UW student on top of the world

by Alison Leppard, from the Inside sCo-op newsletter for co-op students

Kate Howes spent her winter ’08 term on top of the world — literally!

This fourth year environment and resource studies student travelled all the way to the Canadian Forces Station (CFS) in Alert, Nunavut to work for Environment Canada. After two days of travel in the back of a Herc military plane with a stop in Resolute Bay and an overnight stop in Thule, Greenland, she finally arrived at a very dark spot; the place she would call home for the next four months.

Alert is the most northern community in the world, located on the tip of Ellesmere Island. Primarily a military base, it is also the home to a Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) station. The GAW stations are a part of an international effort initiated by the United Nations to understand how industrialization is affecting the environment. Alert’s data is especially significant because the readings are far removed from the industrial world. Howes’s job title was Assistant GAW Lab Operator and her main duties were to change air filters and collect air and snow samples that measure the emissions of chemicals and gases in the atmosphere. She would then log the data for her supervisor and send the samples to destinations all over the world.

Another part of her experience was living in a small community: everyday, all of the people who work at CFS Alert share their delicious, professionally cooked meals in a cafeteria that overlooks the Arctic Ocean. And surprisingly, there are tonnes of other things to keep busy: Alert boasts two gyms, a bowling alley, sports tournaments (like a 24-hour ball hockey competition), movie nights, bingo, a library, interest clubs, and even two bars!

There are also organized activities like field trips outside of the base, fancy dinners, and an annual “sunrise ceremony”. “Although there can be anywhere between 50 to 100 people on base at a time,” says Howes, “you get to know everyone very well and it creates a tight-knit family environment. The bonds that form here are truly one of a kind, and I know that once I leave Alert I will have made some lifelong friends.”

While many students never venture outside of the GTA for work, Howes spent last summer living in the wilderness while tree planting in Alberta and Northern Ontario, and spent a winter term teaching activities like cross-country skiing and high ropes at an outdoor education centre in Rockwood, Ontario. With this background, it’s no surprise that she jumped at the chance to work and live in the Arctic for her second-last work term. What really drew her to Alert was the opportunity to experience life in the arctic and to see another ecosystem.

“Travelling so far north is something few people get to experience. My favourite part of the term was knowing that my work is going toward studies to understand how the climate and atmosphere is changing.” Her co-op term ended on a high note with 24 hour daylight, a breath-taking helicopter ride over the mountains and ravines surrounding the base, and an ice fishing trip on the Arctic Ocean.

Howes will be finishing her final co-op term this spring. Her advice to new co-op students is to “be flexible and take chances. This is the only time in your life you will get to try a career for such a short time. Get as much varied experience as possible.” After all, how many people can say they lived on top of the world?

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Profs win architecture competition

Two faculty members at UW’s school of architecture are the winners of the 27th annual Young Architects Forum Competition, held by the Architectural League of New York.

Kathy Velikov and Geoffrey Thün, who are both also partners in the Toronto-based firm RVTR Architects, are being honoured this spring, as their work, along with that of the five other winners, will be displayed on the Architectural League’s website and in a catalogue to be published by Princeton Architectural Press.

A public exhibition of the work opened to the public in early May at the Urban Center, 457 Madison Avenue, New York City, and will remain on display through July. As part of a series of public lectures by competition winners, Velikov and Thün spoke there on the opening night, along with co-winner Xu Tiantian, of the firm DnA Design and Architecture.

Says the competition sponsor: “This year’s Young Architects Forum theme, Resonance, focuses on how emerging architectural practices engage issues that matter to the world at large, and what innovative working techniques and operations these firms are deploying to realize their work.

“Velikov and Thün, collaborators in RVTR with Colin Ripley and Paul Raff, were recognized for their works in architecture and urbanism, including SWAMP House, a flexible off-grid vacation home (which received a 2005 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence), a model sustainable development masterplan in China, Xin Yuan: Nexus Park City (Changchun, China), and as team leaders of North House, a collaborative research project with the University of Waterloo, Ryerson University and Simon Fraser University to develop an entirely solar powered prototype home that combines interactive technologies with leading edge building envelope components to create a highly responsive domestic environment.

“They were also recognized for the firm’s use of novel techniques to undertake global work at a variety of scales, and for their integration of professional and academic research practices in the development of unique collaborative models of design practice.

“RVTR was recently formed with a mandate to develop a small, agile, professional firm that combines intensive research with deep capacity in the design and delivery of remarkable architectural and urban projects that address contemporary matters of concern. The firm operates internationally, with current projects in Canada, the United States, China, Thailand, and Argentina.” (Pictured: a study for Pampas House in Los Lobos, Argentina.)

Velikov and Thün are both assistant professors at UW, while Colin Ripley is graduate program director in the department of architecture at Ryerson University. "The model of practitioners involved in architectural education is not new", says Velikov. “However, RVTR is committed to maximizing the potential for research-based projects that work across the boundaries between the practice and the institutions. It is our goal to leverage the various opportunities that this situation presents to take on various types of questions and projects beyond the traditional reach of architects and with an intense and deep research base behind the work."

The Architectural League of New York is “an independent forum for the presentation and discussion of creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related design disciplines. Since its inception in 1981, the Architectural League’s Young Architects Forum has provided many of the leading talents of succeeding new generations of architects and designers a valuable opportunity to present their work and ideas. Historically, winners of the award have gone on to develop critically acclaimed work, becoming significant figures within the global field of architecture.”

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Notes on a Monday

The Registrar's Office has updated its list of important dates for the next year or so, which can be found here.

"Looking for a reputable volunteer position in the fall?" asks the UW Food Bank. Aren't we all. If you have 5 hours per week and want to help organize the nation’s largest youth-led food drive, Trick or Eat, join the UW Food back to become part of its annual event in helping those who desperately need your help. Send your resume to Trick or Eat co-ordinator Carly Heung at cheung@uwaterloo.ca Hiring takes place in August for the September-November volunteer period. More information on Trick or Eat is available here.

There are still spaces available in the EngSoc Student-Alumni Golf Tournament at the Cambridge Golf Course on Friday July 18, 2008. Engineering alumni will be paired with current Engineering students in this nine-hole tournament. The fun will begin at 4 p.m. with a shotgun start, followed by a BBQ and team prizes. Registration is $35 and includes a cart, green fees and dinner. Register today by contacting EngSoc Alumni Officer Tiffany Terrier at golfergyal@gmail.com.

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