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K-State Today

October 30, 2013

College of Architecture, Planning & Design team participates in inaugural design event

Submitted by Communications and Marketing

A team of three Kansas State University architecture students was among five teams nationwide invited to participate in the inaugural Chicago Healthcare Student Charrette, Sept. 28-Oct. 2. The event was sponsored by the American Institute of Architects' Chicago Healthcare Knowledge Community and The Caritas Project in conjunction with the 2013 Health Facilities Symposium and Expo.

The Caritas Project strives to transform health and health care into more caring experiences by working to influence leaders in the field to create spaces that embody respect for human dignity.

At the event, K-State students Kirby Thomas, senior in architecture, Leawood; Adam Froelich, senior in architecture, Sublette; and Sara Hartman, Jefferson City, Mo., presented their work to a panel of experts. Team advisers included Susanne Siepl-Coates, professor of architecture at K-State, and Bryan Finnegan from RTKL Chicago, one of the sponsoring firms of the charrette.

The theme of the charrette was Creative Inspiration from Students: Innovative Design Solutions to "Creating Generative Space Environments for an Aging Population that Create 'A Place to Flourish'® Throughout the Continuum of Experiences."

Students prepared in advance by visiting a nursing care facility or engaging with an older person in order to view the world through the eyes of elders, document their observations and experiences, and make a presentation about this to the charrette participants the first evening.

Along with K-State, teams participating were from Iowa State University, Virginia Tech, Harrington Institute of Design and Philadelphia University.

The vision statement for the K-State student project was: "Designing spaces for human well-being that have multidimensional qualities in order to create an intergenerational community where people of all ages can flourish."

The team's project was "A Flourishing Urban Inter-generational Community," which showcased architecture design ideas at various levels of scale for living together in a model of cooperation, interaction, and exchange that facilitates mutual support and relationships to benefit both individuals and their communities.

Other sponsoring firms of the charrette included ESA, VOA and Cannon Design.