Yale Bulletin and Calendar

September 22, 2000Volume 29, Number 3



The one-family house designed and built by Yale School of Architecture students in Newhallville has a custom-made walnut stairway, high ceilings and an open porch.



Students celebrate their hands-on work at house dedication

The School of Architecture celebrated an annual cycle that begins with inspiration and ends with perspiration when it dedicated a house designed and built by its students at 23 West Read St. in the Newhallville section of New Haven.

Mayor John DeStefano, Architecture Dean Robert A.M. Stern, and a representative from Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) -- the local nonprofit agency that commissioned the house -- took part in the Sept. 15 ceremony. Pamela Joyce, the buyer, also attended. Joyce is a social worker at the Department of Children and Families in New Haven.

Every year, students in the first-year class at the School of Architecture design and build a structure. For the past five years, they have created a one-family house that is sold at cost to a qualifying buyer.

"The first-year student project is a testimonial to the art of architecture as the art of building," said Stern. "It provides unmatched 'hands-on' experience to the students. In addition, it is a meaningful opportunity for them to interact with their community."

The Yale project "has become a high point in our yearly cycle," said Henry Dynia, rehabilitation specialist and construction manager for NHS. "Every year, it gets better and better. We enjoy the contact with so many talented people -- both the faculty and students."

Special features of this house include a custom-made walnut stairway and hand rail, bamboo flooring, ceramic-tiled kitchen counters, and what Dynia calls "a marvelous porch with a wide stairway that beckons to you." The first floor has 10-foot high ceilings in the foyer and living room, an eat-in kitchen, a dining area and a half bath; upstairs are three bedrooms and a full bath. The ceiling of the master bedroom slopes up to over 12 feet.

This year's house was built to the specifications of ENERGY STAR®, a voluntary program run by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency along with product manufacturers, utilities and retailers. The program encourages use of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly materials.

Faculty member Paul Brouard has served as project director for the past 30 years. "I've had over 1,000 students out in the field, building their creations," Brouard said. "It's still exciting to see the students come along. Each class views the project differently. They generate vital energy in learning how to build."

Yale students have erected about a dozen houses in transitional neighborhoods of New Haven.

"These fragile neighborhoods benefit from interventions," said Herbert Newman, architectural critic at Yale and a coordinator of the First Year Building Project since its inception. "These are not isolated buildings--they have a beneficial effect, helping make people more conscious of renewing their neighborhoods. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts."

-- By Gila Reinstein


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ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS

NIDA leader unveils 'toolbox' for fighting drug addiction

Law School's new Lindsay Fellowship honors former NYC mayor's public service


SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE NEWS

Panel to look at Elm City entrepreneurship

'Boot camp' will help boost new companies

Biologist Frank Ruddle is lauded for his many contributions to science and business in state

Program breaks through tangled web of spider phobia

Common antibiotic has harmful effects on some people

Discrimination is still an obstacle for disabled, study shows

'The Body Politic' traces evolution of satiric images

Exhibit takes close look at 'Miniature Arts of Asia'

Privacy in cyberspace is topic of author's talk

Development Office announces staff promotions, new addition

JE exhibit showcases work of American 'realist' painters

Slifka Center exhibit features paintings of Jewish ceremonies

Peabody Museum to host open house highlighting volunteer opportunities

A Day at the Bowl

Three new curators bring connoisseurs' 'passion' to Yale Art Gallery staff

Harshav receives Jerusalem Prize for Poetry, publishes several books this summer

Books Sandwiched In series features all-Yale line-up this fall

Campus Notes

Yale Scoreboard

In the News


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