SIX - Design + Make Studio Project Programming Fall 2016

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX A P R O J E C T P R O G R A M M I N G S T O R Y. K A N S A S S TAT E + E L D O R A D O I N C .

SIX A project programming story.

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design+make studio kansas state university + el dorado inc. arch 805: project programming fall 2016 book one of two

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CONTENTS

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PREFACE

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INFLUENTIAL READING

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THE DESIGN+MAKE STUDIO

1

A NEED FOR HELP

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PROJECT BRIEFS

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waldo affordable housing

100&change

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a new home for kcur

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re-branding the studio

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THE STUDENT STORIES

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“the road to el dorado”

emily whitty

“an honest diary”

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chenyu lou

“the perfect christmas present”

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zach pritchard

“iterative thoughts”

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jason barker

“the cause of the cause”

brock traffas

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“the search for what’s right”

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doan pham

“a studio of increasing complexity”

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jacob pivonka

“a meaningful investigation”

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wade byers

“successful dialogue”

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andrew schopen

“beating the stigmas”

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michael twitchel

“the never-ending curve ball”

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lannie cowden

“teamwork makes the dream work”

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kaitlyn portner

“the story of the semester”

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taylor rice THE CLIENT STORY

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THE PROJECT STORIES

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a new model of building

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a market-driven solution

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a community asset

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a found identity

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THE DESIGN+MAKE STUDIO STORY

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PREFACE Vision The Design+Make studio vision is rooted in an essential understanding of society, our stakeholders, a place, and a compelling, meaningful idea.

This vision is developed through a solution-based, iterative process of problem solving.

Within this studio, projects are based on “Design+Make is a researchdeveloping a based architectural careful, yet enterprise where graduate considerate students from diverse approach that backgrounds develop their addresses the passion for innovative client’s wants problem-solving, focused on and needs. community needs.

This strategy yields a holistic, - Design+Make Mission Statement integrated approach where collaboration fuels process, which in turn forms design. The informed act of place-making ensures that the idea remains its strength from conception to completion.

collection of underlying principles that begin with the client’s goals and objectives.

Through an intense research process, the relevant facts and precedents are analyzed and compared to the set goals of the studio. The iterative process of testing various concepts unveils potential strengths that can be used to develop a coherent design idea. The inherent needs of both the project and client emerge throughout this process, helping to frame the end result. The answers to problems are realized and refined. The development of a clear understanding resolves the many constraints and opportunities within each project.

Make The constructability of an idea is of utmost importance. To design something without understanding the process of making is simply irresponsible and leads to a disconnect between architecture and the trades. Conversely, to make something without pushing the limits of design would be fall short of our full potential.

Design Each idea in the Design+Make studio revolves around a

Make, as a process, requires exploration in materials and assemblies. Through the art of

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making, opportunities arise that may complement or contradict the design and intentions.

Making is an opportunity for hands-on experience paired with collaboration.

The iterative process of designing and making helps us push towards the ultimate goal of the studio: striving to find the deeper roots of problems and thoughtfully crafting better solutions. We don’t problem solve - we problem seek.

Simply put, we believe that designing and making should be perpetually intertwined.

Six This document is part of the sixth edition of Design+Make.

This is the sixth version of Design+Make’s core values that are constantly evolving. For the past six years, this studio has been dedicated to meaningfully solving problems through means of design and the craft of making.

The prior experiences passed along the way have proven to be a valuable tool, adjusting the manner of approach towards a solution-based process.

“Six” is our means of documenting and communicating our approach

towards for each problem Design+Make has faced.

This book isn’t a conventional programming document. Rather, this is documentation of the true process of problem solving.

This studio began with the ideas presented in the project briefs.

The student’s narratives pick up where those briefs leave off.

The narratives were written to reflect the thinking and approach of each unique student. Some students in the studio lean heavily towards conceptual thinking and others favor more pragmatic thinking. This studio is a testament to the fact that a well-intentioned and executed project needs both. The narratives were then placed on a spectrum and are presented here in an order from the conceptual to the more pragmatic. This flow from one idea to another outlines the process we’ve undertaken and suggests the collaboration within the studio and beyond. We then collectively wrote what we consider to be the "new" project and studio briefs.

This sets the picture for part two of the studio: construction and execution of the project that can come only when the act of programming is thoughtfully and rigorously undertaken. w

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INFLUENTIAL READING The following is a non-exhaustive list of materials we considered this semester. Some are directly relatable to the work done by Design+Make and others don’t relate much at all. However, all impacted our process and thoughts throughout the semester.

1. Josh Shelton and Burke Griggs, Review Magazine, November 2007, Costumes, Grain, Lizards, Bones, & Vacuum Cleaners: The Urban Wilderness of Waldo (2007).

2. LaDene Morton, The Waldo Story: The Home of Friendly Merchants, a Brief History (2012).

3. Bill Watterson, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (2012) 4. William M. PeĂąa, Steven A. Parshall, Problem Seeking: An Architectural Programming Primer, Fourth Edition (2001).

5. Douglas Coupland, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Shumon Basar, The Age of Earthquakes: A Guide to the Extreme Present (2015).

6. Roy Scranton, Learning to Die in the Anthropocene: Reflections on the End of a Civilization (2015).

7. Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness (2006).

8. Graham Greene, Our Man in Havana (1958).

9. Fannie Mae Foundation, Affordable Design: Convening the Conversation, Final Report (2006).

10. Kriston Capps, Affordable Housing Is a Moral Choice (and the Numbers Prove It) (2015).

11. Gwendolyn Wright, Design and Affordable American Housing (2014).

12. Michael Booth, The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia (2014).

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THE DESIGN+MAKE STUDIO

© mike sinclair

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THE DESIGN+MAKE STUDIO “Led by David Dowell, AIA, with contributions by various other partners and staff from el dorado inc as well as Design+Make Studio alumni throughout both semesters, the Design+Make Studio will engage a number of entities throughout the Kansas State University campus and beyond.

These include but are not limited to AL Huber Construction, Botwin Family Partners, Kansas City Art Institute and Studio Build. This year marks the sixth academic year of academic partnership between Kansas State University College of Architecture, Planning and Design and el dorado inc. “el dorado inc is a Kansas Citybased critical practice focused on conceptually driven, expertly crafted architecture at all scales of work, with all types of clients and in variety of locations. After almost twenty years of practice a loosely structured, collaboratively sustained approach to design has evolved. At our core is a hands-on dimension that involves taking responsibility for ideas through making – ranging from prototyping and fabricating key components of a project in-house to taking on the role of general contractor. This experience-based, design-neverstops, living mindset is our

pedagogical basis for teaching ADS 7/8 students, students in their transitional year between academia and the beginning of their working careers. Combining the expansion of design thinking into challenges of craft with the creative opportunities offered by embracing certain “real world” constraints sets the tone for all endeavors undertaken by this studio. In short, we are going to explore certain ways of working and ways of thinking that we feel are essential for the creation of exceptional architecture. In this studio you will be an active agent in the rich and complex process that results in tangible, relevant buildings.

“This studio is a fast-paced, immersive and comprehensive experience. Over the two semesters we will conduct historical and site research, explore relevant precedents, build site models and websites, get to know “clients,” hold reviews with academics, architects, allied professionals and community stakeholders, have desk critiques in person and on-line, spend time in Manhattan and a lot of time in Kansas City. We will create master plans and will create detailed and well-crafted plans, computer models and physical mock-ups.

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We will hone written, verbal and graphic presentations skills and consider the impact of economic constraints and economic development opportunities on design. We will orbit around issues of social, economic and environmental justice. The MAKE portion of the studio will be focused on Affordable Housing in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. A summary of currently planned activities and projects is below. As always students in the DESIGN+MAKE studio will be expected to be flexible and move in between projects and teams as situations demand. The DESIGN+MAKE studio is very much of the Atelier model. It is a studio that works as an ever reconfiguring set of teams to take advantage of overlapping and often concurrent design opportunities.”

© mike sinclair

excerpt taken from 2016 DESIGN+MAKE studio description, “What is Architecture For?”

© mike sinclair

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A CALL FOR HELP

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E C O N O M I C A L LY C O N S C I E N T I O U S H O U S I N G Authored by David Alpert, Partner, Botwin Commercial Development.

“[Karl Popper] recognized that some processes are like clocks — engineered, linear — and some processes are like clouds (or gnats or birds) — less predictable, more open-ended. With respect to manufactured housing, many of the early efforts by [Buckminster] Fuller, [Jean] Prouvé, [Konrad] Wachsmann, etc. wanted to work in line with the industrialized process, and so they tried to make “clocks”. When the systems at play had nothing to do with the “clock” that they were designing, their projects ground to a halt.”

-Carol Burns, from Massive Change by Bruce Mau, 2004

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Rental rates in the Kansas City Area are increasing at a rate of 5.3% (as compared to the national average of 3.4%) with the highest increases hitting the neighborhoods with the lowest incomes. This uneven growth forces people who already struggle with limited budgets to be pushed out of their communities and to spend more time and money on transportation 1 . The most common solutions to this problem, HUD vouchers, housing assistance, etc. work like the “clock” described above, and thus, while helpful, they fall short. On the other hand, by integrating architectural students, realestate developers, contractors, landscapers, architects, and tenants into a comprehensive, thoughtful, and didactic process, we will create a “cloud” (in this case a duplex), and this “cloud” will address the always shifting problems and needs that come about through unmanageable rental increases and gentrification.

The per-capita annual income in the Waldo Neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri is $42,299, and the average total household income is $87,179 2 . Vacancies are rare (4.6%), and they follow the current market trends, i.e. they target a tenant with an income equal to or higher than the percapita income for this area. Our

duplex will be able to serve several combinations of tenants that fit within the HUD definitions of low, very low, and extremely low income. The duplex is within close walking distance to mass transit, numerous commercial opportunities, necessary amenities (grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.), and entertainment. The design thoughtfully considers and addresses landscaping, programming, lighting, water runoff, the nature and scale of the neighborhood, transportation, and public versus private space.

Moving forward, the processes, construction methods, and economic analyses that we learn from creating this duplex will be used to further address these issues.

1 “Spiking

Rents in Kansas City threaten new real estate bubble that’s hardest on the poor”, The Kansas City Star, August 17th, 2016, by Joe Robertson and Diane Stafford.

2 DemographicsNow Online Database,

Demographic Snapshot Comparison, 7509 Pennsylvania Ave., KC, MO 64114.

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PROJECT BRIEFS

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WA L D O A F F O R D A B L E H O U S I N G “The Design+Make Studio is embarking upon its most ambitious project to date – to program, design and build an affordable housing project in the Waldo Neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. This is a privatelyfunded project, paid for by a small, family-run development company. As such, it will be proforma driven. All aspects of a development project will be made transparent for the benefit of the students. Throughout the two semesters, we will be studying the challenges of creating affordable housing in Kansas City and, more broadly, in the United States. A number of approaches to solving this growing problem exist, and it’s critically important to define and understand how this project fits within a broader national conversation.

“We will be working intimately with Botwin Family Partners and Studio Build.” excerpt taken from 2016 DESIGN+MAKE studio description, “What is Architecture For?”

“Good design matters. It matters particularly with respect to affordable housing, which not only should embody social and community objectives that go well beyond the mere provision of shelter, but also must overcome the stigma of its association with the hulking towers and barren blocks of many public housing projects. Good design, and its role in the development of affordable housing, however, has long been a matter of ambivalence and uncertainty within the CDC community. Many have never given serious consideration to design quality, while a few see it as a frill or an elitist issue...

“It must be understood that good design is far more important, and far more complex...

Design addresses the livability and adaptability of the units themselves, their energy efficiency, the way their residents feel about their environment, the way social cohesion and interaction are fostered within a development and the way a development enhances – or detracts from – the longterm sustainability and viability of the community. But few CDC executives, housing directors or lay community leaders have the training or background to address these issues effectively.

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Good general information and detailed road maps that can help those involved with rebuilding neighborhoods to think more intelligently and creatively about the design of their buildings are urgently needed.

“In this regard, it cannot be said that the architectural profession has been much help...fewer than 1 percent of architects (500 of 58,000 members) listed affordable housing as a primary interest. Reading the major books on American architecture and urbanism, one finds few references to affordable housing, with the exception of the occasional and obligatory denunciation of highrise public housing in general, and St. Louis’ ill-fated Pruitt-Igoe project in particular. Architects such as Michael Pyatok and Sam Davis, who not only design firstrate affordable housing, but share a commitment to the social values it represents, are rare...”

Mallach, Alan. “Designing Affordable Housing.” Shelterforce Online. N.p., Spring 2006. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

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100&CHANGE “The studio will work with Botwin Family Development, AL Huber Construction, Synergy Services and HR&A to assemble a proposal to the MacArthur Foundation for a $100 million grant to solve an intractable societal problem.

“We seek to identify a very targeted cause of homelessness, one that we know is addressable with the proper approach and type of investment.

Legend Walker, resident of 7540 Washington © david alpert

“This pursuit builds upon work done over the past 5 years, involving this team and previous Design+Make Studios, culminating in the 7540 Washington Apartment project in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City.” excerpt taken from 2016 DESIGN+MAKE studio description, “What is Architecture For?”

7540 Washington © mike sinclair

Every night in the metropolitan Kansas City area, there are more than 2,000 unattached homeless teens living on the streets, sleeping in cars or “couchsurfing” with friends because they do not have a safe place to live.

These young people are a hidden population, forced to the street

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or to a life of trauma and violence because of family breakdown, aging out of foster care, physical abuse, poverty, sexual orientation, substance abuse, educational failures or peer harassment. With a limited number of emergency shelters and transitional living programs, inadequate and sporadic governmental funding, constant scarcity of unrestricted funds, maxed-out facilities, an overall lack of affordable housing, and the growing intensity of co-occurring needs, there is a major gap in the housing and social services needed to break generational homelessness.

The resultant costs to the community for emergency care, early pregnancies, and incarcerations exceeds hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

Homeless youth often live a transient and isolated lifestyle focused on short term survival.

These young people lack the community and support needed to build resiliency and overcome trauma. “In the absence of connectedness, a child learns to view her or himself as unlovable and incompetent, others as uncaring and untrustworthy, and the world as unsafe and full of threat.

However, if a child develops resilience he or she becomes capable of engaging the support of others; forming secure attachments with both personal and social networks; and striving toward personal or collective goals�

(Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2006).

The goal is to bring support and help to homeless youth through supportive services in understanding violence prevention and intervention, behavioral health, social science, and transitional living. Thematic help to homeless youth will lead to improved resiliency and trauma reduction. Our clients, by definition, are an at-risk population. Synergy Services has been providing support to this population for forty-six years, and we are confident that we are prepared to address the needs of this population in a community setting. excerpt taken from 100&Change application, prepared by Botwin Commercial Development, A.L. Huber Construction, Synergy Services, HR&A, and Design+Make.

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A NEW HOME FOR KCUR “el dorado was hired to conduct a two part Feasibility Study to help KCUR think about moving to a new home.

“The first part is based on space and growth needs, information that is useful no matter the location.

“The second part is place-based, studying a limited number of potential sites and partnerships that allow the station to consider being more actively engaged in the listening community via a physical presence.

“The Design+Make Studio will work with el dorado staff, General Manager Nico Leone, UMKC Vice Chancellor Sarah Morris and Station Manager Steven Steigman on this project.

“Note: the project will be part of the 1+ Program” excerpt taken from 2016 DESIGN+MAKE studio description, “What is Architecture For?”

Radio broadcasting stations have been around for ages. Audio broadcasting can be done in a variety of ways via cable radio, local wire television networks, satellite radio, and internet radio.

The radio stations themselves require a large amount of equipment to produce and broadcast the content they create.

Some of the equipment required includes transmitters, receivers, antennas, transmission lines, connector interface panels, remote controls, cables, equipment racks, power protection equipment, and much more. Radio stations play a vital role in the transfer of data across cities, states, and nations wide.

Kansas City University radio, better known as KCUR, was Kansas City’s second FM radio station which began in 1957. It was originally placed in on the third floor of Schofield Hall at the then named University of Kansas City.

The station only had a range of 4 miles, two full-time employees, and its budget was a gift from the University. In years to come, the radio station gained traction and its range began to grow. In 1971, KCUR joined with National Public Radio. In 1985, it moved to its current location in the in the UMKC student services building

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on 4825 Troost Avenue in Kansas City.

© el dorado inc.

Kansas City University radio now broadcasts 24 hours a day covering a radius of more than 90 miles and is the leading NPR station in the Kansas City area.

Due to the radio stations’ growth, their current home has become inadequate in terms of space, technology, and in representing their mission. In order to maintain and build on their station, they hope to accomplish more than just added square footage in the new facility.

The new home for KCUR hopes to engage architecture, landscape architecture, and overall design in order to improve and engage the community in new ways not possible in their current residence.

They seek to add new voices and unique perspectives on two critical problems within the local community. This is done either in a new building or with a major renovation of a neighboring UMKC building.

© chiodini architects

excerpt taken from programming document prepared by el dorado inc. for KCUR.

© weimann lamphere

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RE-BRANDING THE STUDIO “We will be working with Tyler Galloway’s junior year Typography class at the Kansas City Art Institute to understand the benefit of working in an integrated way with allied professionals.

“KCAI students will be offered the opportunity to take on a range of projects from re-designing the studio website, rethinking the ‘mark’ and visual brand, creating presentation templates, style guides, etc.

“We will meet together roughly every 2-3 weeks.” excerpt taken from 2016 DESIGN+MAKE student handbook, “What is Architecture For?”

© phil macaluso

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“...brands are more important today than in the past. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the world has come on-line and there are many new markets and a growing middle class in places like India, China, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Nigeria, Indonesia and in many more places. These consumers buy brands. They buy premium brands. The best branding today is based on a strong idea. The best brands have remarkable creativity in advertising to help them break through people’s wall of indifference to create brand heat and product lust. Case in point the recent turn around of Chrysler and it’s reliance on marketing and advertising. Or look at the reinvention of Levis. And a final example is this campaign by my own agency which has helped reenergize one of America’s great iconic brands Jim Beam.

new vibrant brand is a challenge which requires a sophisticated strategy. It is not just about a product and a name, it’s about a lot more.

“In today’s world, branding is more important than ever. But you can’t simply build a brand like they did in the old days. You need a cultural movement strategy to achieve kinetic growth for your brand. With that, the sky’s the limit.”

“Secondly, when we create new brands at my New York City advertising agency StrawberryFrog, we have fewer brand names to choose from. The Pharmaceutical Industry has patented everything under the sun for new medications. This makes existing brands, with their strong, wellknown names and credibility more valuable. It also means creating a

A good brand should be considered as an asset. It talks about the people who are behind the drawing sets, renderings, and social media pages.

Goodson, Scott. “Why Brand Building Is Important.” Forbes. Forbes, 27 May 2012.

Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

Since inception, the Design+Make studio hasn’t had a singular voice.

The brand is lacking, the website is just created off a generic template, and we’re not selling ourselves to the fullest of our ability.

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THE STUDENT STORIES

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THE ROAD TO EL DORADO I had heard of El Dorado Studio before from upper years. They went to Kansas City a lot and they were designing real things, but not just designing, they were building them! When I finally got confirmation I was to be in the studio, I felt complete. It is the perfect cherry on top for the end of my education.

Written by Emily Whitty

It all began sitting at my desk reading studio project descriptions. Every year it’s the same, I read them, I rank them by professor, by project, and I play eenie-meeny-miny-moe. But this year was different. There was only one question: what do you want to take from your last year in college?

To which the answer was simple: I want hands on experience. Studio so far has been theoretical. After reading the studio briefs this year there was only one studio that had what I needed.

The first day was rough. Everyone went into the conference room with the mysterious Professor David Dowell, waiting to hear what he had to say, eager to impress, and timidly fiddling with our sketchbooks and Paper-mate pens.

The first thing he told us was to completely forget the studio brief we read when submitting our preference. I was delighted to hear this, since I hadn’t re-read the brief since preferencing. I had already completed my first task! David went on to explain what projects we would be focusing on this semester: KCUR Feasibility Study, KCAI Studio Rebranding, 100&Change, and Waldo Affordable Housing.

And so began the road to el dorado. Each project along the way uncovered a wealth of educational gold. One of the biggest discoveries occurred during the Waldo Affordable Housing Project.

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“This semester has taken me many places, showed me many things, helped me explore many possibilities, and define and solve many problems. But the one clear thing I have gotten out of this semester are the experiences. Because like Bucky said, ‘I’m not a genius. I’m just a tremendous bundle of experience.’”

I discovered my new role model, R. Buckminster Fuller: the father of geodesic domes. But despite domes being energy efficient, disaster proof, using less material, having endless possibilities inside a structurally sound shell, and lasting for centuries, I heard, “Emily we are not building a dome!”

Disappointed as I was, that was not the last we would hear of dear Bucky!

KCAI Studio Re-branding aimed to redefine and clearly establish the Design+Make Studio’s image.

The Design+Make Studio has been active at Kansas State University going on six years. It was built

mostly by students from the ground up and had a rough start.

Re-branding the studio would take a lot of creative thinking between us and the KCAI group.

We began re-branding the studio first by shooting studio portraits.

I became the first person up to bat. As I understood we were each to pose on a stool. So, I walked up to the stool, stood up on its round top, placed my hands on my hips and looked up into the sky. In that moment before the camera snapped its image, I heard someone from our studio yell out, “what are you looking at?” to which I intuitively replied, “the

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future”. Later, I discovered Bucky was also a fan of the future saying, “The best way to predict the future is to design it.” Re-branding the studio paves the way for the future students to come.

The KCUR Feasibility Study required us to help educate the NPR radio station of its options for growth and development. The station is very dear to the Kansas City community. It is what many patrons of Kansas City wake up to. Because of this, creating a new space that is open and involved with their community is key. Providing space for the public to become more involved

with the radio station will help KCUR’s audience grow in Kansas City, increasing listeners as well as improving the lives of KCUR employees.

100&Change sought to solve the issue of homelessness in Kansas City. This project taught me how to define a problem, then redefine it, and define it again. The devil is in the details. 100&Change demanded clear concise thoughts, solutions, and explanations of the problems at hand. This proved helpful as I embarked on our main project: Waldo Affordable Housing.

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Affordable housing aims to provide dwellings for the low income population. Many affordable housing projects fail to hit the mark of what these people need. The role of architecture is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the community. A great deal of the low income population includes artists and individuals who suffer from mental illness or physical disabilities. How does architecture affect the quality of life? Can it prevent this population from reaching its full potential and contributing their unique aspects to the community as a whole?

Our audience can’t afford to spend all their time at coffee houses or restaurants. They need a space that can foster creativity, healthy cooking on a budget, maybe even gardening. Most of their free time will be spent in this structure we provide. Some may even have to work two jobs.

Coming home to a place that has order, a space that doesn’t add to their stress, a space easy to clean and keep up with low costs, and a space that doesn’t leave its function up to the user to figure out is what affordable housing needs to address.

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How can we give them a space that makes them feel relevant, like they matter? We must create a stress free, low maintenance, low cost, design that makes people feel relevant. By doing so we can improve their quality of life, providing a home that meets their needs. If we provide a home where one can truly dwell, this can add confidence, raise self-esteem, lower stress, and provide an opportunity for a successful life.

“People should think things out fresh and not just accept conventional terms and the conventional way of doing things.”

- R. Buckminster Fuller This became the mantra for the project in my eyes. There were no givens. Things must prove themselves to be true before they could show up in the project. I looked at many precedents to learn from their mistakes, which brings me to Bucky again:

“Human beings always do the most intelligent thing… after they’ve tried every stupid alternative and none of them have worked” - R. Buckminster Fuller Waldo Affordable Housing has had

more than its fair share of stupid alternatives. This semester has taken me many places, showed me many things, helped me explore many possibilities, and define and solve many problems. But the one clear thing I have gotten out of this semester are the experiences.

Because like Bucky said,

“I’m not a genius. I’m just a tremendous bundle of experience.”

- R. Buckminster Fuller w

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AN HONEST DIARY Written by Chenyu Lou

Studio Day 1: August 22, 2016, Monday “The Design+Make Studio is a fastpaced, immersive experience” is written in the 2016 Design Make description. For this semester, the studio will be working on 3 different projects:

“... here comes the question - what is the critical problem in our society need to be solved? Hunger? Sickness?

Homeless? Climate change?

Or nuclear security? As an architecture student, what kind of problem is our duty to solve?”

1. We will work with a team of diverse professionals to write a grant for the 100&CHANGE program. It is an international competition for a $100 million grant to solve a worldwide problem.

2. Design+Make Studio is also integrated into KCUR feasibility study with El Dorado Inc. The goal of this project is to create a new home for KCUR. KCUR is the flagship NPR Station in the Kansas City area, broadcasting 24 hours a day at 89.3 mHz covering a radius of more than 90 miles.

3. The last project is Waldo Affordable Housing design-make project. It is associated with 100&Change as a prototype of triggering a nationwide affordable housing program. The client is Botwin Commercial Development.

Kansas City Art Institute will also be part of it as graphic design professionals.

Honesty Translator(HT): There is way too much information for Day One! But I like the idea of pushing three projects at the same time. It will be challenging and full of fun.

Time to do some serious research now. I don’t want to mess up this early...

Studio Day 12: September 2, 2016, Friday There is a meeting call for 100&CHANGE at 8:00 AM every week so people in different positions can keep updating the information. Here comes the question - what is the critical problem in our society need to be solved? Hunger? Sickness?

Homeless? Climate change? Or nuclear security? As an architect student, what kind of problem is our duty to solve?

After reading the article about homelessness and affordable

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Unassigned Bedroom Studio

HT: The homelessness and affordable housing can be the critical problem worth solving.

The problem seeking process has opened my mind. By taking this path, what can we achieve then?

100&Change and the affordable

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housing, I start to think about the reality and the problem has already existed for decades. The definition of homelessness is the condition of people without a permanent dwelling. The financial issues of the homeless people may be a part of it, but there are other factors can truly trigger the word “affordable.” So, what is the factors of being affordable?

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Living/Dining Room

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housing project have kept me busy. And KCUR feasibility study is coming up. I’m starting to regret signing up for this program already.

Studio Day 54: October 14, 2016, Friday KCUR is Kansas City’s second FM radio station. It is the flagship NPR Station in the area, broadcasting 24 hours a day at 89.3 mHz. It has been 31 years since the last relocation of KCUR. The current building can no longer handle the expansion of programming, staff and resource needs. For this project, we

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work to find and design a new home for KCUR and discover the opportunities for public involvement. Brian Michener from El Dorado Inc. gives us a presentation about the current situation of KCUR. We spent quite a bit of time participating in a charette, discovering all of the possibilities on all levels of design.

Playroom

Unassigned

Studio

Day Care

Living Room

HT: KCUR is the biggest project I ever encountered. It is a great opportunity to learn how true architects handle the problem and find the best solution for it.

The key to achieve the goal is not limited to problem solving. It is a lengthy process to seek the right problem and come up with the right solution.

Studio Day 68: October 28, 2016, Friday The studio of 13 was divided into 4 groups to take different approaches for Waldo affordable housing.

1. Shipping Containers: Modified shipping containers to minimize the cost of the building and maximize the efficiency of space.

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Dinning Room

Living Room

2. Communal Living: Focus on “yours-mine-ours” idea to maximize the opportunity of community engagement.

3. Box in Box: Build a simple shed using the minimum cost and create an awesome interior space.

4. Dible: Make a strong connection to the history of Waldo and the building is an epitome of the community spirit.

After a long battle among the four groups and then split into two groups, the Box in Box idea has been selected. It doesn’t mean we will throw other ideas away.

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Instead, all aspects considered in this process are critical to the final result. One question keeps lashing on us - how to make this building satisfy the title of “affordable?”

It can’t only be the cost of the construction. The aspects of sustainability and the functions of the environment and individuals should also make the building affordable.

HT: Design is always fun (at the beginning). After a full month of design and refine process, it is highly likely we will stuck into our own mindset. The design peer review is a good way to make sure we don’t overlook something

important. I’m thrilled for this result as we get the chance to add our own taste into this project.

But the job is not done yet, try to play cool and don’t laugh out loud.

Studio Day 103: December 2, 2016, Friday Diane Botwin from Botwin Commercial Development has informed us the application for 100&Change has passed the first round of critiques. It means the way we see the problem is a right direction worth looking for.

We’ve been working on the construction and budget since

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Studio Day 113: December 12, 2016, Monday The end of this semester is around the corner. We’ve successfully come up a good design that fulfills the key concept of “affordable.”

We’ve got the building permit and the dead trees on the site are removed.

last month. The design of the building also changes accordingly.

The main struggle is to balance the architectural idea with the affordable concept. It is very important to make the design feasible while not losing its character, concept, and impact to the space and occupants.

HT: To be honest, it is painful to see the design being punched down, bit by bit to meet the criteria of feasibility and affordability. But this is a lifechanging lesson to learn how things really works in real life. It helps us to reaffirm what’s truly important in the project.

HT: The whole semester experience has had a great impact to the way I think about problems. As an individual, a community, or a country, framing issues differently can lead us to a different problem. The design never ends, this is not an ending, but a big opening of something special.

It has been a meaningful but stressful semester. Hopefully, the stress management class I take next month will be helpful. w Capps, Kriston. “Affordable Housing Is a Moral Choice (and the Numbers Prove It).”CityLab. 19 Oct. 2015. Web. 23 Aug. 2016.

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THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Written by Zach Pritchard

Dear Diary, Here it is, almost Christmas. I still have no idea what to get my parents.

After thinking about it, this is the same story every year. I guess it has just become a normal thing to totally disregard or intentionally ignore the fact that I would love to do something nice for them, but in all reality there are so many things I would love to do for them.

Honestly, I cannot decide what route to take. In fact, it is quite difficult to find the “perfect” gift

for people who already proclaim to have everything they need or want… Or do they?

The needs and wants is a very interesting topic that is up for discussion, for these are two very different attributes which can either be conducive to ones overall well being or subjectively create negative consequences.

To add, the term gift needs to be addressed. Is it really a gift in this case? Or should it be considered more of a compliment or contribution towards one’s life?

Regardless, the inherent attribute of this act is one that deals

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with many living subjects and is directly intended to enhance an overall well being. Whereas others may say no, a gift is just a gift, or rather something borrowed. Possibly, a gift could be considered pure novelty. Honestly, to each their own, I say. As long as you can justify your actions by means of positively enhancing one’s overall well being, you are headed in the proper direction.

Bottom line, the root of the issue is determining the correct contribution and then learning from its associated process.

How does one deem the proper gift is really the proper gift? Well for one, you can just “Google it” and receive a highly topical reaction which slightly alludes to the true meaning. Heck, you can even talk to a stranger to brainstorm ideas on gifts. Both investigations inevitably converge back to square one. Square one, in this instance, is the process on how one acquires the proper gift.

To approach this issue head on, we now know there are essentially many ways to provide a solution or to justify a solution.

So what is the right approach?

What is the best approach?

There are many out there and consequently a lot of differing methodologies on this act. (I

would like to say technique instead of act but I casually find myself questioning if technique is the description.) In my experience and based on the wisdom granted to me from others, the best approach towards findings the right or proper gifted is found through intuition based on collaboration. (Once again, I find my myself causally questioning if experience or wisdom is the correct term. Although it feels as if it is right description for the time being.) In other words, to find the proper contribution you must actively participate in asking the right questions to “So what is the right those who may approach? What is the best unveil the right approach? There are many answer. out there and consequently a lot of differing I find most methodologies on this act. interesting the In my experience and based correlations on the wisdom granted to that can be me from others, the best drawn from approach towards findings this discussion the right or proper gifted on selecting a is found through intuition gift in relation based on collaboration. In to a design other words, to find the project, and in proper contribution you particular, the must actively participate in Design+Make asking the right questions studio; for the to those who may unveil the process right answer.”

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of a design project inevitably starts with the identification of a problem or series of problems.

This is an inherent requirement for a design project. Without a problem, there is no need for a solution. The process of solving the identified problem is what truly provides added lenses of clarification towards addressing what problem really is, much like that of selecting a gift. Where a gift in this instance is the solution to a problem. Oh sure, you could always purchase a stuffed animal and carefully wrap it up, apply a nice hand written note, and send it off to aunt Kara. Is that the right solution? It could be, but how do you know that for sure?

The process of investigation and asking the right questions is what promotes or influences the inception of a desired solution.

Within each project that the Design+Make studio has participated in, the act of collaboration and critical thinking has been of high priority.

Within each project there has been a condensed problem presented. A problem that cannot be disregarded or simply set off to the side. It is the type of problem that lingers everywhere you go. It

is a problem that encourages every move made, while strategically, in non-linear motion, searching for a solution. It is the type of problem that keeps you up at night.

The funny thing about these problems is that they take on a variety of shapes/forms, but most of the time are not visible to the human eye. They are felt, perceived, ambiguous, and sometimes seemingly superfluous.

No matter the perception, the fact remains that it is still a real issue. An issue that cannot be ignored for it is going to face you head on throughout the process.

As an aspiring architect, I almost feel compelled to translate the problem into a 2-D representation.

To assign some sort of tangible value to the problem so that I can start to physically explore the intrinsic values. This act is a part of the digestion process of the problem - or at least apart of my process. Bottom line you have to start somewhere. Nevertheless, no solution can be solved the same way every time. You have to continuously remain searching for alternatives that aim towards providing solutions.

By breaking the problem down into smaller portions, the recipe

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for one of the best five course meals you have ever had is right in front of you. It may be buried underneath layers upon layer of trace paper, but it is there.

Solutions, on the other hand, take on many forms as well. More importantly, the process for identifying a solution is perceived to be malleable in nature. This dynamic component has the

potential to become as complex or as simple as the problem and problem seeker permit.

By integrating the knowledge gained through collaboration with others who are vested in solving the same problem, the solutions of each endeavor are bound to achieve a greater level of contribution. w

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ITERATIVE THOUGHTS Written by Jason Barker

One of the most difficult things about this semester, which has been true for the entire time I have been in architecture school, is living the double life of student and father/husband. This affects my schedule and how I must use my time. The typical architecture student works during the evening and into the early morning.

Because of the needs of my family, I must start my day much earlier as the manager of time and instructor for getting everyone to school and work. This dictates that my schedule be “How many times can you during normal ask a question and continue business hours to get a better answer? It is for working only through the iterative on studio and process of gathering other school information, making work. It is also sense of it, rearranging, very important categorizing, building to me and to something up, and tearing my family that it back down again to start I am home fresh that you begin to for dinner scratch the surface of a as we are a problem.� traditional family that sits down to eat together and discuss the events of the day. As a father, I believe it is very important to dedicate time

to spend with my children and my wife. This usually happens during the hours that other students are at their best, where ideas are being exchanged and progress is being made. Because of this dynamic, I often feel the burden of being both excluded from the production that occurs outside of scheduled studio hours, and the need to keep up with my share of work without slowing others down.

This semester has been especially difficult as my wife has been pregnant with our third child since April. This means that as the semester has advanced, my wife has become less and less able to manage the daily needs and activities which a parent is expected to perform. And since these needs cannot be neglected, I have had to take on more than normal to keep our home running smoothly. To make things worse, our baby decided to come two weeks early, during the final presentation for two of our projects.

All of this causes mixed feelings of humility, gratefulness that my fellow classmates have been so understanding of my responsibilities and at the same time frustration and concern about my ability to participate and

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bring our projects to completion with the highest level of quality that I am capable of providing.

After getting a better idea of how David operates and his expectations for the studio as a whole, we began to work on the 100&change competition. This competition was a good way to get the creative juices flowing for the beginning of a new semester. It caused us as architecture students to think outside of architecture with the intention of learning problem solving, which could then be reapplied to architecture.

Initially, some of the students and I were unsure of the value in trying to “solve the world’s problems.”

It seemed that architecture itself was not a powerful enough remedy to solve the problem of homelessness. What about natural disasters, economic crises and social disparities? For me, I was concerned with the dynamics

of the individual. I believe, and continue to believe, that each person has a choice in every aspect of their lives which results in the places and situations they go through. How do they think, what actions they take in any given situation, whether it is well thought out or impulsive, how they carry themselves, and how do they interact with others? Personal responsibility is a simple cause and effect. If we choose better, we will receive better, and if we choose poorly, we will receive poorly.

It wasn’t until after having gone through several other exercises and reflecting on the semester that I realized how my viewpoint was incomplete. Sometimes forces outside of our control – whether they are social, environmental or economic – can have an effect on individuals in such a way that their own personal choices and actions (or in many cases,

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reactions) result in unavoidable outcomes which are less than desirable. This does not negate the need for strong personal responsibility and the constant will to strive for better, but hard times come to us all. It is in these times that when someone is willing to give a helping hand, people can return to a place of self-reliance. I think that this is one of the primary solutions to the problem of homelessness: when someone who is willing to make the personal decision for better meets another who has the resources, not just financially, but holistically, and who is willing to help pull others up to a better

place. Both are important for a positive outcome.

This exercise helped me to broaden my understanding about larger problems and how architecture is just a piece of a puzzle, but that in no way diminishes its importance. Think about a finished puzzle with a single piece missing: you would lose your mind trying to find that last piece in order to complete the puzzle. This is the way we should approach problem solving.

During the wrestling with 100&Change, I was introduced to the idea of highly ambitious

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architecture while working on the Waldo Affordable Housing project, which David Dowell would call “pushy architecture�. This is an aspect that I struggle with as I am not a naturally ambitious or pushy person. I’ve never considered myself to be a very persuasive person when it comes to arguing a point. Even when it is something that I am very passionate and well versed on, I am still not inclined to push my idea onto someone else. In working with el dorado inc. and even some of my classmates, I have discovered that this is a necessity to get something that seems overwhelming to come to fruition. We have to push the boundaries of what we know and understand, as well as push against limitations that impede on our design concepts.

Inevitably, some things will have to be compromised, but we must be willing to push to maintain the essence of what makes good architecture.

This style of design goes back to the burden of problem solving.

How many times can you ask a question and continue to get a better answer? It is only through the iterative process of gathering information, making sense of it, rearranging, categorizing, building something up, and tearing it back

down again to start fresh that you begin to scratch the surface of a problem. Then through the gained experience, you must go through the process again with a better understanding, but each time requires more energy and more pushing of boundaries; more expanding and broadening but without losing focus on the fundamentals of the question. As an individual, this takes great selfmotivation and a passion for the problem to be understood so it can be solved. I have learned that regardless of how good you are at design or how long you have been in architecture, everyone must go through the iterative process. This is true both as individuals and as a team.

Another project during this semester involves a public radio station in Kansas City. The clients at KCUR intend to expand and update their facility, either by building new or renovating a neighboring building, with a primary focus to promote community involvement and interaction. The problem with this project has to do with the problem of changing technology.

The internet has provided a proliferation of news sources and entertainment venues which has caused a decrease in radio

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listenership. KCUR, like all other public radio stations is faced with the struggle to maintain its devout listeners and continue to draw new listeners with new content through the latest platforms.

As a former Information Technology administrator, I was immediately curious about the equipment that is needed to host a radio show and how that would affect the organization of space.

Since one of the primary questions about this project is the ability to design for the future, it had me wondering how we could possibly design spaces which would be able to accommodate for the future of both radio broadcasting and the “internet of things”, that is the interconnectivity of almost all electronics which could be controlled remotely. It is an interesting dynamic to think that as new technology emerges, it may initially need more space to accommodate – based on the historic precedent of the first computer which was the size of a large room – but eventually things evolve into a much smaller package, as is evident by the smart phones that almost everyone carries. Technically, anyone can use their smart phone to record a “podcast” and instantly broadcast it, no special space needed.

I concluded that technology has reached a point where spatial design only focuses on the quality of sound by incorporating acoustics which can be paired with a higher quality microphone. I think the direction for KCUR and other radio stations is to provide a wider variety of niche programs to attract different listeners as the technology is available to make it possible.

One of the biggest hurdles for our team this semester is the shift from working on projects as individuals to working on projects as a team of 13 and as mixed teams for various reasons.

Though we all have had to work on group projects in the past, which is fairly common in studio and other class projects, this situation has taken that experience to a more extreme level. We started the Waldo Affordable Housing project as individuals, searching for any information and inspiration we could find to aid us in our design direction. Once we established what was important within this realm of study, we grouped up to focus on determined key aspects of the project to explore even deeper and exchange ideas to one another. This was then presented to the client to receive feedback and ensure that we were on the

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right track with the intent of the project.

Everyone was then rearranged into new groups to begin designing four distinctly different design solutions. This required a spirit of competition between the groups to push our designs further along in each iteration and presentation.

There were mixed emotions because we knew that eventually only one design would be used and we would all be expected to work together on a single idea.

This also meant that much of our personal design ideas and methods – that which we were used to having control over as individuals in previous studios – would have to be measured and either discarded or re-envisioned.

Eventually the effort and hard work of three full designs would have to be rejected. Four became two because there were strong ideas that had potential to produce good architecture if they could

only be further developed. After another presentation and intense discussion, the final design was decided. In hindsight, each of the four projects had something valuable to add to the final design as some of the ideas were carried over into the new final.

In the end, everyone would have to sacrifice in order to meet budget constraints. With 13 students all trying to design a portion of a small duplex, much of what we idealized ended up being worth more than we anticipated; probably the biggest lesson of all. But regardless, the experience we will gain in observing and building our first real project will be invaluable to our future, fast approaching careers, as well as an asset to the future tenants and to the Waldo neighborhood. w

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THE CAUSE OF THE CAUSE Written by Brock Traffas

A memory that seems to stick with me is one from earlier in the semester. On a cold, rainy Saturday, a group of us were tailgating in the east lot of Bill Snyder Family Stadium. We were getting ready to “One of many takeaways for head in for the students in the studio the football is the invaluable design, game against development, and building Missouri State. experience of numerous We witnessed projects. However, in a emergency larger sense, the most crews quickly significant takeaway reduce Kimball is the ability to have a Avenue, the meaningful voice in a larger arterial road conversation, suggesting north of the a solution that is feasible stadium, down and sustainable. This is a to two lanes solution that doesn’t treat and start to symptoms and results; redirect traffic rather, it works on the root elsewhere.

A cause...” car had struck a man as he darted across the street, and the situation did not look promising. Crossing Kimball is dangerous, and it’s even more so when dealing with game day traffic. We never found out the extent of his injuries or eventual condition.

In this studio and our profession, the goal of programming and the following project should be to fully understand and solve the problem in a fulfilling way. To truly understand the problem, you need to look further. It can be argued that the accident wouldn’t have happened if there were more pedestrian amenities, strategies to slow traffic, or even a relocation of the tailgating space to somewhere safer. These are things that the University and City of Manhattan know about, but are slow to react and fix. This isn’t the first time that a pedestrian has been struck by traffic while crossing.

Programming and problem solving problems yields a more beneficial result when you seek to find the “cause of the cause.” At first glance, an ill-advised decision and following attempt to cross the street caused the accident.

Looking deeper; however, the decision made by the pedestrian was influenced and necessitated by poor urban and streetscape planning.

Solving the “cause of the cause” allows us to solve much more than the original problem that instigated us. Improvements would reduce pedestrian injuries and casualties, while also creating a much-needed asset

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for Manhattan. This corridor links community amenities and residential developments. An activated Kimball could encourage recreation and activity more than the seven Saturdays a year there is a home football game.

This story and following thoughts have more to do with the Design + Make studio than one would think. This accident made me ask myself, “why?” It made me want to think of a better way, and how to solve these problems and more before they appear. At the same time this happened, we as a studio started to dig deeper into each project we’re involved in. The potential solutions to reducing or eliminating Kimball accidents

immediately seemed much more straightforward than getting to the root of the problem for our numerous projects.

On the first day, our mindset shifted. The studio’s client changed to a private, for-profit developer. Even though we’re creating an affordable housing development, there is very real pro-forma that drives the project.

An affordability argument was key, not only to ensure that the tight budget is satisfied, but also to solidify architectural concepts against scrutiny. Moving forward, the concept consistently needed to mature, sometimes getting lost in the iterations. As

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a studio, we discovered why affordable housing is typically poorly designed and constructed out of low-quality materials.

Inflation has run rampant in our economy and wages have remained relatively stagnant, disproportionately affecting lower income households. Many think that government projects are the best way to construct affordable,

quality housing, but bureaucracy and lack of accountability typically slows the meaningful advance of affordable housing.

Section 8 vouchers and similar programs have worked to a certain extent. However, they’ve had more success segregating lower-income households and individuals into housing run by the few developers who

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accept them. This bureaucratic stagnation and stigma of Section 8 may be a reason why a great deal of affordable housing is being completed by forprofit developers. Even these projects can still be located in undesirable neighborhoods, poorly constructed, and may not even be “affordable.”

This problem has a considerable amount of depth and spans several projects. Most of all, this problem affects very real people. There is an estimated 2,000 homeless youth in Kansas City, with 400 of those being under the age of 18. It’s easy to overlook the homeless and atrisk, assuming that they’ve made poor decisions in their life. On the contrary, most are a product of systematic oppression and poor neighborhoods. Gerald Blackmon is one of those people in Kansas City. He’s considered to be atrisk, which means that he’s not homeless in the traditional sense.

He more than likely lives a life of sleeping on couches, homeless shelters, or transitional housing.

Gerald doesn’t fit the stereotype that our culture holds against the

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homeless. When he grows up, he community. The public good offers wants to be a musician. To do that, insight into why we design and has to make it off the streets of build, working us towards the Kansas City. “cause of the cause.”

Securing the MacArthur Foundation grant could kick start a transitional housing solution that actually works in Kansas City, preventing youth like Gerald from becoming homeless or perpetually at-risk. As a more long-term solution, the affordable housing project in Waldo offers a template for quality housing that’s accessible to younger generations.

This is a template that goes beyond transitional housing and offers a place for meaningful development as a person without worrying about how to pay rising rent. As a community institution, KCUR has the unique ability to be a beacon of hope on the notoriously divisive Troost Avenue.

Beyond that, it offers a place of outreach and opportunity for people like Gerald. Hope goes a long way in a neighborhood like this.

Each project in the Design+Make studio begins with a careful articulation of the public good.

Without finding the public good, high-quality design is meaningless.

The resultant project risks being detached and despised by the

In our case, the process of solving the “cause of the cause” and articulating the public good lies in meaningful integration and investigation. A portion of the work done in the studio relies on kindness and donations, but it’s far from a one-way street for both the students and sponsors.

These projects will produce a net benefit far greater than the initial investment. This benefit to each stakeholder might not be a monetary, one-for-one return, but is guaranteed to have a sustained societal impact – something that is only possible when careful problem seeking and programming is employed.

One of many takeaways for the students in the studio is the invaluable design, development, and building experience of numerous projects. However, in a larger sense, the most significant takeaway is the ability to have a meaningful voice in a larger conversation, suggesting a solution that is feasible and sustainable. This is a solution that doesn’t treat symptoms and results; rather, it works on the

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Gerald Blackmon performing at a “HALO” event © kansas city star

root cause, making life better for people just like Gerald. w 1. Williams, Mará Rose. “Homeless Kansas City Youth Share Pain and Gratitude through Art.” Kansas City Star.

N.p., 12 Jul. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

2. Lamster, Mark. “An Open Letter to Ben Carson: How to Solve the Housing Crisis | Architecture | Dallas News.” Dallas News. N.p., 09 Dec. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

3. Churchill, Mark. “Homeless in Kansas City: The Point-in-Time Count.” Catholic Charities of Kansas City and St. Joseph.

N.p., 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

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A SEARCH FOR WHAT’S RIGHT Written by Doan Pham

As an aspiring architect, I would like to build pretty buildings, spaces, and money, like a lot of money.

No...that doesn’t sound right?!

“When I was growing up, my family were immigrants to this country. Our family lived in rented house that had a toilet that didn’t flush all the time, but we still lived there for 2-3 years.

Although I was still young and cannot remember much, I know that’s not right. Just because a home is of lower cost, it shouldn’t be of lower quality. It must have the basic necessities and features that should not only facilitate living, but to go further and improve the way we live.”

That sounds like the quest for unicorns, mermaids, and sasquatch. So what really is architecture?

To fully understand that, we need to distill down ideas that are meaningful while severing excessive appendages to this outlandish idea on what general public architecture is. For that reason, I have chosen to be a part of KSU Design+Make Studio. I want to obtain hands-on experience to understand what takes to get home together from the ground up. At the beginning of the

semester, we were brought into numerous projects, including helping to program for a radio station and a competition for a housing grant.

This entire year has been mostly dedicated to the Affordable Housing project in the Waldo neighborhood in Kansas City Missouri. We as architecture students are on a journey to understand and define what affordable really means.

Our generous client, Botwin Commercial Development, has provided for us this great opportunity to help solve this pragmatic problem. To better understand this issue, most Affordable Housing projects are just plain boxes with no furniture whatsoever to make it as affordable as possible so that it will be as profitable as possible.

When I was growing up, my family were immigrants to this country.

Our family lived in rented house that had a toilet that didn’t flush all the time, but we still lived there for 2-3 years. Although I was still young and cannot remember much, I know that’s not right. Just because a home is of lower cost, it shouldn’t be of lower quality. It must have the basic necessities and features that should not only facilitate living, but to go further

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and improve the way we live.

I truly believe that architecture can have a great impact on our daily lives as the spaces form habits and create opportunity to engage in activities.

We have been working hard the following months and making everything come together. Working up to this point, we have come to realize that it is quite difficult to achieve all the desires when we start adding up all the numbers with the budget that we have.

Everyone involved has put in countless hours and donated their time towards the project. In addition, we have been trying to ask vendors and manufactures to donate towards this cause, but is this enough?

How can we make this replicable around the country? Should this be a required studio for all graduate architecture students in order to better understand how complicated housing has been for people with limited income, and dealing with ethical problems?

There are TV shows that help renovate homes but in the end are not sustainable because its occupants are unable to maintain it. In a way, I find it that we are

exploiting these unfortunate people in exchange money and for our entertainment. Habitat for Humanity has a great model of “Sweat Equity,� but requires a lot of man hours to finally be able to be eligible for a home. If one was to work an extra job to afford the cost of housing, how can one have the extra time to put in the Sweat Equity? Can we make a working prototype or program that developers are more inclined to follow?

We have also been helping in the programming of KCUR’s future radio station for the current building is. Seemingly

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on the sidelines, as we observe architecture practice, we find the implications internally, that of the sponsors, and its listeners. For this project, the client has a much wider reach in the City of Kansas City that our previous one. The same problems arise in a different form. How do we engage people, from staff members, listeners, and the whole city itself? Quality of life and impact of people interacting with one another are meaningful things we value. The site where the building is located is also not the most desirable for public engagement. To the east is an electrical substation with monstrous overhead wirings that feed to the city. In the south is a polluted creek with a bike path.

From past projects such as The High Line, the community itself had a sense of belonging where they rejuvenated a blight into one of the greatest outdoor spaces in New York City. It makes me think, can this be a collaboration between KCMO, KCUR, P&L and the City of Kansas City Missouri to help clean the creek and create a better place to live for its residents?

The project that we were the are least involved, but is coming back time and time again is the 100&Change grant by the

MacArthur Foundation. We recently found out that we made it into the second round of the competition. This grant is a prize for $100 million to help improve the housing crisis that result in homelessness in the United States. This comes full circle back to our collaboration with Botwin Commercial Development.

The Waldo Affordable Housing project is going to be a precedent in finding issues at bay to fully understand what is needed to be addressed in a real-life scenario, unlike some theory that needs to be tested and tried.

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One of the issues that we found out, was that in Kansas City, the cost of housing has significantly increased compared to the rest of the country. This in turn decreases a person’s disposable income to buy required basic needs.

The more I’m involved in this process, the more facets I see into. These are real architecture problems that seem more convoluted with other aspects that correlate directly or indirectly. Our job as architects are problems solvers using our varying skills of design. Programming to me is more of a balancing act where we first hear the problems, then bring

possible solutions to the table. As they start to converge, we begin to find variables which were not present before. w O’Connor, Lydia. “San Francisco Ads Aim To Reveal Who Homeless People Really Are.” The Huffington Post, 03 Dec. 2014.

Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

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A STUDIO OF INCREASING COMPLEXITY Written by Jacob Pivonka

This studio has increased in complexity and diversity in unforeseen ways. I had signed up for this studio when our project was supposed to be an archery shelter in Nebraska. However, on our first day of class, we found out that project had fallen through and that we were to be designing and building a duplex in Waldo.

Upon hearing this news, I was elated as I did not have strong feelings “I started to realize pertaining architecture is a little bit to archery like the squeezy arcade shelter. The toys you had as a kid. With reason I chose these toys, you squeeze this studio is one end of it, making all because of my the fluid rush to the other love of design side. Because of this, the and love of eyes pop out of the dog, or building. I whatever animal it was. You had worked at could then do the same the College of thing, but apply pressure Architecture elsewhere and make his feet shop for two really big. My point is, one previous years simple action may cause and I have all your previous actions witnessed the to be rethought. A small great projects change in one place can that had been lead to massive problems or built in past benefits in another.” years. This studio brief excited me far

more than any of the other class descriptions.

This studio has been somewhat of a rude awakening when it comes to reaching a basic understanding of what the daily life and responsibilities of an architect are, even though I’ve been in architecture school now for five years. I was not oblivious to the tasks that an architect had to perform, but understanding and doing are two different things.

Architecture school teaches you how to design, but has done a relatively poor job when it comes to teaching you how to be an architect, at least up until this semester. From what I am told, granted, from biased sources, is that Kansas State University is one of the better schools when it comes to teaching the technical details and constraints of architecture. However, unless you make the conscious decision to take the Design+Make studio, I have a hard time seeing it. It seems like the majority of my education and time at Kansas State still revolves around the idea of a “hero architect.” This is an architect who makes broad brush strokes. This is an architect who doesn’t care about details. It took until fourth year to draw walls represented as layers rather than

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© kohler

© delta

poche that is 8-12 inches thick.

When the studio started progressing, I felt woefully underprepared. I cannot place all the blame on the school as I’ve never had an internship. Regardless, what this studio has taught me most is how architecture is designed based on limitations.

This is not inherently a bad thing, but it does mean that architecture is responsive to circumstance far more than aesthetic or spatial quality. This is vastly different to what previous years of architecture schooling would lead you to believe. We talk about these circumstances in previous studios to an extent. We’ve touched on

how materiality changes the construction cost. We’ve talked a little bit about fire codes, city ordinances, and construction details, but the depth of what we went into has never had a huge impact on the design. I’ve only had to deal with the obvious, overbearing real-world constraints, like how a 100-foot cantilever with 4-inch-thick floors and roofs is impossible. We’ve truly never had to deal with the more minute details like furniture and fixture selection. These are things that can have a considerable impact on the final product, almost as much as the big-picture design choices.

It’s amazing how much better top of the line Kohler faucets that you can’t afford are when compared to a Delta faucets that you can. Even the construction process needs to be carefully orchestrated. Zach and I have been trying to figure out how to get a large metal porch structure galvanized and placed on site with minimal liability and extraneous work. There is no other studio where you must think about how much your porch weighs and how you are going to transport it to get it galvanized. This goes further, requiring research into whether the entire structure can be galvanized or needs to be done in smaller, more manageable pieces. Then, if it’s necessary

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for it to be in pieces, how do you connect them back together elegantly?

Traditional architecture studios don’t talk about how most design is primarily a reaction to limitations. I started to realize architecture is a little bit like the squeezy arcade toys you had as a kid. With these toys, you squeeze one end of it, making all the fluid rush to the other side. Because of this, the eyes pop out of the dog, or whatever animal it was.

You could then do the same thing, but apply pressure elsewhere and make his feet really big. My point is, one simple action may cause all your previous actions to be rethought. A small change in one place can lead to massive problems or benefits in another.

This is especially true when dealing with budgetary items. In the Waldo project, we could have included bottom lites on the bedroom windows, giving each room a floor-to-ceiling aperture.

If we did that; however, we may not have been able to afford fullheight cabinetry in the kitchen or provide a washer and dryer in the utility room. As much as we learned to design, we also learned how to apply pressure evenly to the project and budget.

Squishy arcade toys Š squishymart

We have two projects running parallel in this studio. One of them is 100&Change MacArthur Foundation grant competition.

The proposal is to answer a call for help and implement a proven solution to eliminate homelessness in Kansas City.

The more traditional elements of architecture schooling suited this project. A lot of our architecture schooling teaches broad, logical problem solving and the ability to explain and defend your project.

The other project is a collaboration with el dorado to prepare a feasibility study for KCUR in Kansas City. This was

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another eye-opening experience when it came to the actual dayto-day tasks of an architect.

Programming in school isn’t something that is taught to the extent it should be. The amount of work and intense investigation eldo completed for KCUR is immense. This part of our profession was something that I truly did not know the breadth of.

I was aware that we must program buildings to find reasonable spaces and square footages, but the idea of creating a 100-page book for an unfunded project was a surprise.

This studio has dramatically changed how I see the day-today life of an architect. I always thought of myself as more of a practical architecture student.

This studio has far increased my understanding of the practical nature of the architecture. There will always be a certain amount of problems and constraints that can’t be ignored, regardless of the project. If you can understand these constraints, it will fundamentally change the way that you begin projects in the future. w

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A M E A N I N G F U L I N V E S T I G AT I O N

Written by Wade Byers

100&Change

Our first few days were dedicated to understanding the essential reasoning behind the projects we would be tasked with throughout the semester. This involved intense research, precedent studies, collaboration, and investigation.

Changing the world is no easy task for anyone to take on, but it is one that we welcomed with open arms and minds. This opportunity to participate in the Macarthur Foundation 100&Change competition provided us a chance to state our case argument. Our argument being how we can make the world a better place with an idea that produces ingenuity, resourcefulness, and tenacity that can progress into a true solution. Our major part in this competition is to make a change in the world by significantly reducing the amount of homeless

After immersing ourselves in information up to our necks, we had to take a step back from each project to understand the broad scope of what we were trying to accomplish, and how all of these things are interconnected.

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“After immersing ourselves in information up to our necks, we had to take a step back from each project to understand the broad scope of what we were trying to accomplish, and how all of these things are interconnected.”

youth and young adult families.

Understanding the cause and effect that homelessness has on young people opened our eyes to an epidemic which could provide a solution made possible through architecture. As young architects, we are the creators of the future.

While participating in 100&Change, we began our collaboration with the Botwin family, KCAI, and KCUR. Each had a part in making our idea, reduction of youth homelessness, a reality through writing, graphics, and determination to make our voices heard. Through this process, I have learned a fair amount about how much of a need there is for affordable housing and the effects it has on individuals, which ties in with our main project of the semester, Waldo affordable housing.

“We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.”

-Nelson Mandela Waldo Affordable Housing Affordable housing gives life to people who are trying to make it in the world without much support from others. Affordable housing attempts to rescue people from homelessness and secures the basic needs for shelter. With high renting rates and the social stigma of affordable housing, we made it our mission to change that stigma by providing affordable living through sophisticated design in the heart of Waldo in Kansas City.

With such an ambitious project from Design+Make, we really had to discover what this project of affordable housing meant to all of us. To me, designing and building an affordable housing project is one that must incorporate many aspects of great architecture into a simple, yet affordable design. We began this project by understanding the norm of affordable duplex homes, then confronting that aspect to make our architectural idea of affordable duplex housing one that can be

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celebrated by both the community and residence.

One way that we tried to eradicate the stigma was to create a conceptual idea of yours, mine and ours. This is an idea that works in the building scale and then again on the site scale. On the building

scale, you have the individual bedrooms which are specifically “Mine” and “yours” respectively.

The amenities are considered the “ours” function of the concept.

To then apply this on the site scale, there are the individual housing units respectively “mine,” and “yours,” but now “ours” is a shared common space in the front for the neighbors to get to know each other and have a space

gather. This shared porch is also an opportunity for integration with the neighborhood as it is closer to the urban front in which people occupy, walking or driving up and down the street. It’s a perfect place for the neighbors to meet each other and the neighborhood as a whole. In the back, the residents have their separate entrances and space for recreation, yet both share a common space to enjoy each other’s company.

Another concept we hit on is to have everything you need and nothing you don’t. With this design philosophy, we created room sizes that were meant to activate the spaces to their full potential. The spaces are appropriately sized so useless space is eliminated. With this design idea, we could cut back on square footage of the building helping our affordability argument to fulfill the tenants needs in an inexpensive and effective manner.

KCUR Kansas City University Radio was a great opportunity to learn what happens before the design process even begins. Working alongside el dorado inc., we could glance at what happens in a feasibility study and work directly with clients to

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whom our research is directed towards.

There was much to consider while doing feasibility studies. Our first question was, “what’s the problem?” We had to define that in a way where it is both our and the clients’ problem. From there, we went into the tangible elements that directly relate to a feasibility process, like locations with the pros and cons spelled out for each place. After that, we needed background research of what a radio station is, what’s their part in today’s society, who has done it well previously, and how we can make it better.

We participated in this process with el dorado inc., which enlightened me on the issues of the current problems that face not only the radio station we are designing for, but also the predesign process. We went through the process to understand how to curb our design to meet the social, economic, and personal needs for public radio via KCUR, and to be sure our work and KCUR’s future does not diminish in a few year’s time.

KCAI Collaboration with the Kansas City Art Institute was an enormous

help with the re-branding for our studio. Right off the bat, we had to reflect on who we are as students, then as a studio, then as a studio that must uphold the tradition and values of our alumni from the Design+Make studio. For in this collaborative process, we had to break down who we are and what we represent so that the KCAI students could pick up the ideas we laid down to accurately reflect on who we are. There were many iterations where they thought they had us figured out, but more explanation of what we stand for was needed. After many iterations, we came to a solution that resolves the issue of who is Design+Make.

KCAI also assisted us on our the 100&Change project. They challenged us to form a new perspective and understanding of the problem we were working on. Design+Make began to see similarities in the creative process from our studio to theirs. We all begin with conceptual thought that becomes grounded in reality that is then explained through diagrams, illustrations, and ingenuity of design that relates back to the broad scope of the project. w

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SUCCESSFUL DIALOGUE Written by Andrew Schopen

From day one, we’ve had a real client. That’s what sets this studio apart from everything else.

For two of our projects, we’ve worked with Botwin Commercial Development.

100&Change was one such project we did with Botwin development and el Dorado, along with numerous others. 100&Change is a problem solving competition that the winner will be given one hundred million dollars towards their solution. The problem identified for the competition was figuring out how to solve homelessness in Kansas City.

“It was up to us to decide and research. That seems to have become a major theme in the Design+Make studio. There truly is never one right answer, and you will never know what’s best for the project until you exhaust every single opportunity and mitigate every constraint you have.”

The final project we would be working on was a feasibility study for KCUR which is Kansas City Public Radio.

Reflecting back to the first day, it doesn’t seem like

we actually talked about the Waldo affordable housing project, yet it’s what’s taken up the majority of our time this semester. Beginning that day, we didn’t know if the project was going to be a triplex and a duplex. I originally thought this was just another professor strategy to get us to think more deeply about the project. A few months had passed and we slowly realized that the client truly didn’t know what would better suit their situation - or what was even possible on the site. The words from the first day held true. It was up to us to decide and research.

That seems to have become a major theme in the Design+Make studio. There truly is never one right answer, and you will never know what’s best for the project until you exhaust every single opportunity and mitigate every constraint you have.

Through communication with the client and listening to their goals and aspirations, along with our own research and dialogue with the surrounding area of Waldo: we were able to begin to program this building.

My group researched three key historical characters that made a name for themselves in Kansas City. Through the study of these

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individuals, we were able to develop a character narrative to influence a design. The main conclusion this led us to is this sense of community. Kansas City is much different than that of any other city we had been to. There

were other conclusions drawn as well from these historical figures; such as how adaptable the Waldo area is to new things, both historically and now. These discoveries, along with meaningful dialogue with the client allowed us to stitch together a dynamic program that made it to the final two. The studio was set up almost as a competition to see what would be built.

The strength in our project came from our convincing observation of how important community should be within a duplex and the way that we communicated it. We argued that there are not many other places than Waldo where a project like this could be built.

Our group did not move on to the final; however, there were aspects of it which did. This sense of community we had discovered was so influential, that even though our building may not have been able to make the final hurdle, the idea of community soared with flying colors.

As our group merged into the rest of the studio to work on this duplex in what would be its final form, the sense of community was implemented into the front porch of the duplex. This front porch has now become a buffer

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zone that allows community on the duplex scale, site scale, and neighborhood scale. The front porch allows all of the neighborhood trends and dialogue to pass right through it seamlessly, allowing our building to stitch into its surroundings.

On the site scale, the front porch connects the front doors of the duplex to the street level over a huge elevation change without getting overly expensive.

On a duplex scale, the porch incorporates the possibility to have a meaningful microcommunity. In a typical duplex, you may share the same roof, but there is no sense in community.

The iterations we went through, both as individual groups and as a studio, allowed us to reach a much better building. However, any of the side iterations that had strengths were pulled into the building to create a better whole.

Switching gears towards another aspect of our studio, we worked with a team of people to provide a solution to the problem of homelessness in KC. The problem we had to wrestle with was helping to satisfy housing for those aging out of foster care. Through the

beginnings of the semester, we had conference calls with many different brilliant minds, talking about how we could make this work to earn a one hundred million dollar grant.

Every week, the conference call was slightly different. There was a different iteration of how we defined the problem and how we might solve said problem. The strength with this method is that the eventual solution in the end will actually solve all the problems from past iterations as well as the final iteration of the problem.

For KCUR feasibility we sat in on many meetings between representatives from the station and el dorado. In the beginning, they didn’t know whether or not this was a legitimate thing that could happen. The first meeting I was in, the client clearly wanted to make it known that he wants the station to engage better with the public. The decision and discussion between the two options, new construction and renovation, was secondary.

After this meeting, we met at el dorado and did many drawings and sketches as a studio to try and get down to understanding this problem on a building scale. el dorado continued to work

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with KCUR. Recently, we sat in on a programming meeting that was much more about typical programming that we learn in studio. This type of programming has to do with square feet and the literal behavior of human inhabitants within this space. However, this type of programming can only be done once the high-level version is done - figuring out exactly what the problem is. The client then was able to make an informed decision on whether we were shooting for the right thing. This makes it easier to come to a mutual understanding of what then had to be done moving forward.

This entire semester has continuously shaped and redefined what programming is to me. Coming out of all of my past studios in the college realm I was always handed a piece of paper called “the program.� This prescribed square footages and prescribed, required spaces.

However, after this semester I now know that isn’t accurate with the real world. Successful programming comes from a meaningful dialogue between Architect, Client, and Community.

The end result is a much more influential piece of architecture on all levels for all parties involved.

Programming is an iterative process that is at its best when you seek to continuously redefine the problem. To successfully do that, it means that your project can become more diverse and cover so much more ground in the realm of solving community, site, and client problems. w

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BEATING THE STIGMAS

Written by Michael Twitchel

Every project begins with a problem, and the main task is how to solve these challenges with an articulated architectural solution.

Each new problem has endless ways of solving issues, but the individual programming dictates in which direction the design has to follow. When I first approached this problem of solving an affordable housing duplex, plenty of ideas came to mind. This was both a good and bad thing when it comes to designing something as broad as housing. Lots of ideas rush to you: how your own home setup is, what your dream home

might be, how do some things work, and what you’d change with each of those. The problem with all of these ideas is that it folds into what the stigma of a home or duplex is. This stigma also reaches beyond the design. A stigma has always dictated on how designers work with contractors to actually get something built. The last stigma has been felt by us, but impacts the client more than us.

It argues that the Design+Make studio is being extorted for their free labor. These three stigmas must be addressed to ensure the best possible outcome of the design and impact upon the community.

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“We confronted the stigma of all the traditional elements of a residential building. What do the elements need to be? What are the norms of each space? How can we change this, still be efficient, and meet all typical programming requirements?

Within the design we took all the elements and broke them down to the minimum, most efficient state of each element.”

First, I want to address the stigma of how we students are being used as free labor. Some people feel we are being taken advantage of by the client. There are many benefits to having students do the majority of the design work for a project.

Students are eager to learn, have an open mind, but the primary reason is the low or no cost of labor for the work they produce.

The client brought this to our attention and asked us if we felt abused and taken advantage of since we are really not getting paid for our services. Other classmates and I don’t mind this assumption of us being taken advantage of, because were actually benefiting

more than if we were being paid. The experience that we are receiving is worth far more than the money that we would get now.

The networking during this fight is another huge benefit to us through this specific design build process.

When asked about this question, I don’t think that the client is taking advantage of the circumstances.

The information is going to be all open source and the design will be public knowledge for replication. I think the easy replication of this project is the real goal for the client and the dissemination of all pertinent information cannot be seen as being taking advantage of.

One of the biggest stigmas in the design process is that the designers are the ones who wish to spend all the money to get whatever they want to make the building perfect. The Contractors are assumed to be the ones who cut the architectural design based on cost and what is easy for the builders. We always see buildings or homes that are not designed by an architect and simply built by a contractor. Most designers hate such projects. This practice produces buildings that have massive unresolved problems, blindly plugging in elements and extra space at the desire of the client. Designers have a

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historic resentment of contractors because of the idealistic and relative difference between the two professions. With our current contractor, this doesn’t even come close to the truth. However, we have a unique situation. Our contractor is actually a designer unlike most. He still pushes the budget and the ease of construction, but understands the thoughts and process of design.

This is a situation that is growing much more common. There has always been a need for increased accountability and dialogue, leading to a fusion of the two professions.

The last stigmas we face are all those that follow the traditional design of a duplex, typical programing and standardization of residential type buildings, and the burden of a student-run design-build project. First, is the stigma of the student project and how it can only be so good, as we are young, inexperienced, and lack critical knowledge. As this is also an academic project, we were allowed a deep, lengthy iteration process. This gave us some of the best ideas and adequate time to explore them along the way to the final design.

The duplex itself has its own stigma, which was something we

had to think of since day one to avoid making something bland and boring. The main focus to fix the stigma was the addition and articulation of the front porch, not only to match the surrounding context, but also to change the programming of the element to make this house feel like a nontraditional duplex. We have moved the traditional uses of the porch/ deck from the back of the house to the front of the house. It now challenges the social stigma and pulls people to the front of the house. A duplex is usually seen as a symmetrical house with two separate entrances. We’re breaking this tradition with one, localized entry and asymmetrical approach that is responsive to neighborhood conditions. Finally, we confronted the stigma of all the traditional elements of a residential building. What do the elements need to be? What are the norms of each space? How can we change this, still be efficient, and meet all typical programming requirements? Within the design we took all the elements and broke them down to the minimum, most efficient state of each element. The bedrooms are the smallest, with the most efficiency and are only used for sleeping, its main role in the house. The living areas are adjacent to each

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Š coffee with an architect

other, inside and out. The kitchen is attached to the living room with a clear and visible connection to the front porch. This extends the living room while facilitating different functions than just living.

In my opinion, we have iterated on the idea of what is expected in a traditional house while leaving basics intact.

These stigmas need to be resolution so everyone knows the truth and relevance of each one.

There is free labor happening.

We’re not disputing that fact.

But is it really free? All of us are getting much more than money out of this deal; knowledge,

networking, and actual experience of construction. Most stigmas can be dismissed once you understand that nothing is ever cut-and-dry.

Instead, it looks to the future of housing. This future provides something rather than a boring, ugly, and unthoughtful box.

Each stigma has changed our thoughts of the design and the world in general. Not only can this be translated into the design of every building, but also work its way into life and the world as a whole, striving to fix every problem that we may all come across. w

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THE NEVER-ENDING CURVE BALL Written by Lannie Cowden

Walking into this school year I had mixed feelings about how this semester would be any different than the previous ones. While the last four years have been full of interactive learning and creating a network of friends and faculty, I was still unsure. But as I walked into studio, on my last, first day of college, I still had several questions about how the Design+Make studio was going to challenge me like no other studio had before. Most us in the

El Dorado studio have been off campus for roughly nine months or more due to our academics, study abroad programs, and/or internship involvements that then moved into a three-month summer break. I couldn’t help but think how difficult it was going to be to jump back into the normalities that come with studio. Sleepless nights and the additional stress to meet deadlines are simply the life of an architecture student.

Within the first five minutes of studio, David throws us the first of

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many curve balls to come. Instead of designing and building an archery shelter, we would step into the realm of residential design.

Immediately, I was excited by this new project statement. Since freshman year, I have wanted to

“...re-thinking and backtracking through the process was not a waste of my time and effort and shouldn’t be considered so. Rather, the knowledge gained should be used as a tool that can be used to scrutinize the design and ensure we’re building for the whole community, not just the minority.”

get more involved in a residential project. Shortly after, we began to talk more in depth about what both the fall and spring semesters were going to be. While taking notes on everything we were going to be doing, my feelings turned from excitement into worry and possible stress from just talking about the projects. My notes went from a neat and productive looking list to chicken scratch

trying to keep up with all the new information our professor was spilling out.

As we started considering site conditions, the surrounding environment issues, community assets, and who we were designing for, it became clearer as to why we were attempting this large of a project. The main role I took on during this process was trying to fully understand the Waldo community and who would come to live here, along with why they would. Being able to take the time to fully connect and immerse myself into the Waldo community was a huge opportunity I could take hold of. Being able to meet and converse with locals to get a glimpse into their daily involvement within Waldo truly helped me to rethink my approach on who could benefit from this housing project. Even though we were told from the beginning that this housing project would be an affordable housing one, I still had no clue how to start designing for a low-income individual’s needs. Coming from a personal background of living in a predominantly white upper-middle-class suburb for most of my life, I really had no true experience with this type of housing development.

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By looking deeper into our surroundings in Kansas City, I saw there were several organizations that try to help with this transition but are failing in the housing department. These young adults were being pushed out of the system once they hit a certain age and most of them were left with nowhere to go, rendering them homeless. In my eyes, this is a large group of people that are being added to the already rising numbers of homeless individuals in the Kansas City area. Within my family, we have been a part of the foster care system since I was very young. Whether it was opening our

doors to children or volunteering at fundraisers and counseling events in our area. Although I felt a deeper connection with this specific audience, I was putting myself in a corner and not looking at the whole picture.

I was targeting a very specific demographic and keeping the design from being flexible and adaptable.

This rethinking and backtracking through the process was not a waste of my time and effort and shouldn’t be considered so.

Rather, the knowledge gained should be used as a tool that can be used to scrutinize the design

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and ensure we’re building for the whole community, not just the minority.

Once we fully understood what made Waldo the neighborhood it is today, we were able to start thinking about possible design concepts. Still now, we were unsure what would be going into this site. For what seemed like weeks, we were finally able to stop dancing around the idea of our site holding a triplex or a duplex.

We settled on a duplex, which still raised several questions about possible concepts that could functionally work between two units, while still following the Kansas City’s codes and requirements.

For a while, it seemed that we were heading down a straightforward path in our designs, until there was yet again another curve ball coming our way. Not only do we need to think about the design but we also must make sure that it will meet the budget of our developers, something we have never been challenged with in any other studio project. If that wasn’t enough to make an individual panic, there was still more to come. We were all asked to take on leadership roles within the

group to help keep the studio moving in a more professional manner. While some moved towards the design realm, others moved towards the business management and research aspect.

For myself and another peer, we took on the scheduling role for the studio. This job title required us to keep track of scheduling conflicts, transportation, and figuring out individual availabilities over the next coming months as we begin construction. For a border-line type A individual like myself, I felt at home with taking on this role within the studio. Not to be controlling, but to be able to keep track and fully understand every movement and decision throughout the whole semester.

Along with scheduling, we were working on what seemed to be a never-ending trial and error of design concepts. Thankfully though, we pinned down two specific concepts that led into one.

While trying to still come to terms with how to calculate a project budget, we were still being pushed into our collaboration with the Kansas City Art Institute, KCAI, to submit our grant application and re-brand our studio. The two projects were beneficial to our academic growth, but still acted as a type of background

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music to main symphony that was our Waldo housing project.

For both the re-branding and the grant application, I felt like I was standing still and observing for most of the process. I’m not saying that I was purely a spectator, but my attention was being pulled in different directions.

On the one hand, the grant application was trying to push us to think more critically about how and why homelessness is a rising issue in the Kansas City area. This caused us to look deeper and reach conclusions based off our studio and individual research. By realizing what the basic needs are of an individual to live and what the purpose of a home in the first place, we could start to take our new-found knowledge and use it to iterate on our design.

With the branding, we took a hard look at who we were, not only as a studio but as who we are as individuals and how our specific strengths and ambitions can better develop our studio based goals and intentions for the following years. I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to walk away from this experience with the knowledge of critical thinking, self-evaluation, and collaboration tools.

Towards the end of this semester, after weeks of fast-paced thinking and movement, I didn’t think anything else could be thrown our way, except for pushing our duplex concept to the point of getting a permit. But with how the last few weeks have been going, I was wrong again. After weeks of standing by, waiting for what our studios interaction with the Kansas City University Radio, KCUR, was going to be, it came down to a few trips to Kansas City to consult and discuss our first impressions of the programming and conceptual ideas. The project was quite interesting, but at the same time I didn’t feel immersed in the whole project. This was due to the final push on our housing project, with which we had the hope of breaking ground before the first freeze.

Being able to see how a firm interacts and communicates with their clients was very beneficial. Being able to develop a relationship with your client and create a dialogue with them is also an extremely helpful tool to have as we all move into our career paths as new graduates.

By the time thanksgiving break came around, the KCAI, KCUR, and re-branding projects all

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took a step back while we put all our efforts towards the Waldo housing project. As I look back on how the semester has gone, I have been able to observe those currently working in the field, take leadership roles within my studio, and create a better relationship with my peers. Although we didn’t necessarily agree on everything, we could take a step back and start thinking about what our client and future tenants would need and want for this site. Since we are only halfway through our final year, I am unsure how to end this without falsely stating how this project will end. This part of the project is the most interesting

to me as design is never truly over, just like our project isn’t. The design will always be expanding and trying to reach new heights, and as a studio I feel like that is our priority. We shouldn’t stop in a “comfortable” place and keep the design from reaching its true potential. We have a need to create the best possible answer for this site and program. Although the design is still changing almost daily, the concept and goals we have put forth as a studio still hold true to what we plan to accomplish come May. w

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TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK Written by Kaitlyn Portner

I had heard from past 5th year students what Design+Make’s projects were like and thought it would be really fun to actually build something at real scale.

Little did I know what I was getting myself into. The DesignBuild Institute of America defines a design build project as a method of project delivery in which one entity, the design-build team, works under a single contract with the project owner to provide design and construction services.

This is generally what I had thought the studio was - and in a general sense, it is. However, it’s hard to expect every one of our responsibilities to be covered in a singular blanket statement. Come to find out, they’re definitely not.

On the first day of class, we all sat down in one of the conference

“During the next couple of weeks, we had a lot of meetings with a lot of different people who used a lot of big words I hadn’t heard used before, but now they’re words that I know the meanings of.

rooms and David Dowell, our professor, began to explain everything we would be doing this semester and continuing into the next. After this meeting, I walked out of the room overwhelmed about everything we were going to be doing.

Not only did our main studio project change from an archery shelter to an affordable housing project (the biggest project this studio has done), but we’re also tasked with writing a grant for a project called 100&Change, and would also working on a new home for a KCUR radio station.

I knew nothing about grants or what radio stations needed. These two extra projects definitely threw me for a loop.

During the next couple of weeks, we had a lot of meetings with a lot of different people who used a lot of big words I hadn’t heard used before, but now they’re words I know the meanings of.

For all of the projects, lots of precedent work was done. I don’t think I have ever looked at so many different types of buildings and tried to find an idea somewhere to use as a baseline for these projects. It really seemed

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like this stage in the project dragged on forever with lots of meetings, building analysis, and figuring out the base line for the projects, but all we were wanting to do was start designing. When we finally got to the point that we were ready to begin designing, we were divided into groups of 3 or 4.

I was very unsure of how my group would work together because from observation over the last four years, it seemed like we all had different ways of working through projects. This actually seemed to work to our benefit, however. As we battled through what seemed like millions of design iterations

and a handful of presentations to our client and professor, our design was chosen as one of the final two that we would continue to develop more. This meant that we were combined into two groups and we went from 3 to 7. It was at this point that working as a group started to become difficult. We struggled a lot at trying to make everyone happy with the design while also trying to keep the design as one whole, solid idea.

Even with these struggles, we still maintained a good main idea and overall design. In the end, this is what helped the client make their decision to build our design.

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From here, we all came together as a studio to bring this design to its full potential. After working on so many projects by myself, I never would have imagined that there would be enough work for the whole studio to do and stay busy for so many weeks. It was really amazing to see everyone use their strengths to complete their part of the project. Everyone chose a part that they are best at doing.

My favorite thing to do is model making, so throughout the whole semester I have been making the study models and the site models. This made it possible for the project to be moved forward quickly and efficiently.

As the semester came to an end, we wrapped up everything we had created for a final open house presentation. We brought all the models we had made until this point and were able to line them all up. It was awesome to see how the project had progressed and come to what it will be built as next semester. I also found it really neat that everyone else was also able to see this through the models that have been made throughout the semester. It will definitely be a fun, but challenging experience building the full scale building next semester.

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For most of this semester, I may have felt like I was running round like a chicken with my head cut off, but I learned so much about myself this semester. I learned how to best work in a group setting. Not just small group settings, but also very large group settings. This made me learn to not always feel like I need to have control of the whole part of the project I am working on. While working in a group setting, you have to be able to trust those that you are working with to uphold their part of the project. I also found out that I shouldn’t always be afraid to voice my opinion in a group. It may not be the best idea

on the table or the right answer to a question, but whatever you say can lead to other ideas that someone may have not thought of. All of the things I have learned this semester will not only carry me forward into next semester, but it will also help me in my future career in more ways than one. w “What Is Design-Build?” DBIA, Fall 2015. n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

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THE STORY OF THE SEMESTER

Written by Taylor Rice

To truly understand how the semester has been for me, I must come clean. While I was away on internship in Portland, Oregon, I had shown all the studio program descriptions to a number of coworkers and asked them to tell me which studio description they thought was best and rank them.

However, they were not impressed with the choices I had to choose from. They tried to tell me “none of them,” which was obviously not an option. I then expressed which studio descriptions I was leaning towards. Most notably, I knew the reputation of the Design+Make

studio and that it would be most beneficial to me and my studies. I was able to convince my coworkers that ranking Design+Make studio first was the right choice. So that’s what I did, sent it in, and hoped for the best.

A few weeks later I was finally back in Manhattan after spending an entire year away. For the first time in my architecture school career, I got my first-choice studio preference - the Design+Make studio taught by an el dorado inc. principal. I wasn’t too thrilled about the initial program presented which had us focusing on an archery shelter for an

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“The Shed won. Time to go to our new team and fully engulf in the concept behind the design. It was all hands-on deck as the clock is ticking down. Working hard as team we designed, redesigned, argued, and fought for the design concept until it bled. I played devil’s advocate with everything, as budget was the ultimate dictator. The drawings are more or less ready to go and we have our permit. Time to build, see you all on May 13th. If you need me I’ll be in Kansas City.”

entire studio year. However, I was excited to finally produce something real and tangible, knowing that the hard work and passion that has always come out of the Design+Make studio has been extremely admirable.

On that first day of class, David Dowell comes in swinging, almost quite literally. Scaring the crap out of all of us, he proceeds to throw a wrench at us, this time metaphorically. He explains that the program description of the studio has changed. We are building a dwelling of some sort called Affordable Housing in Waldo. On top of that, we will be working with 100&Change, KCUR

Kansas City’s National Public Radio Station, and a re-branding with Kansas City Art Institute students. So, for those of you keeping track at home, that’s four projects, but who’s counting anyway? He then goes on to explain that he is not afraid to fail anyone and there is no room for hiding. Not that I planned on hiding, but oh brother. Did someone turn off the AC in here, or is it just me? Nope. Looking around, we all felt the heat wave.

Over the next few weeks, we focused on 100&Change with the Botwin Family Development, AL Huber Construction, Synergy Services and HR&A. Overwhelming is a complete understatement as the programming and process work was already in the works and we just had to jump in. 100&Change is a $100 million grant to solve a seemingly insurmountable societal problem. Our team was proposing to solve the unabating cause of homelessness, specifically among youth. We quickly had to begin research and comb through a mass amount of material already done, just to begin to understand the project and the intended proposal that was due October 3rd. So, we started the next day by joining in on an 8

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and other necessary deliverables required for the submission told the whole story to help win this incredible grant.

am conference call. Through the next weeks, David invited us to multiple meetings at 7540 Washington (a project completed by el dorado) in the Waldo neighborhood in Kansas City.

This is a place where homeless youth are taken in, given a place of their own, get back up on their feet, and have the necessary resources readily available. This is an incredibly designed and well executed community. The stories told by the tenants living there were heartwarming and the true desire to solve homelessness through the 100&Change grant was extremely fitting. It was our job to help make sure the writing

Simultaneously, while continually thinking about the 100&Change grant, we had our first introduction to Tyler Galloway’s junior year typography class at the Kansas City Art Institute. To think, this is maybe week two at this point. Breathe. One day at time Taylor, you can do this. The meeting was interactive, resulting in a game plan to move forward about how we were going to collaborate and incorporate them into the semester to re-brand the Design+Make studio. David also wanted their help graphically on the 100&Change grant application.

That was the upcoming, most urgent deadline. I’m not really sure how they too managed to grapple through all the material of 100&Change, but they did a phenomenal job on the graphics

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for the application. Kudos KCAI students.

I believe it was the Monday of the second week that we had two meetings in Kansas City. One was about the Affordable Housing project in Waldo and another, a meeting with KCUR - another very interesting and quite a large project for us to take on. The Kansas City National Public Radio Station is affiliated with University of Missouri Kansas City, located just off site of campus in an unfortunate building with minimal windows. The task at hand was to help with a feasibility study to determine whether the station is to build a brand-new building located in the parking lot next to the existing building or renovate their current building. After the initial conversation with el dorado staff, Nico Leone - KCUR General Manager, Sarah Morris - UMKC Vice Chancellor, and Steven Steigman - Station Manager, we

had an open discussion about what it takes to run a radio station in terms of equipment and resources. Then followed a hot topic conversation about the future of radio - specifically public radio. It was all very thought provoking and required us to go back and begin lots of research and precedent studies.

In recap, as the semester goes on, we helped where we could on 100&Change by providing feedback and some research.

This was nothing too intense and before we knew it, it was October 3rd and the application was due. Done. Soon following up with KCUR, we spent some time checking out their existing building, checking out the existing parking lot where a new building could potentially go, and then spent a studio day at the el dorado office in a design charrette with Brian Michener, an eldo, about concepts for the new building.

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That’s kind of where it ended until recently, as Brian did all the work on putting together a feasibility study program booklet for KCUR. Done again. That leaves us with the forever on-going Affordable Housing project in Waldo. And that’s where studio takes off. This was really from day one though.

While working on 100&Change and KCUR deliverables, we began site analysis and precedent research on the Affordable Housing in Waldo project. Our site is located on 7509 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The conversations started largely with who our audience was going to be, a question still to this day we find ourselves wondering. I think now we’ve determined we’re living in it. Right guys, all 13 of us? One big happy designing and building family, forever. Just kidding...kind of. The group I worked with focused on tenants who are mentally and physically disabled, a topic near to my heart.

After discussing some of the pros and cons to a specific targeted audience, David divided us up into four design teams. A dream team, I thought, of Andrew, Zach, and myself. Infatuated with the rich history of Waldo, the three of us took on the persona of Dr. David Waldo, Jesse Clyde Nichols, and Napoleon Dible. That was

it. That was the concept that we used to our advantage, or at least we thought. Each character had their driving force to our design. Dr. Waldo as the risk taker and eclectic lifestyle, Nichols as the country club developer with regulations, and then the infamous Dible who was highly innovative and brought the Nichols and Waldo together. After determining it was to be a duplex, Waldo was one unit and Nichols was the other with an outdoor courtyard in between the two as The Dible space. We sometimes struggled to understand our crazy hand-drawn thought process of our vague diagrams. The project

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required comprehensiveness, and unfortunately that got to us.

We fought back, survived, and thrived, making it through as semifinalists. The Shed versus The Dible. Through hard work and late nights, The Dible evolved into a beautiful final haiku of “Dible inspired, creates Waldo connection, underneath one roof.”

The final idea was that both units where enclosed in a barn like structure, but had a hidden gem inside where the tenants of the building could enjoy an extended living room. We knew it was an uphill battle, as our design did not have a lot of room to give in terms of budget. In the end, it

was determined that if the Dible space was lost because of budget, the design concept would be lost.

The Shed won. Time to go to our new team and fully engulf in the concept behind the design. It was all hands-on deck as the clock is ticking down. Working hard as team we designed, redesigned, argued, and fought for the design concept until it bled. I played devil’s advocate with everything, as budget was the ultimate dictator. The drawings are more or less ready to go and we have our permit. Time to build, see you all on May 13th. If you need me I’ll be in Kansas City. w

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THE CLIENT STORY

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OWNER+CLIENT+DEVELOPER+PROGRAMMING Authored by Diane Botwin, Managing Partner, Botwin Commercial Development.

I have learned over my career that ‘programming’ is a process, much like anything is. Often, like most things in life, I have found that the end product merely emerges organically as a result of the process. Not necessarily as a surprise, but, more like the thoughtful evolution of a million previous decisions, ideas, discussions, research discoveries and so on. It is usually the process that I remember most vividly when a project has been completed; the

“I have been able to see the programming process unfold slowly and delicately (sometimes harshly too), revealing a larger, more complex problem and set of goals. Identifying these problems and seeking solutions, however small or subtle, has been incredibly uplifting. Good development, like good buildings, doesn’t just happen.”

building or space acts more as a wonderful reminder of that.

The other aspect of ‘programming’ for me is the simultaneous development of relationships during the programming process.

We either become a problem solving, programming team, or not, or sometimes, or hopefully, yes, hopefully...a team. We learn about and from each other and hopefully are enriched as human beings through the process.

Programming carries tremendous responsibility. It is not a hand off to the architect. I have found that it is closer to a fast-paced give and take that involves preparedness and participation by everyone involved. As William Pena and Steven Parshall said in ‘Problem Seeking’, “Good buildings don’t just happen. They are planned to look good and perform well and come about when good architects and good clients join in thoughtful, cooperative effort”. Mr. Pena and Mr. Parshall went on to outline five elements of problem seeking: 1. establish Goals 2. collect and analyze Facts 3. uncover and test Concepts

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4. determine Needs; and 5. state the Problem.

I would add one more; develop an accessible language to Communicate.

Botwin Commercial Development+KSU Students+el dorado+Studio Build+Waldo+Programming I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to engage with each of the members of our team on this specific project. This process has proven to be challenging and fascinating. The quick transformation from amorphous, dreamy fantasies to the practical embodiment of those lofty aspirations into a real solution has been remarkable to see. I sometimes feel like I am watching a time lapse video.

I came to this experience wanting to create an opportunity for my son to learn how to develop a building from start to finish. I have come to realize that initial goal grew into much more. I believe by deliberately using our time as we have, I have been able to see the programming process

unfold slowly and delicately (sometimes harshly too), revealing a larger, more complex problem and set of goals. Identifying these problems and seeking solutions, however small or subtle, has been incredibly uplifting. Good development, like good buildings, doesn’t just happen. w

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THE PROJECT STORIES

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A NEW MODEL OF BUILDING American society has “When I was a boy and I struggled with would see scary things the affordable in the news, my mother housing would say to me, ‘Look problem for for the helpers. You will decades.

In always find people who are recent years, helping.’” inflation and stagnant - Mister Rogers working-class wages have led more people to find themselves unable to acquire housing copacetic with their needs.

This undeniable need of affordable housing has led to a stigma of inadequacy. The majority of lowincome housing in America is subsidized or owned and operated by the government. Many of these housing projects are still grossly inadequate for habitation with dignity.

128,567 and 52,405 That is the number of households in Missouri and Kansas, respectively, who face “severe housing cost burden.” Those are the people paying more than they feasibly can for housing, putting them at risk of becoming homeless. This number does not count the staggering amount of

households struggling to make ends meet due to rising housing costs, but are not yet listed as “severe.” Factoring in those households, this number could easily reach into the millions.

These people are virtually invisible compared to the homeless. These people are your neighbors. This is not a problem to be exclusively solved by the government. This is a problem with our society. In the Waldo duplex, we search for a way in which public interest design can be redefined. The new type of affordable housing should not just be a place of shelter, but a platform for individuals to connect with the community.

Thoughtful design should not only be accessible to the privileged, but instead, it should be a standard of living for each individual.

In order to make this project replicable, it will require further contributions from society.

Therefore, a change of values is necessary for taking this project further. Those values are both economically- and socially-based.

Through those lenses, this project can be beneficial in several ways.

Before all else, the home must provide for all the basic needs under the most affordable budget possible. A large chunk of this

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burden can be resolved through intelligent design. Although, this can only be achieved if employed in the beginning. The materials used should be analyzed for the life-cycle cost. Affordable is only truly affordable if one can continue to live there after the mortgage is paid off and the contractor’s warranty expires.

The project should be inherently sustainable from an environmental and ecological viewpoint. We need to consider the impact of housing and the fact that it lasts for generations.

Thus, housing should not be wasteful of our environment and resources. Housing as a whole is generational, but most current housing is built in a way not environmentally conscious. For the longevity of the project, we need to be fully aware of the consequences of our actions.

The architecture should create an atmosphere that transforms the house into a home. A home gives people a sense of belonging. A home should be a place of safety and consistency. A home allows you to get away from society while simultaneously engaging with it. A home is a place of gathering for friends and loved ones. A home is a part of your life, not an object you reside in.

It is the harbor of your daily life.

After considering all this, the project is still inherently unsustainable if one simply looks for the monetary value and return.

The project relies on a significant amount of charity and donations.

This project; however, is much more than its monetary value. This home is one of many, contributing to the larger conversation of quality, accessible housing in America. We are the helpers, demonstrating to our neighbors what is truly possible if you just care. Projects like these produce a net benefit to the greater community. This net benefit may not be measurable through monetary means, but it is tenfold the original investment in a larger sense.

The public housing issue is one of the biggest issues in our society.

In architecture, it may actually be the biggest challenge we face. It is long past overdue. The idea of a modern society being unable to house themselves is a testament to the current society. This must change. w National Alliance to End Homelessness. “2016 State of Homelessness�. 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2016

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A MARKET-DRIVEN SOLUTION 100&Change is a challenge to evaluate and commit to solving a deep problem with an unconventional solution.

We focused on the topic of homelessness, especially amongst the youth population.

Youth homelessness has a deep and lasting impact on an individual’s life. Displaced youth don’t posses any traits of resiliency or hope.

It is difficult to imagine how one can go on to live fully without both. Truthfully, it is impossible.

“One of the challenges that I think we have nationally, is this idea that these problems are so big that they’re impossible. “...[it is] one heck of a plan to take those assets that we are trying to grow and mold and really make it work in a sustainable fashion.”

- Scott Walker Kansas City Councilman

Many youths are phased out of homes because of their age, sexuality, family issues, or educational challenges.

Just in Kansas City, Missouri, seventy-eight young people aged out of foster care last year.

One in five of them will become homeless, one

in four will have post-traumatic stress disorder, half of them will be unemployed by age twenty-four, and seventy-one percent of the young women will be pregnant by age twenty-one.

They are placed into society with little knowledge of what society truly means. These youths are trying to find a place in a world that they know little about, which leads to problems for them and the community. This forced integration has a butterfly effect on the community.

The problem is that we, as a society, are not providing enough of the proper support and services for young people leaving foster care, resulting in social and economic tragedy for them and our community. We can solve this problem and help change the lives of generations to come by creating a replicable “launch pad” that provides not only housing and services, but also the infrastructure to live a dignified life.

Homelessness has always been an issue, especially in America’s city centers. With lack of funding and support, the issue has never truly had a breakthrough. Can there really be one answer to fix the

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rise in homeless individuals? Can architecture really do all of that by itself?

feasibly solved, but there can be a net gain for developers in the process.

The answer is no.

In other words, a developer can make money by solving homelessness if the projects are built to an economy of scale.

The capital earned can then be not only taken for a profit, but also reinvested in more projects, creating a self-sustaining business model once the initial investment is kick-started. In our capitalistic society, that’s how our biggest corporations were founded and the biggest problems were solved.

Architecture alone is not the solution. It is only a small piece of a much larger picture. Several developments have turned into slums and “ghettos” because they are left to their own devices. So the question really is, how can we create a space that will make residents feel pride in where they live, moving past traditional, stereotypical transitional housing?

Can we find funding that will help to keep that possible?

Thorough investigation and collaboration made it clear that to make a clear and lasting impact, the solution needs to be self-sustaining and replicable.

This solution integrates traumainformed wrap around services incorporated into socially conscious architecture. This is an architecture that organically grows a community and support system, while allowing for the services to act as a “safety net.”

Market-driven things work in America. The 100&Change application worked to prove that not only can homelessness be

The 100&Change project started as a premature idea about how we can help solve homelessness. By the end of the application process, it left each of us with a greater awareness of the bigger picture.

Each problem has a deep root in our society. There’s no reason why we can’t dig down and pull that root. The problem needs to be continually re-framed to fully understand how to best present it to the appropriate audiences and find the eventual solution. w

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A COMMUNITY ASSET Long is the question regarding the future of National Public Radio. Many criticize radio as a dying form of media. Young people are said to have different habits, expectations, and aesthetic inclinations than the millions of loyal listeners that NPR has been serving for decades. However, at the Kansas City National Public Radio they believe the median age is much lower than it is nationally thought to be.

The Kansas City University Radio, better known as KCUR began in 1957. It wasn’t until years later, after gaining much needed traction, the station began to grow.

KCUR faced numerous relocations over the years. Since inception, the station has had many aspirations, but their primary goal is, and always has been creating a strong public front to a “faceless” form of media. This notion of retaining a strong public front inevitably led towards becoming the flagship NPR station in Kansas City. KCUR joined with NPR and found its home in 1971 while still remaining aligned with the University of Missouri Kansas City.

Consequently, the due diligence of KCUR and its commitment to excellence as a public radio station has exceeded its capacity yet again, in terms of space, technology and

in representing their long-standing mission, at their current location along Troost Avenue.

The objective of moving again, or rather a new home for KCUR is of highest priority for the operation and its resulting constituents.

Inherently, the primary goals remain the same even after nearly 60 years of dedicated service.

“Finding unconventional solutions to pragmatic problems is why we conduct programming. Not only will KCUR comfortably mitigate the 18-24 months of construction with a required swing space, but they will also gain an asset in the process.”

Coincidently, after working with El Dorado, the primary goal has been slightly altered by the means of redefining the new and ever present opportunities with respect to changing locations. This redefining shows exactly where the opportunities are present for a public front. This public

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front can be designed in a much more informed way, enriching the community in ways not previously imagined.

The formal presence at the intersection of Troost Ave (main arterial road in KCMO) and Volker Boulevard (another arterial road) in conjunction with Brush Creek and the Kauffman Legacy Park have radically defined the design strategies. These strategies engage prime opportunities for public advancements through forms of building presence, articulation of landscape, and by means of dedicated programming which articulate public engagement in this ever-evolving community. With the option of providing a ground up building in lieu of renovation, the ability to provide physical community engagement yields a direct reflection of the primary goal and positively promotes a new form for a social argument.

It is this process of considering a new building where many other added benefits have come into fruition. Apart of the many goals KCUR has established for itself, Nico Leone, General Manager for KCUR, has quietly thought the use of a mobile broadcasting station would reinforce their mission

and maintenance of a strong public front and a wider range of community recognition beyond their current limitations. As the analysis has moved forward, the once dream of this mobile station seems to be in close reach as the constraints of construction would require the need for a temporary swing space.

Finding unconventional solutions to pragmatic problems is why we conduct programming. Not only will KCUR comfortably mitigate the 18-24 months of construction with a required swing space, but they will also gain an asset in the process.

As a part of Design+Make’s loose involvement in this process, many lessons have been learned. One of the primary lessons being the ability to keep an open mind for the collaborative process. This yields avenues of explorations that have the innate ability to provide new design visions. w

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A FOUND IDENTITY Collaboration with the Kansas City Art Institute graphic design was one of the most useful things the studio has done for itself since its inception.

The re-branding of the studio aimed to redefine and clearly establish the Design+Make Studio’s image. Design+Make has been active at Kansas State University for 5 years. The studio has, quite literally, built itself up from smaller projects to undertaking the entire design and build process of a duplex in Kansas City. Through all of this; however, the brand of the studio has remained rough - often an afterthought. The website is merely based off a bland template and publications from the studio didn’t ever tie together. In our field, the professionalism of a carefully articulated identity goes a long way, especially when seeking clients, donations, and sponsors to be able to continue to push the Design+Make studio to its full potential.

Creative thinking between the studio and KCAI began from the first meeting. Starting off, we had to reflect on who we are as students, then as a studio, then as an organization. Every one of those groups must hold up the

tradition and values of our alumni from the Design+Make studio.

We had numerous meetings and conference calls to communicate and reach and understanding

“Mind you, this is not a wholly “new” identity.

This is an identity that has existed for 5 years, continually reinventing itself. The work with KCAI merely uncovered what was there in an elegant way.

The work is a graphical representation of what the mission of the studio has been for the last 5 years.

This exercise went further, giving us insight into how we present ourselves and the studio, in conversation, in social media, and in our work as a whole.”

through digging deeper into who we are and why we do what we do. We fielded questions that we hadn’t thought about or did not know the answer to. This process, contrary to our original expectations, went much further

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than creating a word mark, logo, or an InDesign template file.

Through these conversations and collaborations, we took a step back and tried to fundamentally understand what we stand for.

After all the iterations, we arrived at an identity that resolves the issue of who Design+Make is.

Mind you, this is not a “new� identity. This is an identity that has existed for 5 years, continually reinventing itself. The work with KCAI merely uncovered what was there in an elegant way. The work is a graphical representation of what the mission of the studio has been for the last 5 years. This exercise went further, giving us insight into how we present ourselves and the studio, in conversation, in social media, and in our work as a whole.

This re-branding and identity search paves the way for the future of students to come. We believe the Studio now has a brand that will last for decades. This is important, as the Design+Make studio is wholly different than it was 5 years ago. It’s hard to imagine the entire potential of this collaboration, but this exercise was a start at just that. w

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THE DESIGN+MAKE STUDIO STORY

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THE DESIGN+MAKE STUDIO STORY Each of us chose Design+Make as our final design studio before graduation.

This was a deliberate choice.

Originally, this choice was one for responsible design. It was one for a deeper understanding. It was one for gaining experience.

However, there is much more to this choice.

We approached the given tasks from all angles. We dealt with multiple problems simultaneously.

Until now, we tackled one project at a time, wiping the slate clean after completion to prepare for what follows, only looking back to place the drawings and images in a portfolio. This isn’t how a firm operates in the real world and it’s irresponsible to teach in this way.

We interacted with past clients of both Design+Make and el dorado, learning from both the mistakes and the successes.

The studio worked to combine and unite our collective problem solving into clear, concise solutions. Each project brought a new problem to solve.

As a studio, we created a design to defy the stigma of affordability. We fought for affordability and dignity.

We formed groups to explore all of the possibilities to take advantage of and constraints to mitigate, leading to different solutions to the same problem. Finally, we became one team. We brought with us what we had learned from the previous explorations.

We learned organization. It proved easier in the smaller, initial groups. Groups merged into one as we faced issues larger than the design. We broke down the project into parts, assigned the pieces to smaller groups, and came together again as a more informed, productive whole.

We performed an intricate dance, working from the parts to the whole. If we worked separately at our desks for too long, the project became confused, with 13 different voices screaming for attention. If we worked together for too long, all we accomplished was a list of intangible, theoretical thoughts and ideas of what should be done, but truly reflected no real progress. We found that a balance was key.

We didn’t need to combine the four teams and competing ideas into one, but instead, combine 13 individual characters.

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We found a balance between each character and our project finally began to speak with a singular voice.

This was the voice of Design+Make.

In the studio, we thought intensively about the problem of homelessness in Kansas City and in our society. We learned to consistently iterate on the idea, not settling for what we think the problem is. We offered our insight and critiques to understand the problem at a much deeper level.

Solving the root of the problem has potential for a butterfly effect throughout our society.

We collaborated with those who have strengths other than ours, aesthetically and graphically.

We learned how communication happens within large groups, how ideas are curated, and then honed into the most concise version possible. We learned to write, evaluate, revise, reevaluate, then write again.

We debated our varying degrees of support for causes and societal issues. We put personal opinions aside in the interest of the whole.

We worked to find the identity of the Design+Make Studio. We broke

down who we are and why we do what we do. Our new identity gave us a logo, standard typefaces, and a style guide. However, we learned that there is much more to an identity than some shapes and a color. This identity helped us understand the history of the studio, its culture and values, and what our place is in the larger picture of responsible design.

We were pushed and pulled in several directions.

We analyzed and articulated problems, found and described solutions, identified common voices between 13 distinct individuals, sought out and defined our own identity, and helped an organization find their place in the community.

We came together, put aside differences and rallied strengths.

We learned how to chase a desired result through thoughtful integration into the community, with our clients, with our partners and consultants, and within our own studio.

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DESIGN MAKE kansas state university

This story has had many names. We’ve tried to call it “Integration,” “Amalgamation,” and “Collaboration,” among many others. A couple have hinted at what we’ve truly been a part of in the Design+Make studio.

However, no name ever said it as simply and elegantly as “One.” The trouble is that this studio isn’t the first. We’ve built off of the traditions and experience of those who’ve established this studio as much as we have from ourselves.

We’ve built off of “One.” That evolved into “Two.” We don’t talk about “Three.” It quickly moved to “Four.” It all transpired into “Five.”

Thus, we’re Six.

SIX project programming

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ARCH 805: PROJECT PROGRAMMING 2016-2017 STUDIO BOOK ONE OF TWO