Sketch of a streetscape in Rome, by Myer R. Wolfe, 1978
Lectures | Student Scholarships & Thesis Awards | The Wolfe Project | The Endowment Funds
Professor Myer R. ("Mike") Wolfe was a Professor of Urban Design at the University of Washington from 1949 to 1989, and Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (now the College of Built Environments) from 1979 to 1982. He believed first and foremost in thinking about and creating good environments, and was one of the founders of urban design, an interdisciplinary field that includes urban planning, architectural and landscape design considerations. Professor Wolfe saw urban design as humanistic and working toward the good of our built environment. He felt the alliance of the design and planning professions was essential for the betterment of our environment and so, too, was constant questioning and even shattering of established beliefs about them. Professor Wolfe sought to expose planning and design to the social sciences, which to him were a necessary addition (though not a replacement) to concerns for the physical dimension of the environment. His personal interests were in urban form, the town as artifact, the urban design process, and comparative urbanism.
The Myer R. Wolfe Endowment funds lectures by eminent figures in the field of urban design.
The most recent Wolfe lecture was held Tuesday October 28th, 2008, when Roderick J. Lawrence of the Centre for Human Ecology and Environmental Sciences of the University of Geneva presented "Sustainable and Healthy Cities: The WHO and European Community Agendas." See a PDF poster for this event. Planning is underway for another Wolfe lecture in Autumn 2010.
Previous lectures include:
- François Claessens & Susanne Komossa, Delft University of Technology: "Transformations of the Dutch urban block—urban form studies in the Netherlands"
- Brian Sullivan, Mithun Architects and Planners: "Hong Kong, the City and its New Towns"
- Professor Roger Trancik, Cornell University: "Z-Files: 3-D Technology in the Urban Design of Rome"
- Professor Tridib Banerjee, University of Southern California: "Learning from Los Angeles: Dream or Nightmare?"
- Professor Richard L. Morrill, University of Washington: "Cities, Plans and Markets: The Future Evolution of the City"
- Professor Norman J. Johnston, University of Washington: "The Perils of Peripatetic Planning and Its Protagonists"
- Professor Jeremy W.R. Whitehand, University of Birmingham, England: "A Morphologist View of the Twentieth-Century City"
- Dean and Professor Lee Copeland, University of Pennsylvania: "Urban Design"
- Professor John Reps, Cornell University: "Mormon Town Planning"
The Myer R. Wolfe Scholarship and Lee G. Copeland scholarships are awarded to outstanding students in the University of Washington's Urban Design Certificate Program, based on:
- academic excellence
- developing design abilities
- commitment to/experience in urban design
- potential future effectiveness in the field of urban design
- interest in specific urban design issues
The 2009 application deadline will be in April. The 2008 applications were distributed by email and are also available here.
Previous Myer R. Wolfe Scholarship winners include:
- 2008—Yosoke Oi (MUP exp. 2009)
- 2008—Tessa Greegor (MUP exp. 2009)
- 2008—Maya Hadlock (MUP exp. 2009)
- 2007—Ian C. Macek (MUP exp. 2009)
- 2006—Katherine Idziorek (MArch 2007, MUP 2008)
- 2006—Lee Roberts (MArch 2007, MUP 2008)
- 2005—Aaron Asis (MUP 2008, MArch exp. 2009)
- 2005—William McGurk (MUP exp. 2009)
- 2004—Paul Chasan (MUP & MLA 2007)
- 2003—Lora Lillard (MUP 2004)
- 2002—Nicholas Pergakes (MUP 2002)
- 2001—Michael S. McCarty (MUP 2003)
- 2000—Sadaf Quddusi (MArch 2000)
- 1999—Thanasorn Kamolratanayothin (MArch 1999)
- 1998—Kent Greene (MUP 1998)
- 1997—Charles Wenzlau (MArch 1997)
- 1996—Christopher E. Craig (MUP 1996)
- 1995—Douglas Devlin (MUP 1995)
- 1994—Jiang Liang (MUP 1993)
- 1993—Michael Cannon (MUP 1993)
Previous Lee G. Copeland Fellowship winners include:
- 2008—So Ra Baek (PhD exp. 2011)
- 2008—William G. Payne III (MArch exp. 2009)
- 2007—Aaron Asis (MUP 2008, MArch exp. 2009)
At the discretion of the Urban Design Faculty exemplary theses from students graduating from the Urban Design Certificate Program are awarded the Myer R. Wolfe Thesis Award. Previous winners include:
- 2004—Jeanine Cavalli (MUP 2003) for "Urban plazas and waiting for the bus: case studies in downtown Seattle."
- 2004—Howard H. Wu (MUP 2003) for "Urban design strategies for lower downtown, Seattle: an analysis for the pedestrian environment."
- 2003—Jennifer Hefferan (MLA 2002) for "Implementation of a pedestrian safety crosswalk program in Seattle."
- 2002—Michael Schuler (MUP 2001) for "The new urbanism and critical regionalism: a grounded theory analysis of regionalist design."
- 2001—Benvenuto Bortolazzo (MArch 2000) for "An urban design framework for the University Gardens, Seattle: an opportunity to bring together urban design and architecture in the University District."
- 1995—Margaret Mentor (MArch 1994) for "Hybrid houses: historic precedents and infill strategies for low-density neighborhoods."
A group of Myer R. Wolfe's colleagues have formed a working group to compile and publish some of Myer R. Wolfe's work. For more information contact Anne Vernez Moudon.
The Myer R. Wolfe Endowment Fund is used for professional, interdisciplinary purposes within the College of Built Environments, particularly the establishment of the lecture series, and scholarship and thesis awards for outstanding students in the Urban Design Program.
We welcome donations
If you would like to contribute to this fund, please make checks out to the University of Washington, clearly marked "Myer R. Wolfe Endowment Fund" and send to Myer R. Wolfe Endowment Fund, Urban Design Program, University of Washington, Box 355740, Seattle, WA 98195. If you already donate to the University of Washington through another method, please earmark funds to the Myer R. Wolfe Endowment Fund. Thank you for making these lectures and awards possible and for helping Mike's legacy to grow.
For further information, write:
Urban Design Program
University of Washington
Box 355740
Seattle, WA 98195-5740
phone: 206-543-5996
e-mail: ud@u.washington.edu
The Urban Design Program
College of Built Environments | University of Washington
last updated January 5, 2009
