On Monday, October 6th, FIU Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design hosted a visiting class from the University of Pennsylvania’s PennDesign Landscape Architecture Department at the College of Architecture + The Arts | Miami Beach Urban Studios.
Eleven students and two faculty members from PennDesign spent part of their day at CARTA’s Lincoln Road facility, touring MBUS with John Stuart (MBUS Executive Director and Associate Dean of Cultural and Community Engagement) and listening to presentations and project critiques from FIU LAEUD Professor Juan Bueno, Chair Roberto Rovira, and Adjunct Faculty TJ Marston (PennDesign MLA ’09). Karen M’Closkey (Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture) and Keith Vandersys (Lecturer in Landscape Architecture & Architecture) led the visiting student team as part of a multi-day visit to Miami, which is focusing on Virgnia Key this semester as part of their design studio.
Professor M’Closkey said the PennDesign group thoroughly enjoyed their excursion. “In addition to reaching out to institutions on the Key,” said M’Closkey, “I contacted Roberto and Juan. They were generous hosts . . . it was Roberto who suggested meeting at MBUS. Needless to say, we were very impressed by the spaces, by the potential for collaboration, and the gallery spaces. My students loved happening upon a practice session by the [Amernet String Quartet]. MBUS seems to be so well located on Miami Beach, which gives great visibility to the design programs at FIU.”
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