January 11th, 2012 — The School is proud to announce the receipt of two major gifts to provide funding for our Design/Build Program, which provides students with the opportunity to design and actually construct their designs. The gifts were donated by Coastal Construction Group and First Florida Building Corporation.

January 2nd, 2012 — The Fall 2011 School of Architecture newsletter was mailed to over 5,000 alumni, donors and friends before the holidays. This 16-page journal contains a four-page removable insert on the School’s Eight Areas of Academic Focus which guide the School and are critical to the curriculum. Within the last two years, these areas of focus were developed by the faculty to strengthen the School’s offerings in a number of areas of study that reflect faculty expertise and that, appearing in a graduating student’s portfolio, would facilitate entry into the profession during difficult economic times.

December 27th, 2011 — A School of Architecture student team placed in the AIAS “Crisis-Ready Stadium” competition at the AIAS national Forum in Phoenix in December. The team of Taylor Shumate and Byram Wadia won one of three Honorable Mention awards for their entry “Hurricane Stadium.” The entry was on display at Forum over the New Year holiday.

December 15th, 2011 — The book “M” tells the story of the design and construction of what has been called “the biggest M in the world” through words, drawings, models and photographs. It is the first volume of R & R Studios incomplete works. The giant “Red M” was designed as a piece of public art in 1996 out of concrete and mixed media. It serves as an entranceway to the Riverwalk Metromover station in Downtown Miami and is located in front of the turnstiles on the east side of station.

November 18th, 2011 — Jan Hochstim, a longtime professor at the University of Miami’s School of Architecture who was well known to generations of students for his exacting standards as a historian of the modern movement, passed away on November 5. He was 80. Hochstim engaged fully in scholarship, teaching, and professional practice. He began his teaching career in 1958 and taught design and the history of architecture. He also practiced, producing work that ranged from the original Mark Light Stadium at UM to remodeling of the Swensen residence in Coral Gables’ French Village.