ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CLASS AT UH TO CREATE
SHELTERS FOR TSUNAMI VICTIMS
Professor Bill Price, Students to Adopt Village in Thailand
HOUSTON, Jan. 6, 2005—A plane bound for Thailand this Sunday
will carry a University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture
professor and his dream of building shelters for tsunami-ravaged
villagers. Bill Price will survey the damage and identify a village
that he and his students can adopt.
“The idea is for our students to design three prototype shelters
for the tsunami survivors and have them shipped over,” Price
said. “I’ll return from Thailand in a week and have
the plan firmed up for the class to consider.”
Price teaches 5th year Studio, an advanced design class. His students
will create the shelter design as part of their class.
“The college believes in hands on design and this will most
certainly be an example of that,” Price said. “We want
our students to be aware of how their designs impact the community.
We have a great opportunity to turn a learning experience into a
humanitarian contribution.”
A College of Architecture student and Thai native will assist
Price as he travels. Paramaphorn Phokaew, a graduate student, has
a sister in Thailand who is assisting forensic teams identify tsunami
victims. Price is also working with fellow UH professor, Peter Zweig.
Houston area businesses are providing resources, though Price is
looking for other donors to support material, machinery and shipping
costs, as well as the cost of flights to and from the area.
“This is a tremendously important project,” Price
said. “This is our way to help.”
For more information on the UH Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture,
please visit www.arch.uh.edu.
About the University of Houston
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and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
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in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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