January 30, 2015 Internationally Acclaimed Planner, Landscape Architect Named Professor of Practice
Internationally renowned landscape architect Drew Wensley has been appointed a visiting professor of practice in the College of Architecture and Design.
Wensley is chief executive officer of Canada-based , a globally recognized planning and landscape architecture firm. He will visit the College of Architecture and Design numerous times a semester, and work remotely with faculty and students on various projects.
鈥淒rew is a great addition to the for several reasons, not the least of which is his firm鈥檚 global reach,鈥 said , chair of the UT Landscape Architecture program. 鈥淗is wide range of professional experiences, including large-scale planning projects and exquisitely detailed built works from South America to the Middle East, will add a new dimension to the local and regional work in which our faculty and students are currently engaged.鈥
UT professor of practice positions are set up so faculty can provide detailed hands-on education in specific areas. There are about twelve such positions across various UT colleges. Wensley will relay his experiences and his professional practice activities through topics taught in the Landscape Architecture Program鈥檚 design studios.
Wensley has contributed to some of the largest and most significant city building and environmental restoration initiatives in the Middle East, Asia, and North America. In 2001, he started the vision and implementation of the Wadi Hanifah Comprehensive Development Plan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a bio-renewal effort producing a 120-kilometer-long oasis with forty-two kilometers of recreational trails, three lakes, six parks, and nearly 40,000 trees.
The project marked a shift in how environmental systems and natural resources are treated and preserved and their importance in building strong sustainable cities in the future. As a result, Wensley presented the plan to the Council for Sustainable Development and Delegates at the United Nations in New York as a leading example of sustainable urban renewal.
Wensley鈥檚 consulting work with Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM), a leading urban planning, architecture, and engineering firm, on urban planning initiatives around the world led to his involvement with Philip Enquist, the . Wensley is a contributing partner in the Governor鈥檚 Chair鈥檚 collaboration between SOM, UT, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to research and create solutions for resilient cities.
鈥淒eveloping more resilient cities requires this highly integrated partnership among numerous disciplines, and I am excited that UT is becoming a hub for this type of research and practice,鈥 Fulton said. 鈥淕raduates of our program will benefit greatly in their future careers as a result of these opportunities and experiences.鈥
As a leader at Moriyama & Teshima, Wensley has contributed to more than $1.2 billion of construction internationally. Projects include the new campus plan for Kuwait University, a new home for 40,000 students, and the Comprehensive Environmental Plan for the city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia. In Canada, projects include Calgary鈥檚 East Village Riverwalk, the Lakehead University Campus Plan, the Havergal College Campus Plan, the Canadian War Museum, and ongoing work with His Highness the Aga Khan in Toronto and Ottawa.
Wensley is a graduate of Ryerson University in Canada. His design drawings are housed at the Ontario Archives in Toronto and were recently exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen, Denmark. For more information about Wensley, visit the 听of the UT Landscape Architecture Program website.
The UT Landscape Architecture Program was established in 2008. It recently was awarded a national award for research by the American Society of Landscape Architecture for its sustainable landscape at the site of the UT New Norris House. The program also has increased its research profile through projects with the Governor鈥檚 Chair, Plan East Tennessee Consortium, and the UT Sustainable Cities Initiative.
Learn more about the UT Landscape Architecture Program online,听
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CONTACT:
Kiki Roeder (865-974-6713, kroeder@tennessee.edu)