2009 Architecture, Plannning and Design Achievements
* K-State's accredited academic design programs have again been ranked highly by professionals in a recent survey published in the journal DesignIntelligence. According to the 11th annual survey, K-State is ranked third among bachelor of interior architecture/design programs; third among bachelor of landscape architecture programs; fourth among master of landscape architecture programs; sixth among bachelor of architecture programs; seventh among master of interior architecture/design programs; and 16th among master of architecture programs. K-State's programs in landscape architecture and interior architecture/design have continually ranked in the top eight of the survey and it is the ninth time the K-State architecture program has been ranked. For survey purposes, K-State's bachelor's programs in interior architecture and product design and interior design – the latter offered by the College of Human Ecology -- are combined. The 2010 study also asked about the preparedness of recent graduates in a range of skills. K-State's interior architecture/design programs were ranked third in communication, and the landscape architecture program was ranked second in computer applications, fourth in design and fifth in communication. Nov. 2009
* Fifth-year K-State architecture student Kelly Egdorf, Chaska, Minn., has been selected to receive the prestigious Tradewell Fellowship for 2009-2010. Egdorf competed nationally against students from other accredited schools of architecture, including master's and doctoral students from schools with health care-focused programs. The fellowship is sponsored by the Houston-based firm Watkins Hamilton Ross Architects, and was created to build the careers of aspiring health care architects. The fellowship includes employment for one year at Watkins Hamilton Ross Architects, during which the Egdorf will work directly with senior medical planners to develop the skills and expertise needed to become a leader in the field. The Tradewell Fellow is involved with clients in early master planning and design, with a particular focus on healing environments and collaborative design methods. May 2009
* Ali Johnson, a May 2009 master of interior architecture and product design graduate from Topeka, has received a citation for her presentation in the Robert Bruce Thompson Charitable Trust 2009 Student Light Fixture Design Competition. Her project was one of five out of the 163 entries in the competition that received special recognition. Her prize included a plaque and a $500 cash award. For the competition, participants had to create a light fixture for the fitting rooms of a national retail clothing chain. The lighting was to flatter both the clothes and the customer. Johnson's design was called "Wrapped" and consisted of a glowing translucent wall backlit with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. May 2009
* K-State's Nicholas Turner, a fifth-year architecture student, Jefferson City, Mo., took first place in the 2009 Environmental Design Research Association's Student Design Award Competition. His winning entry was a design for the ideal room in an in-patient hospice house and is intended to contribute to the development of the hospice house as a new building type. The proposal, "Hospice: A Healing Environment for the End of Life," explored the ideal architectural characteristics for a hospice patient room, focusing on residential intimacy, the dialogue between privacy and community, a connection to nature and the patient's sense of control. His abstract and design proposal were developed as part of a graduate-level architectural design studio taught by K-State's Susanne Siepl-Coates, professor of architecture. May 2009
* A multidisciplinary team of K-State students finished second in the Urban Land Institute's Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition and received a $10,000 cash prize. For the competition, teams were asked to create a design proposal for a 75-acre site in downtown Denver, Colo. The K-State team's design looked forward to the year 2050 and was a community-focused urban development. The team's faculty adviser was Blake Belanger, assistant professor of landscape architecture and regional and community planning. Stephanie Rolley, professor of landscape architecture and regional and community planning, assisted with the project. May 2009
* A recent survey of architecture and design firms has ranked K-State's bachelor degree programs in interior design and interior architecture as the best in the nation, with three other architecture degree programs also earning top 10 rankings. According to the 2009 survey of leading architecture and design professionals published in the journal DesignIntelligence, K-State ranks first among bachelor of interior design and interior architecture programs; second among master of interior design and interior architecture programs; second among bachelor of landscape architecture programs; and eighth among master of landscape architecture programs. K-State's master of architecture program also was ranked 11th in the nation. For survey purposes, K-State's bachelor's programs in interior architecture and product design and interior design are combined. K-State offers interior design through the College of Human Ecology, and interior architecture and product design through the College of Architecture, Planning and Design. Jan. 2009
