Architecture

Associate Professor of Art History Nadja Aksamija got her first glimpse of Bologna, Italy back in 2004 as she walked from the train station towards the historic city center. It was a hot day and she dragged her suitcase down the sidewalk. Crossing Piazza Maggiore, Aksamija stepped into the shade of Palazzo dei Banchi, experiencing for the first time the city’s breathtaking porticos – extensions from the upper levels of structures that create about 37 miles of covered walkways alongside city streets. “I remember thinking that this was incredible,” Aksamija said. “It felt like a changing landscape.” While the porticos…

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A flock of feathery friends will soon join the student staff at Long Lane Farm. Each year since 2006, Wesleyan's Architecture II course, taught by Associate Professor of Art Elijah Huge, has accepted a commission to work on a project, traditionally for a nonprofit organization. Past projects have included the Wesleyan Sukkah, a wildlife-viewing platform for the Audubon Society, and a pavilion for the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association at its headquarters. This year, the idea for the project came from Long Lane Farm and Bon Appétit: to design and build a chicken coop that would enable Bon Appétit to serve…

Lots of people like watching birds. Understandably, birds don’t always like people watching them. For the Audubon Center at Bent of the River, a 700-acre nature preserve in Southbury, Conn., this presented a problem: the swallows and kingfishers along a popular trail were perpetually startled by human visitors. Assistant Professor of Art Elijah Huge and the 11 students in his Architecture II class devised a solution – a chic bird blind they designed and built from scratch. The structure represents the third major design-build project for North Studio, a faculty-student design collaborative Huge founded in 2006 that is cultivating a…

Wesleyan's architecture design class and its Research-Design-Build Studio have been recognized by the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) 2010 Small Projects Practitioners Awards. They were recognized for the observation platform "Split Frame" they created for the Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn., in 2008. The studio and class are overseen by Elijah Huge, assistant professor of art, assistant professor of environmental studies. Last year the class and studio created the Sukkah on campus as one of their projects.

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently commended Elijah Huge, assistant professor of art, on his efforts with the Mattabeseck Audubon Society. Rell presented the Audubon Society with GreenCircle Award. The Society was experiencing problems at their Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn. with beavers who had changed the site so that access was a serious challenge. The Audubon Society welcomed Huge and his Wesleyan students to solve the problem. They designed and constructed a sustainable project under adverse conditions. They created a split frame viewing station consisting of a lower floating…

Angus McCullough ’10 was mentioned in a Nov. 1 New York Times article titled "Grand Visions for a Faded Bronx Boulevard." McCullough is participating in an exhibit titled “Intersections: The Grand Concourse Beyond 100,” at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. A result of a nine-month competition sponsored by the museum and the Design Trust for Public Space, the show focuses on seven visions for the future of the Grand Concourse in the Bronx that range from urban farms to high-tech sound barriers for a nearby freeway. McCullough's proposal, "Live Wired," would create video and audio installations in strategic points…

WesSukkah, designed and built by Wesleyan's Architecture II research-design-build studio, was dedicated Oct. 3 on Foss Hill. The sukkah is used by Wesleyan’s Jewish community during the festival of Sukkot. For eight days, students studied, socialized, mediated, ate, and occasionally slept in the religious structure. WesSukkah was honored with a 2009 "Faith and Form" Award for art and architecture from the American Institute of Architects. (Photos by Olivia Bartlett Drake and Steve Rowland P'11. Rowland travelled from Seattle, Wa. for the dedication Oct. 3. His son, Cameron Rowland '11, is one of the architecture students who designed WesSukkah)

Every October, Wesleyan's Jewish community dwells in a temporary structure built for the festival of Sukkot. For eight days, students study, socialize, mediate, eat, host events and occasionally sleep in the religious building. This holiday, the Jewish students will celebrate the Israelites 40-year journey to the Holy Land inside an airy, five-mound curving structure of carbon-steel clad in bamboo. Designed by 15 students enrolled in Architecture II, a research-design-build studio, the "WesSukkah" provides a sacred space that adheres to a complex, medieval Rabbinic building code. "The students have crafted something which is both compelling and meaningful for Wesleyan's campus," explains…

Brooklyn, N.Y. native Angus McCullough ’10 envisions the thriving community living on Bronx's Grand Concourse connected with a web of speakers, microphones, projectors and cameras. As one of seven finalists, who placed third out of 400 entrants, in the Intersections: Grand Concourse Beyond 100 urban planning project, McCullough designed an audio-visual nervous system for the Grand Concourse, using nodes to weave the long, thin boulevard into a tight-knit web of interaction. His project, titled "Live Wired," landed him a $1,000 cash stipend to further develop his proposal for inclusion in the exhibition Intersections: Grand Concourse at 100 — Future at…

A service project undertaken by Wesleyan students for the Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn. has drawn the attention of journalists. A piece title "Bird-Watching Deck Built with Respect for Environment appeard in the Oct. 19 Sunday Hartford Courant: http://www.courant.com/features/hc-fancybirders.art0oct18,0,3286282.story . Another piece titled "Eye Candy: Bird-Watching in High Design" ran in the Oct Chronicle of Higher Education: Chronicle of Higher Education blog . The design and building of the structure, which was part of the Feet to the Fire project was detailed in the Connection: https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2008/09/23/students-create-innovative-structure-for-audubon-society/ .

Imagine this architectural challenge: create a site-appropriate structure for a former cranberry bog covered with 3 feet of water; use durable and sustainable materials and construction technologies as extensively as possible; work within a budget and; make it optimal for observing Redwing Blackbirds, Scarlet Tanagers, Hooded Mergansers, and the occasional Great Blue Heron. (more…)

Aksamija Helps Porticos of Bologna be Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Architecture II Students Research, Design, Build “Confession” Exhibit on Campus

Architecture Class Designs Chicken Coop at Long Lane Farm

With Bird Blind, Architecture Students Help Nature Lovers See

Student-Created ‘Split Frame’ Wins AIA National Award

Governor Rell, DEP Honor SplitFrame Project with Environmental Award

McCullough ’10 Featured in The New York Times

WesSukkah Dedicated Oct. 3

Jewish Community Celebrates Holiday in Student-Designed WesSukkah

McCullough ’10 Designs Socio-urban Plan for the Bronx’s Grand Concourse

Architectural Design, Creation by Students Draws Interest

Students Create Innovative Structure for Audubon Society