Difference between revisions of "Michael Mehaffy"
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==Education== | ==Education== | ||
| − | Mehaffy received a BA from Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington in 1978. After that, he did graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin and at the University of California at Berkeley, studying Architecture, | + | Mehaffy received a BA from Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington in 1978. After that, he did graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin and at the University of California at Berkeley, studying Architecture, Urban Planning, Philosophy, Business Management, and Public Affairs. |
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
| − | Mehaffy is probably best known in planning for his role as project manager for the Orenco Station project, a $200 million, mixed use residential and commercial transit-oriented development with 1800 homes and 500,000 square feet of retail and office. The project received numerous national awards and extensive media attention. He has also served as project manager or consultant on other major mixed-use communities including Harbor Peak | + | Mehaffy is probably best known in planning for his role as development project manager for the Orenco Station project, a $200 million, mixed use residential and commercial transit-oriented development with 1800 homes and 500,000 square feet of retail and office. The project received numerous national awards and extensive media attention. He has also served as project manager or consultant on other major mixed-use communities including Harbor Peak in Brookings, Oregon; the Fairview redevelopment project in Salem, Oregon; Cherry Park, a transit-oriented development in Hillsboro, Oregon; and others. |
During 2003-2005 he was Director of Education of The Prince's Foundation, London. There, he oversaw the creation of a highly-regarded new graduate and professional education programme, in partnership with leading agencies and institutions in the UK, including the Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, English Partnerships, and a number of academic and research institutions. Under his direction, the Foundation hosted conferences and master classes with international leaders in these topics. | During 2003-2005 he was Director of Education of The Prince's Foundation, London. There, he oversaw the creation of a highly-regarded new graduate and professional education programme, in partnership with leading agencies and institutions in the UK, including the Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, English Partnerships, and a number of academic and research institutions. Under his direction, the Foundation hosted conferences and master classes with international leaders in these topics. | ||
Since the devastation of the Southeastern States following hurricane Katrina, Mehaffy has been working closely with [[Andres Duany]] in planning reconstruction. Needless to say, he has fought for a reconstruction that preserves and recaptures the most human qualities of the built environment, as they existed before the disaster. Duany and Mehaffy has been vocal about the necessity of rebuilding so as to continue the socio-cultural richness of the region during its centuries of history. | Since the devastation of the Southeastern States following hurricane Katrina, Mehaffy has been working closely with [[Andres Duany]] in planning reconstruction. Needless to say, he has fought for a reconstruction that preserves and recaptures the most human qualities of the built environment, as they existed before the disaster. Duany and Mehaffy has been vocal about the necessity of rebuilding so as to continue the socio-cultural richness of the region during its centuries of history. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Mehaffy is currently Acting Chair of the USA chapter of the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism IINTBAU), a patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales. He is a research associate and former Managing director of the Centre for Environmental Structure - Europe, Christopher Alexander's UK-based research center. He is Secretary of Katarxis Urban Workshops, a Luxembourg non-profit consultancy. He is also a partner in the European School of Architecture and Urbanism, an EU-funded pilot program. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Mehaffy operates a planning and development consultancy, Structura Naturalis Inc., from his base in Portland, Oregon. | ||
==Katarxis No. 3== | ==Katarxis No. 3== | ||
| − | In 2004, the online magazine Katarxis [http://www.katarxis3.com/] published | + | In 2004, the online magazine Katarxis [http://www.katarxis3.com/] published a major issue on science and architecture. It featured interviews with [[Christopher Alexander]], [[Andres Duany]], and three distinguished scientists: Philip Ball, Brian Goodwin, and Ian Stewart. Michael Mehaffy was one of the three editors (along with [[Brian Hanson]], [[Nikos Salingaros]], and Senior Editor [[Lucien Steil]]), and was instrumental in getting it online in final form. This was the first presentation of [[Christopher Alexander]]'s most recent work, because Alexander had kept an almost twenty-year silence about what he was building while working on his monumental book [[The Nature of Order]]. it is no exaggeration to claim that Katarxis 3 marked a new beginning for understanding the built environmet. |
==Awards== | ==Awards== | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
*[http://www.intbau.org/ictp/Mehaffy.htm INTBAU College of Traditional Practitioners] | *[http://www.intbau.org/ictp/Mehaffy.htm INTBAU College of Traditional Practitioners] | ||
| − | *[http://www.tectics.com Tectics, website of Structura Naturalis Inc. | + | *[http://www.tectics.com Tectics, blog and website of Structura Naturalis Inc. (Mehaffy's consultancy)] |
Revision as of 22:29, 27 August 2007
Coordinator, ESRG
Contact: 
Michael Mehaffy (born in Beaumont, Texas) is an urbanist and critical thinker in complexity and the built environment. He is a practicing planner and is known for his many projects as well as his writings. He has been a close associate of the architect and software pioneer Christopher Alexander. Mehaffy launched the Environmental Structure Research Group ESRG in 2006 in part to implement Alexander's ideas on the symbiosis of Science and Design.
Contents
Education
Mehaffy received a BA from Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington in 1978. After that, he did graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin and at the University of California at Berkeley, studying Architecture, Urban Planning, Philosophy, Business Management, and Public Affairs.
Career
Mehaffy is probably best known in planning for his role as development project manager for the Orenco Station project, a $200 million, mixed use residential and commercial transit-oriented development with 1800 homes and 500,000 square feet of retail and office. The project received numerous national awards and extensive media attention. He has also served as project manager or consultant on other major mixed-use communities including Harbor Peak in Brookings, Oregon; the Fairview redevelopment project in Salem, Oregon; Cherry Park, a transit-oriented development in Hillsboro, Oregon; and others.
During 2003-2005 he was Director of Education of The Prince's Foundation, London. There, he oversaw the creation of a highly-regarded new graduate and professional education programme, in partnership with leading agencies and institutions in the UK, including the Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, English Partnerships, and a number of academic and research institutions. Under his direction, the Foundation hosted conferences and master classes with international leaders in these topics.
Since the devastation of the Southeastern States following hurricane Katrina, Mehaffy has been working closely with Andres Duany in planning reconstruction. Needless to say, he has fought for a reconstruction that preserves and recaptures the most human qualities of the built environment, as they existed before the disaster. Duany and Mehaffy has been vocal about the necessity of rebuilding so as to continue the socio-cultural richness of the region during its centuries of history.
Mehaffy is currently Acting Chair of the USA chapter of the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism IINTBAU), a patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales. He is a research associate and former Managing director of the Centre for Environmental Structure - Europe, Christopher Alexander's UK-based research center. He is Secretary of Katarxis Urban Workshops, a Luxembourg non-profit consultancy. He is also a partner in the European School of Architecture and Urbanism, an EU-funded pilot program.
Mehaffy operates a planning and development consultancy, Structura Naturalis Inc., from his base in Portland, Oregon.
Katarxis No. 3
In 2004, the online magazine Katarxis [1] published a major issue on science and architecture. It featured interviews with Christopher Alexander, Andres Duany, and three distinguished scientists: Philip Ball, Brian Goodwin, and Ian Stewart. Michael Mehaffy was one of the three editors (along with Brian Hanson, Nikos Salingaros, and Senior Editor Lucien Steil), and was instrumental in getting it online in final form. This was the first presentation of Christopher Alexander's most recent work, because Alexander had kept an almost twenty-year silence about what he was building while working on his monumental book The Nature of Order. it is no exaggeration to claim that Katarxis 3 marked a new beginning for understanding the built environmet.
Awards
Arthur Ross Award for Community Design (2006); Livable Communities Transit Design Award (2002); Ahwahnee Award (2000); Austin Heritage Society Award (1986); and others.
Selected Publications
- The New Modernity: The Architecture of Complexity and The Technology of Life
- Codes and the Architecture of Life
- The End of the Modern World
- Notes on the genesis of wholes: Christopher Alexander and his continuing influence
- Notes Toward an Updated Critical Theory of Modernism
AboutUs Pages
External Links
- INTBAU College of Traditional Practitioners
- Tectics, blog and website of Structura Naturalis Inc. (Mehaffy's consultancy)
