Two DAAP Projects Win Design Awards

Two DAAP community projects were recently recognized at The Cincinnati Design Awards ceremony.

A large team of faculty and students from the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) this year completed the design and installation of innovative educational exhibits at the newly opened Fernald Preserve Visitor's Center.

These exhibits - including artifacts, interactive videos and wall panels - just received a 2008 Merit Award from the Society for Environmental Graphic Design at ceremonies sponsored by the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Similarly, a second project - entitled Greening Over-the-Rhine - to which DAAP faculty and students made significant contributions received an Honor Award for Architectural Advancement.
Exhibit in the Fernald Preserve Visitor's Center
View of a UC-designed exhibit within the Fernald Preserve Visitor's Center. Fernald served as a uranium-production facility for decades.
The exhibits in the Fernald Preserve Visitor's Center - dioramas, objects, wall-sized murals, video, audio and interactive multimedia components - are the tools used in telling the story of what is today the Fernald Preserve, a site restored and reclaimed after decades of use as a uranium-production facility.
Exhibit in the Fernald Preserve Visitor's Center
View of a UC-designed exhibit within the Fernald Preserve Visitor's Center. Fernald served as a uranium-production facility for decades.

This project overall was led by John E. Hancock, professor in UC's top-ranked architecture program, with Ericka Hedgecock, former visiting assistant professor of interior design, in charge of the exhibit development. Others on the team who contributed to the Fernald exhibits were

  • Melissa Crutcher, graphic design student
  • Dion Dwityabaswara, graduate architecture student
  • Christina Glasgow, architecture graduate student
  • Darrin Hunter, design graduate student
  • Jose Kozan, research associate and adjunct professor of architecture
  • Cathryn Long, researcher and writer
  • Elisabeth Quallen, graphic design student
  • Ferenc Traser, former research assistant
Interior of the Fernald Preserve Visitor's Center
Interior view of the Fernald Preserve Visitor's Center.
Hancock explained, "The stories of the Fernald site are really fascinating: From prehistory to now all the species of returning wildlife, and of course, the Cold War and the 'military-industrial complex' and all the controversies about contamination and the superfund cleanup, and so on. We were really challenged with how to get all that across in an exhibit experience."

In a second project honored during events at the CDA, DAAP's Virginia Russell, associate professor of architecture, and Jeff Tilman, associate professor of architecture, led students in a project titled Greening Over-the-Rhine, which was awarded the CDA 2008 Honorable Mention in the category of Architectural Advancement. The project focused on the environmentally sensitive, energy-efficient, sustainable renovation of four 19th century buildings in Cincinnati's historic, urban Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.

That project was sponsored by the Over the Rhine Foundation with funding from UC's Niehoff Center, Duke Energy Corporation and Ohio's State Historic Preservation Office. UC architecture and interior design students worked in a team with local design practitioners and preservationists to ensure the real-world viability of the designs. The UC faculty and students initiated research to successfully introduce energy-efficient materials into the structures without violating their historical integrity.

Explained Russell, "For instance, the introduction of today's energy-efficient windows would not preserve the historic integrity of the buildings; however, the original windows could be retrofitted with an energy-efficient glazing."

The UC team was so successful that if the buildings were renovated according to its recommendations, each would earn a "gold" LEED designation, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a prestigious rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Even better, according to Tilman, "Each project was reviewed by preservationists on the design team and found to meet the intent of the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, the guidelines used by the state and federal governments to certify rehab projects for the Historic Preservation Tax Credit." In October, Tilman presented the project to the Association for Preservation Technology International (APTI) in Montreal.

He said, "The response to the project was tremendous. Preservationists from around the world are looking for case studies that demonstrate how historic communities can maintain their integrity and inherently sustainable qualities while modernizing their buildings for the next century. Over-the-Rhine may become a model for many other similar communities around the globe."

Two of the four buildings studied are moving forward with the recommendations made by the UC team. And that's the best part, according to Russell, who is accredited as a LEED professional with the U.S. Green Building Council.

She added, "It proves that sustainable design and historic preservation can be successfully integrated. If it can be done with these four buildings, it can be done with hundreds of buildings. This work will have an important impact on both historic structures and the retrofit of our abundant vacant-building stock, a critical task facing sustainable designers in this economy."

Working with Russell and Tilman on the project were a studio class of DAAP students in spring 2008 as well as graduate students in a summer 2008 seminar. These were

  • Maria Bergh
  • Peter Ekama
  • Nikki Fannin
  • Zach Fein
  • Katie Ferncez
  • Janice Fredwest
  • Chantel Hall
  • Wade Hart
  • John Hoebbel
  • Justin Hoffman
  • Christopher Jolley
  • Lauren Karsten
  • James Kehl
  • Mike Kocher
  • Eric Lindsay
  • Sean Lyons
  • Joe McGovern
  • Laura Mosca
  • Kendra Pochadt
  • Elizabeth Schutlz
  • Peter Schultz