Interior Architecture & Product Design Updates
JANUARY
4th Year Wins National Competition 4th year student Emma Montgomery was named the winner of the Steelcase NEXT competition. This national competition challenged students to design a learning environment for the future; a space that would allow learning to occur everywhere and not just in the classroom. Emma was one of five semi-finalists chosen from 98 national submissions (and 800 total participants). Emma was flown to Grand Rapids, MI to Steelcase (an international furniture design company) where she, along with the four other finalists presented their projects. Emma was also recently featured on Interior Design magazine’s website and will have her work featured in some of Steelcase’s future publications.
Photo Competition The College holds an annual photo competition sponsored by IAPD Alum Thomas Tyler. This year, third year student Emma Cole was awarded first place in the landscape and architectural details category. Her entry named ‘Dramatic Exit’ was on display, along with other entries, in the Chang Gallery in Seaton Hall until February 6th.
Visiting Scholar Professor Li Lin arrived to Manhattan during January for her participation as a year-long visiting scholar with IAPD. Lin along with her husband and twins will spend the next year in Kansas where Lin will consult with professors in their classes and spread her knowledge of Chinese culture into the curriculum. Lin has a background in Industrial design and is looking forward to working with students on the product side of the degree.
Faculty Notes
Professor Vibhavari Jani has been selected to present her views as part of a 90 minute panel titled Cultural practices, events and transformation of cultural space at EDRA46LosAngeles this coming May. In addition, her abstract will be published in the conference handbook.
IAPD faculty participated in the biannual IAPD CourseShare retreat prior to the semester’s beginning. This full day occurs prior to each semester as a way to share the objectives, examples of projects, assignments, successes and challenges of each IAPD course. As a result of these CourseShares, opportunities to scaffold learning effectively have been enacted, and areas for collaboration become apparent. Faculty discussion as a result of these sessions keeps the curriculum content up to date and effective.
Class Field Trip Students in the new elective ‘Production Furniture for the Contract Market’ along with Department Head Kathy Ankerson and Professor Neal Hubbell traveled to Indiana to visit OFS Brands and tour their facility. The leadership of IAPD Advisory Board members Adam Stover, Amie Keener and Erin Hurd has brought the class together. Students were allowed to see not only the production portion of the business but were able to meet with product engineers, product development and marketing strategists to learn about the entire process of product development.
FEBRUARY
IAPD Design Charrette On February 12th, the IAPD Student Council held a design charrette focused on designing the center pieces for the department's 50th Anniversary. 30 students attended and created six teams, each including students from all IAPD years. Each group created innovative ideas that stood out and ultimately one design was chosen and will be used for the entire weekend’s festivities.
Faculty Conference Acceptances A number of proposals, projects and papers were accepted into two conferences and journals during the month of February. Each acceptance shows the creative and forward-thinking ability of all faculty members of IAPD.
- Professors Ryadi Adityavarman and Neal Hubbell had their paper Theoretical Analysis on Teaching Parti for the Millennia Design Students accepted into EDRA46LosAngeles.
- Professor Ryadi Adityavarman had his paper The Initial Search for Identity in Indonesian Modern Architecture accepted into EDRA46LosAngeles
- Professor Ryadi Adityavarman had his poster Reflection on Visual Literacy in Design Education acceptedinto EDRA46LosAngeles
- Professor Ryadi Adityavarman had his collaborative poster [with co-author Dr. Joel Martinez-Soto (Universidad de Guanajuato/UNAM)] titled Architecture and Restorative Qualities of Comparative Nature and Build Environments accepted into EDRA46LosAngeles
- Professor David Richter-O’Connell had his poster The Near Environment – The Within-Reach Realm of Multi-Disciplinary Design and Development accepted into EDRA46LosAngeles
- Professor Vibhavari Jani had her abstract Cultural Practices, Evens and Transformation of Cultural Space accepted into EDRA46LosAngeles
- Professor Ryadi Adityavarman [and co-author Dr. Joel Martinez-Soto (Universidad de Guanajuato/UNAM)] had an abstract titled Environment’s Impact on Resting State Networks of Functional Brain Connectivity was accepted into the Frontiers in Psychology Journal
- Professor Kendra Ordia had her abstract Natural to Synthetic: BiophilicPattern Language Formalization Prototype has been accepted into the FIU Interior Design Emerging Symposium on Blurred Lines taking place in Miami, FL.
Portfolios & Professionals The annual event, Portfolios & Professionals sponsored by IIDA, took place on Friday, February 20th in Kansas City. Eighteen IAPD students attended the event and were given the opportunity to have professional designers review their portfolios (in whatever state) and give them feedback. Four awards focused on the portfolios/interactions with students were available along with one random drawing. IAPD students won four of the five prizes.
- Best Portfolio: Nichole Finke
- Best in Progress: Abby Buchmann
- Best Communicator: Teague Peak
- Door Prize: Caitlyn Molenaar
This (almost) sweep gave the IAPD students the confidence they are on the right track with their portfolios, and an additional opportunity to present their work to practitioners.
Faculty Awards Professor Ryadi Adityavarman was awarded an Incentive Grant through the Office of International Programs for his Co-host proposal Kansas State University & University Parahyanhan Bamboo Design Workshop.
Schematic Design Reviews The fifth year class held their Schematic Design Review on February 26th and 27th. This was an opportunity for faculty, outside associates and other classmates to evaluate and comment on the progress that has been made on the fifth years’ thesis projects. Two days of presentations gave great insight into the productive work the students have achieved this year so far. The next review will be in April.
2nd Year Class Students in Professors Dustin Headley and Allan Hastings 2nd year studio presented designs for task lighting during the week of February 23rd. Student identified the task and designed a luminaire specific to the task. Many students explored the use of new Arduino circuit boards that were donated to the department through a grant.
MARCH
Kansas City Auto Show - For the second year, Professor Allan Hastings took clay models, K-State information and posters created by his Transportation Design Class to the Kansas City Auto Show. Students and other faculty members traveled to support Hasting’s class and the booth was consistently busy with inquisitive children and adults alike, each trying their hand at sculpting a car out of clay.
NASAD Accreditation occurred the first week of March. A team of three individuals from various schools throughout the country arrived March 1st and spent the next three days reviewing work and spaces of the Art, Interior Design and Interior Architecture & Product Design Departments. IAPD complied work from first to fifth year and displayed them in IAPD two spaces. Upon leaving, the team noted they were impressed by the breadth and depth of the work done by IAPD students.
Design Expo is a chance for students of all years to network with professional firms for potential internships and jobs after graduation. This year, more than 50 firms from all across the country set up booths in the Alumni Center. Along with networking, this gave students an opportunity to see how the firms approach design projects.
Class Updates The annual Short Films on Design screening took place on Wednesday, March 25th. Students and faculty gathered to see the finished products of the student’s hard work. Topics varied and included the history of the IAPD Shop and Seaton Hall. All films were well received and will be kept as archives for future viewings.
Production Furniture for the Contact Market Reviews Mid-reviews occurred March 26-27 and hosted five alumni and design professionals. Professional guests included Brian Graham of Graham Design San Francisco and Bob Beck of OfficeInsight, while alumni guests included Amie Keener of Gensler in Dallas, and Adam Stover and Erin Hurd of Populous in Kansas City. Six students in the Product Furniture for the Contract Market class presented their designs which included furnishing for a private office, waiting room and touchdown space. Culminating from the experience was not only a great learning experience for the students, but a wonderful article (beginning on page 3) written about IAPD and the experiences in OfficeInsight (a weekly publication with 40,000 clicks).
Professional Development- Along with acting as a reviewer for Production Furniture for the Contract Market, Amie Keener and Brian Graham met with IAPD students to give a presentation about post-graduation options including professional exams such as the NCIDQ, LEED, and opportunities as a result of each. The presentation was valuable and timely.
The IAPD student council held a meet and greet for the current IAPD students to meet the incoming 2nd year class on Tuesday, March 31st. The event was well attended and was an effort to make the incoming students feel welcomed and comfortable for the coming fall semester.
Associate Professor Vibha Jani visited Topeka West High School on Tuesday, March 10th to share her Rotary Peace Fellowship Experience with the high school students. She discussed her time living in Thailand and visiting Cambodia while on her fellowship. The presentation included various aspects of peace and conflict resolution strategies and why understanding other cultures, people and their socio-culture, religions and other aspects is important. She discussed how topics such as art, architecture, family and political structures can promote peace around the world.
Associate Professor Ryadi Adityavarman was awarded Best Poster Presentation for his poster Teaching Freehand Analytical Drawing: Strategy and Pedagogy based on Polanyian Philosophy of Knowledge for Millennia Design Students at the IDEC National Conference in Fort Worth, TX.
The second year students were busy finishing up their empathy projects as well as designing hand-held sanders and experimenting with the CNC Router. Their empathy project consisted of exploring buildings while having their sight, hearing or physical abilities (walking) disabled in hopes they would gain a new perspective.
APRIL
Kansas City First Friday IAPD 5th year students transported their finished final furniture to the offices of Helix in Kansas City for the annual “First Friday Furniture Show.” Many current students, faculty and alumni attended the event. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to exhibit their work in a professional environment while networking with alumni and business professionals.
IAPD 50th Anniversary
The long awaited celebration occurred during the weekend of Open House (April 10-11). The event kicked off on Friday at the Wefald Pavilion where a BBQ took place and students, faculty and alumni had a chance to meet up and network. Saturday, alumni and walked through the halls of Seaton and were reminded of their time at IAPD through the displays put together by the current 3rd year IAPD students. Saturday evening, the department hosted a dinner and silent auction to raise money for student scholarships. It was very well attended and a good amount of funds were raised through the auction.
Distinguished Lecturer Nathalie Rozencwajg is an accomplished designer and architect based out of London and Paris who visited IAPD from April 20th-23rd. While visiting, she met with students in studio, participated in reviews, ran a workshop on hospitality design and gave a presentation in the Little Theater. Her firm RARE Architecture works in scales from the Object to the Urban and her insight and international perspective were well received by all attendees. In large part, the fantastic visit was made possible through the Academic Excellence funds awarded to Professor Ryadi Adityavarman.
Diversity Lecture IAPD’s visiting scholar, Lin Li from China, presented a diversity lecture on Wednesday, April 29th. Lin discussed the Industrial Design field in China and the differing concepts between China and America. Her discussion of China’s relatively short history of Industrial Design was very educational and a topic students may not have had a chance to hear about otherwise.
Faculty Notes
Associate Professor Vibha Jani hosted a gallery viewing in the William T. Kemper Gallery. The exhibit titled Darkness to Light: An Artist’s Visual and Spiritual Journey documented images from her time as a Rotary Peace Fellow in Thailand and showed her personal growth through the journey.
MAY
2015 Graduation This year’s Interior Architecture & Product Design class consisted of 22 students, pictured above. The class consisted of a wide array of breadth and depth in their knowledge of all things IAPD. Their final projects ranged in topics from redesigning a church, to designing a new bike rack and redesigning the manicure table. All students have a bright future ahead of them.
2nd year Prosthesis Project For the 2nd year student’s final project, student collaborated with individuals with prosthetic limbs and designed 3D skins to be worn on the outside of their prosthesis. Students were assigned to one volunteer participate, discussed the wants and needs of the skin with the individual then worked on designing the final project. The final presentations included the participants, all of whom were overwhelmed and touched by the final products.
Student Council Safety Week The week before finals, also the week of final reviews is always deemed safety week where different events are planned which promote safe habits such as taking breaks from studying, exercising and eating healthy snacks. Events included a ‘make your own snack’ night, game night, breakfast and guided tours around Seaton Hall as a final tour. This biannual event occurs every semester as a way for students throughout all years to bond and relax together.
Faculty News
Faculty members Vibhavari Jani and Katrina Lewis attended the second Rotary Peace Forum on Saturday, May 9th held in Manhattan. Katrina was part of the planning committee and Vibha served as facilitator for group discussions on how one can individually and collectively educate and create awareness about peace and conflict issues in the community. During the event, important community issues including need for religious harmony, celebrating cultural diversity, awareness about hunger, poverty and bullying were discussed. Suggestions to resolve some if these issues were discussed and gathered and will be distributed at a later date. About 200 participants attended this forum.
Professor Dustin Headley entered a piece of 3D printed jewelry into the 3rd World Conference of the 3D Printing industry in Chengdu, China. His piece, Mashrabiya Bracer, was accepted and competed in the fashion show for a chance at a 3D printer. His bracelet is modeled below.
