Erin A. Feeney, 2007-2008 Fellow
Erin A. Feeney from Santa Barbara, CA is the 2007 recipient of the Michael B. Keegan Traveling Fellowship. Erin will graduate in May, 2007 from the College of Arts & Science with an interdisciplinary major in Architectural Studies and a minor in Studio Art. She has been part of the Vanderbilt Biodiesel Initiative that competed for a national grant and is co-founder of Emerging Green Builders of Middle Tennessee. Erin co-founded Vanderbilt's student recycling initiative (SPEAR) and has promoted the study of architecture among fellow students.
Her long term interests lie in creating sustainable architecture that meets functional needs without compromising environmental resources. She simultaneously hopes to serve communities and to assert cultural identity. Through her year of travel under the auspices of the Keegan Fellowship, Erin will travel around the world to encounter vernacular architecture of regions that are threatened by the homogenizing forces of globalization. Through independent travel and observation, as well as work with international non-profits promoting humanitarian and environmental architecture, she will focus on use of local materials, responsiveness to the environment, cultural influences, architectural function, and construction methods, as well as commonalities and disparities with other architectural traditions. The Keegan Fellowship would advance her education beyond my academic study of architecture begun at Vanderbilt, exposing her to international perspectives on the role of architecture within cultural and environmental contexts.
The United States has become a model that less developed countries are trying to emulate, despite the fact that this model promotes urban sprawl, dependency on automobiles, and buildings that consume 48% of our annual energy usage, according to the American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Green Building Council. The application of Western architectural styles and methods in the place of traditional building design ignores regional climate, materials, cultural identity and environmental concerns that are essential to sustainable living. It is critical in both the United States and developing global communities that design solutions be found that enable people to live in comfort while preserving regional culture and protecting natural resources. Having the experience of learning directly from cultures that respect and relate to nature will enable me to be a leader in the movement to make the built environment in America more sustainable.
A sustainable built environment reduces the consumption of resources-including raw materials, energy, and water-through the application of natural methods of heating, cooling, and day lighting, as well as increasing efficiency through design. Buildings have a reduced impact on their site and their ecosystem; use materials that are locally extracted, manufactured and recycled; and provide a healthy, well-lit and well-ventilated space that meet occupant needs. Sustainable design can make a difference in the future of our planet.
Erin will develop a web site and keep an on-line journal at www.vanderbilt.edu/travelfellowship/feeney. We invite the Vanderbilt community and all those interested in sustainable design to keep up with Erin's travel and architectural adventures during this next year. She estimates her departure to be in August and will post her itinerary on her web site when it is complete.
The fellowship is administered and supervised by Sandy Stahl, Associate Dean of Students. Dr. Stahl can be contacted at 615-322-6400 or sandy.stahl@vanderbilt.edu for further information.
