Abridged Dossier of Work, 2025
Submission Contents:
Impact in Design Administration
Innovating Structural Design Pedagogy
Construction Histor y Scholarship
Advancing Design-Science Research
Community Engagement : Design-Build
Ser vice to Students and Profession
Professor Whitehead’s proli c career has elevated the crucial bond between architecture, structural design, and construction in a manner that transcends the classroom and traditional disciplinary constraints. The premise of his work is the belief that creative and scrupulous attention to sustainable design principles, collectively expressed through interdisciplinary design, enriches our built and natural world in impactful ways.
The work is intentionally multi-faceted for greater impact; student experiences are elevated through a conjunction of administative initiatives, award-winning instruction, innovative design-research, community-based design-build projects, and a body of scholarship centered around experimental structural design, production, and construction history. As a design administrator, he has increased opportunities for high-impact, collabortive education experiences. Collectively, these efforts bring together learners, educators, researchers, and communities towards more progressive models of design that are more mindful of the ways we can effectively learn, create, and evaluate together.
Whitehead is a renowned educator who’s been recognized by all the major pillars of architectural education and practice: AIA, NCARB, USGBC, ACSA, Design Intelligence, and the Building Technology Educators’ Society (BTES) for his contributions to architectural and structural design education. In 2021, his most recent textbook, “Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, Breaking” received a prestigious national “Textbook Excellence Award (College)” from the Textbook Authors Association (TAA) and an Honorable Mention for the BTES Book Award. This book has been adopted worldwide reaching thousands of students a year. The book is based on the innovative structural design sequence Whitehead created at Iowa State University which received an ACSA Creative Achievement Award and has become a model for a new generation of collegiate structural design education at several institutions around the U.S.. His writing on structural design teaching has been presented and viewed internationally thousands of times.
Whitehead bridges architectural and structural design practices with the academy through a vibrant and internationally-recognized realm of construction history scholarship. Broadly, this work looks at experimental structures with an emphasis on shells and lightweight spatial structures developed by architects / engineers in a pre-computational era of practice. Often, bold innovations and/or instructive failures are revealed during nal analysis and construction. These historical examinations of experimentation and innovation in design practices tie directly to contemporary issues of progressive practice models and education. This scholarship produced critical insights into the practices and challenges faced by Eero Saarinen and Frei Otto in their work. These writings and presentations have been widely shared at international conferences of architects and engineers (including with former associates of Saarinen and Otto), in peer-reviewed journals, and as a chapter in “Constructing Building Enclosures” (Ed. C. Fordham, 2020). This work has been downloaded and viewed internationally thousands of times across multiple modes of media.
These connections between architecture and structures take physical form in a series of community-engagement / design-build works and design-research projects. Whitehead’s humanitarian-oriented research centralizes structural design and technical performance together in the search for ways to create sustainable and resilient environments. These contributions include: the design for the Iowa National Guard’s off-grid Mobile Operation center, prototypes produced for his “Structures in Service” design-build option studio (including two AIA Iowa Impact awards), on-going research collaborations with civil engineers, and in his internationally-recognized scholarly research connecting structures to humanitarian design. His built work also has impact at a local level as well. Whitehead’s design-build courses have created several pavilions for non-pro t community organizations in central Iowa that are regularly used by hundreds for recreational and performance purposes--the students that participated in these design-build courses also learned crucial lessons.
His work has consistently been connected to architectural practice for 25 years. In 2023, he was elevated to the National AIA College of Fellows for his contributions to education. He has two decades of award-winning practice experience including local, state, and regional awards, including a leadership role at HLKB Architecture, 2001 AIA Firm of the Year. For the last decade he’s been either the AIAS and NCARB-AXP advisor at ISU. He’s been a consistent AIA member for decades and he’s been a regular participant in local chapter events, conventions, publications, and juries for the extent of his career. .
Inclusive, Interdisciplinary Educational Opportunities for Elevated Learning
Associate Dean of Academic Programs & Student Success Activities
As Associate Dean, my priority is the promotion and implementation of interdisciplinary, educational opportunities for high-impact learning. In line with our land-grant mission, inclusive educational access is a top priority.
Iowa State University’s College of Design is a uniquely interdisciplinary learning environment. There are eight different design majors: Architecture, Landscape Arch., Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Community & Regional Planning, Integrated Studio Arts, and Game Design.
Having this unique combination of majors all within the same building provides important opportunities to learn from each other. Thus our three predominant collaborative learning initiative: Core Program, Interdisciplinary Option Studios, and Study Abroad.
Role of Nominee: Provide coordination and oversight for curricula programs, advising, multi-cultural student services, study abroad programs, and learning facilities.
2,100
Before selecting a professional major, most first-year design students complete the Core Design Program before advancing into any of the professional degree programs.
The shared curriculum of studio design courses focuses on fundamental inquiry-based skills of thinking and making. The courses are taught by instructors from nearly every major in the College, providing students with unique insight into the complexity and interdisciplinary of progressive design. Learning Communities and Peer-Mentors are integrated into the student learning experience.
Role of Nominee: As Director of the Core Program from 2023-present I’ve worked with faculty to create a more interdisciplinary and integrated curriculum that blends 2D and 3D studio content. Educational access to learning has been improved with modification to course supplies and integration of digital technology.
Every spring semester, the College of Design offers approximately 15 advanced, project-based studios (DSNS 5460 courses) that examine diverse themes in the built environment, design, and the arts.
The studios provide 250+ students from all College of Design majors an opportunity to engage in different challenges of interdisciplinary design work. These studios are often co-taught by faculty from different departments. As capstone studios, they provide students opportunities to experience the challenges and opportunities inherent in interdisciplinary design.
Role of Nominee: As coordinator of this interdisciplinary academic program, my role is to work with faculty to develop and implement their courses to amplify our College’s interdisciplinary goals (e.g., Digital Innovation, Community Engagement, United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, etc.). From 2023-present I’ve increased foundation funds available to students to offset expenses for materials and travel.
Study abroad opportunities are a central part of any high-impact educational experience. These educational opportunities help advance academic, personal, and professional growth.
The College of Design features three types of international programs: our Rome Program, shortterm faculty-led programs, and reciprocal student exchange programs. Our Rome Program is a 30-year old semester long residential program that serves nearly all majors in the College of Design.
Role of Nominee: As Associate Dean, my role is to work with faculty to develop and implement study abroad opportunities and international partnerships.
In 2024, I worked directly with faculty, chairs, and the new Resident Director of the Rome Program to implement a more integrated and interdisciplinary approach to certain studio offerings and field trips. Additionally, new academic partnerships are being cultivated in Puerto Rico and Peru.
Innovating Structural Design Pedagogy
Routledge Publishing, 2019
Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, Breaking presents an iterative designcentric, problem-based learning approach to structural principles. The book teaches concepts before calculations and demonstrates how to design effective, efficient, and expressive building designs by using models, sketches, and numerical and parametric models.
Various design methods are demonstrated throughout the book that can be used to design and evaluate structures; incorporating a diverse set of tools, leads to a more advanced ability to integrate structural principles more holistically into design.
Historical precedents and design exercises are shown which use a Think, Make, Break method of reiterative design to create progressive “structures-forward” projects.
Each section of the book is focused on a particular manner by which structural resistance is provided: Form (Arches and Cables), Sections (Beams, Slabs, and Columns), Vectors (Trusses and Space Frames), Surfaces (Shells and Plates), and Frames (Connections and High-Rises).
Role of Nominee: Author and Illustrator (480 pages, 550 illustrations). Images of student work included by permission and accredited when requested.
Adoptions: Adopted in U.S., U.K., Australia (Architecture, Civil Engineering, & construction systems majors); Approx. 2,000 students per year
Awards:
BTES Textbook Award, Honorable Mention, Building Technology Educators Society (BTES), 2021
“The ‘think-make-break’ method of learning is innovative in its projectbased demonstration that conveys knowledge without the abstraction found in typical structures teaching.”
TAA Textbook Excellence Award (College), Textbook & Academic Authors Association, 2021
“Structures by Design is an innovative and abundantly illustrated book packed with interactive exercises and informative diagrams. It is a book that will likely traverse conventionally siloed aspects of architecture curricula, finding its way into structures courses as well as design studios.”
“Structures by Design is an empowering text that provides straightforward techniques for structural design solutions... This is the structures text I needed when I was a student, and it’s one I’m pleased to have now.”
-Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, AIA Gold Medal Winner, E Fay Jones Distinguished Professor, Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design, University of Arkansas
Whitehead, FAIA, Iowa State University
Innovating Structural Design Pedagogy
Second Edition, Routledge Publishing, 2014
Third Edition, Routledge Publishing, 2025 (In Production)
Jason Alread, AIA, Tom Leslie, FAIA, & Rob Whitehead, FAIA
Design-Tech: Building Science for Architects, 2nd Ed. & 3rd Ed. are written from a unique narrative that challenges the traditional silo-based approach to learning building technology topics.
The book’s format follows the developmental stages of a well-considered integrated NAAB architectural project; it provides a step-by-step process for addressing and integrating building sciences from first principles of human comfort, materials, structures, and environmental systems to advanced construction systems, and measures of building performance. The content focuses on what designers need to know in the studio to create sustainably designed, integrated buildings, and it prepares them for future discussions with engineers, contractors, and consultants.
The book was based on the pedagogy of the SCI-TECH technology sequence at Iowa State University developed by all three authors.
Role of Nominee:
For 2nd Edition & 3rd Editions, all three authors collaborated equally on developing the overall content, narrative, and illustrations. Specific chapters were equally divided. For both editions, Whitehead wrote structural design chapters. These chapters explain structural topics from first principles in easy-to-reference formats, utilizing numerous casestudies to demonstrate design implications. By focusing on practical structural information needed for future discussions with engineers, contractors, and consultants, the book is an essential resource for technology conscious designers.
Adoptions: Adopted in U.S., U.K., Australia architecture programs in studio and technology classes; Approx. 500 students per year
“With Design Tech we finally have the book that effectively extends building technology (teaching) into design studios and professional practice. A must have for students and young professionals.”
-Andrzej Zarzycki, Associate Professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2014
“Design-Tech is how I wish I had learned first principles of building technology: integrated, intuitive, and imaginatively illustrated.“
-Ryan E. Smith, Director ITAC, University of Utah, 2014
“It provides the exact right amount of building technology information, clearly and concisely delivered, for architecture students.”
-Donna Kacmar, Associate Professor, University of Houston
“[It] provides a comprehensive overview about the nuts and bolts of design in a single reference. The authors have distilled the most relevant information, making it ideal for those interested in architectural design.”
-Kevin Dong, Professor at California Polytechnic State University
Innovating Structural Design Pedagogy
Iowa State University, Department of Architecture, Fall 2008-present Integrated Technology Sequence:
Iowa State University’s Department of Architecture was the first undergraduate program in the U.S. to transform its building technology sequence into an integrated model (2008).
This new curriculum rejected the traditional silos of Structures, Materials/Assembly, and Environmental Forces and System in favor of a five-course sequence that combined all three technology topics each semester. The format of the class allowed for hands-on, high-impact learning opportunities by creating design-based lab assignments that align with each lecture topic.
Collaborators: Profs. Passe, Leslie, Bassler, and Whitehead, 2008
Role of Nominee: Whitehead has developed and implemented the structural design modules. His body of scholarship of teaching and learning has been presented to international conferences for architects and engineers. Whitehead has consulted with multiple peer institutions during their development of similarly integrated technology sequences including University of Utah and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
NCARB Grant for the Integration of Practice and Education in the Academy, 2009 , Tom Leslie, PI, Rob Whitehead, Co-PI
Excellence in Green Building Education Awards, 2009 , U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Honorable Mention; w/ Tom Leslie & Jason Alread
“The collaborative teaching model has made a positive improvement in the education of the students…the proposed methods move technology out of the seminar room and into the hands-on creative environment of design where it is found in practice.”
-Rod Kruse, FAIA, BNIM, NCARB Prize endorsement letter, 2009
1,400+ TECH STUDENTS (2008-present)
Innovating Structural Design Pedagogy
Structures by Design: Technology Sequence
Undergraduate Building Technology Modules, 2008-present
Think, Make, Break, + Evaluate
Effectively teaching structural design to architecture students is an important, but complicated endeavor. Deficiencies in technical knowledge have been regularly listed atop the complaints from NCARB annual reports. One cause is the unnecessary separation between structural acumen and design.
Whitehead’s research found new teaching methods based on educational research and contemporary tools of practice which would improve these conditions. His scholarly work showed the value of integrating project-based learning activities and the efficacy of student learning and retention when haptic-based learning exercises are incorporated into classroom activities.
Role of Nominee: Whitehead developed, implemented, and taught an awardwinning five-course structural design sequence, Structures by Design (SxD ).The course rejects the traditional primacy of formula-laden structural pedagogy and instead presents structural design as an integral part of an architectural exploration. Design-centric lab “problems” are explored through the design and construction of structural solutions. These creations are tested, often to failure as a means of effectively assessing their respective limits of behavior. Various tools and modeling methods (from analog to parametic modeling) are presented to demonstrate the connection between making and testing as way to optimize performance and acumen.
Impact: Whitehead has been invited to consult with structural design instructors at: Univ. Texas at Austin, Kansas St. Univ., Univ. of Utah, Carnegie Mellon Univ., Univ. Arkansas, & Univ. of Florida
STP: Structural Technology in Practice is one-third of Iowa State University’s new integrated undergraduate building technology course sequence. The courses consist of five separate, sequential semesters of classes, with each semester equally divided into three, five-week modules (structures, environmental systems, and materials & assemblies). By combining all modules together, longer class periods than traditional curricula were possible, offering the opportunity to implement both lecture and labs during the same class—this format provides a unique opportunity to present a diversity of teaching methods, offers students passive and active learning opportunities, and encourages in-depth explorations of each topic.
The course’s organization, teaching methods, and learning objectives are based off the simple idea that structures should be taught as a design course. The course’s pedagogical theme, Think, Make, Break, + Evaluate is used to demonstrate how structural design could be explored and integrated critically into design projects through a reiterative and experimental process.
The course format rejects the traditional structural pedagogy based primarily on formulae, abstract diagrams, and right/wrong calculationbased assessment. Instead, it presents structural design as an integral part of an architectural exploration. The lecture topics become the basis for design-centric lab “problems” that the students set out to solve—typically through the design and construction of a structural solution. These creations are tested, often to failure as a means of effectively assessing their respective limits of behavior. The performance of the system is evaluated by the students in a set of laboratory reports that often involve descriptions of their design process and final creations alongside technical diagrams, calculations (when possible), and a summary of “lessons learned” about the topic.
At the end of the sequence, students were expected to understand a diverse range structural behavior, develop responsive forms, understand the relationship between materials and constructability and structures, and demonstrate ways that structures can be discussed and designed in a sustainable manner.
Juror Comments: This program is exemplary for its strength, integration, and accessibility to students. The creative teaching modules focuses heavily on physical, hands-on experimentation and ideation, which prompts students to connect technical courses with design practices. This program truly engages students and offers exposure to a set of valuable learning experiences.
Research Topics: Eero Saarinen and Frei Otto Experimental Structures
Constructing Building Enclosures, Ed. Clifton Fordham, 2020, Routledge “Saarinen’s Shells: Kresge Auditorium, TWA Terminal, and Dulles Airport” Chapter Author: Rob Whitehead
This construction history-based scholarly work looks critically at the design process and construction history of Eero Saarinen’s four shells and spatial structures: Kresge, TWA, and Dulles (1951-61). Specifically the study looked and how and why the shells were designed the way they were (Kresge and TWA didn’t match structural principles) and the relationship between Saarinen and his engineers that developed.
The research was based on archival drawing, correspondence, and discussions with Kevin Roche. It revealed previously unpublished information about the design and construction process. Because these designs were truly anomalous in technical complexity and form at the time, the research revealed ways in which project teams devised to work collaboratively to address the particular challenges. Initially this process resulted in more compromises than collaborations, but each successive design demonstrated how proactive engagement in structural, material, and construction considerations could better benefit the overall design.
A particular point of scholarly emphasis is the previously unpublished specifics about the working relationship between Saarinen and the consulting engineering team; specifically the manner by which the structural forms evolved from the poorly conceived Kresge to the high-effective Dulles Terminal.
Light Nature, Frei Otto, Ed. Joaquin Medina Warmburg, Prestel, 2025 “Otto the Educator: Formative Experiments in the USA, 1950-1964”
This chapter focuses on Frei Otto’s first teaching experiences. Of all the roles that define Frei Otto’s career, perhaps “educator” fits best. From the beginning of his career, Otto defied the conventional expectations for what an educator should do and in what forums this instruction should occur. He operated simultaneously as a designer, researcher, builder, author, orator, publisher, and artist. Work in one realm was immediately generative to other realms and new knowledge was persistently shared openly.
This chapter looks for the beginning influences of innovation and experimentation that defined Otto’s later career. It traces Otto’s experiences as an undergraduate architectural student, his definitive thesis publication of the Das Hangende Dach, and how the drawing and model making experiments of practice formed his pedagogical approach for teaching american students about experimental structures.
Otto’s connection to education and research is primarily associated with his decades as the Director of the Institute for Lightweight Structures (IL) in Stuttgart. Yet many of the IL’s foundational qualities and the ideologies which shaped Otto’s career can be traced to the formative years between 1950-1964 and his experiences in the USA. Reciprocally, Otto’s brief, but intensive experiences as an educator in the USA contributed to the broader evolution of architectural educational methods in that country.
Unpublished information about his studios at Washington University, Harvard, Yale, and UC Berkeley are presented, alongside his writings and student work.
Technology Architecture + Design (TAD) Journal, Engineering, Issue 6:2, Fall 2022
“Evolution of Modeling for Lightweight Structures: Creating the Munich Olympic Stadium Roof (1967-72)”
Author: Rob Whitehead
The experimental nature of the Munich Olympic Stadium roof (1967-72), and the efforts to accurately engineer it, created an inflection point in collaborative design practice because the project’s distinctive formal and structural conditions compelled formative evolutions in modeling and analytical modalities. Specific design characteristics exceeded the established capacity to accurately model or analyze the project using conventional means of practice; this deficiency created discordance and eventually compelled innovation. As a result, various modeling techniques, including large-scale physical models and pioneering computer programs, were created to generate, extract, and convey information about the form, performance, and fabrication options.
Although physical modeling was initially beneficial, it became obsolete as refinement and confirmation became requisite. The cable-net structure exceeded conventional capacity for analysis, which drove the engineers to evolve their confirmative modeling methods. Instead of abandoning the parametric logic of these physical models, the design team embraced this approach and applied their complementary interdisciplinary expertise to create two
ground-breaking computational modeling techniques that are still in use today.
All of the project’s modeling shared a root logic. The initial physical models established an instrument-based, performance-oriented, rapid-feedback design process based on parametric decision-making which remained throughout the project’s development—even when the mode of modeling changed towards computation. As the project advanced, the volatile nature of lightweight structural behavior introduced a dynamic quality to the project’s modeling and analysis process that necessitated greater accuracy. The practical need for verification and analysis led to significant advancements in enduring generative and confirmative analysis methods, including the first parametric computational modeling methods. These model variations created by team members of different disciplines created both new design opportunities and collaborative conflicts because their use challenged traditional practice roles—an elucidative parable of contemporary design culture and practice.
The modeling techniques exceeded their mandate for simple confirmation and evolved into the first generative and optimizing parametric modeling options for lightweight structures. The findings will show how the evolving use of these models and the collaborative complications that ensued situate contemporary challenges of experimental design, technology, and practice.
Construction History Scholarship
Peer-Reviewed Scholarship, Author: Rob Whitehead
Building Technology Educators’ Society (BTES), 2021
“Frei Otto’s Pneumatic Experiments for Humanitarian Design,”
Frei Otto’s early pneumatic experiments (1947-61) created a unique and ambition scholarly intersection between building technology and humanitarian design.
Constraining the investigation to Otto’s relatively unknown early work provides a useful exploration of design-science approach—an approach that is useful for contemporary pedagogical applications as well. The findings contextualizes contemporary demands for humanitarian work by reflecting upon Otto’s ambitious design ideology and his ability to leverage technical acumen.
Structural Membranes, International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE), 2021
“Revisiting the Arctic City: 50-years of Pneumatic Progress and Perspective,”
This paper revisits one of Otto’s earliest design and research efforts, the Arctic City (1972). The project was intended to provide shelter in extreme conditions through innovations in technology. This paper looked at the technical aspects of the proposal for a 2km free-spanning pneumatic structures and contextualized the proposal with structural and material advancements from the ensuing decades. This paper reflected on Otto’s larger body of work which leveraged experimental structures for humanitarian efforts .
International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, “Form and Forces” conference, 2019
“Pneumatics for Humanitarian Design: The ideology and technology of lightness and adaptability.”
This paper explores the complicated manner by which Otto’s research contributed towards humanitarian design (or not), both in process and content. Although Otto’s desire to “build light and keep mobile” can be applicable for relief structures, he intended it more broadly. His operational ideology for lightweight structures sought to connect design, nature, and humanity; but his design-research work was intentionally acontextual.
Construction History Scholarship
Research Topic: Eero Saarinen & Amman & Whitney Engineering Design Collaborations
“Saarinen’s Shells: Innovative Structures and Formative Failures”
Kresge Auditorium, TWA Terminal, and Dulles Airport
This body of work looks at the ways that structural designers learn to develop, evaluate, and innovate their designs and ideally learn from failures. Lessons about the nature of experimentation and innovation in the design and construction process are extracted from the case-studies and used to illuminate contemporary practice and educational challenges. The most edifying examples come from experimental structures developed during precomputational practice in which models, calculations, and new tools were developed to solve these problems--as such it serves as a microcosm to larger discussion about practice models and the tools of practice.
A primary focus is Saarinen’s most structurally experimental portion of his career (1955-61); including the design of four shells and spatial structures (Kresge, Ingalls, TWA, and Dulles). These projects were innovative, but they didn’t perform fully as intended. The first two shells required significant adjustments by the engineers to accommodate Saarinen’s often misplaced structural expressions, but each iteration evolved and improved leading to Dulles’ directly responsive structural form.
A particular point of scholarly emphasis is the previously unpublished relationship between Saarinen and his structural engineering consultants as it involves larger questions about practice, design/analysis tools, and the limits of the construction industry of the 1950-60s, particularly related to structural shells. Because these designs were truly anomalous in technical complexity and form at the time, the project teams devised ways to work collaboratively to address the particular challenges. Initially this process resulted in more compromises than collaborations, but each successive design demonstrated how proactive engagement in structural, material, and construction considerations could better benefit the overall design.
Peer-Reviewed Scholarship, International Forums
“Portentous, and Predictable: Eero Saarinen, Ammann & Whitney, and the Damaging Failures of Kresge Auditorium (1950-1955)” Int’l Assoc. for Shell and Spatial Structures, 2018
“Model Behavior: The Evolving Use of Physical Prototypes in Structural Shell Design, 1959-1974,” Assoc. Collegiate Schools of Arch., 2016
“Formative Experiences: Saarinen’s Shells and the Evolutionary Impact of Construction Challenges,” 5th Int’l Congress on Const. Hist., 2015
“Saarinen’s Shells: The Evolution of Engineering Influence,” Int’l Assoc. for Shell and Spatial Structures, 2014
“Saarinen’s Seating and Sculptural Shells: Enduring Influences of Early Furniture Designs,” Construction History Society of America, 2016
“Tectonics, Tolerances, and Time: Eero Saarinen and Mies van der Rohe at Drake University,” Preservation, Education & Research Journal, Vol. 2, 2009, The National Council for Preservation Education, pg. 27-40
“Midwestern Modern Failures: Building Envelope Detailing, Performance, and Remediation Challenges at Drake University,” Construction History Society of America (CHSA), 2008
Rob Whitehead, FAIA, Iowa State University
NSF CLIMA: Multistable Organic Structural Simulations (MOSS), 2024 Award Number (FAIN): 2431765, Project Team: PI, Simon LaFlamme, ISU, Civil Engineering, Co-PI, Rob Whitehead, ISU, w/ Iris Rivero, Univ. of Florida and Thomas Secord, Univ. of St. Thomas. Total Funding: $352,512
Proposal Description:
Our proposal strengthens the links in design science between generative design of environmentally-optimized building enclosures and the alterable structural devices which can create various responsive and stable geometric configurations necessary for improved energy performance. Our proposal focuses on improving the design, simulation, and prototyping multi-stable connections that can be snapped into alternative states to provide geometric adaptations responsive to changes in environmental conditions. We term this concept MOSS: Multi-stable Organic Structural Simulations.
The construction and operation of buildings is a significant contributor to global carbon footprint—a building’s enclosure system is the primary mediator between the variable conditions of interior and exterior environmental factors and thus a key factor in energy consumption and carbon content. Enhancing this enclosure system, even marginally, would have impactful results when scaled. Optimization this system is easier in theory than practice. Optimizing configuration of building enclosures to the changing conditions of a climate throughout the seasons, like a living skin, has tangible benefits. From a CLIMA perspective, this targets an application domain that would have transformative impacts on the built environment; an adaptable building envelope would directly contribute to impactful environmental outcomes: efficiency of energy consumption (e.g., enhanced responsiveness to heating/cooling, passive lighting, etc.), reductions in carbon content of building materials (e.g., reduction of raw material usage, etc.), and long term resiliency through adaptable performance.
Evolutionary structural systems and adaptive facades are not new ideas, but they are rarely synced through design and performance. The novelty of our proposal rests in our ability to simulate advanced geometries of building surfaces simultaneously alongside the variable technical performance standards and configurations of multi-stable devices that support the facades. Bridging these disciplinary realms creates more opportunities for expanded access to design and construct adaptive kinetic building enclosure surfaces.
Our project is original by formulating designs enabling geometric adaptation of the structure using a series of stable states, thus creating new stable geometries using low power and, more importantly without requiring constant actuation. It will be possible to alter the global structural envelop through a series of local changes enabling the full potential of an evolutionary mechanism. Our discoveries will open a new design realm in structural engineering that integrates multi-stability. We differentiate evolutionary mechanisms and morphing, where evolutionary has an intended more latent application paired with dedicated evolutionary control rules. The research objective consolidates disciplinary specialties of design, environmental science, building technology, structural design, and environmental resiliency.
NSF-funded, CLIMA: Multistable Organic Structural Simulations (MOSS), 2024, cont’d.
Expected Impacts & Metrics of Research
The most impactful aspect of this project is the potential to retrofit adaptable façade systems onto existing buildings in order to improve their environmental performance while simultaneously improving their resiliency. We will demonstrate ways that targeted interventions of retrofitting a breathable and adaptable façade system, like a ventilated rain screen, onto existing buildings could enhance resiliency and improve building performance.
Using building simulation software and basic data collection, we can show that retrofitting buildings and improving their performance would have a tangible impact on the consumption of materials and carbon emissions that are associated with a tear-down/new construction cycle of design. We will show reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions that result from optimizing building performance in response to environmental conditions. Depending on the type of façade system we create, there will likely be tangible measures for environmental performance due to sun shading/light harvesting, water retention, glare reduction, increased opportunities for passive ventilation, and improved indirect lighting performance within the buildings as well.
The qualitative aspects of the work can be demonstrated by running further digital simulations of the space to show the improvements to living/working conditions that result from these responsive façade elements. We will be able to show before/after views of selected existing buildings to show how the resiliency of a building depends, in part, on the qualitative improvements of aesthetics and function as well.
This research will allow for the transfer of valuable information to students; all researchers are directly involved in classroom instruction, thus the influence of this work on student learning is assured. Of particular novelty and importance in this proposal is the crossdisciplinary nature of research team—rarely do architectural students interact with civil engineering students or professors, despite our shared practice realms. This project, when shared with students, can foster interdisciplinary collaboration, enrich students’ educational experiences, and promote innovation, creativity, and holistic problem-solving skills in ways that are new to their student experience. Advancing Design-Science Research
BNIM Regenerative Design Challenge: $10,000 funding Project Team: Co-PI, Rob Whitehead, Architecture, Co-PI, Simon Laflamme, Civil Engineering, Ayodele Iyanalu, Architecture, & Carl Rogers, Landscape Architecture
BNIM Regenerative Design Challenge Award
“Prototyping Adaptable Façades for Improved Resiliency & Performance of Existing Buildings”
The research program aims to enhance the resiliency, vitality, and performance of existing buildings by prototyping an adaptable “moving” facade screening system that can be retrofitted and tuned to enhance a building’s relationship with the environmental conditions. To explore this, we will leverage the interdisciplinary nature of our research team’s experience in architecture, experimental “smart” structures, adaptable / deployable devices for building performance, and advanced digital design and fabrication techniques to develop, test, and prototype our proposal.
The project connects to regenerative design by focusing on retrofitting our new prototypes onto existing building structures to enhance their performance and improve their resiliency. The potential impact of retrofitting is clear. Our built environment is filled with structurally viable buildings that simply suffer from the consequences of outdated approaches to design, building codes, and materials. Instead of being responsive to the environmental conditions of the sun, wind, and water, many of these older structures are under-insulated with fixed windows and minimal acknowledgement of passive solar and/or ventilation opportunities. Our proposal will study ways to enhance the buildings by attaching modular skin/scrims to adaptable mechanisms that are tuned to changing solar and ventilation conditions—essentially moving to allow the buildings to open/close and breathe as needed.
Investigation Team: Dolf Ivener (Sun Crate), Dan Stieler (Solar Film), Anne Kimber (ISU), Chao Hu (ISU, Electrical), Ulrike Passe (ISU, Arch), Rob Whitehead (ISU-Arch).
Funding Provided by: Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) w/ Iowa National Guard, 2019-2021. Total Funding: $158,396
Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa National Guard
“Mobile Micro-Grid Disaster Relief Crate, Phases One and Two”
The practical connection between humanitarian-based design-science research and building structures is obvious: Solutions must be lightweight, deployable, with demonstrated efficiencies in material utilization and fabrication. Many humanitarian issues are architectural issues as well.
This work has extended from the realm of teaching into practical and impactful applications for disaster relief and building resiliency that result in funded research awards. Prototyping and development of physical artifacts to be tested for performance are central tenets of the work. The work is highly collaborative and multi-disciplinary including structural engineers, electrical engineers, environmental researchers, builders, and private corporations.
The Mobile Micro-Grid Disaster Relief Crate began with a progressive idea that designing for energy independence is an essential part of disaster relief scenarios for those receiving and giving relief. In our proposal, existing steel shipping containers can be modified using a kit-of-part matrix to meet an array of functional and environmental needs for disaster relief operations.
This project was funded by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). The overall IEDA research project includes two shipping containers: Crate #1 has been designed and fabricated to generate, store, and convert solar power to meet a diversity of operational power needs without reliance on a mobile generator. The primary focus of Whitehead’s contribution was Crate #2, which is intended to serve as an energy-independent micro-grid that supports a diverse range of human activities in disaster relief operations.
Our design recognizes that flexibility and adaptability is important in relief operations. Disasters can happen in various locations / micro-climates around the state at any time of the year and the functional needs for each disaster may vary broadly. Instead of creating a singular product, we have created a system for decision-making and modular construction that conjoins the performance models of energy use with operations.
Nominee Primary Role: Crate #2, Co-designer, architectural design, operations, and fabrication details (w/ U. Passe). Primary illustrator for operations.
Innovating Structural Design Pedagogy
Undergraduate Capstone Interdisciplinary Studios (DSN S 546), Instructor: Rob Whitehead
By: Sam Nordmeyer and Samantha Gibbs, Spring 2022
AIA Iowa Impact Award, Merit of Excellence, 2023
Nationwide, thousands of college students face food-insecurity concerns; campuses have an abundance of under-utilized interior spaces that have the capability to house a growing system that can feed these students.
This group retrofitted a vertical farming system within the existing College of Design’s spatial volume— their scheme didn’t require any major modifications. Applying these growing systems to existing educational buildings allows a student to become enveloped in the relationship between their design education and food. Education becomes a catalyst for exposing students to food insecurity issues on campus and the relationship to prospective design solutions.
“Store Floor “
By: MJ Johnson, Marissa Engel, Nicole Becker, Ash Knepper, Spring 2017
AIA Iowa Impact Award, Merit of Excellence, 2020
This group developed a simple, but profound intervention in the disaster relief tent system. 3.5 million people live in tent shelters worldwide that don’t include any “floor”—this becomes highly problematic when emergency housing solutions become long-term solutions (the average person spends 16-20 hours a day inside) on the floor. Living on bare earth causes higher risk for illness.
Store Floor is an adjustable elevated floor that doubles as a storage space within the floor itself. The modular system is adaptable to tent size and is easy to assemble. It is fabricated out of recycled structural plastic to ensure a stable and supportive surface. The floor depth is a secure space for storing personal belongings while also providing a comfortable surface for standing, sitting, and sleeping.
By: Luke Keeble, Joe Hiestand, Lie He, Spring 2017
AIA Iowa Impact Award, Merit of Excellence, 2020
This project was a partnership with the local Engineers Without Borders student group for a village in Ullo, Ghana for a community well. Design students worked directly with inter-disciplinary teams of engineering students to envision new options for the community water station. The most conventional solution, an isolated pump handle, does little to address the multi-faceted nature of social and physical interactions that surround a water station.
To improve upon the existing system, this design proposed that the water would be secured in a cistern (reducing time to access water) and enclosed within a shell-like casing that is formed to include places to rest, socialize, wash, and nurture livestock. Double-curved surfaces like this are typically cumbersome to cast BUT they created a method for forming and casting a post-tensioned shell on-site using only the spoils from well drilling for earth-forms and local concrete to cast each piece.
Innovating Structural Design Pedagogy
Undergraduate Capstone Interdisciplinary Studios (DSN S 546), 6 credits
Instructor: Rob Whitehead + Nick Senske, Spring 2023
All studio materials funded by the Vernon Stone Fund in Architecture, 2023
Studio Challenge:
This design-build research-based studio included architecture and industrial design students. The purpose of the course was to explain how and why experimental structures were created in order to focus on a design-research question related to particular structural typologies.
The research explored ways to creatively utilize material matter with high rates of efficient utilization (“more with less”) based on innovative structural principles that link form and forces. The course explored how to harness the technical acumen which allows structures to be built for “performance” as they grow taller, become lighter, and more easily integrate customization in fabrication.
But what actually compels this experimentation? What is the purpose of design innovation besides novelty? How is performance and impact measured and understood before the experiment begins?
This hands-on course challenged students to learn about, and construct prototypes of historic and contemporary experimental structures. The connection between form, forces, and material methods of production were emphasized.
Students completed a series of modules based on distinct typologies of structures: Hanging Chains, Membranes, Grid Shells / Asymptotic Shells, Deployable Scissor Trusses, Reticular Canopies, Ruled Surface Column and Hypars.
Each student completed a self-assigned research project over the semester which may take the form of an in-depth case study, a digital simulation or model showing assembly or performance.
A final exhibition of design-build work was created and exhibited at the “Ignite Week,” at the ISU Student Innovation Center, April 2023.
Innovating Structural Design Pedagogy
Community Engagement: Design-Build Studio
Graduate Studio (ARCH 581), 6 credits, 2016
Instructor: Rob Whitehead & Shelby Doyle. Participants: Students received credit for contributions
Community Engagement: Design-Build Studio
Graduate Studio (ARCH 581), 6 credits, 2016
Instructor: Rob Whitehead & Carl Rogers. Participants: Students received credit for contributions
Bishop Family Shelter: Urbandale, Iowa
R.Whitehead & S.Doyle Instructors & Architects of Record. Student design and construction labor compensated with course credit.
8-week Design-Build Course, Budget: $70,000 funded by City of Urbandale Students: T. Torres, C. McCall, K.Salari, M.Moeckl, N.Gonzalez, M.Sai, S.Barron
The Bishop Family Shelter is built in the Dunlap Park Arboretum in Urbandale, Iowa. The 16’ x 40’ covered park shelter could accommodate both community recreational and educational activities. The project’s location, the simple form, and the refined level of detail in the benches, shelves, and tables reflects a purposeful approach to design that sees elegance in the interplay of these basic and profound elements. The material selection (cedar and galvanized steel) creates a beautiful and simple composition.
Scholarship: R. Whitehead & S. Doyle, “The Lore, Lessons, and Limits of Building Experience.” Presentation and discussion. Building Technology Educators’ Society (BTES), Integration + Innovation 2019
DMSC Community Stage: Des Moines, Iowa
R.Whitehead & C.Rogers Instructors & Architects of Record. Student design and construction labor compensated with course credit. 8-week Design-Build Course, Budget: $4,500 from DM Social Club (non-profit). Students: G.Hanson, B.Schenk, M.Brooks, A.Meyer, A.Brunn, C.Jagani, S.Sankalp, S. Daljevic
A local non-profit, the Des Moines Social Club (DMSC) needed an outdoor performance venue and gathering space in their existing parking lot. The work was an extension of work organized by Prof. Rogers’ work with the Community Design Lab at ISU, Landscape Architecture department, Student activities included the development and refinement of a design, presentation to a client, consultant meetings, materials and cost research, and development of permitted construction documents that matched the given budget.
Scholarship: R.Whitehead & C.Rogers, “All Hands on Deck: Instructors as Collaborators and the Modified Dynamics of Design Build Instruction,” NCBDS, 2016
Innovating Structural Design Pedagogy Structures in Service: Student Design-Build Research
Instructor: Rob Whitehead. Participants: Students received credit for contributions
Sighted Shelter: West Peterson Park, Iowa, 2013
Fishing Docks #1 & #2: West Peterson Park, Iowa, 2014 Graduate Studio (ARCH 581), 6 credits, 2013 & 2014
R.Whitehead Instructor & Architects of Record. Student design and construction labor compensated with course credit. 8-week Design-Build Course, Combined Budgets: $8,000 funded by Story County Conservation Students: E. Badding, A. Abulimiti, E. Cuthbert, H. Fan, N. Jones, K. Pacheco, D. Pollak, M. Spory, K. Strong, A. Wegner, A, Winkelmann, X. Wang (2013), D. Bouska, J. Elliott, B. Fettes, M. Fowler, J. Givens, S. Johnson, B. Kruse, H. Redburn, K. Vansice, S. Venkat, Z. Yin (2014).
Story County Conservation desired a unique sustainable shelter for a remote site within the park. The shelter was placed on a small, remote, open outcropping of land. It had to be built out of small pieces that could be transported to the remote site. Rammed-earth benches create three separate “rooms” on the site--one facing inward under the roof with others facing out to the unique views offered of the park. Students crafted custom screens for bench backrests and used a translucent roof material for the shelter to create a unique environment for park patrons.
The next year, Story County wanted two new fishing docks. Students designed a dock that enhances multiple activities: a boat dock along the open L-shaped edge, a continuous bench for sunbathing and relaxing, and dedicated “Fishing Stations” at the front of the dock with places for tackle boxes, supplies, and a built-in pole holder. A second dock was designed and built right next to the Sighted Shelter from 2013. All three elements are visually connected across the lake.
“Retro-Brick: Prototype for Seismic Resistance”
DSNS 546 Undergraduate and Graduate Studio, 6 cr. Sp. 18
Project by: M. Bardaji-Izard, M.Ramírez, N.González Winner, College of Design, Pitch-Off, 2018
This project created a unique masonry unit with a built-in expansion joint made from recycled tires. These units were designed to be retro-fitted into existing masonry buildings in high-seismic areas.
“Once Built (Often Built): Parametric Shell” Project by: Bart Phillips & Nathan Scott, Graduate Students Independent Study, DSN S 546, 2013.
Using early parametric modeling technolgy (pre-Rhino vault) students explored the connection between generative form-finding parametric modeling and fabrication techniques to create a lightweight shell. The final shell (12’ x 12’) was built with laser-cut plastic panels and
“Power-Pack: Personal Portable Micro-Grid”
Project by: N. Christensen, A. Shadow, L. Confalonieri, DSN S 546, 2017. This portable micro-grid “backback” prototype featured a roll of flexible solar paneling and a mini-wind generator. The small-scale portable nature of the kit allowed for wider integration of renewable power resources.
Rob Whitehead, FAIA, Iowa State University
Design Pedagogy & Project-Based Learning
Whitehead developed an internationally recognized realm of scholarship related to pedagogical improvements to structural design education. His work applied scientific research methods towards the exploration and integration of effective teaching methods for structural design.
The research looked at how physical modeling and haptic-engagement with materials could lead to more effective understanding of physical and mathematical principles associated structural design. More broadly the research looked at the effect of introducing “inquiry-based” and “problembased” creative activities. The findings revealed that a variety of different learning methods were most effective, particular when applied to the same challenge. The findings can be applied to many STEM-dominant courses across disciplines.
Publications Conference co-chair, Building Technology Educators’ Society (BTES) 2017 (with T. Leslie and S. Doyle)
“Pedagogical Progressions: Reflections from an “Integrated” Technology Sequence” Assoc. for Collegiate Schools of Arch., 2014
“Supporting Students: Using Anthropomorphic Structures to Enhance Early Structures Education,” Nat’l Conf. on the Beginning Design Student, 2016 & AEI & ASCE, 2013
“Comprehensive and Creative Conclusions: Enhancing Structural Design Education,” Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 2015
“Building a Framework: Rethinking Structural Design in an Architectural Curriculum” Structures Congress 2015, Str. Eng. Inst. (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 2015
for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CELT), Iowa State University
High-Impact Practices & Project-Based Learning
Whitehead served as a Faculty Fellow for High-Impact practices at ISU’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. He developed and delivered training for instructors and administrator related to ProjectBased Learning and Community-Engaged coursework.
“Breaking (A)way: The Role of Productive Failures in a New Structural Design Pedagogy” Assoc. Collegiate Schools of Arch. (ACSA), 2013
“Breaking (A)way: The Role of Productive Failures in a New Structural Design Pedagogy” Assoc. Collegiate Schools of Arch (ACSA) 2013
Whitehead used his architectural experience and pedagogical research background to assist faculty members in the implementation of new high-impact practice initiatives, specifically project-based learning and service-learning coursework, across the University.
As the fellowship overlapped with the global pandemic, virtual learning and training became a focus. Whitehead developed and led international virtual training sessions on project-based learning for the “Trans-Atlantic Virtual Exchange” which was a collaborative partnership of five institutions (in the U.S. and Germany).
“Productive Failures in the Creation and Analysis of Surface-active Structural Systems” Int’l Conf. on the Constructed Environment, 2012
“The Lore of Building Experience: Deconstructing Design-Build,” w/ S. Doyle, Nat’l Conf. on the Beginning Design Student (NCBDS), 2017
“Supporting Students: Using Anthropomorphic Structures to Enhance Early Structures Education,” NCBDS, 2016
Service to Architectural Profession & Professional Support in Academia
Before his administrative responsibilities related to his position as Associate Dean for Student Services began, Whitehead consistently volunteered his service to Architectural Students, Architectural Emerging Professional, and the profession through various roles of volunteering, mentoring and service. For the local AIA chapter, his roles included serving as a design juror (Iowa Architectural Foundation, AIA Design awards, etc.), convention committees (organization committees, presentations, exhibits, etc.), Committee Chair (AIA Diversity Task Force), and as a member of the Editorial Board for Iowa Architect magazine.
This professional experience and service has been applied to his role as professional practice advisory roles in academia including the faculty advisor for the American Institute of Architectural Students (AIAS) and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Architectural Experience Program (NCARB-AXP). This mentorship for young students and emerging professionals is a critical link between academia and practice.
Service to Student Academic Development:
National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB), Architectural Experience Advisor (AXP), Selected Position, 2016-present American Institute of Architectural Students (AIAS) Faculty advisor (2010-16)
National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB), Dept of Architecture Accreditation Team, ISU, 2022
Service to Professional Development:
AIA Iowa Diversity Task Force Chair
Licensed Architect, State of Iowa, No. 04002
LEED Accredited Professional
Disaster Safety Assessment Program (SAP) Certified Juror, Iowa Architectural Foundation (2019-22)
Sponsor, AIA Iowa Young Professional Winner, L. Kent, 2021
Professional Roles & Service:
College of Fellows, American Institute of Architect (FAIA) for Contributions to Education, 2024
Licensed Architect, State of Iowa, 1998-present
LEED Accredited Professional, 2006-present
Disaster Safety Assessment Program (SAP) Certified, 2020-present