CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-1754
FOR RELEASE
UK, SCI-Arc Students Envision Future of Henderson Riverfront
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 2, 2007) − Students from the University of Kentucky School of Architecture and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) have been working on a collaborative project to envision a future for the riverfront of Henderson, aWestern Kentucky city along the Ohio River. The group is led by Drura Parrish of UKSchool of Architectureand Jeffrey Inaba of SCI-Arc.
Eighteen students from UK and SCI-Arc spent one week this June in Henderson getting to know the community and its people. The students' project includes collaboration on signage and a redevelopment project to be located on the riverfront.
The group's initial work and proposal was presented June 15 to local business people, developers and political leaders. A final presentation will be submitted at the end of the summer school term in August. To see images from their presentation, check out the students' Web site at
Parrish, a native of Henderson, formerly taught at SCI-Arc and is currently an instructor at UK. His expertise and research lies in digital design and fabrication.
Inaba is the program director for the Southern California Institute for Future Initiatives, the post-graduate studies program at SCI-Arc.
The UK and SCI-Arc students’ work has been funded by Henderson natives Mark Bethel and Tim Skinner, both graduates of UK School of Architecture. Funds were contributed in memory of James O. Bethel.
James Bethel, Mark’s father, was a longtime Henderson architect who passed away in 2004.He was best known for sucharchitectural designs asthe Henderson Municipal Center, the Presbyterian Church of Henderson, ZionBaptistChurch, the Old National Bank Washington Avenue branch in Evansville, Ind., and the Terre HauteHeartCenter in Terre Haute, Ind.
“His three passions were his wife, his family and his love of architecture,” said Mark Bethel. “He came out of his retirement to give back to his community for the downtown Henderson riverfront master plan. It would please him to know that he continues to inspire young architects.”
Mark Bethel is the president of real estate and development for Cobalt Ventures, LLC, of Louisville.
Skinner is a principal partner at Skinner Design Associatesin Henderson.
###
In striving to become a Top20 public research institution, the University of Kentucky is a catalyst for a new Commonwealth – a Kentucky that is healthier, better educated, and positioned to compete in a global and changing economy. For more information about UK’s efforts to become a Top20 university, please go to .