S|ARC, November 2021

Greetings from the Barn!

Professional headshot of Dr. Karen Spence

The School has had a busy fall. A few events include:

The Brasfield & Gorrie Student Design Competition
The Fall Harrison Lecture Series
The Advisory Board meeting
The meeting of the Mississippi State Board of 91��

In October, we held the first Design Leadership Foundation Workshop, in which professionals met with students to provide one-on-one advice for resumes and portfolios as well as engage in mock interviews. Just recently, our AIAS assisted in presenting the [INCLUDE] Virtual Design Equity Symposium. Before we finish the semester, our fifth-year class will venture to Rome, Italy, for their final field trip. Sprinkled throughout the semester, we’ve had Friday Forums; studio day trips to see project sites or types; visited with clients, critics, and studio guests; and even welcomed a new student organization, Young Women in 91��.

groups gathered around circle tables in Giles Hall gallery — Design Leadership Foundation workshop

Among the most exciting activities is the beginning of work on the new college buildings. For the School of 91��, we’ll be reassessing our spaces and looking toward opportunities to make improvements for the educational experience we provide. Named studios are a key part of this plan, as well as naming updated classrooms. Yet, one of our top priorities remains basic support for our students—providing ways for our future architects to participate in field trips and have funds for plotting and model-making ensures our high-quality education.

Advisory Board members sit around large open rectangle table, some sit in chairs along edge of room — 2021 S|ARC Advisory Board meeting

While we are busy, we are looking forward to much more engagement in the future. We’re starting with this newsletter, which you can expect quarterly. We’ll offer updates on activities at the school and with our alumni. We are also making plans for an inclusive, historic 50th Anniversary of S|ARC in a couple of years. Please watch for surveys regarding your interests in how you’d like to celebrate. For these events, we would like to ensure that all our classes have the opportunity to reconnect—if you would like to help us by serving as a point of contact for your class, please let us know. And please let us know about news you’d like to hear about or share with us—we’re always interested in hearing from our S|ARC family.

All the best,

"Karen" signature

Karen Cordes Spence, Ph.D., AIA, LEED AP

Director and F.L. Crane Professor

Design IVA Studio
Spotlights

Herrington Topical Studios and the Line Scale Form Awards

This semester, one Fourth-Year Herrington Topical Studio is examining Mound Bayou, Mississippi, while the other is exploring empathy in architecture through the design of memorials. Final projects will be reviewed, and top designs will receive a collective $2,000 in awards, a program kindly established by Bruce Herrington, AIA, with Line Scale Form in Birmingham, Alabama.

Mound Bayou Master Planning and Community Center Design

Dr. Chris Hunter’s fourth-year studio has been challenged with addressing the needs of Mound Bayou, a town in the Mississippi Delta founded by former slaves to establish a self-sustaining community. The town thrived after the Civil War, producing high-quality cotton, providing education for the region, and offering a variety of business opportunities, including a stable banking system. During this time, Mound Bayou had a population of 8,000 citizens. Today, Mound Bayou is a community of approximately 1,400. Efforts to revitalize the town include plans to develop Mississippi Delta tourism attractions and a training center that reflects the progressive employment opportunities that led the region’s economy during its heyday.

Student Perspective: Read more about the Mound Bayou studio.

Memorial Design
Associate Professor Alexis Gregory’s fourth-year studio is examining the challenge of designing memorials. After a period of team research, students selected individual topics for their projects. Ranging from Opioid Addiction to Japanese Internment, the students have been challenged to empathize with a variety of experiences and propose an architecture that expresses or responds to the emotions introduced.

Student Perspective: Learn more about the Memorial Design studio.

Faculty
Spotlight

Welcome, Dr. Aaron White!

Dr. Aaron White joined the MSU S|ARC faculty as an assistant professor this fall. He arrives to our campus after teaching and serving as Interim Director of Architectural Studies at Tufts University. Dr. White completed his doctorate at Columbia University, where he studied Classicism and Colonization in Early-Modern England. With a Bachelor of 91�� from the University of Idaho in 2002 and a Master of 91�� from Pratt Institute in 2005, Dr. White balanced practicing in firms in NYC with teaching positions at the New School at Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and Columbia University. During this time, he was awarded several faculty development and research grants along with winning a design competition for the Architectural League’s Little Free Libraries. This combination of professional and academic experience reflects the valued combination of skills and knowledge provided in our program. Currently, Dr. White teaches Design IIA: Collaborative Studio and History II. We welcome him to the S|ARC family!

Alumni
Spotlight

Zachary Henry has been busy since graduation in 2018. Currently based in Jackson, he is working as an architectural associate and public relations coordinator at Duvall Decker Architects. In the past few years, he served as the state’s associate director and the chair of the Emerging Professionals Committee for the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Recently, Henry was chosen to serve as one of the at-large directors for AIA’s National Associates Committee (NAC) and was honored with the AIA Emerging Professional Award, demonstrating substantial impacts through his time and effort.

READ THE FULL SPOTLIGHT.

Give To CAAD

Your Support is Appreciated

Field trips during architecture school are some of the most treasured memories we have—seeing buildings that we have only read about or seen in photos and experiencing spaces and places in person transforms our understanding of the built environment and the world. Our field trips are scheduled to resume this spring as pandemic restrictions retreat. We are excited about travel; however, there are many students in our studios that have a difficult time covering the cost of meals during the excursion.

We are thankful that Ted Porter has established a fund to help with these expenses, and Burris Wagnon Architects has made a thoughtful contribution. We are interested in building this fund. If you are able, we would appreciate a donation; even $25 or $50 provides aid that makes a huge difference, eliminating basic barriers and allowing students to enjoy the experience. Thanks in advance!