Texas A&M University, College of Architecture: 2008 Year in Review

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COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE OFFICE OF THE DEAN   Dr. Jorge A. Vanegas Interim Dean            

  2008 Annual Report   College of Architecture, Texas A&M University      

Prepared and Submitted By:   Dr. Jorge A. Vanegas Interim Dean Sandy and Bryan Mitchell Master Builder Endowed Chair, Director, Center for Housing and Urban Development (CHUD), and Professor, Department of Architecture College of Architecture Texas A&M University 3137 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-3137

Langford Architecture Center, Bldg. A, Suite 202 3137 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-3137   Tel. [phone] • Fax [phone] [e-mail] http://archone.tamu.edu

Overview In general, the complete resource base of theCollege of Architecture(CARC), one of the largest and best colleges of its kind in the nation, supports housing research, teaching, and engagement activities atTexas A&M University   (TAMU). This resource base includes: (1)   Four departments (Architecture– ARCH;Construction Science– COSC;Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning– LAUP; andVisualization– VIZA); (2)   Five research centers (theCenter for Health Systems and Design– CHS&D; theCenter for Heritage Conservation– CHC; theCenter for Housing and Urban Development– CHUD; theCRS Center for Leadership and Management in the Design and Construction Industry– CRS; and theHazard Reduction and Recovery Center– HRRC); (3)   TheArchitecture Ranchdemonstration facility on a 13-acre site and a, a hands-on research/education 10,000 sq. ft. facility at TAMU’s Riverside Campus; (4)   Over 130facultyfrom a diverse range of disciplines;members (5)   Over 1,800undergraduate and graduate students; (6)   Over 65staffin College Station, and with almost 70 additional staff in CHUD spread across the Center’s regional offices along the Texas/Mexico border; and (7)   Severalstudy abroad programsthroughout the world, including venues in Italy, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, and India. In addition, and more specifically, as shown in Figure 1, housing research, teaching, and engagement activities at CARC/TAMU benefit from the core competencies, talent, infrastructure, and capacity embedded within six distinct elements. These elements are described in the attachments that follow.

Figure 1 – Elements of the Housing Research, Teaching, and Engagement Activities at CARC/TAMU 2008 Annual Report   College of Architecture, Texas A&M University

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Appendix 1 The Center for Housing and Urban Development (CHUD) Dr. Jorge A. Vanegas, Director     Background.In 1991, the Texas State Legislature created theColonias Programwithin theCenter for Housing and Urban Development (CHUD) the inCollege of Architecture (CARC) atTexas A&M University (TAMU)   within theTexas A&M University System (TAMUS).was to provide residents of the intent of this mandate  The manyColonias along the Texas/Mexico Rio Grande border (i.e., residential areas that lack some of the basic living necessities, such as potable water and sewer systems, electricity, paved roads and safe and sanitary housing, as defined by The Office of the Texas Secretary of State) with   access to programs and services that would reduce their isolation, increase their ability to become self-sufficient, and enhance their quality of life. In the execution of this mandate, the CHUD Colonias Program initially focused on offering a wide range of educational services (e.g., literacy, GED, job training, dropout prevention), job referral, health and human services for the youth, the adults, and the elderly, and economic and community development assistance. Since its creation, and to date, theCHUD Colonias Programhas received over$16.6 Millionin funding from the State Legislature, and in addition, has additionally secured over$25.9 Millionfrom multiple and diverse funding sources from the private sector and the public sector (at a federal, state, and local levels), for a total of over$42.5 MillionTo satisfy its legislative mandate, fulfill its vision, execute its mission, and achieve its strategic goals,. CHUD established and has maintained aPhysical Infrastructure,a Human Infrastructure,and a Transportation/Mobility Infrastructurewith this funding. These infrastructures have been used to deliver a wide range of services, programs, projects, and events for children, youth, women, men, and the elderly, in partnership with over400local government, state and federal agencies, other academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations, with the ultimate goal of promoting the active involvement of colonias residents in strengthening the social infrastructure of their community, and furthering their self-sufficiency. As a point of reference of the importance of these infrastructures, from January 2006 to November 2008: (1) activities in the Community Resource and Service Centers (CRSCs) with CHUD have reached over associated2 Million participantsover 648,000 in 2008), and (2) people transported(over 718,000 in 2006, over 688,000 in 2007, and in CHUD owned or operated vans have totaled over48,000 people 13,000 in 2006, over 19,000 in 2007, (over and over 16,000 in 2008). In January 2006, Dr. Jorge Vanegas was appointed Director of CHUD. Under his leadership, CHUD has expanded its focus and scope of activities beyond the Colonias Program, and instituted significant changes to its vision, mission, infrastructures, and scholarship, to achieve higher levels of alignment with the vision, mission, and goals of CARC, of TAMU, and of TAMUS. Vision. CHUD’s current vision isthe enhancement of both the quality of life for people and the quality of the place in which they live (i.e., the built environment) in the colonias and beyond. This vision will be fulfilled through:    An integrated approach tooutreach, and service, through education and researchpractice, ;    A continuum ofresearch, development, demonstration, deployment, evaluation, and dissemination; and    The application of principles of sustainability, oflean project delivery, and offully integrated and advanced technologiesin defining what CHUD does (i.e. its products), how it does it (i.e., the processes, followed), and with what (i.e., the resources used). Mission.CHUD’s current mission isto conceive, develop, and deliver innovative solutions to fulfill its visionon six domains that come together as an integrated cohesive whole: To enhance the quality of life (People), CHUD is focused on:    Health and human serviceson the well being of individuals, families, and communities;focused

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   Education and workforce development programsfor young women and men, adult women and men, and the elderly; and    Economic development programs.   To enhance the quality of the built environment (Place), CHUD is focused on:    Urban planning and design, and also planning and design of semi-urban/semi-rural, and rural environments;    Critical civil infrastructure systems, with an emphasis on water, energy, transportation/mobility, sewage and stormwater, and communications systems; and    Housing and critical community facilities, with an emphasis on affordable housing and community resource/self help centers. Any solution conceived, developed, and delivered by CHUD in any of these six domains, strives to have ten attributes:   integrated, sustainable, customizable, flexible, adaptable, scalable, contextually sensitive, outcome- pulled, evidence-based, and technology-enabled. Infrastructures.CHUD has four infrastructures: (1)   ItsPhysical InfrastructureCentral Office in College Station in the Pavilion Building, andcurrently includes a Regional Offices in El Paso, Laredo, and Weslaco, and also, 32 CRSCs located throughout the Texas/Mexico border region (with an additional 8 pending), which serve as hubs for residents to receive information on services, programs, and classes run by CHUD’s multiple partners. The geographical area of operations of CHUD current programs spans every county along the U.S./Mexico border, from several counties in New Mexico to Brownsville, Texas, and extends to Corpus Cristi, Texas, other East Texas counties, and one county in Arkansas. Figure 1 shows CHUD’s current geographical area of operations.

Figure 1 – CHUD Geographical Area of Operations 2009

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(2) ItsHuman Infrastructure currentlyincludes a combined office and field staff that oscillates between 50 and  75 people on a regular basis. CHUD’s field staff includes numerousPromotoras, who are the heart of CHUD. Promotoras are selected colonias residents who are recruited, hired, trained, developed, and deployed to work as Outreach Workers, to disseminate information on CHUD, through friendly, door-to-door, and face-to-face contact, and assist with services, programs, projects, and events at the CRSCs.

  Figure 2 – CHUD Organization Chart 2009 (3)   ItsTransportation/Mobility Infrastructurecurrently includes a fleet of vehicles, mostly 15-passenger vans, to transport colonias residents from their homes to the CRSCs and other locations where CHUD and its partners offer and provide services. (4)   An emerging newCyberinfrastructure enable the offices, the CRSCs, the staff, and the vans to be will connected to each other through advanced computing and information technologies. 2008 Annual Report   College of Architecture, Texas A&M University

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CHUD is strengthening and expanding these four infrastructures with on-going projects such as the next generation of sustainable, customizable, flexible, adaptable, and scalable CRSCs; the full implementation of the recently launchedCHUD Training Academy a mechanism for capacity building and knowledge/technology as enabled workforce development; the next generation of alternative fuel vehicles, fully technology enabled, combined with new modes of community based ownership for mobility within the colonias; and the next generation of cyberinfrastructure for total connectivity among the physical, the human, and the transportation/mobility infrastructures. Scholarship.Building upon its four infrastructures, and on its existing comprehensive network of partners at the local level across the whole Texas/Mexico border, CHUD has launched an active research and education program in four areas: (1)   CHUD is responsible for theGraduate Certificate in Sustainable Urbanism. Since its inception in 2004, almost 40 graduate students have received this certificate. 32 faculty members are currently associated with the certificate as instructors of approved courses, with seven of them serving as members of the Certificate Council, providing leadership, direction, and oversight to the management of the program. (2)   In January 2008, CHUD created theCHUD   Faculty Fellows Program, which brings together a unique multidisciplinary community of talented individuals from any academic or research unit within CARC, TAMU, TAMUS, and from other institutions in the U.S. and abroad, who share common interests, and who represent a diverse range of interest, knowledge, and experience aligned with the vision and mission of CHUD. 25 faculty members have accepted the invitation to become, and have been appointed to be, CHUD Faculty Fellows. (3)   CHUD continues to provide sporadicfinancial and logistic support to research and education efforts   related to colonias, to individual faculty, Ph.D. and M.S. students from TAMU and from other educational institutions within TAMUS and across the U.S., and also, to design studios in any of the academic programs in CARC. (4)   is currently promoting and fostering on an on-going basis,CHUD transdisciplinary, transinstitutional, and transnational collaboration among a diverse range of research, education, and recruitment units across TAMU, including theAgri-life Extension Service, the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL),theTexas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX),theTexas Center for Advanced Technology (TCAT), theCenter for Agricultural Air Quality Engineering and Sciences (CAAQES),and theUniversity Transportation Center for Mobility (UTCM),among others, and also, within an expanded network of national and international contacts within academic institutions and organizations in the public and private sectors brought in by its current Director. Finally, CHUD is now poised to pursue, and is aggressively seeking, additional state and federal legislative funding, as well as funding for scholarly programs and projects with high levels of intellectual merit and broader impact, from sources such as the NSF, theEPA, and theU.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Energy, Education, Labor, andCommerce. CHUD is an asset for CARC, TAMU, the Texas A&M System, and the State of Texas to empower and enable communities to be active participants and contributors in finding their own solutions to their problems, to satisfy their pressing needs themselves, and to realize the opportunities they have. CHUD provides a solid foundation to link, coordinate, and integrate the efforts of multiple stakeholders, to create a single cohesive critical mass that pools, leverages, and shares resources within local, regional, state, national, and international public/private partnerships, in the pursuit of initiatives, programs, and projects of common interest and benefit to all, especially those that enhance both the quality of life for people and the quality of the place in which they live (i.e., the built environment), in the colonias and beyond. CHUD also serves as both aPortalthat provides access, and aBridge   that provides connection, to the complete resource base of TAMU, to government officials, policy makers, regulatory agencies, finance institutions, community leaders, planners, architects, engineers, suppliers, builders, and end-users. Finally, CHUD is anAttractorfor TAMU, to recruit, retain, and develop the best students, faculty, researchers, practitioners, and others, who want to work in any of CHUD’s main thrust areas, and/or any related affinity knowledge domains.

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Special Projects.A special project in which CHUD is involved is a formal collaboration with theBrazos Valley Affordable Housing Corporation (BVAHC)and theGulf Coast Trades Center (GCTC)to design and construct a prototype for a largely prefabricated, energy efficient, affordable home. Dr. Mark Clayton, the Liz and Nelson Mitchell Professor in Residential Design, will have his Spring 2009 ARCH 408 design studio develop several designs. During the Fall 2009 semester, the prototypes will be fabricated at the Riverside Campus research facility, then final assembly and finishing will occur on a lot adjacent to the GCTC facility in New Waverly, Texas, just north of Lake Conroe. GCTC students will assist College of Architecture students with the prefabrication at Riverside as needed, and GCTC students will do all of the construction work at the GCTC site in New Waverly. BVAHC, a non-profit corporation based in Bryan, Texas, currently serves seven Central Texas counties by constructing affordable housing for low income families. They are extending their area of operations to include adjacent counties in East Texas and need a construction method, which minimizes the difficulties associated with remote project management. Prefabrication would improve quality control, reduce construction time, and facilitate the expansion effort. BVAHC and CHUD are also discussing deployment of the units in the Colonias along the Texas/Mexico border where CHUD operates. GCTC is a training center for adjudicated youth between the ages of 14 and 18. The students there learn building trades while working on the BVAHC construction sites. To reach the sites from New Waverly where they live in dormitories, the students are bused to and from work each day, reducing the amount of time on the job. A prefabrication facility on the GCTC campus would enhance the educational experience for GCTC students and free up hours of travel time, which could then be used for classes. An existing unused shop building on the GCTC campus is available for retrofit as a prefabrication shop. Once the building is renovated, production will begin.  

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Appendix 2 Endowments Related to Housing Sandy and Bryan Mitchell Master Builder Chair – $1,000,000 Distributions from this endowed chair fund are used to coordinate activities of the Mitchell Studio and the professorships in construction science, real estate and design and support the teaching, research, service and professional development of the holder in accordance with university guidelines. The Chair holder serves as the director of the Mitchell Initiative.   Liz and Nelson Mitchell Professorship in Residential Design – $300,000 Distributions from this endowed fund are used to support the teaching, research service and professional development activities of the holder in accordance with University Guidelines. The objective of this position is to encourage cooperation with the Mitchell Master Builder Chair, the Mitchell Professorships in Construction Science, Land Development and Mitchell Faculty Fellowship in Real Estate and other faculty with a teaching focus on residential development, construction and design.   Nicole and Kevin Youngblood Professorship in Residential Land Development – $300,000 Distributions from this endowed fund will be used to support the teaching, research, and professional development activities of the holder in accordance with University Guidelines. The objective of this position will be to encourage cooperation with the Mitchell Master Builder Chair, the Mitchell Professorships in Construction Science and Design and the Mitchell Faculty Fellowship in Real Estate and other faculty with a teaching focus on residential development, construction and design.   Helen and O. N. Mitchell, Jr. Faculty Fellowship in Real Estate – $300,000 Distributions from this endowed fund are used to support the teaching, research service and professional development activities of the holder in accordance with University Guidelines. The objective of this position is to encourage cooperation with the Mitchell Master Builder Chair, the Mitchell Professorships in Construction Science, Land Development and Real Estate and other faculty with a teaching focus on residential development, construction and design.   Sandra and Bryan Mitchell Endowed Professorship in Construction Science –$70,000 This is an amendment to an existing gift from 1991 added with the objective of encouraging cooperation between the existing chair in Construction Science and the Mitchell Master Builder Chair, the Mitchell Professorships in Design and Land Development, the Mitchell Faculty Fellowship in Real Estate and other faculty with a teaching focus on residential development, construction and design. This also amends the existing 1991 gift to rename the endowed fund and affiliated professorship theHistory Maker Homes Endowed Professorship in Construction Science. History Maker Homes Endowed Scholarships – $200,000(in the College of Architecture), and Virgie D. and O.N. Mitchell Sr. Endowed Scholarships – $50,000(in the Mays Business School) Proceeds from this endowment fund eight scholarships each year. These Scholarships are awarded to worthy and deserving students in the Departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Construction Science and the Real Estate Program with a demonstrated interest in residential development, construction and design. Such interest is demonstrated by past or current enrollment in a residential construction or design course, enrollment in the History Maker Homes Residential Studio, participation in a land development or real estate seminar or workshop, or active membership in the NAHB student chapter. A committee composed of the Mitchell Master Builder Chair, the Mitchell professorships in construction science, design and land development, and the Mitchell Faculty Fellowship in Real Estate makes the selection of the recipients of these scholarships. History Maker Homes Residential Studio –$80,000   Distributions from this endowed fund support a multidisciplinary studio in the College of Architecture focusing on residential development, construction and design. An objective of this studio is to involve participation of the Mitchell Master Builder Chair, the Mitchell professorships in construction science, design and land development, and the Mitchell Faculty Fellowship in Real Estate. Rodney L. Dockery Endowed Professorship in Housing and the Homeless – $75,000 Distributions from this endowed professorship further scholarly activities of the holder in accordance with University Guidelines, related to housing and the homeless in the design, construction and planning and development professions.

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Appendix 3 A Collaboratory for Zero-Impact Self-Sustaining (ZISS) Communities, Neighborhoods, Facilities, and Dwellings Dr. Jorge A. Vanegas,Interim Dean, and Director of the Center for Housing and Urban Development (CHUD), College of Architecture   Dr. Calvin Parnell,Regents Professor, and Director of the Center for Agricultural Air Quality Engineering and Science (CAAQES), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences   Ms. Cindy Wall,Executive Director, Texas Center for Applied Technology, Texas Engineering Experiment Station     SUMMARY TheCollaborative Laboratory for Knowledge Creation, Application, and Dissemination (Collaboratory) for Zero-Impact Self-Sustaining (ZISS) Communities, Neighborhoods, Facilities, and Dwellings, together brings Texas A&M University (TAMU) andTexas A&M University System (TAMUS) units as a cohesive whole for transdisciplinary development and implementation of practices, products, processes, and services to create the ZISSurban infrastructureof communities, neighborhoods, facilities, and dwellings. 1. MERIT AND IMPACT 1.1 Global Merit and Impact This white paper proposes the establishment of aCollaborative Laboratory for Knowledge Creation, Application, and Dissemination (Collaboratory) forZero-Impact Self-Sustaining (ZISS) Communities, Neighborhoods, Facilities, and Dwellings. This Collaboratory would bring togetherTexas A&M University (TAMU) andTexas A&M University System (TAMUS) units as a cohesive whole for transdisciplinary development and implementation of practices, products, processes, and services to create the ZISSurban infrastructure of communities, neighborhoods, facilities, and dwellings. Figure 1, shows a graphical depiction of its conceptual framework. The Collaboratory is a direct response to problems and challenges posed by increasingly unsustainable demands for energy, water, material resources, and food; by the depletion and degradation of the natural resource base; and by significant impacts to the environment. Current urban, suburban, and rural development patterns, economic paradigms, and patterns of consumption are some of the main causes of these problems and challenges, which have been documented extensively. Our State, our Nation, and the World cannot afford to continue following the same approaches that have been used to date in the planning, financing, development, delivery, and sustainment of communities, neighborhoods, facilities, and dwellings. Rather, they demand new approaches towhat we do   (the results),how we do it(the processes), andwith what(the resources). These approaches need to (1)   Be bold, innovative, systems based, and contextually sensitive; (2)   economic sustainability in formal, explicit, proactive, and integratedAddress environmental, social, and ways; and (3)   Eliminate, reduce, and mitigate risk and vulnerability to natural hazards.  

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Figure 1 – Conceptual Framework for the ZISS Collaboratory TAMU and TAMUS (TAMU/S) possess the core competencies, the talent, the infrastructure, and the capacity to meet these requirements at state, regional, national, and global scales, both on a short-term and a long-term basis. They can also bring positive changes to the agriculture, architecture, engineering and other disciplines through two paradigms that guide scholarly activities. The first paradigm, depicted in Figure 2, isintellectual discovery and knowledge creation, which includes a continuum of research, development, demonstration, and deployment. Framed by continuous evaluation and dissemination, this paradigm provides a bridge between the current state of knowledge and the anticipated outcomes. In addition, these approaches will require: (1)   The development and implementation of policy and regulation, and of products, processes, and services that support their creation; (2)   That government, private and public interests coordinate, and integrate their efforts as a single cohesive critical mass, pooling, leveraging, and sharing their resources, within public/private partnerships, from local and regional, to national and international levels; (3)   requirements be addressed holistically at various spatial and temporalThat infrastructure needs and scales; and (4)   That basic and applied research, graduate and post-graduate education, and engagement with industry/business, government, and society, be done within an integrated approach.

 

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  Figure 2 – ZISS Collaboratory Paradigm for Intellectual Discovery and Knowledge Creation The second paradigm, depicted in Figure 3, isintegration of research, teaching, and engagement. This will drive incremental and revolutionary changes in the planning, financing, development, delivery, and sustainment of urban infrastructure. The Collaboratory will research, integrate, and teach current practices, and incorporate the results of intellectual discovery and knowledge creation in future developments. Collaborative research and teaching will benefit from ZISS research findings. Additionally, teaching needs and requirements will emerge from research findings as a formal research focus.

Figure 3 – ZISS Collaboratory Paradigm for Integration of Research, Teaching, and Engagement

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