Kansas State University

12-16-2013

LARCP Faculty Anne Beamish, Jon Hunt and Brent Chamberlain Make Gingerbread Seaton Hall as treat for students

Architecture students earn Bowman Design Forum honors

MANHATTAN -- Five architecture students earned honors at Kansas State University's 15th annual Bowman Design Forum.

The Dec. 11 forum, sponsored by Manhattan architecture firm Bowman Bowman Novick Inc. and hosted by the College of Architecture, Planning & Design, brings internationally acclaimed architects to campus to discuss work by students in the architecture department.

One student from each of the department's five third-year studio sections was selected to present his or her design for a "Flint Hills Center for Craft." Each student participant prepared a model, drawings and a PowerPoint presentation.

This year's guest jurors were Garth Rockcastle, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and professor and former dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Maryland; Maura Rockcastle, landscape architect and senior associate at Tom Leader Studio in Minneapolis; Brent Bowman and Patrick Schaub, both principals at Bowman Bowman Novick. Jurors Garth Rockcastle and his daughter, Maura Rockcastle, also presented a lecture to students and faculty, entitled “Common Theads”, on the commonality of their work despite being in different disciplines and practices.

"As always, we were very pleased with the event this year," Schaub said. "Our guest critics were impressed with the level of conceptual thought and the rigorous development of the projects presented. Collectively, these students and their work represented the college well, and the program should be very proud. The quality of the work, the obvious investment by the students, and the fantastic interaction with the students, the faculty and our guests make it an honor to continue in our support of the Bowman Design Forum."

The jurors awarded $4,000 in prizes to the winning students. All are juniors in architecture and their awards include:

Brent Higgins, Basehor, $500 Merit Award; and Holly Wolf, Wichita, $500 Merit Award.

From out of state: Christopher Sanford, Colorado Springs, Colo., $1,500 Honor Award; and Frederik Heuser, Kansas City, Mo., $750 Special Merit Award.

From out of country: Lanting Su, China, $750 Special Merit Award 

The winners' studio instructors included Michael McGlynn, associate professor of architecture, for Higgins; Bruce Wrightsman, assistant professor of architecture, for Wolf; Gary Coates, professor of architecture, for Sanford; Judy Gordon, assistant professor of architecture, for Heuser; and Emily Koenig, instructor of architecture, for Su.

Excellence by design: APDesign professor earns Educator of Year honor

MANHATTAN -- Innovative, award-winning and caring. That's how colleagues at Kansas State University's College of Architecture, Planning & Design describe Nathan Howe, the 2013 recipient of the Educator of the Year award from the Kansas City chapter of the American Institute of Architects, or AIAKC.

Howe, an assistant professor of architecture, received the honor at an awards ceremony Dec. 10 in Kansas City, Mo. The award is presented for outstanding dedication and support of excellence in architecture education.

"Nathan Howe is an incredibly inventive faculty member, one capable of tying together his expertise in digital fabrication to teaching, design research and service to advance learning, design and building production while serving the public good," said Tim de Noble, dean of the college, which is also known as APDesign.

"What makes Nathan an outstanding educator is that he shares his personal passion for architecture so directly with his students," said Matthew Knox, professor and head of the college's architecture department.

Howe's creative use of technology in the design fields is among the reasons cited for his selection for the award. After serving as an assistant visiting professor, Howe earned a job with the architecture department's faculty in 2005 and was charged with leading the college's technology efforts. He began teaching the college's first design fabrication studio that same year. Along with digital fabrication, he also teaches parametric modeling and processes. His efforts have helped the college acquire the latest in design technology, including a CNC mill, or computer numerical controlled machine for making complex parts; 3-D printers; laser cutters; modeling software; and more.

Digital fabrication allows the architect to join design with construction production.

"I want to help students be on the cutting edge of practice, perhaps even pushing the practices where they're hired to join the digital fabrication party," Howe said. "With digital fabrication, it's about how all these fantastic devices can help take architecture directly to fabrication. It's allowed us to push design in new and different directions than we could have achieved even five or 10 years ago."

According to de Noble, Howe practices what he teaches 

"He effectively involves students in local design-build projects as well as in design competitions, aligning curricular imperatives within our accredited programs with opportunities in the world outside of the academy," de Noble said. "These include leading a team of four students in winning the Seger Park Spray Feature International Competition in Philadelphia in 2011, as well as a wounded warrior project for a ramp at a church in Eskridge, Kan."

Winning the Philadelphia competition and doing the ramp project in Eskridge would not have been possible without the use of the digital production technologies that Howe helped introduce and teach, de Nobel said.

"Professor Howe championed the acquisition of the CNC mill. He envisioned the potency of this machine and the processes we could engage in with it," de Noble said. "As a lifelong advocate of the importance of design thinking and leadership, I am pleased to see how Professor Howe continues to set an example for our students by expanding the notion of design practice into the realm of fabrication and installation. His recognition by AIAKC reflects not only his quality as an educator of students, but as one pushing the boundaries of the profession."

Howe earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Kansas State University in 1997 and his Master of Architecture from the University of Texas, Austin in 2002.

The American Institute of Architects is the largest and most influential association for architects, interns and those directly involved in the practice of architecture. The Kansas City chapter represents more than 950 members within in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri.

Third Floor Tidbits- Weigel Library

LIBRARY HOURS –

Weigel Library will maintain regular hours of operation this week, December 16^th – 20^th , Monday through Thursday 8 am to 10 pm, and Friday 8 am to 5 pm.    The Library will be closed Saturday, the 21^st and Sunday, the 22^nd. 

Weigel Library will be open Monday, the 23^rd, 8 am to 12 noon and 1 to 5 pm.   The Library will then be closed beginning Tuesday, December 24^th until Thursday, January 2^nd. 

In January the hours of operation will be:   Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm, closed Saturdays and Sundays.   These hours will be in effect until the start of the spring semester, January 21^st.

Weigel Library hours can always be found at http://www.lib.k-state.edu/architecture-library-hours

The staff of Weigel Library wishes everyone the happiest of holidays and an enjoyable break.  

Tis the Season for Remembering

LaBarbara Wigfall invites you to A Journey through the decades celebrating this Christmas and those of yesteryear will be held in Forum Hall Saturday, Dec. 14 at 6:30 pm. Click here for more information. 

KCDC

KCDC during final crits.