Inspire Volume 6 Issue 2

VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 2 FALL 2016

FLUX PAVILION Students use computational design and digital fabrication to produce interactive festival experience  PAGE 2

C O V ER S TO R Y

MODUL AR MISSION

By Chelsea Evers

Students take on new challenges in digital fabrication studio

Photo courtesy of Shelby Doyle.

Photo by Dronography Iowa.

Above left and right: Aerial view of the Flux Pavilion at the 80/35 Music Festival in Des Moines.

The studio’s CNC router ran 24/7 for three weeks to cut the 6,500 pieces needed for assembly.

Opposite: The structure’s lights were programmed to change with the beat of the music.

Imagine entering a space where you’re greeted by an array of hundreds of tiny lights. When the surrounding music changes tempo, the lights change color.

Welcome to the festival pavilion built by students in DSN S 546: Fabricating Potentials, a College of Design studio taught by architecture Assistant Professor Shelby Doyle.

focusing on digital fabrication because it uses the computer to produce a tangible product.”

Doyle — who was hired through Iowa State’s Presidential High-Impact Hires Initiative to increase the college’s designbuild and digital fabrication capabilities — created the studio so students could learn to use computational design and digital fabrication to produce a small, temporary structure. She found an interest in the field during her graduate studies at Harvard University.

Also an assistant professor of architecture, Whitehead (BArch 1993 Architecture) called Amedeo Rossi, a friend who runs 80/35, and asked if he would be interested in a student-built visual interaction pavilion at the 2016 festival.

Rossi was immediately intrigued.

“In graduate school I was introduced to digital design and coding, which was very different from how I had been trained as an undergraduate,” she said. “I ended up 2

The studio project idea arose after Doyle visited Ames last summer seeking housing and “my colleague Rob Whitehead introduced me to 80/35, a music festival in Des Moines,” she said.

“We work with several artists and designers each year to have some sort of artistic element at the festival,” said Rossi.

“The pavilion sounded like a neat design element that would push the envelope.

The festival grounds are right next to the sculpture gardens (in Des Moines’

Western Gateway Park), so in a lot of ways, it’s similar to the sculptures with which people already interact.”

Starting from scratch Sixteen students from three majors — architecture, interior design and industrial design — enrolled in the springsemester option studio. Because of their different backgrounds and disciplines, collaboration was essential.

“We really spent a lot of time trying to find common ground,” said Kyle Vansice (MArch 2016 Architecture), Ankeny. “We started with a hundred different ideas and tried to tease out the similarities and components we were most interested in.

The final design emerged from constant discussion.”

The class used precedents from the Museum of Modern Art’s PS1 Young Architects Program as inspiration for creating a temporary outdoor structure in a concert space, Doyle said.

“The students researched materials, different digital interaction strategies and responsive sound and light,” she said.

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“The design was developed by working iteratively between digital designs and full-scale mock-ups.”

Creating with computers The resulting design for the 10-by-20foot “Flux Pavilion” featured creative use of material, space, light and sound to provide a unique interactive experience for 80/35 attendees. The serpentine-

Perhaps the most interactive aspect of the pavilion was its use of the Microsoft Kinect, a depth camera that captures the movement of figures in its view. On a screen next to the pavilion, projected graphics — called “projection mapping” — mimicked the motion of people in front of it.

“You can dance in front of the Kinect and it will pick up your shape,” said Tom Bos, a second-year industrial design graduate student from Des Moines. “We take that information, apply filters, and the result is mini-points that mimic your movements.”

Another software program allowed Bos to change the color and form of the projection to match changes in music.

“When you look at a stereo, you can see visuals of the sound levels going up and down. We use those as data sources, so as the bass kicks, you can change the size, color or movement of the graphics,” he said.

Photo by Amy Vinchattle.

shaped structure cantilevered toward the top, which provided structural stability and shade, while adjacent benches created a base and offered a place for visitors to rest as they enjoyed festival activities.

Made from plywood boxes and Tyvek skin, the pavilion’s individual pieces were cut on a CNC (computer-numericalcontrolled) router, then assembled by hand via a tab-and-groove system.

Because the pavilion was designed via computer, each box could be uniquely calibrated to optimize for structure, shade or seating.

“There were 6,500 pieces,” Vansice said. “No tab and groove were the same. Everything had to be numbered and oriented properly according to the computer or it wouldn’t get assembled correctly. We had to trust the system.”

But the pavilion wasn’t only an architectural build. LED strips between the Tyvek walls turned the space from a purely structural experience into a sensory one. Programmed by microcontrollers set to respond to sound, the lights changed colors with the beat of music being played at the festival.

Building together Given that the pavilion was so heavily structure- and technology-based, Hannah Greenfield (BFA 2016 Interior Design) said that for an interior designer, there was a bit of a learning curve.

“A lot of us [in the interior design program] hadn’t really seen the software we used for this project before,” said Greenfield of Northbrook, Illinois. “I hadn’t been trained to ‘think like an architect,’ so I had to change my mindset, do more research and get a grasp of the path we were going down. Once we reached the construction process, I was able to really contribute.”

Greenfield also helped head the studio’s social media efforts, including the Broadcast8035 blog and Instagram account. “We also encouraged everyone in the class to post to their own social media accounts to raise awareness about the pavilion,” she said.

construction,” she said. “The students all brought different skill sets, and worked together to design and construct a unique project that was stronger than what they would’ve produced individually.”

Students fully assembled and tested the pavilion, lights and graphics for their final review at the end of the semester, then dismantled it for transport to Des Moines.

Several class members rebuilt the entire structure on the 80/35 grounds for the festival in July, then tore it apart again after the festival to rewire and donate modules — each including several plywood-andTyvek boxes, a microcontroller board and LED strips, and instructions for assembly and coding — to central Iowa high schools for use in their technology classes.

The project may have been most successful in building connections with people and organizations the College of Design normally wouldn’t interact with, Doyle said.

“We were located near the nonprofits’ exhibits, and many of them would like to collaborate with us on projects in the future. The Flyover Fashion Festival in Iowa City is interested in working with us,” she said. “One of the best experiences was talking with alumni who stopped by, asked us questions and shared stories of projects they did in college.”

The Fabricating Potentials studio and Flux Pavilion were supported by OPN Architects; a studio outreach grant from the Fieldstead & Company Endowment for Community Enhancement; the Stan G. Thurston Professorship in Design Build; the College of Design; the Department of Architecture and the Des Moines Music Coalition 80/35 Music Festival.

Doyle said the class successfully faced the challenges of working collaboratively to produce a built project in a short amount of time, and she’s proud of the design produced.

“While a lot of the work in design school is abstract, it’s also valuable to understand what it takes to see a design through its 3

A LU M N I P R O F I L E

K AT E SCHWENNSEN

By Heather Sauer

Alumna works toward new architectural education standards

From left: Since August 2010, Schwennsen has led the Clemson University School of Architecture. With husband, Barry Jones (BA 1972 Architecture), and daughters Megan (Jones) Weber (BFA 2009 Interior Design) and Anna Jones (BArch 2011 Architecture), all proud Cyclones. At the 2015 AIA Women’s Leadership Summit. All photos courtesy of Schwennsen.

approximately 380 bachelor’s and master’s students.

Top university administrators often are approached by other institutions seeking candidates for open positions. When Kate Schwennsen — a professor and director of the Clemson University School of Architecture in Clemson, South Carolina — fields such inquiries, she says, “I have high-performing, low-drama faculty and students in an AIA Honor Award-winning building and centers in Charleston, Genoa and Barcelona. Can you match that?”

Few opportunities could tempt Schwennsen (BA 1978 / MArch 1980 Architecture) away from her enviable role at Clemson, where she leads more than 50 faculty and staff members in an architecture program enrolling 4

“I feel so fortunate that we have a really enthusiastic team of people here: good support at the top, great faculty and wonderful students,” she said in a recent telephone interview. “It’s such a privilege to be surrounded by this terrific potential every day. I can’t imagine anything more interesting and rewarding.”

Since joining Clemson in August 2010, Schwennsen has worked closely with her faculty to define and shape the school’s identity: “What’s important to us, what are our strategic priorities and what do we want to invest in?” she said. “I’ve worked hard to get our name out there, to help brand the school and enhance our reputation. We’re in a good place; we’re known and respected.”

One of Schwennsen’s key efforts has been to increase multidisciplinary collaboration — “one of the great strengths of the ISU College of Design” — with other departments in Clemson’s College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities.

“We don’t have as many design disciplines at Clemson as at Iowa State, but there are opportunities, and I see strong interest especially in our younger faculty to engage in collaborative projects. Some accrediting and licensing groups are still concerned about how to assess multidisciplinary outcomes, but others are starting to demand collaboration.

Maybe in another generation it will be the norm,” she said.

Academic standards Schwennsen is helping to develop new standards for architectural education and professional licensure as the co-director of the International Union of Architects (UIA) Education Commission and co-reporter (co-chair) of the UNESCO/UIA Validation Council for Architectural Education.

“There’s more in common among the many architectural educational systems across the globe than different.

[Through the work of the UIA Education Commission] we define those characteristics and aid countries and systems that need help to increase quality,” she said. “We also work to make

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border crossing easier for U.S. graduates as well as for graduates of other nations’ programs coming this direction. That’s the nature of the world today — we have grads going everywhere.”

The UNESCO/UIA Validation Council for Architectural Education, which comprises representatives from 16 different countries, accepts applications for validation review from architecture programs worldwide.

“We put together teams, send them out, receive reports and then try to adopt and change standards so as to be as current as possible with various global accrediting systems,” Schwennsen said.

Knowledge sharing across countries is another great benefit of this organization.

“In many European countries, architects are licensed upon graduation.

Now NCARB (National Council of Architectural Registration Boards) has initiated a pilot program to achieve this in the U.S.,” Schwennsen said.

The Clemson School of Architecture is one of 13 inaugural programs selected to participate in the NCARB Integrated Path Initiative. This alternative path allows students in accredited architecture programs to complete their internship requirements and take registration examinations before graduation.

Schwennsen believes the opportunity for early licensure also will increase diversity within the profession, another of her goals.

“Getting architects to licensure more quickly and seamlessly and providing alternative paths will support diversity. If we can get graduates licensed before life happens — relationships, families, the issues of work-life balance — we will have a more inclusive and diverse profession.”

pre-design to construction administration and post-occupancy evaluation.

From 1991-2010, Schwennsen served on the ISU architecture faculty at all ranks, from adjunct to full professor.

She was the associate dean for academic programs in the College of Design from 2001-2010 before taking the architecture helm at Clemson.

Schwennsen served as vice president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) from 2003-2006 and in 2006 served as the organization’s president — only the second woman and second Iowan to lead the then-149-year-old institution.

In this office, “I learned a lot about leadership, especially how to lead a lot of smart, creative people who are used to being in charge,” she said. “You have to have ambition and vision and an idea of where you want to go but also be willing to see that morph in ways you could not have imagined because of the voices of other people. Sometimes it’s smartest to just get out of the way — set the shared vision out there and let other people take over.”

profession with a clear vision for the school, Schwennsen brings the practical world in the academic world for a more integrated educational experience.”

Schwennsen’s contributions to education and to the profession of architecture have been widely recognized. She is a Fellow of the AIA and an Honorary Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council. She received the 2002 NCARB Presidential Medal for Distinguished Service, 2003 AIA Iowa Medal of Honor, 2010 AIA Iowa Education Award and a 2015 Presidential Citation from AIA South Carolina. The ISU College of Design presented her the 2006 Design Achievement Award and the 2016 Christian Petersen Design Award, the highest honor the college bestows.

“The College of Design is home. I feel like I helped make it what it is, and it made me what and who I am. To be recognized for accomplishments by this institution is extremely meaningful for me,” Schwennsen said.

These lessons have guided her leadership efforts in support of others’ success at Iowa State and at Clemson. In 2015, DesignIntelligence magazine named Schwennsen one of the nation’s 30 Most Admired Design Educators. In honoring her as an exemplary role model in architectural education, the publication stated, “Kate Schwennsen has brought renewed energy and focus to Clemson’s program… . A strong advocate for the Above right: As an advocate for architectural education globally, Schwennsen has visited architecture programs around the world, including at Dar Al Uloom University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Below left and right: Schwennsen addresses a group at Clemson’s Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research and Urban Studies in Genoa, Italy; she provides remarks as the soon-to-be-former president of the American Institute of Architects in December 2006, in the company of other past presidents.

Advocacy and leadership Schwennsen has long advocated for equity and inclusion in architectural education and practice, and has worked to advance relationships between practitioners and the educational community in her roles as an architect and educator.

After receiving her degrees from Iowa State, she practiced for 10 years in two private firms in Des Moines. Her work encompassed all areas of architecture, from 5

O U T R E AC H S T U D I O

GAME CHANGER

By Teddi Barron, News Service

Industrial design studio creates assistive sports devices

Photo by Joe Craig-Ferraz.

deserve — to play with a glove that has a more traditional look. The Courage Mitt gives them that opportunity.”

Photo by Alison Weidemann.

Above left and right: ISU students share a universal wheelchair-guard design with Jack Clarke at Courage League Sports, founded by his mother, Melissa Clarke-Wharff.

The Courage League Mitt designed by Joe Craig-Ferraz (BID 2015 Industrial Design).

Iowa State industrial design students are learning to use a tool that will serve them well throughout their careers. It’s not a soldering iron, needle nose pliers, glue gun or even a 3-D printer. It’s empathy.

This past spring, 29 students designed assistive sports equipment for a recreational facility that serves people with special needs. Courage League Sports in Urbandale — whose motto is “Every Child Deserves to Play” — teamed up with Iowa State’s industrial design department to create the equipment. And several ISU students went above and beyond, volunteering at Courage League to better understand the athletes’ special needs during sports play.

The students designed equipment that does not exist anywhere else — from multipurpose bowling pins that give auditory feedback for kids with differing abilities to a universal guard attachment that enables athletes to play power soccer comfortably from their own wheelchairs.

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In the previous (spring 2015) studio, 22 designs (some developed by individuals, some by teams) were carried through to high-fidelity prototypes.

In its second year, the ongoing collaboration continues to expand play opportunities for Courage League participants and learning opportunities for ISU students.

Keeping it real A leather mitt on a wooden stick — the Courage Mitt — emerged from the spring 2015 class. The simple apparatus enables children who are wheelchair bound or have balance issues to field a ball as unrestrictedly and independently as possible.

“Our kids grow up watching baseball just like every other kid,” said then-Courage League Program Director Molly Wuebker.

“It was very important to us that we were able to keep the aesthetic integrity of the sport intact. These kids want — and

Wuebker said Courage League is working with a manufacturer to get the mitt into production for testing and replication.

“That’s the model we want to see going forward,” said ISU industrial design Chair David Ringholz. “Our students will generate a product and Courage League will develop it. We’re doing their R&D and they’re doing the production.”

A whole new ballgame for students Learning how to design with empathy for specialized populations is an extra asset for the budding designers in industrial design Lecturer Mirna Garza-Gonzalez’s junior-level studio. The course exposed students to real-world issues in the practice of industrial design. It’s the first time they designed for a client.

“That means they learn about meeting the customer’s requirements, expectations and needs,” Garza-Gonzalez said. “And they have to change their designs accordingly.”

“In the past we’ve only presented [our projects] to the industrial design faculty,” said William Huskisson of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. “It’s an entirely different

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challenge to work with people outside of our field.”

The main difference is the clients’ ongoing presence in the design process, said Limay Vong, Waukee. “When we research, ideate, prototype — we constantly get their feedback. It helps us create more meaningful and sustainable products.”

And a real-world project can limit their freedom, said Daniel Gulick of Marion.

“But this is not always bad. The client often helps guide the design decisions.”

Feeling it In the first part of the course, the students focused on learning the terms, methods and principles of designing for specialized populations. They studied physical limitations and assistive devices, gaining an understanding of the differences between assistive, adaptive, barrier-free, transgenerational and universal design.

And they learned the game regulations and sports devices used at Courage League.

“We discussed how to bring the experience of the game to the players — the feeling of kicking the ball or pitching a ball so they can have the sensation of playing the game,” Garza-Gonzalez said.

“The students learned how to use listening and observation to get insights from the users, which helps them empathize with someone who is different.

They came to understand the importance of considering what questions to ask their clients and how to not bias the answers.

This will help them throughout their whole careers,” she said.

During National Volunteer Week in April, Courage League recognized Baker for his commitment.

“While volunteering, I tried to shut off the designer in me and focus on creating an inviting atmosphere for the participants.

I had to approach it with an open mind,” Baker said.

Baker and teammate Gulick designed stackable bowling pins that deliver the sound of pins crashing and crowd cheering when knocked down. And they wanted to create interactive pins that could have multiple uses for a variety of activities. So their pins had six sides with numbers (like dice) to be used for other games.

“I experienced the gameplay with them, sat in the wheelchairs and realized what a struggle it is to play basketball or soccer without use of my legs. And I got to do this all outside of the design mindset. I’m there to help out and play,” he said.

The inspiration came from watching the kids play the facility’s existing bowling game, some with difficulty. They noticed that each activity is short to keep players interested.

It was only on the drive back to Ames that Baker reflected — as a designer — on what he saw or experienced that day.

“This would be fun for any kid, but the point is that despite physical and cognitive limitations, anyone can safely and confidently play this bowling game,” Baker said.

“I thought about how a person may have struggled with a certain activity because of the equipment. How could we make this game more inclusive? In what way did someone struggle when doing a task?

Where was their attention or interest lost?” he said.

“Volunteering gave me a better feel for who we’re designing for,” Baker said. “It’s incredibly difficult and really dishonest to design for people you’ve never been around or observed. Once you’re interacting with people, you can truly understand their habits.”

Courage League’s Wuebker said the collaboration between ISU and Courage League is breaking down barriers and providing more opportunities for the special needs population.

“It has been a game changer for our program and participants, both literally and figuratively,” she said.

“This project really opened my eyes as a designer,” Baker said. “I’ve realized how inclusive design doesn’t just benefit specific populations. It benefits us all.”

Versatile bowling pins designed by Ian Baker and Daniel Gulick, now seniors in industrial design, can be used for multiple activities.

“It has been really eye opening to see how someone with autism interacts with a product differently from someone in a wheelchair,” Huskisson said.

Personal interaction Playing alongside the Courage League athletes on weekends, evenings or during spring break enhanced the design experience for the students who volunteered. It enabled them to connect emotionally and design responsively.

“It’s humbling to design something that truly matters and can impact someone’s life for the better,” said Colton Westerberg, Forest City.

Ian Baker, Des Moines, volunteered some evenings and for weekend special events.

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COMMUNIT Y CONNECTION

C O L L A BO R AT I V E E FFORT

By Heather Sauer

Intertwine community project blankets Design on Main façade

Left: Project organizer Jennifer Drinkwater with participants’ entry forms and installation diagrams displayed in the Design on Main Gallery. Photo by Heather Sauer. Above: More than 1,000 knitted and crocheted squares covered the front of the building. Photo by Alison Weidemann.

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The numbers are impressive. Nine months. Fourteen states. Dozens of Iowa communities. Three-thousand-plus volunteer hours. Ages ranging from 8 to 93. All resulting in more than 1,000 knitted and crocheted square segments sewn into a “giant quilt” for the façade of Iowa State University Design on Main in downtown Ames.

visual culture and community art extension specialist, and the driving force behind Intertwine.

The 130-year-old building, a satellite facility of the College of Design, houses studios for the graphic design, integrated visual arts, sustainable design and urban design graduate programs as well as a public gallery space. And for one month late last spring, the front of the building at 203-207 Main St. was blanketed in colorful yarn as the “Intertwine” project came to a close.

From its launch in August 2015, Intertwine involved hundreds of people throughout Iowa and across the U.S., including groups from schools, such as St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Waverly, and senior centers, like Northcrest Community in Ames. Some individuals, like Carol Horn from Story City, contributed dozens of knitted or crocheted panels.

“When I first conceived of this project, I hoped it would offer the opportunity for people who do not consider themselves to be artists to contribute to a public artwork and have their work included in an exhibition,” said Jennifer Drinkwater, an ISU assistant professor of art and

Many participants shared stories of memories triggered by the project, and some dedicated their work in honor or in memory of a loved one.

“I also saw it as a way to build community connections through collaborative effort. I never imagined how successful this would be!”

Personal stories

Iowa State alumna Deb Schiel-Larson (BLA 1981 Landscape Architecture) of

Indianola knitted a green square with strands of gold in memory of her mother, Elma Schiel, who had worked at ISU for many years before retiring from the President’s Office in 1997 and died in 2015 after a long battle with breast cancer.

“I was a carillon student at Iowa State and [Mom] was proud of it. I will never forget the thrill of playing ‘Bells of Iowa State’ — the ‘green hills’ in the lyrics of this song mean a lot to me,” Schiel-Larson said. “I feel a special connection to the campus, too, because of my landscape architecture degree. The color green just seemed to fit.”

Schiel-Larson noted that she started over four times while knitting the square because “it’s not easy to knit through grief and tears. … I am so grateful for this ‘Intertwine’ project, and for this process. In helping you, the knitting helped me, too.”

Installation and exhibition In the final few weeks before installation, Drinkwater hosted “block parties” for

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volunteers to meet in local restaurants to finish their squares and help sew them together into 37 larger panels. These panels — ranging from 7-ft.-by-2-ft. to 12-ft.-by-6-ft. depending on where they would be located on the building — were attached to plastic mesh-covered wooden stretchers, which were then screwed together and hung from metal cables running from anchor points on the roof of the Design on Main building down to the sidewalk.

Drinkwater’s fiancé, Aaron Swanson of Ames, diagrammed the installation, and designed and built the stretchers and cable system. The project was installed by volunteers over several days, with the work completed just in time for a public reception on May 13.

A concurrent exhibition in the Design on Main Gallery featured work by 10 central Iowa artists that “celebrated and interpreted the spirit of Intertwine through materiality, collaboration or interaction.” Artists included ISU art and visual culture Professors Cindy Gould (BFA 1992 Drawing/Painting/ Printmaking / MA 1994 Drawing/ Painting), Chris Martin (BFA 1990 Craft Design) and Teresa Paschke; architecture Professor Mitchell Squire; alumni Lyndsay Nissen (MFA 2015 Integrated Visual Arts) and Catherine Reinhart (BFA 2008 Integrated Studio Arts); Ames artists Tiberiu Chelcea, Steve Nissen, Kristen Roach and Sharon Stewart; Des

Moines artist Rachel Buse; and Intertwine contributor Carol Horn.

Wrapped in love Following the installation and exhibition, the yarn panels were removed and professionally cleaned. Volunteers are now refashioning the segments into 4-ft.-by-7-ft. blankets for donation to local nonprofit organizations, including ACCESS (Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support) and Youth & Shelter Services, which will use them for its Achieving Maximum Potential (AMP) program. AMP provides suitcases full of supplies to young adults who are transitioning from foster care to apartments or college dorm rooms.

“A lot of deserving kids will receive our handmade blankets in their suitcases with a card attached that explains where they came from,” Drinkwater said. “I hope the recipients will feel the love that went into making them.”

a-dozen blankets in July. A lot of people have told me this gave them something to come together and focus on, and they are eager to get involved in another collaborative project,” she said.

“I didn’t realize how good it would feel to have all these people contributing.

It doesn’t feel like my project — it feels like our project. I didn’t make a thing; I provided some structure and all these other people did it. I hope they feel ownership and pride and excitement about it.”

Drinkwater received a nearly $10,000 Iowa Arts Council Art Project Grant, a $4,000 Burning Man Arts Global Art Grant and $1,200 in seed funding from the ISU College of Design to support Intertwine. The project will live on through a website featuring photos, stories and a video documenting the process from start to finish.

Ripple effects Drinkwater is especially pleased by the project’s “ripple effects and offshoot projects,” she said.

“Carol Horn started wrapping children’s bicycles and tricycles with yarn and wants to initiate new public yarnbombing projects. The Crafty Cresters group at Northcrest (which was formed to participate in Intertwine) still meets regularly, and they helped to sew half-

Below right and left: In the spirit of Intertwine, Carol Horn of Story City knits colorful adornments for children’s bicycles and tricycles. Right: Aaron Swanson uses a scissor lift to install the Intertwine panels on the Design on Main façade in downtown Ames.

Photo by Heather Sauer.

Photo by Alison Weidemann.

Photo by Alison Weidemann.

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O U T S TA N D I N G A LU M S

HOMECOMING AWARDS College, university honor distinguished alumni DESIGN ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Established in 1988 to recognize outstanding creative and professional achievements of alumni in all of the college’s disciplines

Michael Braley BFA 1993 Graphic Design Lexington, Kentucky Michael Braley, creative director of Braley Design, has more than 20 years of experience in brand, print, book and package design. His work has been recognized with more than 400 professional honors and awards and is in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, the Denver Art Museum and the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, Germany.

Among Braley’s clients are Aeropostale, Alliance for American Manufacturing, AIGA, Effen Vodka, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Future Partners, IBM, Pando Populus, the People’s Music School and Skadden.

His work has appeared in numerous publications and exhibitions, including AIGA Communication Graphics, Art Directors Club of New York, British Design and Art Direction, Cannes Design Lions, Clio Awards, Communication Arts, Graphis, I.D., London International Awards, the One Show, Print Magazine and Type Directors Club.

Braley began his career in San Francisco, working as a designer at Stone Yamashita (1994-95), senior designer at Elixir Design (1995-97) and art director at 10 10 10

Cahan & Associates (1997-2005) before moving to New York for six years, including two years as design director at VSA Partners. He was the creative director of Shatterbox Studios in Lexington from 2012-14.

As a member of the American Advertising Federation Lexington since 2013, Braley has served as director of communications (2016-17), vice president of programming (2015-16) and awards show judges co-chair (2015).

He will complete a three-year term on the ISU Department of Graphic Design Advisory Council in 2016.

Thomas R. Gerend BS 2000 Community & Regional Planning Kansas City, Missouri Since 2014, Tom Gerend has served as the first executive director of the Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA), a nonprofit corporation established to oversee the operation and maintenance of the KC Streetcar system. He also chairs the city’s Smart City Advisory Board, where he works to help advance Smart City implementation in downtown and along the streetcar route, and is a member of the Downtown Council, Missouri Public Transit Association and Kansas City Regional Transit Coordinating Council boards of directors.

From 2006-2014, Gerend served as the assistant director, then co-director of transportation planning for the MidAmerica Regional Council (MARC), where he led regional transportation planning, streetcar planning and public

transit coordination across the eightcounty, bi-state Kansas City region. While at MARC he led the region’s efforts to win a $50 million federal Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER I) Program grant and secured critical funding to launch KC Streetcar’s initial planning. The MARC Transportation Outlook 2040 long-range transportation plan was a Best Planning Practices in Metropolitan Transportation Planning case study by the Federal Highway Administration in 2012.

Prior to joining MARC, Gerend was a regional planner and program manager for the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission in Peoria, Ill., for six years.

Gerend holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois Springfield. He received the Kansas City Economic Development Council’s 2016 Cornerstone Award for the KC Streetcar project and Innovation Award for the Smart City Advisory Board.

He is an annual member of the ISU Alumni Association.

Matt Ostanik BArch 2001 Architecture / MBA 2009 Business Administration Dallas Center Matt Ostanik is the chief executive officer of FunnelWise, a company he founded in 2014 to provide revenue predictability software and expertise to help companies increase revenue growth by optimizing their marketing and sales funnels. Ostanik also is the founder and lead investor in Charrette Venture Group, an investment firm that helps entrepreneurial architects and design professionals grow their own businesses.

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Ostanik previously founded and led an online construction software company, Submittal Exchange, which he sold to Textura Corporation in 2011. He served on the executive team at Textura when the company completed a successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013.

Before starting Submittal Exchange, Ostanik was an intern architect and later project architect with Frevert-RamseyKobes Architects-Engineers (2001-06) and Walker Architects (2006-07), both in Des Moines. He has served on the American Institute of Architects Iowa chapter board of directors since 2011, including as vice president in 2016 and treasurer in 2013-14.

Ostanik was named one of the Des Moines Business Record’s Forty Under 40 in 2013. His businesses have received numerous recognitions, including the Technology Association of Iowa’s 2016 Outstanding Startup Company of the Year, 2012 Clean Technology Company of the Year, 2011 Software Company of the Year and 2010 Top Growth Company; the Des Moines Register’s 2013 Top Iowa Workplaces; the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s 2013 Economic Impact Award; Inc. Magazine’s 2011 Top Small Company Workplace; and the Construction Specification Institute’s 2011 Construction Technology Award.

He is a life member of the ISU Alumni Association.

OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD Established by the Iowa State University Alumni Association in 1968 to recognize ISU alumni, age 40 and under, who have excelled in their professions and provided service to their communities

Lynn M. Ross BS 1999 Community & Regional Planning Miami Beach, Florida Lynn M. Ross, AICP, recently was named vice president for

communities and national initiatives at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—a national organization dedicated to fostering informed and engaged communities—after serving as the deputy assistant secretary for policy development in the Office of Policy Development and Research for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C.

inspire

Ross has committed her career to advancing land-use and housing policies that expand access to opportunity, including positions as executive director of the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Center for Housing, chief operating officer of the National Housing Conference and Center for Housing Policy and manager of the American Planning Association’s planning advisory service. She earned her Master of Regional Planning degree from Cornell University in 2001, receiving the APA’s upstate New York chapter’s student project award for “Women, Welfare and Work.”

Writers Teddi Barron, Chelsea Evers, Heather Sauer

A recipient of the National Association of Real Estate Editors’ 2013 Robert Bruss Real Estate Book Award and the ISU College of Design’s 2009 Design Achievement Award, Ross is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, American Planning Association and Urban Land Institute.

She has presented nationally on housing issues at Harvard University, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Urban Institute, the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, the Governor’s Institute for Community Design and New Partners for Smart Growth. She has authored or co-authored a number of policy and research publications on such topics as development costs, demographic impacts on land use, urban planning, intergenerational communities and housing affordability.

A former George Washington Carver scholar and ISU Department of Community and Regional Planning Planning Advisory Council member, Ross is a life member of the ISU Alumni Association.

Inspire is published twice per year by the Iowa State University College of Design and is mailed to more than 16,000 alumni and friends.

Newsletter Staff Editors Heather Sauer

Photographers Joe Craig-Ferraz, Shelby Doyle, Dronography Iowa, Heather Sauer, Kate Schwennsen, Amy Vinchattle, Alison Weidemann Graphic Designer Alison Weidemann Contact Us 134 College of Design Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011-3091 designews@iastate.edu design.iastate.edu facebook.com/CollegeofDesign Twitter: @ISUdesign Instagram: @isucollegeofdesign Alumni Updates Have you married, moved, changed jobs, published or exhibited your work or earned an award? Let us know at http://www.design.iastate.edu/ alumni/share-your-news/.

On the Cover The Flux Pavilion featured creative use of material, space, light and sound to provide a unique interactive experience for 80/35 Music Festival attendees.

Benches at the base offered a place for visitors to rest as they enjoyed festival activities. Photo by Amy Vinchattle.

Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to Office of Equal Opportunity, 3410 Beardshear Hall, 515 Morrill Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, Tel. 515 294-7612, email eooffice@iastate.edu

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Office of the Dean 134 College of Design Ames, IA 50011-3091

VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 2 | FALL 2016

Landscape architecture, architecture programs ranked nationally Iowa State University’s programs in landscape architecture and architecture are again ranked in the top 20 in the nation, according to the latest survey of practitioners

by DesignIntelligence.

The survey placed Iowa State’s undergraduate landscape architecture program 10th and undergraduate architecture program 18th in the United States for 2016-17. For the first time, ISU’s graduate landscape architecture program ranked in the top 20 in the U.S., placing 17th.

In addition, Luis Rico-Gutierrez, dean of the College of Design, was named one of

the 25 most admired educators in the nation for 2016-17.

DesignIntelligence is a quarterly publication for leaders in design professions. The magazine’s annual report, “America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools,” is the only national college ranking survey that focuses exclusively on design. Rankings this year covered accredited programs in architecture, interior design and landscape architecture. Published in DesignIntelligence Quarterly Vol. 21, Third Quarter, the 17th annual survey was conducted in mid-2016 on behalf of the Design Futures Council.

The ISU undergraduate landscape architecture program has ranked among the top 15 programs for 11 of the past 12 years. There are 47 accredited landscape architecture undergraduate programs in the U.S., of which 33 — like Iowa State’s — are professional bachelor of landscape architecture programs. There are 54 accredited landscape architecture graduate programs in the U.S. and one in Puerto Rico.

ISU’s undergraduate architecture program has ranked in the top 20 for 12 of the past 14 years. There are 45 accredited undergraduate architecture programs in the U.S., one in Puerto Rico and one in the United Arab Emirates.