Peking University, Mar. 20, 2014: On March 14, Registered Architect Denis Hector, Associate Professor and Acting Dean of the School of Architecture (SOA), University of Miami, visited College of Architecture and Landscape, PKU and gave a lecture titled “New Urbanism in United States–History, Development, and Future.” It also attracted designers from the industry besides teachers and students.
New Urbanism, otherwise known as Neotraditionalism, is the revival of the lost art of place-making of traditional United States communities. It is an urban design movement that arose in the United States in the early 1980s, promoting the creation and restoration of diverse, walkable, compact, vibrant, mixed-use communities composed of the same components as conventional development, but assembled in a more integrated fashion. As one of its birthplaces, the University of Miami bears much historical importance in the development of New Urbanism. Professor Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, former Dean of SOA, is hailed as one of the founding fathers of New Urbanism.
Hector systematically introduced how New Urbanism in United States originated and evolved, and how SOA of University of Miami carried out a series of architecture and city designs embracing New Urbanism as core principle. He further demonstrated the practice of New Urbanism with the examples of Miami Metropolitan Circle and the State of Florida. At the end, Hector exchanged ideas with the audience on topics such as the definition clarification and the practice of New Urbanism.
Yu Kongjian, Dean of College of Architecture and Landscape, PKU gave a tour of the college for Hector and introduced to him its history, education principle and features. Other staffs also shared with Hector the college’s teaching system, course structure, staff qualification and international communication. Later the two parties had a deeper discussion on ways to strengthen cooperation.
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Written by: Jiang Zhihui
Edited by: Chen Long
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