The study of solar energy is "absolutely" necessary, says Dowling, Arch 71. And architects can incorporate solar power in traditional design: "I tell all of my students that in their lifetime working in sustainable architecture is going to be essential."

The modern emphasis on sustainable or green architecture returns to a historic concern, Dowling says.

"Sometimes people are surprised that I have these two interests," she adds. "They think of sustainability as some architectural form that looks like it came out of 'Star Wars.' It may seem like it's from 'Brave New World,' but it's not. It's really very old knowledge. Traditional architecture, from its very nature, has always been sustainable. It's always been an issue for architects."

Historically architects have designed buildings to maximize cool air in the summer and heating in the winter. "If you look at buildings built in America in the 17th century in the Northeast, they all face south because the most difficult season is the wintertime and the houses face the sun all day long."

It has only been since the abundance of cheap energy in the 20th century that sustainability ceased to be a consideration for architects, she says. "For the vast history of architecture, it has always been a primary concern."

Dowling grew up in a Georgia Tech family. Her father, W.C. "Bill" Meredith, ME 34, and older brother, Bill Meredith III, IM 62, established the tradition.

"The things I really liked were math and architecture. My mother said if I went into mathematics, I'd end up being a schoolteacher. So I chose architecture," Dowling says, laughing. She has been teaching architecture at Tech for about 30 years. "I came to Tech in 1966. At that time there were only about 250 women. There was so much camaraderie among the students in architecture it was like a little fraternity."

After receiving her master's from the University of Illinois, she was invited to teach at Tech. "That's when I found I really loved teaching. It was an unexpected turn. I always expected to have a career in architecture."

She earned her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also became interested in ornamentation, postmodern architecture and its classical contradiction of modernist ideas.

Dowling received a grant from the Georgia Tech Foundation to study the work of Philip Shutze, Arch 12, a master of Italianate and Georgian revival styles. It was also an introduction to classical architecture.

Dowling's research on Shutze took her to Italy. He had been at the American Academy in Rome. It resulted in the 1989 publication of "American Classicist: The Architecture of Philip Trammell Shutze." The second edition of the book was printed in 2001. The book received an International Book Award from the American Institute of Architects and a bronze medal from the Georgia AIA.

In 1993, Dowling started the College of Architecture's summer program in Italy. "Shutze revealed Italy to me," she says. "This was an opportunity to teach about the things that I taught normally in the classroom, but to do it on site proved to be the absolutely most wonderful way to teach."

Faculty members teaching the summer program in Italy now include Dowling, Associate Dean Douglas Allen and associate professor Athanassios Economou. This past summer, Economou added Greece to the program. Students study classical art and architecture beginning in ancient Greece and following its permutations in later Roman, Renaissance and Baroque periods.

"My whole concept for the program is that we should be right in the middle of everything we are studying," Dowling says. "The hotels we've selected are right in the historic center of the city. You walk out of the door and you live with the work we are studying. It's a richer, deeper understanding than you could get from any sort of a classroom course."

©2006 Georgia Tech Alumni Association