for Survival through Design.

Nestled in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles, the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences is one of the few residential examples of mid-century modern architecture on the historic landmark list. Supporters of mid-century modern architecture had lobbied the federal government for years to designate the Neutra house as a national landmark, the highest level of federal recognition. If the house had not been designated as a national landmark before President Obama left office, it would have been necessary to restart the nomination process with the Trump administration.

Another son, Raymond, who grew up in the house, recalled a stellar list of guests, including Vice President Hubert Humphrey; influential 20th-century Russian composer Igor Stravinsky; artists Fernand Leger, Man Ray and Isamu Noguchi; Edward and Brett Weston, prominent figures in the West Coast photographic movement; and architects Frank Lloyd Wright, Raphael Soriano, Jorn Utzon, Siegfried Gideon and Alvar Aalto. During the Cal Poly Pomona era, the house continues to be a cultural hub for public events, lectures and exhibitions, and has hosted luminaries such as Renzo Piano, Jeanne Gang, Enrique Norten and Carme Pinos.

The Neutra house designation was championed by U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), whose district includes the Neutra house, and U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-California),

The Neutra VDL Studio and Residence is located at 2300 Silver Lake Blvd. and is open to the public for tours every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more at neutra-vdl.org and neutrahistory.org.

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After Soriano passed away in 1988, a burial service was held but a permanent marker was not placed on Soriano’s grave. The site is identified only with the paper sign shown in the photograph.

After being notified of this situation by Soriano admirers Carter Manny and Kenneth Allen Breisch, we became determined to properly memorialize Raphael Soriano.

Each of the signers of this letter has pledged to donate $100 toward the cost of a permanent marker to be placed at Soriano’s grave. We invite you to join our cause.

ENV Joins 84 Design Schools Endorsing Resilient Design Dean Michael Woo committed ENV last fall to join 84 other collegiate design and engineering programs endorsing the then-Obama administration’s policy statement promoting the teaching of resilient design as a response to extreme weather events and the hazards of climate change.

The Educators Commitment on Resilient Design calls for design students and professionals to use “best-available science on the growing risks posed by” climate change and urges design schools to provide interdisciplinary settings for students to learn how to apply resilient design.

ENV joined many of the most prominent design and engineering schools in the field endorsing the commitment, including Columbia University’s schools of architecture, planning and engineering; Cornell University’s schools of architecture, art, planning and engineering; the Harvard University Graduate School of Design; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Architecture; UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design; UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs; and USC’s School of Architecture.

“Now that President Trump is making a 180-degree turn in the federal government’s approach to climate change, the principles embodied in the Educators Commitment on Resilient Design are all the more timely,” says Dean Woo.

The Man Who Designed This Got This

Andrew Roma-

Of the approximately 50 structures designed by Soriano during his career in Southern California, most have been demolished or altered beyond recognition. Only about a dozen recognizable Soriano buildings still exist. In his later years, Soriano did not have an active practice. At the behest of Professor Richard Chylinski, Soriano was hired to teach in the Department of Architecture’s external degree program.

A donation of any amount will be gratefully accepted.

Donations via credit card or check will be accepted. To donate online, click on cpp.thankyou4caring.org and designate “Raphael Soriano Memorial Fund.” Or write a check to “Cal Poly Pomona Foundation” (with a notation on the check specifying “Soriano Memorial Fund”) and mail to: University Development, Cal Poly Pomona P.O. Box 3121 Pomona, CA 91769 Your donation is tax-deductible. Any funds raised in excess of the amount needed for fabrication and installation of the marker will be used to create a webpage to tell the story of Raphael Soriano and his contributions to mid-century modern architecture.

Donors to the Soriano Memorial Fund will be identified on an ENV website page unless a donor requests anonymity. For questions, please call the ENV Dean’s Office at 909.869.2667.

We urge you to join us in the rightful honoring of Raphael Soriano’s legacy.

Pablo La Roche Juintow Lin Sarah Lorenzen THE FRIENDS OF RAPHAEL SORIANO Marvin J. Malecha Dennis J. McFadden Laida Aguirre Gary McGavin Robert K. Alexander Barry Milofsky Spyros Amourgis Brendan Neutra Kenneth Allen Breisch Raymond Neutra Lauren Weiss Bricker Kevin V. O’Brien Aaron F. Cayer Alexander Ortenberg Richard J. Chylinski Axel Prichard-Schmitzberger Mitchell De Jarnett George R. Proctor Kip A. Dickson Audrey K. Sato Wendy E. Gilmartin Marc P. Schulitz Sarah & Siegfried Hesse Katrin Terstegen Luis Hoyos Evan W. Troxel Nadim Itani Gerald G. Weisbach Ray and Shelly Kappe Michael Woo Hofu Wu

A Note From Dean Michael Woo The College of Environmental Design is extremely fortunate to be the designated beneficiary of the future donation of the Schrage House designed by Raphael Soriano, thanks to the generosity of owners Steve and Marian Dodge. In the same way that we have strived to protect and extend the legacy of Richard Neutra, whose family donated the VDL House to ENV, our college is committed to maintaining the pristine condition of the Schrage House based upon the example of the Dodges. Following the precedent set by our stewardship of the VDL House, we will strive to raise public awareness of mid-century modern architecture by making the Schrage House accessible to future generations of students and the public.

Top: Raphael Soriano’s first residential commission, the Lipetz House (1936), is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

Bottom: The current grave marker of Raphael Soriano.

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class notes The Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture honored Clemson University Professor Tom Schurch (‘78, master’s in landscape architecture) with the 2016

Almost 45 years ago, when I was an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz, I signed up for Urban Semester, a summer school course at USC that offered an interdisciplinary introduction to Los Angeles issues. That summer experience was a key influence in my decision to become an urban planner.

Excellence in Service Learning Award, Senior Level. Before joining the Clemson faculty, he served for a decade as the director of the landscape architecture program at the University of Oklahoma, where he founded the Center for Community Based Projects. He has held tenured professorships at Ball State and

Thomas Schurch

Perhaps the most unforgettable experience of the Urban Semester in 1972 was an all-night tour of downtown that started with a midnight view of the cityscape from the top of a high-rise building and ended at dawn in the produce and flower markets. It was an eye-opening experience to see downtown after dark, the invisible but essential parts of the city that most people sleep through or take for granted.

worked as a graphic designer and social media specialist in the North Dakota corporate office of apparel company Vanity.

Megan Marie Turner (’14, master’s in architecture) married web developer Jin-Soo

Iris Schneider Meet Diego Cardoso, L.A. County Metro Executive Officer for Transportation Development and Implementation, at his artist’s studio on Los Angeles Street.

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2:00am

Meet Sergeant Robert Grant III at the LAPD’s Central Division on Skid Row.

11:15pm

Visit the emergency room at L.A. County – USC Medical Center escorted by Bonnie Bilitch, Interim Chief Operating Officer, and her colleagues.

3:00am

Arrive at Times Produce to hear from co-owner David Sonoda about the wholesale produce industry.

Iris Schneider

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Laida Aguirre

See the subterranean construction site in Little Tokyo for the Downtown Regional Connector and briefing by Mat Antonelli, direction of construction management for the Downtown Regional Connector project.

4:00am

Bus departs downtown to return participants to starting points in Silver Lake and Pomona.

architecture We took a late-night trip into the (concrete) jungle that you’re not supposed to do, especially because we were mostly first-year students. Visiting all these different places at once — which I’d only dreamed about seeing in real life back in Las Vegas — opened my eyes to nighttime in a new city that, unlike Las Vegas, actually sleeps. There were times when we walked somewhere and I thought for sure it was going to be the end of me because of the suspicious nature of the locations. But as you turned around the grimy brick corners, it was as if you stepped into a place where the night was still alive, such as the alleyway where the Diego Cardoso Gallery was located. It was filled with lights, fountains and dogs. When I saw it, I became more relaxed about where I was and felt as if I was part of the environment. Two things that I had never seen with such detail were the Central Division police station and the L.A. County-USC Medical Center. Two things that are normally supposed to seem intimidating instead felt intriguing and like a maze. I wanted to delve deeper, but time didn’t allow us to do so. Overall, I

Another Neutra Graduate Award honoree, Laida Aguirre (’16, master’s in architecture), is a lecturer at the Department of Architecture and teaches firstyear studio. After graduation, she was hired as an architectural designer at Los Angeles-based RoTo Architects, Inc. Jazmín Faccuseh (’14, master’s in urban and regional planning) works for the Housing Authority of Los Angeles County, helping low-income families in East Los Angeles find affordable housing. Her duties involve processing annual re-

12:55am

All-Night Bus Tour Illuminates Hidden Life of L.A. for Students This tour was unique and valuable to my learning experience.

It was an eye-opener to see what happens in L.A. at night.

I am a huge fan of the city and to get a view of what happens past the normal day hours was unique. The most interesting stop for me was L.A. County-USC Medical Center.

They went over procedures of how they decide which patients get attention first and why. The whole setup of the hospital was explained to us. Much of the hospital setup is based on the fact that patients with life-threatening conditions need immediate attention. The helicopter port was super cool. Some facts that I learned about the hospital is that it helps with the homeless community surrounding the area and that there is a secured area for prisoners who come in for medical help. I appreciated the tour and the information Dean Michael Woo shared.

— Santa Teresita Garcia, sophomore majoring in landscape

Award, was a bridesmaid.

Bus departs Cal Poly Pomona campus to pick up additional passengers at bank parking lot in Silver Lake district of Los Angeles.

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Jo in a November ceremony at the Ebell Long Beach. Lina Chan (’14, master’s in architecture), a former classmate and recipient of the Neutra Graduate Thesis

9:00pm

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The Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce hired Katie Jo McPherson (’09, graphic design) as its graphics and publications coordinator. She previously

I’ve always wanted to experience it again. We finally had our chance on Oct. 13, 2016. It was a pleasure to share “Noir L.A.” with a new generation of students.

—Michael Woo, Dean

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certifications and engaging in rent negotiations with landlords. She has been profiled in The Eastsider and a La Opinion series on graduates from prestigious universities – she earned her undergraduate degree in Science, Technology and Management from Stanford in 2007 – who have returned to their

Jazmin Faccuseh liked this trip because it took us deep into Los Angeles in a way we could have never done before and saw things we couldn’t have seen by ourselves.

— George Garcia, freshman majoring in architecture In the elevator heading to the parking area at L.A. County-USC Medical Center, a budding architect was sharing his new idea of a hospital with an ER doctor. He believed his design could free the doctors and nurses from commuting by building dormitories for medical staff and their families next to the hospital. The doctor smiled and said, “If you were a doctor, would you live in the hospital next to your patients?”

I was surprised by the homeless people in the waiting room.

It is not comfortable to sleep there, but at least they get shelter from the cold and, more importantly, they can get help if an emergency occurs. This hospital is under a huge burden. There is a law in California requiring hospitals to provide emergency care to patients regardless of their residency status or ability to pay. (There are many countries where a hospital can refuse to treat a patient who can’t prove that he or she has the ability to pay the hospital bill.) It is a great policy of humanitarianism.

neighborhoods to make a difference.

The Calexico City Council appointed Armando Villa (’91, urban and regional planning) as city manager. He was the city’s assistant city manager before leaving in 2010 to serve as the director of planning and development for Imperial County. He also has served as the director of community development for the City of Temecula.

Jesus Barajas (’11, master’s in urban and regional planning) went to Washington, D.C., in January to accept the 2016 Council of University Transportation Centers Charley V. Wootan Memorial Award. The prize is awarded annually by UC Berkeley and recognizes the best dissertation in policy and transportation

Armando Villa

But it still cannot stop the vicious circle. Without enough food and health care, the homeless easily get sick. Every time in the ER, they get minimal treatment and then get out, and then in again, a doctor told us. It is sad to see a person die of an incurable disease. But it is even sadder to see a person die of a curable disease.

Jesus Barajas As a layman, I never thought about why a hospital is designed the way it is. In fact, everything around me looks just ordinary. But when darkness falls, all the familiar things become novelties.

When people go to their dreams, hospitals, police stations, refrigeration houses, subway construction sites and night owls’ galleries are still in operation.

The city would not be able to operate without these designs. A great design does not only bring economic benefit, it also brings happiness, enlightenment and dignity. And more often than not, the greatest design is the most ordinary thing.

— Maeve Xu (Xu is an economics major from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, who participated in the ENV downtown tour during her quarter as a visiting intern Lisa Kim at UCLA.)

planning. Barajas investigated bicycle transportation patterns and their effects on San Francisco’s low-income immigrants and other groups. URP’s first Transportation Research Board Minority Fellow, he is a lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Department of City and Regional Planning and a postdoctoral researcher at the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center. Send alumni news to env@ cpp.edu.

Lisa Kim (’93, urban and regional planning) joined the City of Garden Grove as Community and Economic Development Director. Kim brings two decades of experience in economic development, community development, and a special expertise in business attraction, retention and expansion. She was previously the Economic Development Manager at the City of Orange, where she led the transition of the The Block at Orange to The Outlets at Orange, facilitated the redevelopment of The Village at Orange, and contributed to the transformation of Old Towne Orange.

Nicole Nguyen (’16, landscape architecture) was appointed secretary of the Southern California Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Her one-year tenure ends in September 2017. Nguyen joined Costa Mesa-based design firm BGB Design Group after graduation.

Go ahead – brag! Send your alumni news to env@cpp.edu ENV iro n s

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April 17-30: MLA Accreditation Show.

May 3-4: Student Health & Counseling – HealthFEST from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in University Park.

April 18: First day to withdraw by petition for serious and compelling reasons.

“Salomon Huerta: Art, Identity & Place.” Salomon Huerta, one of the featured artists in the “About Face” exhibition at the W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery, will give a lecture. A critically acclaimed artist known for his minimalist approach to portraiture, Huerta’s works have been exhibited in influential shows at venues such as the Gagosian Gallery in London, England; Studio La Citta in Verona, Italy; and the 2000 Whitney Biennial in New York.

Kellogg University Art Gallery from 1 to 2 p.m.; free and open to the public.

Lost and found auction from noon to p.m. at University Park Stage.

April 20: Partners Circle Meeting at 1 p.m.

April 23: The College of Environmental Design will celebrate the National Historic Landmark designation of the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences in a reception on April 23. Guests will include Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), who championed the designation and whose district includes the Silver Lake neighborhood of the Neutra house, and Raymond and Dion Neutra, sons of Richard Neutra. The event is scheduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The Neutra Studio and Residences is located at 2300 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles. To RSVP for the event, call (909) 869-2667.

April 26: Spring Career Fair from 9 to 11 a.m.

Through April 27: “About Face: Justin Bower, Rebecca Campbell, Salomon Huerta, Roni Stretch.” An examination of portraiture art, interpretation of identity and social commentary.

W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery.

April 27: TEDxCPP: “Uncharted Territory.” Assistant professor Alvaro Huerta (URP) will be one of the speakers for this year’s TEDxCPP. His talk will build on his TEDxClaremontColleges presentation, “Migration as a Human Right”, challenging the “new wave of xenophobia – which has deep roots in American politics – perpetuated by Trump and the GOP.” University Theatre, 4-7 p.m., tedxcpp.com.

April 28: Cal Poly Pomona Annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner. Danielle Takata (’01, graphic design) is one of the honorees. Fairplex Conference Center.

May 19: San Diego Sunset Mixer. The alumni mixer at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park is part of the 60th anniversary celebration organized by the Department of Landscape Architecture. Friends, alumni and future students of south Orange County and San Diego are invited to stroll the garden, enjoy a cocktail social with appetizers, attend a presentation on the legacy of Department of Landscape Architecture,and observe a special tribute to Takeo Uesugi, who designed the Japanese Friendship Garden and mentored many of the landscape architects who will be in attendance.

May 22-June 11: PolyKroma 2017. A three-week series of simultaneous exhibitions celebrating the best of the art department’s fine arts, graphic design and art history students. For more information, contact Associate Professor John Lloyd at jplloyd@cpp.edu.

May 22: PolyKroma 2017. Senior art history papers presentations and 2D/3D fine art juried exhibition. Graduating art history students will present abstracts of their final thesis papers, while external jurors from the fields of fine arts and graphic design/illustration will award honors to the top 2D/3D entries. The competition will be held from 6 to 9 p.m.; awards and commemorations will start at 7:30 p.m. W. Keith and Janet Kellogg Kellogg University Art Gallery.

May 23: PolyKroma 2017. Senior Graphic Designers Industry Night.

A special invitation to industry professionals to view graduating seniors’ graphic design portfolios, projects and motion graphics presentations offers exposure to potential job opportunities; 6 to 9 p.m. in the W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery.

Lost and found auction from noon to 1 p.m. in the Bronco Student Center, Court.

May 24: Lost and Found Thrift Shop will be open from noon to 6 p.m. in the Bronco Student Center, Games Room 1110.

May 27: CPPLA 60th Anniversary BBQ is a half-day, family-friendly event with short programs that celebrate the community connections of the Department of Landscape Architecture.

Alumni, family and friends are invited to attend.

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May 29: Memorial Day. Campus Closed.

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June 10: Commencement 2017. Graduation ceremony for the College of Environmental Design. Students must check in one hour before the ceremony at University Drive and Mansion Lane. Ceremony starts at 8 p.m. in the University Quad. cpp.edu/~commencement/

ENV Speed Mentoring Gives Students Industry Insights in Just Minutes

By Samantha Gonzaga

How should young graphic designers pitch their services to an architecture firm?

Interview strategy dominated conversations at the winter 2017 session of ENV Speed Mentoring, a quarterly program that pairs undergraduate and graduate students with professionals in the allied design fields.

For one hour, students were paired (for three minutes at a time) with practicing architects, landscape architecture principals, city planning officials and graphic design veterans in five-minute rotations.

“It’s very informational,” says Debby Chen, a graphic design major in the Department of Art. “I was definitely thinking on my toes the entire time.”

Twenty students were given the chance to connect with professionals in the field they are studying, as well as those in the ENV disciplines. The goal: To demonstrate that the interconnectedness of the design disciplines is the norm in the real world.

“You start realizing how involved everyone else is,” says Jonathan Martin, a fourth-year urban and regional planning student. “It’s great to get their insights about your field, and you can also see that there are different opportunities open to you.”

Muriel Fernandez Replogle, a graduate student in the landscape architecture program, agrees. She’s aiming for a second career and studied biology as an undergraduate. Access to an array of professionals provided context for her own studies and career goals.

“It’s about seeing how I’m incorporated into their world and how they fit in mine,” she says.

One of the most commonly dispensed pieces of advice?

Never underestimate the importance of social skills.

“We always tell our emerging young professionals that this is a people business,” says Kevin Wilkeson (’86, architecture), principal at HMC, Inc. and a past mentor.

Mentors were no strangers to ENV: nearly all are alumni, and many are board members of the Partners Circle, the professional advisory committee of the College of Environmental Design.

“I wish we had something like this where I was here,” says Ted Luna (’95, graphic design), founder of Ted Luna Design, a firm that works with sports industry heavyweights like Rip Curl, DC Footwear and GoPro. “I pointed out that the disciplines are at the base of the business. It’s all about telling a story and visually guiding clients.”

Repeat attendees such as fourth-year architecture student Lili Kooshesh see it as a self-affirming experience.

“I really like it,” she says. “It gives me so much selfconfidence talking one-on-one with someone with so much experience. It’s a good connection to your future.”

ENV Speed Mentoring, April 20, noon to 12:50 p.m.

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William Gunn, Wolverine Photography

env calendar

April

April 20: 16th Annual MCBCE. “Connected Cities: Economics, Environmental and Equity Solutions.” The Municipal Green Building Conference brings together local government agencies, municipal policymakers, leading architects and building industry professionals to further the development of a sustainable future in Southern California.

Topics include health, technology and data, diversity and inclusion, housing, education, budgets and infrastructure, and economic development. Southern California Gas Co., 9240 Firestone Blvd., Downey. socal-asla.org/event/16th-annual-mgbce-connected-cities-economicenvironmental-equity-solutions/.

April 22: “Riverside Art Market 2017.” More than 2,000 visitors are expected to flock to the daylong event at the Riverside Museum of Art to shop and meet local artists and artisans. Free admission from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. riversideartmuseum.org/events/riverside-art-market-2017.

April 22 and 29: The “28th Annual Great Los Angeles River Cleanup” is the largest urban cleanup event in the nation. Nearly 9,000 volunteers removed 70 tons of trash from the Los Angeles River at more than 12 sites in 2016. This year’s volunteers will clean up 14 sites along the length of the river during the last three Saturdays of Earth Month.

Sign up and pick your site at bustler.net/events/9029/28th-annualgreat-los-angeles-river-cleanup.

April 28: “Sustainability Summit.” The Los Angeles Business Council will host its annual summit at the Getty Center. Learn more at labusinesscouncil.org/Events-&-Meetings.

May May 4: “AIAOC Student Design Competition Crits.” Gensler will review student projects. To participate, email jgill@aiaoc.org. The session will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at Gensler, 4675 MacArthur Court, Suite 100, Newport Beach. aiaorangecounty.org/event/student-designcompetition-crits-3/.

May 6-Sept. 3: “California-Pacific Triennial at the Orange County Museum of Art.” OCMA’s exhibition explores architecture and the temporal precariousness of the built environment. Among the issues to be addressed are the recording of history and preservation; the concept of home and displacement; and the influence of global power, economics and political systems on global construction. OCMA, 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach. Admission is $10, $7.50 for students with I.D. and free for OCMA members. ocma.net/exhibition/2017-californiapacific-triennial.

Celebrate ENV’s National Historic Landmark Neutra VDL House

The College of Environmental Design will celebrate the National Historic Landmark designation of the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences in a reception on April 23.

Guests will include Rep. Adam Schiff, who championed the designation and whose district includes the Silver Lake neighborhood of the Neutra house, and Raymond and Dion Neutra, sons of Richard Neutra. The event is scheduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The Neutra Studio and Residences is located at 2300 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles. To RSVP for the event, call 909. 869.2667.

“ Waterfall,” 2014, by Rebecca Hamm; watercolor on paper; courtesy of the artist.

Artist Copyright © 2014.

California Polytechnic University, Pomona College of Environmental Design, Building 7 3801 W. Temple Ave. Pomona, CA 91768 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Proudly Printed in the USA

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