Source: Dennis Law, 785-532-5950, delaw@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Diane Potts, 785-532-1090, potts@k-state.edu
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
K-STATE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING AND DESIGN STUDENTS TO LIVE, STUDY IN DOWNTOWN KC
MANHATTAN -- Starting in August, the new home for the Kansas City Design Center will be the new workplace for seven students from Kansas State University's College of Architecture, Planning and Design.
The center is moving into the ground floor of the Wyandotte parking garage, 1020 Baltimore Ave., in the heart of downtown Kansas City, Mo. During the coming year, the K-State students, along with their counterparts from the University of Kansas, will take advantage of the center's urban setting to broaden their skills and present their work and ideas to area residents.
"This new Kansas City Design Center will further strengthen our students' urban design education, and do so in an interdisciplinary setting consistent with that found in professional practice," said Dennis Law, dean of the college.
The initial studio will consist of seven students majoring in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture and product design, and regional and community planning at K-State, along with eight students from the School of Architecture and Urban Design at the KU.
Participating students were selected as a reward for outstanding academic achievement. Each of them receives a scholarship to offset the expense of living in Kansas City during the school year.
Richard Farnan, a faculty lecturer at KU who has practiced at HNTB, will be studio instructor this year. Teaching duties will rotate annually between K-State and KU.
Organizers hope the new space also will be used for exhibits, lectures, charrettes and other activities of interest to Kansas City professionals as well as faculty and students from both universities.
Funding for the center comes from the Kemper Foundation and the Hall Family Foundation of Kansas City.
"I am glad to partner with KU, the Kemper Foundation and the Hall Family Foundation," Law said, "as we share many goals with respect to our students' experiences, as well as the interests of the Kansas City design community."
The Kansas City Design Center grew out of the Regents Center for Architectural Studies, a joint initiative between the architecture programs at KU and K-State established in 1988. In 1992, the Kansas City Center for Design Education and Research was established to coordinate undergraduate and graduate education, conduct urban design research, and provide professional development and public education. The name was simplified to Kansas City Design Center in 1994.
Participating K-State students are:
Clark Griffiths, Clay Center, regional and community planning; Riley Anderson, Leavenworth, landscape architecture; and Jayme Jones, Olathe, landscape architecture.
From Missouri: Stephen Colin, architecture, Emily Hagy, architecture, and Kimberly Kolkovich, interior architecture and product design, all of St. Louis; and Jonathan Corbett, Valley Park, landscape architecture.