Professor 'Waiting' for change
Evin Fritschle, Senior Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/17/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Modern life consists of more time spent waiting, a visiting professor told the audience at a lecture Monday night.
Traffic jams, waiting for busses and trains, doctors' offices, and even the copier at the office are all sources of time spent waiting, said William Conway, an architect with Conway & Schulte, and a visiting professor at the UA this semester.
Americans spend an average of seven minutes a day waiting, Conway said.
This waiting time, Conway said, is evidence of the heightened unpredictability of public life.
Spaces of leisure, he said, compliment spaces of waiting.
"Conway and his partner, Marcy Schulte, are best known for a project to revitalize Central Avenue in downtown Atlanta in preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games," according to a University Relations press release.
Public spaces and the public realm change with time, Conway said.
"A public realm is restructured in a society that requires mobility," he said.
Architectural designers and planners attempt to promote new economic activity with a minimal impact to the environment, he said.
Ten years ago in Atlanta, Conway and his firm linked overlapping public and private space to provide public seating, shade, and aesthetic touches with landscaping, he said.
Conway, who bases his work out of Minneapolis, is also working on a "Live/Work/Play" building in the city, where offices occupy two floors of the building, and living spaces are on the other floors.
Conway currently leads one of three UA School of Architecture studios researching how a light rail system would impact development in Northwest Arkansas, according to the press release.
"That's the role of the university, from my stand point," he said, "to foster the ideas about the future."
Universities provide knowledge to make informed choices, Conway said in a phone interview.
"I think from the vantage point of teachers in the school of architecture, it's a matter off looking at growth and use of energy in the area," he said. "Light rail is a supplement to other modes of travel, and we're weaving together many modes of transit."
Traffic jams, waiting for busses and trains, doctors' offices, and even the copier at the office are all sources of time spent waiting, said William Conway, an architect with Conway & Schulte, and a visiting professor at the UA this semester.
Americans spend an average of seven minutes a day waiting, Conway said.
This waiting time, Conway said, is evidence of the heightened unpredictability of public life.
Spaces of leisure, he said, compliment spaces of waiting.
"Conway and his partner, Marcy Schulte, are best known for a project to revitalize Central Avenue in downtown Atlanta in preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games," according to a University Relations press release.
Public spaces and the public realm change with time, Conway said.
"A public realm is restructured in a society that requires mobility," he said.
Architectural designers and planners attempt to promote new economic activity with a minimal impact to the environment, he said.
Ten years ago in Atlanta, Conway and his firm linked overlapping public and private space to provide public seating, shade, and aesthetic touches with landscaping, he said.
Conway, who bases his work out of Minneapolis, is also working on a "Live/Work/Play" building in the city, where offices occupy two floors of the building, and living spaces are on the other floors.
Conway currently leads one of three UA School of Architecture studios researching how a light rail system would impact development in Northwest Arkansas, according to the press release.
"That's the role of the university, from my stand point," he said, "to foster the ideas about the future."
Universities provide knowledge to make informed choices, Conway said in a phone interview.
"I think from the vantage point of teachers in the school of architecture, it's a matter off looking at growth and use of energy in the area," he said. "Light rail is a supplement to other modes of travel, and we're weaving together many modes of transit."
