94-06-24 Environmental Innovator William McDonough Named Dean of University of Virginia School of Architecture

ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATOR WILLIAM McDONOUGH NAMED DEAN
OF UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

     CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., June 25 -- William A. McDonough, an
internationally known architect, activist and innovator on behalf
of protecting and restoring the environment, has been named dean
of the University of Virginia School of Architecture, effective
Sept. 1, President John T. Casteen III announced today.
     McDonough, whose New York-based firm has been involved with
a wide range of projects in this country and abroad that promote
the concept of environmental sustainability, has long advocated
that architects, builders and urban designers take strong
leadership roles in resource conservation and work to reverse
such problems as the world's loss of forests and over-reliance on
fossil fuels.
     At U.Va. he will succeed Daphne Spain, who has served as
acting dean since Harry W. Porter stepped down last year.
     "Mr. McDonough is widely respected not only for his
architectural vision, but also for his ethical philosophy and
concern about issues that affect all of us," Casteen said in
announcing the appointment.  "In his commitment to maintaining
the well-being of the environment, he has won the professional
admiration of large numbers of his colleagues and others who have
worked with him.  We are fortunate that he will help carry
forward the University's tradition of architecture conceived as a
shaper of the public good."
     "William McDonough's work as an architect has inspired
faculty and students in all four departments of the school," said
Elizabeth K. Meyer, chair of the department of landscape
architecture and head of the committee that conducted a national
search to fill the position.  "His environmental ethics are
manifest in all decisions and at all scales in his architecture,
from the site plan to the selection of materials and details of
design.  We look forward to his leadership, as it promises both
to strengthen our interdisciplinary conversations within the
school, and to create new connections with other departments
within the University."
     Ranked among the country's leading architecture centers, the
U.Va. School of Architecture includes separate but closely
interrelated departments of architecture, landscape architecture,
architectural history, and urban and environmental planning, as
well as nationally recognized programs in preservation, urbanism
and environmental mediation.  The school draws deeply on the
legacy of University founder Thomas Jefferson, whose design of
the original buildings is considered one of the most significant
achievements in American architecture.
     McDonough, a founding member of the American Institute of
Architects' Committee on the Environment, is currently an advisor
to President Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development and is
a lead designer on the "Greening of the White House" project
making environmental recommendations about the White House
building and grounds.
     In 1992 he and his firm, William McDonough Architects, wrote
the widely discussed "Hannover Principles," a manifesto for
environmentally conscious building and design.  These "green
design" principles for making "sustainable" environments,
architecture and products were commissioned by the City of
Hannover, Germany, as the official guide for all design of the
World's Fair in 2000.  They stress the interdependence of
humanity with all of the natural world, reliance on natural
energy, elimination of the concept of waste, and responsibility
for the consequences of design.  "If Thomas Jefferson were alive
today, he would be calling for a Declaration of Interdependence,"
said McDonough.
     McDonough and his firm have received wide attention for
projects emphasizing not only high aesthetic quality but energy
efficiency, minimal dependence on fossil fuels, and use of
natural, renewable and non-toxic materials.  Examples include
Wal-Mart's new environmentally sensitive "Eco-Mart" prototype in
Lawrence, Kansas; a competition-winning design for the proposed
Warsaw Trade Center tower in Warsaw, Poland; a daycare center in
Frankfurt, Germany, that through its design teaches children
about natural rhythms of the environment; and offices sensitive
to health and well-being of employees designed for the
Environmental Defense Fund in New York, the Heinz Family in
Pittsburgh and the Rodale Press in Emmaus, Pa.  McDonough has
also worked with the Oglala Lakota people in Pine Ridge, S.D., in
designing self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable Native
American communities.
     William McDonough Architects recently won a competition for
the new Gap Corporate campus in San Bruno, California, and has
been commissioned by Herman Miller, the furniture manufacturer,
to design a new factory in Zeeland, Michigan.  McDonough is also
an adviser to the city of Chattanooga on sustainable communities
and is working on a book titled "Our Future and the Making of
Things," co-written with Paul Hawken.
     McDonough, 43, has written and lectured widely on
ecological, economic and design issues and has been a guest
critic at numerous universities.  He is a trustee, board member
or adviser to a number of organizations, including the W. Alton
Jones Foundation of Charlottesville; the Forest Partnership, and
the Council on Economic Priorities.
     He is a 1973 graduate of Dartmouth College and holds a
Master of Architecture degree from Yale University.
     McDonough said he expects to move his architectural firm's
principal office to Charlottesville this fall.
                               ###
                                                    June 24, 1994

For additional information contact Elizabeth Meyer, search
committee chair, at (804) 924-6461.
William McDonough may be reached at (212) 481-1111.

Karen A. Castle
University News Office
kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu
(804) 924-7116


[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Thu, 14 Jul 94 16:22:49 EDT]