Prouve and Ossipoff Houses Discussed 

On January 25, 2013, Dean Sakamoto participated in the seminar, Cool House: Imagination of Home in the Tropics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Architecture Auditorium. Sakamoto's presentation titled "2 Houses" compared and contrasted the Jean Prouve designed, Maison Tropicale with Vladimir Ossipoff's Pauling House on Mount Tantalus in Honolulu. This event was organized by Professor Kazi Ashraf of UHM. Other speakers included Martin Despang, Cathi Ho, David Rockwood and Luis Longhi.

Mixed-Use Zoning Fix Needed in New Haven

Dean Sakamoto testified in favor of the BD-1 zoning amendment to New Haven's Zoning Ordinance at its Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on January 16, 2013. This proposed amendment is a correction to New Haven's ordinance in which residential mixed-use development in urban areas can comply with commercial use density and building bulk standards. To the City's credit, this action sparked a debate among concerned citizens, both for and against this zoning correction that was originally established in 1988. Sakamoto believes that if the zone correction is made, this rule would increase the Elm City's growing "creative culture" in its urban core. For more details see Allan Appel's story in the New Haven Independent:

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/city_plan_tables_bd-1/

Dean Sakamoto appointed to AIA National Committee

President Mickey Jacobs, FAIA, of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has appointed Dean Sakamoto, FAIA, LEED AP to serve on the 2013 Committee on Disaster Assistance. Others on this committee include Rachel M. Minnery, AIA, LEED AP of Seattle, Washington; Michael D. Lingerfelt, FAIA, LEED AP of Orlando, Florida; Gregory R. Beste, AIA of East Providence, Rhode Island; James E. Butch" Grimes, AIA of Birmingham, Alabama; and Robert W. Thiele, AIA of San Diego, California. Dean Sakamoto's interest in this area is based upon his belief "...that our communities and buildings today must not only be sustainable, but they must also incorporate resilient design strategies." Resilient design has to do with the built environment's ability to absorb the effects of predicted and unpredicted changes and impacts due to natural or human-induced events. DSA's Juliet Rice Wichman Botanical Research Center, a LEED Gold building on Kauai, Hawaii, is designed for hurricane resilience.

Superstorm Sandy Damage Observed

From November 29 to December 6, 2012, Dean Sakamoto, FAIA, LEED AP; Karl Kim, Ph.D., University of Hawaii Urban Planning Professor, who is also executive director of the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC); along with coastal geologist and land use law expert, Dennis Hwang, of UH Sea Grant, visited the most severely damaged areas along the New York City and New Jersey coasts to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) efforts in recovery from Hurricane Sandy. The team was hosted by Professor Ronald Shiffman, FAICP of Pratt Institute’s Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment and met with community leaders, local officials, New York City planning and design professionals, residents, building owners, and those involved in relief and recovery efforts. Coastal storm surge, flooding, and infrastructure failure were the main causes and consequences of Sandy’s impact. Sandy struck the east coast on October 29 of this year. Dean Sakamoto leads the Urban Resilience Lab at UH Planning and is the lead developer of NDPTC's HURRIPLAN, a design-based training course for hurricane resilience. HURRIPLAN will be presented at the Center for Architecture in New York City as part of its September 2013 Design For Risk and Recovery events. Dennis Hwang photo above of the remains of a home on Union Beach, NJ.