Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2005

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

The silver screen comes to students at Alexander Hamilton Middle School thanks to a summer program at the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture. Students of the award-winning Graduate Design/Build Studio at UH have created a design for an outdoor performing arts and film projection canopy that they will construct this summer.

To prepare for the project, students studied various film venues in Houston such as the Angelika Film Center and Cafe, Landmark River Oaks Theatre and Edwards Grand Palace Stadium 24, Associate Professor Patrick Peters, director of the project, said.

“This is the first time film has been used as an intentional element for one of our projects,” Peters said. “We asked the students to conduct this background research because we wanted them to develop their ideas based not only on what would be aesthetically appealing but also on what would be technically viable.”

The result will be a 400-square foot luminous venue for outdoor film projection and performing arts. The stage’s covered area will accommodate up to 30 students, while the lawn seating will be practically unlimited. The 14 first-year graduate students will construct the project, finishing it by August 10.

This is the 16th year for the Graduate Design/Build Studio, which has collaborated with various public schools in Houston to enhance classroom space. As a green building initiative at UH, the Graduate Design/Build Studio works to enhance the natural surroundings and to take advantage of available natural resources. Past projects include the Outdoor Reading Theater at Mark Twain Elementary, the Outdoor Science Classroom at Red Elementary and the Outdoor Science Classroom at the UH Charter School of Technology. Last year, UH Design/Build students created an outdoor performing arts stage for Oren M. Roberts Elementary School.

“This is an opportunity for our students to gain first hand knowledge about the interplay of design and construction, while meeting critical community needs,” Patrick said.

For more information about the UH Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, visit http://www.arch.uh.edu/home/index.html

For more information about the Design/Build Studio, visit www.arch.uh.edu/port/dBuild.html

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.