Virginia Tech professors, solar house project recognized for excellence in architecture education
Jim Bassett and Robert Dunay, both professors in the School of Architecture + Design in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, recently received national teaching awards from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) for the 2010-2011 academic year.
In addition, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) announced that the team behind Virginia Tech’s Lumenhaus, a solar-powered house that won top honors at the Solar Decathlon Europe in Madrid, Spain, last year, is the recipient of this year’s NCARB Prize, which honors combined architectural practice and education projects at the university level
Dunay, the T.A. Carter Professor of Architecture and the director of the Center for Design Research in the School of Architecture + Design, received the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award. According to the association’s website, the award is given to “an outstanding individual who has sustained creative achievement in the advancement of architectural education through teaching, design, scholarship, research, and service.”
Bassett, an assistant professor of architecture who has been at Virginia Tech since 2008, has been named the recipient of ACSA’s New Faculty Teaching Award, which is given to architecture faculty who have displayed excellence in teaching during the first 10 semesters of their career.
A professor at the School of Architecture + Design for many years, Dunay has recently served as a faculty advisor for the Virginia Tech’s Lumenhaus. Despite his accomplishments, Dunay said he was surprised by the award. “Acknowledgement by one's peers is always fulfilling,” he said, “but national recognition is more reward than I ever anticipated.”
For his part, Bassett says he is also honored by the award, and shares the credit with his fellow faculty members as well as his students. “The opportunities and support at Virginia Tech have been an integral part of my growth,” Bassett said upon learning of his award. “I am grateful to the students for their willingness to engage the collaborative process of education.”
Dunay received his Bachelor of Architecture Degree and is Master of Architecture Degree from Virginia Tech. Bassett received his bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University and his Master of Architecture Degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture.
