Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Among the many innovations Valle made at UMSA was the introduction
of an on-line design “crit” (a year-end review of student work by other fac-
ulty or outside professionals) in 1995.Valle posted a request for jurors on
the Internet and received more than 100 responses from architects and
planners on four continents. Valle selected a jury that included faculty
members from Harvard University, Pratt Institute, the University of Cali-
fornia at Berkeley, and universities in Hong Kong, Italy, and Colombia. Stu-
dent presentations were made on a web site, and jury members responded
to the work by e-mail over a four-day period. According to
Miami Maga-
zine
(spring 1996),Valle's Internet design crit was the first such instance for
any school of architecture in this country.
Also in 1995, he published the first volume of his series
American Urban
Typologies.
In this series,Valle intends to present detailed analyses of Amer-
ican cities that have retained a distinct sense of place instead of adapting the
kind of standardized urban environment that is so prevalent today. He
believes that certain elements of architecture and design that make these
places function well could be adapted for other communities. In each vol-
ume, he will examine the principles (building types, architectural and urban
codes, and site conditions) that form the underlying structure for each city.
So committed is he to this project that he funds the research himself.
For the first book in the series,Valle chose Key West, Florida.Among the
features he admires are zoning laws that allow stores and offices in the cor-
ners of residential areas; heterogeneous neighborhoods with houses of dif-
ferent sizes and prices; a downtown area that is lively after business hours
because residents live above the shops; and a block and sidewalk design that
is pedestrian friendly. Much of the topic is devoted to an analysis of vari-
eties of the conch house, a distinct building type that is prevalent in Key
West.
Watching his children growing up in the Miami suburbs, where every-
thing from libraries to churches to motels can be found at shopping malls,
all with a similar architectural style, gave impetus to the project and inten-
sified Valle's commitment to traditional urban design. His leisure time and
family outings are often devoted to research for his books:“We would take
trips to Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, and other places and realize
what makes them so memorable. And then we took the time to actually go
and measure, walk it, photograph it, document it, and try to understand it.
To me it's very relaxing, and at the same time it's work. Fortunately, my wife
loves it as well, so it's a team effort.”
