Donna Kacmar, Professor at the University of Houston, has just released her latest book, “Victor Lundy: Artist Architect.” Victor Lundy is an important yet underappreciated figure in the history of American architecture. The first book on Lundy’s life and career documents his early work in the Sarasota School of Architecture, his churches, and his government buildings. In addition to essays on his use of light and material, many of the architect’s original drawings, painting, and sketches now held at the Library of Congress – are reproduced here for the first time.
Graduate students in the design/build studio at the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design received accolades for their design and fabrication of an Embarkation Station at Port Houston. When it is installed, the nearly 400-foot structure will provide seating and shade from the hot Houston sun for many of the 30,000 passengers who take boat tours annually. On rainy days, the station’s roof will direct rainwater to four 130-gallon tanks to lower its flooding impact. Prof. Patrick Peters was the instructor. The project won the Mayor’s Proud Partner Award, Patrick’s 15thaward for his design build projects.
University of Houston Dean and Professor, Patricia Belton Oliver, FAIA, received the 2018 AIA Houston Educator of the Year Award.
Architecture Students Design New Santee Sioux Nation Family Resource Center
University of Nebraska College of Architecture master students are helping theSantee Sioux Nation Family Resource Center (SSNFRC) become a reality. After years of planning, consultation and design, this new center is breaking ground January 10th at 2 pm on the Santee Sioux Nation Reservationat the corner of Wounded Man Ave and Visiting Eagle St.,Niobrara, Nebraska, with an estimated fall 2019 completion date. This 950 square foot facility encompasses a Child Advocacy Center and a Services and Support Center for residents and members of the Santee Sioux Nation. Among the amenities, the center will have rooms for private interviews, observations, examinations and a large room and kitchen for family reunions.
The work on the SSNFRC facility began late in 2015 as a collaboration between The Nebraska Children and Families Foundation (NCFF), The Santee Sioux Tribal Council (SSTC) and the PLAIN2015-16 design research studio, instructed by Architecture Associate Professor Jason Griffiths. In the spring of 2016 Griffiths and design-build master students created the concept designs and assisted with construction documents for the project in consultation with SSTC and NCFF.
With the concepts in hand, this allowed the design team to raise funds and begin negotiations with construction professionals.
“Over the next year I was able to maintain enthusiasm and develop details of the project through other classes,” said Griffiths. “These efforts paid off through material donations of brick by Glen-Gery Brick and the International Masonry Institute, windows from Acadia, CLT wall cost deductions from Structurlam and “in-kind” donations of services from engineers Shaffer & Stevens.”
With commitments and financials in place, the NCFF appointedActual Architecturefounder and UNL Architecture Professor Jeffrey L. Day as the architect of record for the final stages of the project including preparing construction documents, construction contract administration and collaborating with Griffiths, the PLAIN studio and contractor Woody Roberts Construction.
“The Santee Sioux Nation Family Resource Center is a fine example of how the College of Architecture can bring a meaningful change for Nebraskans who live in challenging situations. Teaching architecture through “design-build” presents a unique opportunity to provide quality buildings for people who would not normally have the benefit of our profession,” said Griffiths.
A facility located in a remote, rural Nebraska community under federal jurisdiction with the confines of a tight budget presents many challenges that would understandably exclude most working architects. However it’s precisely those difficulties that give College of Architecture students unique learning experiences in design-build education explains Griffiths.
“The process is long and often appears to move slowly but it also provides a true test of the patience and broad, creative thinking needed to make a good building,” said Griffiths. “Through design-build, students learn to apply their knowledge to “real world” situations while maintaining a high quality of architecture.”
Griffiths explains the SSNFRC is a great example of architectural work that elevates ordinary building forms through careful consideration of spatial arrangements.
“It illustrates how the functional aspects of a building can develop into a symbolic architectural language,” said Griffiths. “In this case the message lies in the eloquent arrangement of two squares that are linked together in the corners, a symbol for uniting people whose lives have been disrupted by difficult circumstances. From the exterior, the building appears unremarkable. Its double gables convey the plan arrangement in two simple facades each with a square window. However this simplicity is a pretext for a message of stability that we want the project to convey.”
Through careful consideration and input from stakeholders’ consultations, the students created a facility that was cognizant of the environmental situations surrounding the building’s occupants.
“Children and families coming to this building do so in difficult emotional circumstances. We hope that an unassuming building would help mitigate fear and anxiety wherever possible,” said Griffiths. “To provide privacy, windows selected for the façade that look into examination rooms are partly obscured with a ContraVision, one-way screen, brick pattern, while the larger windows that open to the gathering spaces invite the kind of reconciliation that we hope the building will help achieve.”
Additionally, this building will be the first, fully-conditioned, cross-laminated timber (CLT) building in the Great Plains region. CLT is an emerging form of construction that offers an alternative to concrete and steel construction. It provides a clean, fast-track assembly system with the benefits of carbon sequestration.
“These CLT advantages add to a profound sense of warmth and stability on the interior. The wall and roof panels, produced from solid 4’ thick Douglas Fir, provide a natural finish with a palpable sense of solidity that is rare in contemporary architecture,” said Griffiths. “Once completed SSNFRC will become a showcase for advanced forms of engineered lumber construction and will demonstrate how the College of Architecture is promoting new, innovative, forms of architectures to the next generation of architects.”
Associate Professor Peter Olshavsky’s essay “Reconfiguring Architectural Agency” appeared in the catalogue for Steven Holl’s exhibition at the Dorsky Museum. As part of the museum’s Hudson Valley Master series, Steven Holl: Making Architecture, examines the work of one of the world’s foremost architects (http://www.stevenholl.com/exhibits/126).
Curated by Nina Stritzler-Levine in collaboration with Steven Holl Architects, the exhibition reveals Holl’s intricate and distinctive process of making architecture through approximately one hundred models and related sketches and other studies created for nine recent projects, among them the Arts Building at Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania; The Kennedy Center Expansion, Washington D.C.; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and Maggie’s Cancer Care Center in London.
Dr. Olshavsky was invited to write an essay linking Holl’s work to architectural phenomenology. The essay argues that Holl’s recent architecture is rooted in a reconfigured notion of architectural agency. This reconfiguration provides three opportunities.
“It enables us to re-describe Holl’s important relation to the tradition of phenomenology. It shows architecture’s active comportment in socially embedded settings,” said Olshavsky. “It advances the insight: architecture makes us what we are”.
With a research focus in history, theory and design, Dr. Olshavsky was a clear choice for selection. “As a scholar in architectural history and theory, this was a wonderful opportunity to help shape the discourse on Holl’s recent work. Holl and the Dorsky Museum were very engaged and supportive,” commented Olshavsky. “I hope we will be able to work together again in the future.”
The exhibition is currently at Soongsil University Gallery in Seoul, Korea and will continue to travel internationally.
“Dr. Olshavsky’s invitation to author the essay exemplifies the quality of scholarly work produced by our renowned faculty. It is gratifying to see Peter’s work continually showcased on an international stage,” said College of Architecture Dean Katherine Ankerson.
Edward R. Burian, Professor,has had his introduction to a monograph on the noted Mexican architect Manuel Cervantes Cespedes recently published in El Croquis. Last fall he delivered a lecture on his current research at the University of Oregon entitled, “Beach Atmospheres: Seaside Hotels of Mexico as Constructed Experience.”
Ian Caine, Associate Professor, is the incoming Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Planning Research, which will investigate the forms, processes, and impacts of metropolitan and megaregional expansion. He recently completed publications in Housing Studies,MONU, Log, Lunch, Scenario, and Sustainability. In spring 2018 he was visiting faculty in urban design at Washington University in Saint Louis, leading a studio that focused on urban growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He also received the prestigious University of Texas Regent’s Outstanding Teaching Award and joined the UTSA Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars.
Sedef Doganer, Associate Professor, is the new Department Head of the UTSA Dept. of Architecture. Dr. Doganer’s research interests lies in the areas of architecture and tourism, tourist cities, hospitality design, globalization and multi-cultural design practices, cultural heritage, and sustainability tourism.
Hazem Rashid-Ali, Associate Professor,is currently running for a second term as president of the Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC). Dr. Rashid-Ali has chaired the ACSA Research + Scholarship Committee that has concluded their work on its white paper on “STEM in Architecture.” A draft of the report was publicly released last March, and the final white paper was released to all ACSA members this past June.
Neda Norouzi, Adjunct Assistant Professor, with Dr. Sedef Doganer as the Principal Investigator, recently received a $100,000 grant from UTHSCSA to work on research, design, and preplanning for the new San Antonio State Hospital. Dr. Norouzi’s architecture students spent the spring semester on analysis, campus planning, and the design of a therapy plaza to better serve both patients and staff. This past summer was spent conducting interviews with doctors, nurses, psychologists, staff members, and patients as well as creating behavior observation maps to better understand the needs of the clients. These findings will be utilized in an architecture studio taught by Dr. Norouzi and interior design studio by Prof. Analy Diego during the fall semester.
Antonio Petrov, Associate Professor, has had his book on megachurches recently accepted for publication by Actar. He has also established the, “Urban Futures Lab,” an innovative think tank, research, and teaching lab which has recently explored urban issues related to infrastructure, water, and economic development.
Candid Rogers, Lecturer, has published had his House 117 published in a book by Hannah Jenkins, “TexasModern, Redefining Houses in the Lone Star State,”Images Publishing, (2017). He has also recently been named to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.
The College of Architecture is pleased to announce the Hyde Lecture Series opens another exciting chapter for the design and planning disciplines. The 2018/2019 series, “Enacting Change”, invites speakers to campus who utilize planning and design as tools for building agency in local and international communities.
The college’s Hyde Lecture Series is a long-standing, endowed public program. Each year the college hosts compelling speakers in the fields of architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and planning that enrich the ongoing dialog around agendas which are paramount to the design disciplines and College of Architecture graduates.
The college is also pleased to share this year’s Hyde Lecture Series poster was designed by Atlas Lab Inc.
Lecturer Line-Up:
FALL
Speaker: Majora Carter, CEO of Majora Carter Group, LLC. Date, Time & Location: August 24, Friday, 4:00 pm, Union Auditorium
Speaker: Dan Pitera, executive director of the Detroit Collaborative Design Center, University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture Date, Time & Location: October 5, Friday, 4:00 pm, Richards Hall, Room 15.
Speaker: Amie Shao, principal with MASS Design Group Date, Time & Location: October 26, Friday, 4:00 pm, Richards Hall, Room 15.
Speaker: Brigitte Shim, professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto and a principal at Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Date, Time & Location: November 9, Friday, 4:00 pm, TBA.
SPRING
Speaker: Katherine Darnstadt, architect, educator and founder of Latent Design Date, Time & Location: February 8, Friday, 4:00 pm, Union Auditorium.
Speaker: Kimberly Garza, founder and principal at ATLAS Lab Date, Time & Location: March 1, Friday, 4:00 pm, Richards Hall, Room 15.
Speaker: Yolande Daniels, partner and principal designer at StudioSUMO Date, Time & Location: March 8, Friday, 4:00 pm, Richards Hall, Room 15.
Speaker: Lisa Schweitzer, professor with Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California Date, Time & Location: April 5, Friday, 4:00 pm, Richards Hall, Room 15.
The College of Architecture is pleased to announce the Hyde Lecture Series opens another exciting chapter for the design and planning disciplines. The 2018/2019 series, “Enacting Change”, invites speakers to campus who utilize planning and design as tools for building agency in local and international communities.
The college’s Hyde Lecture Series is a long-standing, endowed public program. Each year the college hosts compelling speakers in the fields of architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and planning that enrich the ongoing dialog around agendas which are paramount to the design disciplines and College of Architecture graduates.
The college is also pleased to share this year’s Hyde Lecture Series poster was designed by Atlas Lab Inc.
Fourth year interior design student Maggie McCoy was awarded the 2018 Angelo Donghia Foundation Senior Student Scholarship Award. McCoy is one of only 12 candidates to receive this national prestigious award.
Annually, the Angelo Donghia Foundation invites two students from each interior design program with Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) to submit scholarship applications. This year, the foundation received 69 student projects for consideration.
In the last 15 years, the College of Architecture’s Interior Design Program has had nine recipients of this highly competitive national award, 10 total. The merit-based scholarship, which has a value of up to $30,000, is determined by a jury comprised of interior design professionals, interior design educators and interior design editors.
“When our students receive the very competitive Donghia Scholarship award, it is a testament to their rigorous pursuit of design excellence in space and place making for people,” said Lindsey Bahe, associate professor and director of the interior design program. “Having students at UNL receive this honor consistently over the last 15 years, serves as an indicator of our program’s successful teaching and learning mission. When our students are selected, they are amongst peers from other nationally recognized programs which adds credence to our belief that we deliver one of the best interior design education experiences in the country.”
“I am extremely grateful, humbled and honored to be one of the 12 recipients receiving the award this year, and am truly blessed that all my hard work is being recognized,” said Maggie McCoy. “This award is a huge stress relief for me. This award will go a long ways towards supporting me financially while studying abroad.”
McCoy’s winning submission was titled “Nebraska Art Therapy Collective” a project from the IDES351 design studio taught by Lecturer Erin Miller and mentored by Bahe.
The project proposes the creation of a built environment designed to retain the creative class in rural American communities by providing a place for healing, learning and self-discovery through expressive arts therapy. The concept aims to not only foster people of the creative class, but also to provide ample job opportunities that are otherwise unavailable in the rural market.
McCoy is from Omaha, Nebraska, and is entering her senior year in the Interior Design Program at UNL’s College of Architecture.
The Angelo Donghia Foundation, created under the will of the Angelo Donghia, is a private, nonprofit organization that supports two distinct fields: The advancement of education in the field of interior design and initiatives researching AIDS.
Since its launch, including the amounts to be distributed to the scholarship winners, the foundation has awarded in excess of $15,000,000 to the above causes.
Glaring sun, hot sizzling summer heat, those conditions just seem to be an inevitable part of attending the Lied Center for Performing Arts’ Jazz in June summer concert series at the University of Nebraska, right? Well maybe not for much longer, looking to the horizon, there might be a silver lining to that scenario for summer 2019 concert goers. This past semester Jazz in June festival organizers, the Lied Center for Performing Arts and UNL architecture students have been working collaboratively on an installation and shade structure for the annual June concert series.
Their idea for the installation? Create a “Kite Cloud” or canopy. Once installed the structure will span 55’ x 25’ with the bottom of the cloud floating about 15’ above the ground providing shade for the stage and the VIP audience area. The structure once assembled will consist of an estimated 2,000 box kites articulated together to form the “cloud” shade cover. The idea for the shade structure has been a longtime coming according to Education and Community Engagement Director for the Lied Center for Performing Arts Erin Poor and Jazz in June Coordinator Spencer Munson. As Poor explains it, this project evolved more out of necessity than anything else.
“After working several Jazz in June events you realize, wow, it’s freakishly hot on Tuesday nights in Nebraska, and we really need to do something for these performers,” said Poor. “Spencer and I had been talking about the concept of a shade structure for some time, and we kept saying ‘wouldn’t it be nice if…’” Well, last year, Terence Blanchard, a renowned jazz magician was scheduled to perform and they knew it was going to be extremely hot, so they rented and put up a bunch of event tents. Functionally it worked but the tents weren’t very festive nor aesthetically pleasing. After that moment Poor said they decided to get serious about the issue and do something.
“It’s not just that the audience and the performers are uncomfortable, there’s more to it than that. If the heat becomes too hot, instruments can become out of tune. Plus, when you have hot, unbearable weather, musicians don’t want to play as long and the crowds don’t feel like sticking around. It affects the overall event experience,” Poor said. “With Spencer elevating the artistry and level of performers who come to the festival, we wanted to bring a new element that would complimented this new style and help the festival grow and develop,” Poor said. “We want an event that not only has innovative music but also innovative art and architecture.”
So Poor contacted Architecture Professor Jeffrey L. Day, who she had worked with before on an exhibit for the Sheldon Art Museum, and approached him about a student design challenge involving a shade structure for Jazz in June 2019. Day thought it would be a great design-build project for his design-research studio, Fabrication And Construction Team (FACT). That following spring semester, Day invited Poor to present her design challenge to the studio the first day of class. She was careful to point out this project needed to be more than just a shade structure. “It needed to compliment the Sheldon Art Museum’s sculpture garden and not be obstructive or out of place but rather an added poetic element.”
The “Kite Cloud” design wasn’t their first concept. The master of architecture students worked on several designs including a collage of triangles before the collaboration decided on the “cloud”. After the “Kite Cloud” concept was chosen, the studio spent the rest of the semester working on schematic designs, drawings, renderings and models. However, the studio didn’t just need the Jazz in June organizers’ blessing, the team would have to go through a litany of approvals before all was said and done.
Day explains, the FACT studio also presented the project to the Sheldon Art Museum and the UNL Aesthetic Review Committee for which they received unanimous approval. Now that they have those approvals out of the way, the team has been working with UNL Facilities on the technical details such as logistics and installation challenges.
Figuring how to secure the suspended “Kite Cloud” above a crowd has its own inherent challenges which the team is working through. To stabilize and support the articulated kite structure, they will be utilizing a system of stainless steel airplane cables, aluminum poles and recessed concrete anchors.
To hoist the structure into place, designers are considering a system of poles and pulleys for ease of installation. The shade structure will be installed and taken down for each concert. However before installation can begin, they will need to develop a large model mock-up and conduct performance testing.
“Once everything is resolved there will be a few days of off-site fabrication, installation of the anchors and poles, and then installation of the actual kites should only take a few hours,” said Day.
In addition to resolution of technical details for the installation, securing funding for the structure is still underway. Anyone interested in donating funds to this project should contact Spencer Munson at spencermunson@gmail.com or by contacting the University of Nebraska Foundation for additional gifts. They will also be collecting donations at each concert at their information table.
The “Kite Cloud” is intended to last for two concert seasons. Eventually, the Jazz in June collaborators would like to see this art/shade installation become a biennial contest open to the public.
This project was one of two design-build projects taken on by the FACT studio this past spring. The other project was a collaboration with the Sandhills Institute that would transform an old, main street grocery store in Rushville, Nebraska, into an art gallery / culture center. Personally, Day prefers to select non-profit, creative partners like the Lied Center for Performing Arts and the Sandhills Institute for design-build projects because as Day puts it “they understand the creative process.”
“I’ve been approached by organizations who just wanted the free labor,” said Day. However, any partner the college selects has to be willing to contribute and be patient. “They need to understand that the creative process and that working with students sometimes takes time, money and mentoring. It’s a big commitment on both sides.”
Day explains a common misconception is that academic design-build is just a service project. “Community service is often just a one-way relationship. The design-build projects I’m involved with are true long-term engagement opportunities that benefit all parties.”
“For my studios, design-build is not about teaching students how to construct everything hands-on, but it’s about teaching them how to have a conversation with contractors, fabricators, or vendors so they can accomplish creative projects, especially when they are working on non-conventional projects or projects that require material use that doesn’t fit standard practice,” said Day.
Students who have taken design-build studios say the experience gives them a more holistic view of the architectural process. “Projects like these allow for a wider breadth of knowledge,” said Diane Nguyen master of architecture student. “The design of the canopy came with many different design problems that I had never really had to face before. From design to assembly, we had to be detailed within our thinking, and I believe that prepares us for our future careers as well.”
Design-build projects also help students expand their design and problem-solving skills farther than the confines of the studio.
“Sometimes, with theoretical projects, things are overlooked and projects in a sense are unrealistic,” said Davielle Phillips master of architecture student. “With design-build, you learn to be practical while pushing the boundary of what is expected. Jeff has definitely pushed us in this regard.”
Day along with Associate Professor Jason Griffiths and Architecture Program administrators are currently working to expand the design-build studio offerings so that they are available for students to take every year.
Sarah Deyong, associate professor at Texas A&M University, has accepted the appointment of Architecture Program director with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Architecture. Deyong will assume her position with the college July 1st.
“This is an exciting time for the Architecture Program and the College of Architecture. I am confident that Sarah will be a tremendous asset to the program with her thoughtful leadership and her extensive undergraduate and graduate teaching experience and demonstrated ability to integrate architectural theory and pedagogy seamlessly with contemporary practice,” commented College of Architecture Dean Katherine Ankerson. “Sarah is an accomplished researcher and has been published widely in the academic world. I have no doubt she will be a pivotal mentor for junior faculty and students alike, providing new, academic publishing connections and an inspiring influence for scholarly and creative pursuits.”
“I am thrilled to join the College of Architecture at UNL. It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the Director of the Architecture Program,” said Deyong. “The program has long been recognized for its strong design ethos, inclusivity and close ties to professional practice. Within the larger university setting of an internationally recognized, research institution, it is poised to becoming a major voice among leading schools of architecture worldwide. Together with fellow faculty, students, staff and alumni, I look forward to building upon the program’s inherent strengths in architectural making and thinking, while advancing the college’s mission: its resilient belief in the transformative power of planning and design, and its commitment to interdisciplinary and community engagement.”
Asassociate professor at Texas A&M University, Deyong taught in the areas of history, theory and criticism (HTC) and design studio.She believes that areas of specialization, such as HTC, must effectively enhance the vital center of the curriculum: studio and integrated design.
“Today, we find ourselves in a dynamic situation, with new technologies and digital tools, for example. The utility of history and theory is that it brings the longer, canonical perspective of how we define ourselves into play. We learn from both failures and successes. Since architecture is inherently collaborative, we best prepare our students for the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary practice when we define ourselves as a discipline with design at its core.”
For Dr. Deyong, the output of a studio may be a proposition for a building, but in academia, it should aspire to be an argument or intellectual provocation. “We are, after all, in the business of teaching students not only the necessary skills and toolsets, but also, how to think critically, communicate ideas and create new knowledge.”
Deyong is known internationally for her research focused on the post-WWII period to the present, underscoring the symbiotic relationship between HTC and design practice. With grants from the Graham Foundation and the Glasscock Center of the Humanities at Texas A&M, she has published her research in leading venues, including the Journal of Architectural Education (JAE), the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (JSAH), Praxis, the Journal of Visual Culture, and the Journal of Architecture. In 2015, her JAE essay, “Re-Thinking the Legacy of the Sixties: Pliny Fisk’s Political Ecology,” garnered the ACSA/JAE Best Scholarship of Design Award. Additionally, Deyong serves on the editorial boards of two national flagship journals: the JAE and JSAH.
Her work can also be found in numerous book chapters and her co-authored book “The Changing of the Avant-Garde: Visionary Architectural Drawings from the Howard Gilman Collection”.
Deyong received her Ph.D. at Princeton University and her MA and B.Arch at the University of Toronto.
In addition to the Architecture Program, the college is comprised of other design and planning programs including interior design, landscape architecture and community and regional planning with a tradition of excellence in education, research and service to the community. Its fall 2017 enrollment was 521 students.
ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM WORKING TO TRANSFORM GROCERY STORE INTO ART GALLERY/EXHIBITION SPACE
The general stores that dotted the frontier landscapes of the 18th and 19th centuries were known for being community gathering spots; so one might find it rather fitting that an old grocery store in Rushville, Nebraska, will once again become a community hub, not for goods and groceries but arts and culture. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Architecture Program and the Sandhills Institute of Rushville, Nebraska, are working on a collaborative project to transform an old main street grocery store into an art gallery/exhibition space and community culture center.
The art and cultural center was the brainchild of Mel Ziegler, grocery store site owner and founder and executive director of the Sandhills Institute which supports and serves as a catalyst for the creation of civically-engaged, integrated art in and around the agricultural community of Rushville. Ziegler wanted to create a space that would forge strong bonds between the community of local ranchers, farmers and leading artists from around the world for the purpose of developing experimental programs grounded in collaborative research and creative expression. Currently, in the area, there are no art galleries or exhibition spaces where artists can gather, create, exhibit and innovate. The new center will fill that void with a needed cultural hub in the Rushville area for residents to enjoy and hopefully be a unique destination for tourists and artists to visit.
To make Ziegler’s vision a reality, he partnered with Professor Jeffrey L. Day and his design research studio, Fabrication And Construction Team (FACT).
Before the FACT studio started the design process, the students visited Rushville in January for structure documentation, met with Ziegler and area leaders and held an open community forum to discuss the project, gather input and address concerns.
“It was very important to Ziegler that the community felt a part of the process,” said Day. “For a project to succeed long-term, community buy in is vital.”
After collecting site and community data, the Master of Architecture students spent the 2018 spring semester working on the interior space renovation, which the collaboration calls phase one.
“Mel’s goal is to get this place up and running so he can start using it for programming, activities, meetings, exhibitions and special projects. That’s the primary goal, so that’s why we are developing the basic scope in phase one,” said Day.
Once fundraising is complete, the coalition will begin phase two, which includes building a visiting artist residence attached to the art gallery and culture center and the development of a community outdoor space where the grocery store parking lot now stands. The outdoor space segment is being led by landscape architect Kayla Meyer with FACT contributing to its conceptual design.
With long and short term goals for the project set in place, Day and the students created schematic designs for both phases during the semester, giving form to Ziegler’s vision. The design team met numerous times for consultations with Ziegler to develop and hone the general concepts, floor plans, interior renderings and details. By the end of the spring semester, the studio felt confident they could present the Sandhills Institute with the construction documents for phase one which includes the details of the project from interior structures to wall finishes. Once the documents are finished, construction work can begin.
This project is only the start of what Day hopes to be a long-term partnership between the FACT studio and the Sandhills Institute. The collaboration started when Meyer recommended the FACT studio to Ziegler as a possible project resource. When approached with Ziegler’s idea as a studio project, Day was intrigued. Personally, Day prefers to select non-profit, creative partners for design-build projects because as Day puts it “they understand the creative process.”
“I’ve been approached by organizations who just wanted the free labor,” said Day. However, any partner the college selects has to be willing to contribute and be patient. “They need to understand that the creative process and that working with students sometimes takes time, money and mentoring. It’s a big commitment on both sides.”
Day explains a common misconception is that academic design-build is just a service project. “Community service is often just a one-way relationship. The design-build projects I’m involved with are true long-term engagement opportunities that benefit all parties.”
In addition to the benefits of community engagement, architectural pedagogy is largely enhanced with design-build projects. Due to time constraints, students in most architectural studios are not able to explore a project much past the design concept phase. But with a design-build studio project, which usually lasts more than one semester or starts after the concept phase, a student will take a concept and further develop the design by filling in all the details so it’s implementable. Plus, the partners get the attention and benefit of a team of architects.
“For my studios, design-build is not about teaching students how to construct everything hands-on, but it’s about teaching them how to have a conversation with contractors, fabricators, or vendors so they can accomplish creative projects, especially when they are working on non-conventional projects or projects that require material use that doesn’t fit standard practice,” said Day.
Students who have taken design-build studios say the experience gives them a more holistic view of the architectural process.
“I think being involved with the details of a project, broadens our vision as architectural students,” said Hasan Shurrab a student in the Master of Architecture Program. “Also, being aware of the process of the construction and the logistics needed to finish the building is very helpful.”
Plus, helping out and engaging with a community has its own rewards.
“You feel that joy when you are actually out there helping the community,” Shurrab said. “Yeah, that was awesome!”
Day along with Associate Professor Jason Griffiths and Architecture Program administrators are currently working to expand the design-build studio offerings so that they are available for students to take every year.
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