Graduate planning, architecture and design students are exploring new street designs for North Farwell Avenue in Milwaukee. Pedestrian and bicycle improvements, along with converting the one-way street to two-way are ideas the students propose to improve safety and enhance the mixed-use corridor. The interactive exercise is part of聽Associate Professor Esswein鈥檚聽graduate seminar: Urban Design as Public Policy.
Assistant Professor Maura Lucking聽has been named a 2023鈥�2025 Fellow at Columbia University鈥檚 Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture with joint appointments in the Society of Fellows at the Heyman Center for the Humanities and the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
While a Buell Fellow, Maura will work on a book-length architectural history of the public college movement in the 19th century United States. The project is based on her dissertation, 鈥淪ettler Campus: Racial Uplift, Free Labor, and Land Tenure in American Design Education, 1866-1929,鈥� which examines three school typologies鈥攖he land grant college, the industrial institute, and the Indian boarding school鈥攖hrough a settler colonial framework.
Maura innovatively shows the role played by architecture, industrial design, and design pedagogy in rights-based legal outcomes for various racialized groups that were educated in these institutions.
By emphasizing students鈥� self-sufficiency and manual labor, and often by involving them in campus construction projects, architectural education aligned design outcomes with narratives of respectability, freedom, and individual property. Maura uncovers the links between this school-building habitus and social and economic ideals, from the immediate aftermath of the US Civil War, when social cohesion was understood to be under threat, into the 20th Century when educational models were exported to new geographies in Liberia and the Philippines.
Beijing-based architect Tiantian Xu has been awarded the 2023 Marcus Prize in Architecture, administered by the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The prize, which recognizes emerging global talents, is funded by the Marcus Corporation Foundation. It provides a $100,000 award 鈥� half to the winner and the other half to bring Xu to Milwaukee to teach a spring 2024 studio at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning that will focus on a specific topic affecting the city.
The Marcus Prize honors architects for their outstanding work to date as well as their promise of future greatness.
鈥淚鈥檓 so thrilled for Tiantian Xu and 51猎奇 students and faculty for this great exchange of cultures and experience across oceans and great plains,鈥� said juror Kai-Uwe Bergmann of the international firm Bjarke Ingels Group.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that the students and Tiantian Xu will create visions that will serve Milwaukee well as it looks towards its future.鈥�
Beside Bergmann, the jury included David Marcus, chairman of the Marcus Corporation; D茅bora Mesa, principal at Ensamble Studio in Madrid and the 2021 Marcus Prize winner; Samantha Schuermann, 51猎奇 assistant professor of architecture; and Mo Zell, dean of 51猎奇鈥檚 College of the Arts and Architecture.
Xu, the 10th Marcus Prize awardee since the award鈥檚 inception in 2005, is the founding principal of DnA _Design and Architecture. Her firm鈥檚 architectural projects have engaged in the economic revitalizing process in rural China, using a holistic approach described as 鈥渁rchitectural acupuncture.鈥�
Her designs are respectful of the landscapes they are built on, but also intend to revive under-populated locales that have a variety of topographies, cultures and climates.
For example, in southern China鈥檚 Jinyun County, years of mining natural stone on the semi-arid land has left over 3,000 small, abandoned quarries. To attract tourists to the area, Xu has carved dramatic, public-friendly spaces into the caverns nestled within rock formations, taking cues from indigenous knowledge during the process.
Growing up in the 1970s and 鈥�80s, Xu experienced the transition of Chinese cities from traditional to modern. During that time, China鈥檚 rural populations began to pour into cities seeking new opportunities, leaving the countryside with unattended farmland and run-down houses. Xu was influenced by the desire to help these 鈥渓eft-behind鈥� communities.
Xu earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in architecture from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and her master鈥檚 degree in architecture-urban design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
She has received numerous awards including the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2023 and the Berlin Art Prize / Kunstpreis Berlin- Architecture 2023. In 2020, she was appointed an honorary fellow of American Institute of Architects.
The Marcus Prize was established in 2005 as a biennial, international architecture award that honors emerging architects for their outstanding work to date, as well as recognizing the promise of their future contributions to the field of architecture.
The $100,000 prize provides $50,000 to the winner and a further $50,000 to lead a design studio in collaboration with faculty in the School of Architecture & Urban Planning. In addition to the award itself, the Marcus Corporation Foundation provides financial support to host the selection jury and to bring the awardees to Milwaukee for the studio.
鈥淲e at the Marcus Corporation Foundation are proud to support the important work of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture & Urban Planning through the Marcus Prize,鈥� said David Marcus, chairman of the Marcus Corporation Foundation. 鈥淭he opportunity to identify and bring in so many talented architects over the years to work with the students has been truly unique. The impact of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture & Urban Planning鈥檚 students on the architectural landscape in our city and region has been remarkable.鈥�
The esteemed 2021 Marcus Prize jury included 2019 Marcus Prize recipient Tatiana Bilbao, founder of Mexico City-based Tatiana Bilbao Estudio. Bilbao was joined by David Brown, artistic director of the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial, and Lesley Lokko, founder and director of the African Futures Institute. David Marcus, chairman of the Marcus Corporation Foundation, and Robert Greenstreet, dean emeritus of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UW-Milwaukee, also served as jurors.
The Innovative Cities Lecture Series
From Data to Action: Using Local Data to Address Community Issues presentation by Dr. David Amaya, President and Executive Director of Data You Can Use, and Danya Littlefield, Community Research and Data Communication Program Manager at Data You Can Use.
Data You Can Use (DYCU) is an organization dedicated to making data accessible and useful in improving community conditions in Milwaukee neighborhoods and across Wisconsin. The diverse group of professionals at DYCU help people analyze and translate local data to address important issues at the neighborhood scale. Hear from Victor Amaya and Danya Littlefield as they introduce Data You Can Use, invite viewers to use its resources as a vital tool in their work, and share about their projects that bridge the gap between data and action in community planning.
Dr. Victor Amaya is the President and Executive Director of Data You Can Use. He鈥痩eads DYCU鈥檚 strategy and operations with a goal of helping the organization drive impact to improve conditions in the community.鈥疊efore joining Data You Can Use, he led the Impact Department and served as the Interim Executive Director at City Year Milwaukee, the local affiliate of a national education non-profit. Victor earned his BA in Sociology and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He earned a MS in Administrative Leadership as well as a Doctorate in Leadership in the Advancement of Learning from Cardinal Stritch University.
Danya Littlefield is the Community Research and Data Communication Program Manager at Data You Can Use. She is an urban planner with a passion for telling stories through data and graphics and has experience working with a wide range of communities, organizations, and stakeholders on planning and engagement processes that address topics such as economic development, housing, transportation, and sustainability. Prior to joining Data You Can Use, Danya worked as a planner and urban designer with GRAEF, where she had the opportunity to work on projects both in Milwaukee and throughout the state and region. Danya holds a B.A. from Kenyon College, where she studied Studio Art and English, as well as a Master in City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
AICP-CM credits will be awarded.
Architecture faculty Jim Shields, FAIA received a Design Excellence Award at the annual Wisconsin American Institute of Architects Awards Gala this month. The award was for the design of two recent additions to the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek, WI.
Also receiving a design award at the AIA Wisconsin Awards Gala was Grace La, a former 51猎奇 Architecture faculty now teaching at Harvard University. Grace was recently named Chair of the Architecture Department at Harvard GSD. Grace and her husband James Dallman received the award for the design of a roof terrace and pavilion addition to a building on Silver Spring in Whitefish Bay, WI.
The Innovative Cities Lecture Series
West Allis Story presentation by , Economic Development Executive Director for the City of West Allis, and , Manager of City Planning and Zoning for the City of West Allis.
The City of West Allis has successfully started to reshape itself by leveraging Comprehensive Planning and Economic Development tools to spur several successful and transformative projects bringing brand/place to West Allis. The City鈥檚 strategic vision aims to reposition itself as a progressive leader in Southeastern Wisconsin.
Patrick Schloss is the Economic Development Executive Director for the City of West Allis as well as the Vice President of the First Ring of Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise, Inc. (F.I.R.E). With over 24 years of experience in economic development, Patrick is actively engaged in redevelopment projects for an urban City that involves the deployment of multiple federal, state, and local funding sources and programs. Patrick is passionate about creatively attracting private investment and fostering new small business growth. Schloss is responsible for negotiating development agreements to forming partnerships that guide, assist, and open small businesses. Through the years in economic development, Schloss鈥� work has covered a spectrum of successful projects that include New Market Tax Credits, Section 42 tax credit deals, creating a neighborhood association program, guiding the revitalization of neighborhood parks, developing a road map for small businesses to navigate the City鈥檚 approval process, implementing KIVA, and much more.
As Vice President of a successful Community Development Entity called First-Ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise, Inc. (F.I.R.E.), efforts have included allocating over $353 million in New Market Tax Credits to support regional economic growth in Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha Counties. To date, FIRE tax credits investments have created 3,500 permanent jobs, 2,047 construction jobs, and 2,484,309 sq. ft. of development within distressed neighborhoods.
Additionally, Schloss currently services on the Vice Chair of the Board of Wisconsin Business Development, Inc. and is a Past President of WEDA. Patrick loves youth sports offered throughout the community, great small town feel found in neighborhoods and commercial districts, and enjoys the Farmers Market for fresh produce to include in his home cooked meals.
鈥�
Steve Schaer is the Manager of City Planning and Zoning for the City of West Allis and has been with the city since 2002. His interests and focuses are in land use and neighborhood planning, redevelopment, site/landscaping and architectural review, urban design, tax incremental financing, geographic information systems, and bike and pedestrian planning. Steve holds a master鈥檚 degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Urban Planning.鈥��
Steve Schaer is the Manager of Planning and Zoning for the City of West Allis, and in his role, he is also involved with the Community Development Block Grant program and Neighborhood Associations & Housing Office. He graduated with his Master in Urban Planning in 1996 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has since had 25+ years of experience in City Planning and redevelopment. The West Allis City Planning team recently completed: (a) new zoning ordinance, (b) site, landscaping and architectural guidelines, (c) a complete street policy, and (d) collaborated and helped implement the city鈥檚 new online permitting platform to improve workflows, permitting and overall satisfaction. Earlier this spring, the Planning team embarked on a local citizen engagement tour toward development of the City鈥檚 2045 Comprehensive Plan. The City has successfully reshaped itself by leveraging Comprehensive Planning and Economic Development tools to spur several successful and transformative projects bringing higher visibility and a new brand to West Allis. Redevelopment efforts focus not only upon building something new, but strengthening existing neighborhoods, becoming more socially connected, bicycle and business friendly. The City鈥檚 overall organizational strategic vision aims to reposition itself as a progressive city leader in Southeastern Wisconsin.
Steve enjoys bicycling, skiing/snowboarding, travelling, drinking crafty beer (in a garden) with friends and family.
AICP-CM credits will be awarded.
This semester, students at SARUP and collaborating with the University of New Mexico through Mono-Poly-Dollar, an interdisciplinary research and design studio that positions Dollar General Corp (DG), the largest and most influential of the American dollar store triumvirate鈥擣amily Dollar, Dollar Tree, and Dollar General鈥攁s an existing but untapped infrastructure through which we might imagine bold futures for the relationships between architecture, climate, economics, and culture.
Mono-Poly-Dollar was selected as a winner of the 2022 Course Development Prize in Architecture, Climate Change, and Society by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and Columbia University鈥檚 Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture.
The winning studio proposal by 2020-2021 SARUP Fellows Lindsey Krug and Sarah Aziz will be taught this semester concurrently here at 51猎奇 by聽Assistant Professor Krug聽and at the University of New Mexico (UNM) by Assistant Professor Aziz.
The course asks students to re-imagine the architectural canon, challenge their existing value systems, and use the local and familiar as catalysts for change. After visiting a cross-section of the 19,400+ DG stores and distribution centers across the country students will form socio-spatial positions to highlight the understudied small-box vernacular typology as a weapon of discourse and agent of climate activism.
Given its geographic scope, even a small shift in the invasive dollar store鈥檚 response to the climate crisis can have a large impact. By critiquing the organization鈥檚 commercial, agricultural, and architectural strategies, students will explore how small-box architecture has the potential to create new design regimes to respond to 21st century questions of climate change, equity, and sociality, and propose ways DG can begin to provide antidotes to the silent crises to which they contribute.
This past summer, the Architectural League of New York awarded SARUP Assistant Professor Lindsey Krug and Sarah Aziz, Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico, with the prestigious 2023 League Prize for Young Architects + Designers! Each year, the Architectural League honors 6 emerging practices from across North America.
Lindsey and Sarah developed a shared practice when they met at SARUP as the 2020-21 Fitzhugh Scott 鈥楢dvancing Contemporary Theories鈥� and 鈥業nnovation in Design鈥� Faculty Fellows. They answered this year鈥檚 League Prize competition theme of 鈥楿ncomfortable,鈥� which prompted entrants to 鈥渄emonstrate how they find comfort within the unconventional, discover opportunity within crisis, and use the 鈥榰ncomfortable鈥� as a design tool.鈥�
As part of the award, Lindsey and Sarah delivered a public lecture about their practice in June titled 鈥淭wo Individual, One Shared,鈥� were interviewed by the Architectural League about their love of Midwestern architecture culture, and designed a digital exhibition titled 鈥淒ollar(ar)house Dreams鈥� in which they designed a series of surrealist architectural scenes and animations as an ode to America鈥檚 most ubiquitous landmark: Dollar General. Several of the images from their exhibition are included here in this post.
For more information about the League Prize and links to learn more about Lindsey and Sarah鈥檚 exhibition, their lecture, and their interview, visit the .
Residents of Sherman Park have a new place to meet and enjoy being outdoors, thanks to students from nine Milwaukee Public Schools who helped design and build a new community gathering spot at 55th and Center streets. They鈥檙e calling it Postage Stamp Park, a nod to the post office next door to the formerly vacant lot.
Students worked under the guidance of teachers and mentors from around the city taking part in the NAF Future Ready Scholars program led by 51猎奇 faculty members and staff from the School of Architecture & Urban Planning and College of Engineering & Applied Science.
The culminating project, which included designing and constructing chaise-style lounges and planters, was informed by community input.
鈥淲e talked to a variety of community members to get ideas. One big thing they said is that they didn鈥檛 want a playground because this is such a busy road,鈥� said Zion Owusu-Yeboa, a student at Ronald Reagan High School. 鈥淪o even though that is what we originally planned, we modified our vision because of what the community wanted.鈥�
The students also designed a site plan to help the community work toward its goal of making the city-owned lot into a place where neighbors can meet, relax and enjoy nature. Recommendations developed by students in the site plan include walking paths, a Little Free Library and additional landscaping. The students hope that the community continues to work on improving the lot using their ideas.
鈥淭his is just the start for this particular lot,鈥� said Mabel Lamb, executive director of Sherman Park Community Organization and a 23-year resident of the neighborhood. 鈥淲e want to take these lots and eliminate vacancies and deteriorating properties. We鈥檙e super excited about what鈥檚 happening here and to work with the students. It鈥檚 been excellent.鈥�
This was the second year for the NAF Future Ready Scholars summer camp, which gives high school juniors and seniors the chance to learn STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills while learning how architecture and engineering are used in real-life projects. Students in the camp last summer built structures at a community garden in Milwaukee鈥檚 Metcalfe Park neighborhood.
In addition to the hands-on construction experience under the guidance of faculty, staff and mentors, students participated in college and career readiness sessions. The 20 students spent a night in a 51猎奇 residence hall to get a glimpse of college life.
鈥淭his gave me a really good idea of what studying architecture and engineering is really like,鈥� said Mei Lan Wang, a student at South Division High School. She enjoyed learning from current 51猎奇 students who served as camp counselors.
鈥淚 used to think architecture was only math 鈥� and it is some math 鈥� but it鈥檚 also about your creativity and your vision. I鈥檓 definitely more interested now,鈥� she added.
NAF is a national network of education, business and community leaders that aims to transform the high school experience to prepare students for college, career and future success. The Future Ready program started in 2019 at the University of California, Berkeley, with 51猎奇 just the fourth university in the country to be selected as a site. For NAF, the Milwaukee program was also the first time Future Ready offered an architecture focus.
The summer camp program included partners from 51猎奇鈥檚 School of Architecture & Urban Planning, 51猎奇鈥檚 College of Engineering & Applied Science, Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Area Technical College, NAF, Sherman Park Community Association and Sherman Park ECO. MPS, 51猎奇 and MATC collaborate through the M3 initiative.
Additional support and mentorship for the project was provided by Milwaukee Tool, Gilbane, Eppstein Uhen Architects, Women in Design-Students and the American Institute of Architecture Students.
The Wisconsin Architects Foundation (WAF) has announced Evan Xiong as the inaugural recipient of the Dream Spaces: Diversity + Architecture Scholarship. This scholarship, funded by WAF, is dedicated to fostering diversity in the field of architecture by supporting individuals from underrepresented populations in Wisconsin.
Evan’s outstanding academic achievements, passion for architecture and commitment to social issues have earned him the opportunity to study architecture at the UW-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) with a full-tuition scholarship.
鈥淭he path that Evan鈥檚 family took to the American dream is truly inspiring,鈥� said Kyle Reynolds, SARUP鈥檚 Head of School. 鈥淭he Dream Spaces scholarship will empower him to pursue his own ambitions and use architecture as a powerful outlet for creativity and positive change. I have no doubt that his focus on addressing pressing social issues will lead to transformative contributions in our profession.鈥�
Evan’s journey into the world of architecture began early on when he discovered the joy of constructing imaginative structures with LEGO blocks. As he grew older, his love for architecture deepened, prompting him to enroll in an early college credit course at UW-Milwaukee while a student at Greendale High School. His dedication and hard work led to an impressive 94% in the class, further fueling his desire to pursue a career in architecture.
Born to immigrant parents from Laos, Evan’s personal experiences have instilled in him a profound appreciation for the power of determination.
“My grandparents fled war-torn Laos to the U.S. after the Vietnam War. They settled in Sacramento, California, with hopes of starting a new life for their family,” Xiong shared. As refugees who could not speak English, they utilized their expertise in farming by growing crops and selling them at flea markets. Through decades of farming, they successfully achieved the American dream of owning a home and sending their children off to college.”
With this scholarship, Evan plans to study architecture to support his personal and professional growth. He strongly believes that increasing diversity within the profession will bring a range of perspectives and ideas that can positively impact architecture’s evolving landscape.
“I want to advocate for diversity in this field. With more diversity comes perspectives and ideas that could benefit architecture, where innovation and creativity is always evolving,” he said. “I want to inspire young minds that architecture can be an outlet for their creativity.”
Jody Andres, AIA, the 2022-23 President of the Wisconsin Architects Foundation, highlighted the significance of the Dream Spaces scholarship program in a statement announcing the scholarship last fall.
“With the Dream Spaces: Diversity + Architecture Scholarship program, we seek to grow the diversity of the profession of architecture because those who lead the future of the built environment should represent the full spectrum of its inhabitants and their array of life experiences,” said Andres.
In addition to his goal to inspire more diversity in the field, Evan also aims to explore how architecture can contribute to addressing pressing social issues, such as climate change and accessibility for people with disabilities. As he prepares to embark on the next chapter of his academic journey at UW-Milwaukee, he is determined to become a catalyst for change.