Students had the opportunity to experience excellence in design first-hand thanks to an overnight field trip to western Pennsylvania during spring semester. The group included students from Professor Allen Jayne’s technical electives CIEG403, Sustainability Applications in Infrastructure, and CIEG407, Building Structure Design. The trip included a tour of Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright designed masterpiece located in Mill Run, PA, as well as a tour of the Center for Sustainable Landscapes at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh.
Fallingwater was constructed in 1938 as a private residence and has been named “the best all-time work of American architecture” by the American Institute of Architects. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Center for Sustainable Landscapes opened in 2012 as one of the most sustainable buildings in the world, creating all of its own energy and treating all waste water on-site. It remains the only building in existence to receive the highest certification from four of the most rigorous building rating systems commonly in use.
The students were enthusiastic about the trip and commented “the field trip was so fun”, “field trip related well to the class material” and it was an “awesome field trip for the class.”