KU Department of Architecture

Studio Spotlight: Arch208 Architectural Design 1 (Genevieve Baudoin)

kuarchitecture — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:59:35 +0000

The primary focus of this section of studio 208 was on the relation of site to design. Students tackled three radically different site locations over the course of the semester through various techniques of site analysis, and their projects had to directly engage in the site. In their first project, the students were given 1400 acres of mountainous California to locate 400 sq ft of site, so they had to determine the basic principles of the site locale they desired and relate this conceptually to their overall design. In their second project, the students as a group honed in on an agreed upon site location at the Very Large Array in New Mexico from their joint analysis, while developing a conceptual and pragmatic stance on placing a visitor refuge in the desert. For their last project, shown below, the students were given a site closer to home: Burcham Park, near 6th and Massachusetts St. The user and the scale of their architecture, however, changed dramatically.

Bats, unfortunately, have gotten the short end of the stick. Associated with vampires, rabies, and mice, people often think of them as pests. This project, in part, was an experiment in understanding an often misunderstood “user group”. Bats are not rodents, not even related, and most feed exclusively on insects, so they serve an important role in balancing ecosystems. Besides being generally vilified by humans, bats also face two devastating dilemmas – they are rapidly losing habitat to roost in, and they are facing widespread extinction because of a fungus they get on their noses, a disease called white-nose syndrome, which causes the bats to wake early from their hibernation and freeze or starve to death.

For this project the intent was to create a larger scale bat house in Lawrence, KS. Because bat houses are not quite “if you build it they will come”, students had to design a kind of bat house module that could grow to accommodate more bats as the resident population grew. Added to this was a viewing platform of some nature to help people engage in this bat house and break down the stereotypes associated with bats.

Studio Spotlight: Arch812 (el dorado studio – Josh Shelton)

kuarchitecture — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:19:05 +0000

The current semester’s project includes a collaboration with Chicago-based Theaster Gates, his non-profit foundation Rebuild, and Omaha-based Bemis Center for the Contemporary Arts. Theaster Gates, raised in West Chicago and now a rising star in the international art world, has built his art practice around the creation of “new economies” in blighted neighborhoods in Chicago and St. Louis. These new economies assign equal value to the exchange of cultural currencies and financial currencies. Along with Bemis, Theaster’s Rebuild Foundation has recently launched a new initiative to reconstitute the historic Carver Bank Building in disenfranchised and highly segregated North Omaha as a new cultural center, fostering art-based activities that draw largely from the surrounding neighborhood. With one foot in high art, Theaster Gates has the other firmly placed in Rebuild Foundation, a complex urban experiment that leverages art-making to dissolve longstanding boundaries between art, race and class.

Last week, the studio conducted an old-fashioned week-long road trip to Chicago and Omaha. While in Chicago, Charlie Vinz of Rebuild Foundation offered up a vintage Southside tour of their current projects in Dorchester. The studio explored an unlikely art and design book collection in the Dorchester Project Library and Archive, and witnessed construction progress for the Black Cinema Space. The studio also visited community-driven art spaces, including the Hyde Park Art Center and Three Walls. Later that evening, Theaster shared his expansive studio with the studio. It quickly became evident that a dense array salvaged materials from blighted neighborhoods were the actual medium of Theaster’s art practice. The tour ended with a large table of good eats, and plenty to digest.

Phase two of the journey occurred in Omaha and included, in no particular order, a tour of the current exhibition at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, bowling, an interview with Othello Meadows (director of 75 North), an interview with Jim Beatty (director of the Great Plains Black History Museum), late night dancing on an oversized twister board, visits with Bemis Residents, multiple visits to North Omaha, a tour of the Union, and a day-stopping lunch at Big Mama’s.

Ultimately, the studio spent several chilly hours documenting the site surrounding the Carver Bank Building in North Omaha. As part of the collaboration with Rebuild Foundation and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the studio will be proposing mixed-income residences, artist residences, and mixed use facilities for the western half of the block surrounding the Carver Bank. The studio hopes that its explorations re-stablish the idea of “banking” as a local investment strategy, an activity that creatively leverages the shared resources of a neighborhood to realize a higher cultural and economic standing.

Course Spotlight: Arch560 Site and Context (Genevieve Baudoin)

kuarchitecture — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:21:40 +0000

ARCH 560 in the Fall 2011 was a combined lecture and field-study course that introduced concepts of architectural context and site analysis. Using the built forms in and around Lawrence as an urban laboratory, students learned to analyze architecture as a practice of place-making by applying their course readings to actual sites and buildings around the area. Students developed visual and written skills of analysis through a series of mapping exercises that were presented in gallery reviews over the course of the semester where students reviewed each other’s work.

There were 5 “mapping” assignments, using an iterative approach to analysis where the complexity of the site conditions studied increased over the semester. The term “mapping” was intended to address the changing views and methods of studying site, standing somewhere between traditional site analysis techniques, analytiques, and diagramming. We began with Wescoe Beach on the KU campus, trying to understand a place that is understood but difficult to define. The next site was the Lawless Residence outside Lawrence (a Gould-Evans project), where students studied a project embedded in the landscape of the country. The third map addressed the Riverside Market in Kansas City, moving to an urban site with a complex history and relation to the city. The fourth compared two strips typical in American cities using Massachusetts St. and Iowa St. in Lawrence. The last map was meant to address changing and contemporary views of what “site” really is, challenging students to examine virtual or invisible systems at work on any site.

Beijing Internship Program

kuarchitecture — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:18:35 +0000

In recent years, China’s contribution to the built environment is unprecedented in the history of the world. Increasingly known for its balance of tradition and modernity, this incredible development is being built upon the foundation of the oldest civilization in the world. With China’s population of over one billion people, complex-mixed use projects of millions of square feet and signature architectural landmarks have become common pursuits in the architectural and urban design market. Immersed in this rich architectural culture, The University of Kansas School of Architecture Beijing Program exposes students to this unique developmental spirit that shapes contemporary architectural and planning projects in across China.

This fall-semester internship program provides KU students the opportunity to work in international design offices on large-scale, high-caliber design commissions. Students work alongside professional architects at offices like Atkins from London, Aedas from Hong Kong, Architecture Studio from Paris, Corgan from Dallas, as well as China based offices like Spatial Practice and B.A.M Architects. The program offers a History of Chinese Architecture lectures series supported by field visits to historical sites in both Beijing and Shanghai, including the Great Wall, Ming Tombs and Forbidden City. Students also participate in a two-week intensive Mandarin course at the Frontiers School in Beijing followed by weekly language lessons.

After immersion in the Beijing culture with a language foundation, and having gained a highly valued professional experience in the current marketplace, many students have returned to Beijing to begin their careers with the companies that sponsored their internships. The KU School of Architecture Beijing Program is an experience designed to provide students in their final year of study a platform to launch their careers in the fastest growing and most exciting architecture market in the world.

Photos: Brad Thaw

Vitruvius on the Plains

kuarchitecture — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:42:34 +0000

To mark the centennial of architectural education at the University of Kansas, we are offering a book consisting of a selection of faculty writings since 1912.

From Goldwin Goldsmith, former apprentice to Stanford White and first Professor of Architecture, through the changeover from Beaux Arts design instruction to the influence of the Chicago School, the modernism of the Bauhaus, the social concerns of the 1960’s and 70s to recent issues of technology, aesthetics and the environment, the writings portray a reflective body of thought by a diverse group of individuals – most of whom, like Goldsmith, bring an urban, cosmopolitan and international perspective to this school on the Plains.

An introductory essay gives a brief history of the school and its faculty, focusing on strong connections to Wright and Sullivan, to Cornell and Texas architecture schools, exchange programs with British and German schools and the influence of the endowed professorships of Victor Papanek (of Design for the Real World), Wojciech Lesnikowski (who worked for Le Corbusier), Peter Pran (who worked for Mies van der Rohe) and Dan Rockhill (whose Studio 804 has won many awards).

Today, under Dean John Gaunt, former student of Louis Kahn and head of Ellerbe Becket, many of the faculty are considered leading proponents of their area of specialization, including design-build, health-care and wellness, computer graphics, residential and urban design, historical and biographic research, sustainability, design theory and criticism. They are characterized by connections to manyof the most important intellectual movements in architectural education, professional experiences in major centers of practice, personal collaborations with leading members of the field, international training and experience, an affinity for rational and scientific approaches, an openness to experimentation and an aesthetic sensibility that is historically cultivated and socially humane.

Like Vitruvius writing down his ideas as a record of experience in the outer reaches of the Roman Empire, this publication represents a selection of the faculty’s published thoughts out on the Great Plains. From Goldsmith’s reflections on working for McKim, Mead & White and Curtis Besinger’s description of his first arrival at Taliesin, through Steven Padget’s analysis of Christopher Wren’s use of Christian Cabala and Harris Stone’s “Dispersed City of the Plains,” to Peter Pran’s thoughts on the role of women in architecture and Paola Sanguinetti’s description of using building information modeling technology, thirty six essays are included. Edited by Stephen Grabow, its publication will not only celebrate the centennial of architectural education at Kansas but will serve to illustrate our intellectual connections to various schools of thought over the past century and provide a glimpse into their convergence at a single institution whose mission is to educate a new generation of architects for a changing world while retaining important connections to the past.

For the Table of Contents, click here.

To order Vitruvius on the Plains, contact Lowell Press.

Studio Spotlight: ARCH 608 Architectural Design V (Stephen Grabow)

kuarchitecture — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:05:44 +0000

A NEW OPERA HOUSE FOR CHICAGO

The Lyric Opera of Chicago currently occupies a site on Wacker Drive between Madison and Monroe Streets. The current structure is simply too large to provide a reasonable number of seats within an acceptable distance to the stage with good acoustics. By reducing the seating from 3,600 to 2,400 and increasing the length of the season and number of performances, the company hopes to improve both seating and acoustics and thus increase attendance. Plans call for an 80-member orchestra and a 40-person chorus plus soloists and dancers. The gross area of the Opera House should be about 104,000 sq. ft. For purposes of site design, assume the building footprint to equal 65,000 sq. ft. Include on the site a bus drop-off, taxi and valet drop-off, loading dock, a small, VIP and Patron parking lot (or underground garage) for 60-80 cars and large van access to a loading dock at the rear of (or under) the stage. Provide an additional 240 underground parking spaces. Students will work in 3-person teams.

Two sites are available for the new opera house. One is north of the existing facility at Wolf Point, just South of the Chicago Sun Times and southwest of the Merchandise Mart. The second site is at Ogden Plaza, just east of the NBC Tower and north of the Sheraton. The Wolf Point site juts out into the river and is very exposed; the Ogden Plaza site is more context-bound but quite visible. In addition to the 240 underground spaces, both sites are surrounded by several existing parking garages or lots which can provide off-street parking at night.

Samples of Student Work: Ryan Barry, Sunyoung Kim & Marcia Trein; Tara Arnwine, Chris Gillam & Soe Shwe; Nick Fratta, Katrin Schaadt & Jessica Stark; Greg Barry, Stephanie Boyd & Clayton Feurer; Melanie Arthur, Elizabeth Bunker & Xing He; and Tom Chambers, Cali Burke & Jeff Davis

Spring 2012 Lecture Series

kuarchitecture — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:15:30 +0000

Studio Spotlight: Arch608 Architectural Design V (Chad Kraus)

kuarchitecture — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:05:42 +0000

Quality Hill Animal Care Center

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mahatma Gandhi

The Quality Hill Animal Care Center – located in downtown Kansas City – aims to contribute to social connectedness within an urban neighborhood while creating a noble dwelling place for animals awaiting a permanent home. This humane no-kill facility aspires to maximize adoption rates by ensuring a comfortable, healthy, and clean environment for humans, dogs, cats, and other small mammals. A wellness area serves both the center and the broader community through pet training and education, spay/neuter services, and general animal healthcare. A Memorial Garden serves as both an extension of nearby Case Park as well as a place for remembering and honoring the lives of pets passed.

Overall View; Bernard Vilza

Roofscape; Bernard Vilza

Entry Hall; Bernard Vilza

Exploded Axonometric; Bernard Vilza

Axonometric Wall Section; Bernard Vilza

Model View; Bernard Vilza

Detail/Exterior Composite; Keith Robinson

Memorial Garden; Keith Robinson

Entry Pavilion; Keith Robinson

Exploded Axonometric; Keith Robinson

Floor Plan and Section; Keith Robinson

Model View; Keith Robinson

Exploded Axonometric; Christine Dietze

Floor Plan and Roof Plan; Christine Dietze

Site Section; Christine Dietze

Building Section Composite; Christine Dietze

Axonometric Detail; Christine Dietze

Model View; Christine Dietze

Theory and Context Second Annual Short Film Series

kuarchitecture — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:40:48 +0000

Since the time of our first known architectural theorist, theory and practice have formed two equally indispensible halves of architecture. Although arguably architectural practice is our ultimate aspiration, theory serves as its conscience and provocation. It seeks and shapes the limits of the discipline, reflects on what we have accomplished, and speculates on what we might. Theory and Context is an examination of architectural theories that understand the designed environment as a cultural medium and product of a socio-cultural process that expresses values and ideas. The purpose of this course is to uncover significant threads of architectural theory. No one unifying theory of architecture exists, nor should we expect one to. Rather the interrelated nature of thinking and making arises in a myriad of voices.

The Short Film project – intended to synthesize acquired knowledge and skills – is an 8-minute digital narrative based on a careful ‘reading’ of a work of architecture as well as the intentions of its creator within a specific theoretical framework.

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

New Frontiers

by Zachary Arand, Nick Baumgarten, Nick Fratta, and Bryan Stockton

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

The Kimbell Art Museum

by Josh Frederick, Hannah Hindman, Tara Limbach, Jeremy Nelson, Brianna Zell

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

Roam Home to a Dome

by Lauren Brown, Christine Dietze, Devin Mills, Ryan Sullivan, and Bernard Vilza

Studio Spotlight: Arch208 Architectural Design 1 (Steve Padget)

kuarchitecture — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:53:12 +0000

Project 2: Eco Machine Pavilion (Living Machine)

Program Statement
The University of Kansas has been awarded a grant to install an eco machine (aka “living machine”®) on the campus. As a condition of the grant, the installation and its function must serve an educational purpose by demonstrating to the public (all ages) how the installation works and what benefits it provides.

The University has asked you to design a building/landscape scheme to provide for this year-round operation and educational function. They want it to be placed in a highly visible place on campus – on or near Jayhawk Blvd., easily seen by passing pedestrians and accessible to groups (for instance school children or prospective students and their parents) arriving from off-campus who might also be visiting the Natural History Museum, the Wilcox Collection, The Art Museum, the Campanile, etc. or simply walking along Jayhawk Blvd.

The operation of the eco machine will be similar to that shown in the above diagram (with sewage coming from a nearby building and the pavilion’s own toilets, urinals, drinking fountains and sinks) with one exception – the final use of the purified water will not only be the flushing of the pavilion’s toilets, but also the irrigation of the nearby landscape (including an adjacent water garden).

The building itself will also serve a didactic function. It should be in-formed by simple principles of rain water collection, daylighting, natural ventilation and passive solar energy modulation. You may also consider the use of more active systems as well (PV, geo-thermal, wind generators, etc.) These will then be part of the public education program – with demonstrations of how the building works with the environment.

The building program includes the following:

1) Sealed (not physically accessible to the public) anaerobic tanks area

2) Hydroponic digester tanks area (some public access)

3) Clarifying stream area (publicly accessible)

4) Water Garden (publicly accessible/integrated with surrounding campus context and life)

5) Staff work area (maintenance of the process – machines, chemicals, plants)

6) Mechanical Room (pumps, HVAC, water heating)

7) Public circulation/education

8) Restrooms

9) Building Custodian Closet

Relationships, Orientation, Etc.

3) Passive Performance Integration (water, air, light)

4) Structure/Skin Integration

5) Overall Synthesis (of 1 – 4) – finding symbiotic strategic relationships

6) Presentation/Demonstration Clarity