IA NEWS | SPRING 2020
Interior Architecture at Kansas
The Program A Change in Leadership Professor Nilou Vakil, the founding director of the Interior Architecture Program at KU, stepped down from the administrative responsibilities of her tenure-line position in October 2019 to focus more attention on her research. Professor Vakil helped establish the
Nilou Vakil
IA program in 2017 and will remain involved in
_
the future of the Interior Architecture Program.
Assistant Professor, Interior Architecture
As the founding director of the program, she helped develop its curriculum, took a lead on setting the program on a track for the CIDA accreditation, coordinated its professional advisory committee, managed its external facing activities, and chaired the IA faculty search and curriculum committee. This change in her appointment will allow her to carry a normal load of service while she carries
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out research and teaches full time. Associate
Mike Swann
Dean Mike Swann, who prepared the original
_
proposal for the program, agreed to serve as
Associate Dean
interim director of the program.
& Associate Professor
The Program
OUR GREAT STUDENTS
WHAT’S AHEAD
A Change in Name The Bachelor of Science in Interior Architecture and Design was designed to be an interdisciplinary degree that brings together many of the strengths that are found in the School of Architecture & Design’s degrees in Design and Architecture. Its focus is primarily on Interior Architecture or the design of spaces, environments and experiences in the core of buildings. For this reason, it tends to be largely architectural in focus and content. In the degree’s original 2017 proposal, we underscored the importance of pursuing the rigorous and highly respected CIDA (Council for Interior Design Accreditation) accreditation once the first class of students graduates. We have completed steps to prepare for CIDA Candidate Degree status until that time. In 2022, KU’s degree programs in art and design will undergo review for NASAD (National Association of Schools of Art and Design) accreditation. On the basis of the degree’s name—Interior Architecture and Design—we decided to request NASAD advice on whether or not the degree should be included with the University’s visual art, art history, design and other artsoriented degrees for the NASAD review. Based on the advice we received, we have decided not to pursue the NASAD accreditation, which would require us to reduce the architectural content of our program. Instead, we will continue with our original CIDAaccreditation plan, maintain our Interior Architecture and Design curriculum as originally proposed, and simply remove the word “Design” from the degree title to avoid any confusion with the NASAD-accredited art/design degrees at KU.
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Casey Franklin _ Assistant Professor, Interior Architecture
Casey Franklin Joins the IA Faculty The Interior Architecture Program along with the entire School of Architecture & Design is pleased to announce the addition of Professor Casey Franklin to the faculty of Interior Architecture. Casey was hired through a national search that ended in spring 2019. She joins the faculty as a tenure-line Assistant Professor. Casey comes to KU from the University of Utah College of Architecture + Planning where she served on the faculty as a Visiting Assistant Professor and taught Architectural Design Fundamentals, Architectural Studio 1, and Design Contexts. Before joining the faculty at Utah, Casey taught the Design Generations program at Cornell University where she completed course work for a Ph.D. in Human Behavior and Design and served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for a wide variety of courses and studios including High Performance Buildings, Workplace Strategies, Adaptive Reuse, Interior Materials and Sustainable Elements and Light Informing Space. Casey completed the Master of Arts in Architectural Research at KU in 2014 and the Bachelor of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2009. She also studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain.
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The Program
OUR GREAT STUDENTS
WHAT’S AHEAD
Professor Franklin has experience as an intern architect, architectural designer, project manager and consultant. She has worked most recently with the St. John Design Group in Ithaca, NY and previously with Gould Evans, Pulse Energy Software, DEV, Inc. in Kansas City, and Design Synergies Ltd. in Chicago. She is a member of the Interior Design Educators Council, the Environmental Design Research Association, and other organizations that focus on design, education, community and sustainability. Casey’s passion is using research and human-centered design to address environmental and social needs. Her current research focuses on how students engage in sustainable behaviors in relation to architectural space and design. She is currently studying the use of software applications to help trigger sustainable interactions with the built environment. Her background in human-centered design has motivated her to explore the points of view of others. Consequently, she places an emphasis on ensuring that diversity and equity are included in her research interpretations and in the considerations that are made in designing interiors. This spring, her studio is working with Foster, Adopt, Connect, an organization in Kansas City, KS that plays an important role in the fostering and adoption processes for children. Her studio will develop design proposals for the interior of the organization’s building which will both support the business side of the operation and include housing for those who have aged out of the foster care system and need a place to stay. Additionally, the proposals will feature a center aimed at creating job skills for those who are facing homelessness. Casey has generously taken on multiple roles within the Interior Architecture program from serving as the IIDA faculty sponsor to handling the mentoring, advising and multiple other needs of students moving through a new degree. Her colleagues and her students are especially pleased that she returned to the home of her first graduate degree to help build what has already become a very promising new program.
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A Second Wave of Interior Architects Starts the Program Two full studios of new students (31) enrolled in second-year classes of Interior Architecture in fall 2019. This brings the total enrollment in the program to 46. This second cohort also reveals a broad interest in the program with an increasing number of male students and a continuing enrollment of students from beyond Kansas. Approximately two-thirds of the students are from out-of-state with a growing number of students coming from Colorado. Continuing to cast a wide recruitment net for the program will add to the diversity and variety of experiences we hope to develop within the program.
2018–2019 NEW STUDENT ENROLLMENT Male 17%
2018
Female 100%
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Kansas 31%
Missouri 44% 2018
2019
Other 25%
Female 83%
Kansas 33%
Missouri 40% 2019
Other 27%
The Program
OUR GREAT STUDENTS
WHAT’S AHEAD
Growing Interest Since fall 2017 when the degree was first announced, interest outside the university has grown quickly. In 2017–18, there were 77 applicants for the 15 seats in the degree program’s first class. One hundred twenty completed applications for the program were received in 2018–19 for a second class of 30 students (or two studios). During the current year, the number of applications has already exceeded last year’s total for the 30 new seats in next year’s class. The original intention in the degree proposal was to create a program with approximately 110 full-time undergraduate students in residence by 2021 and, so far, it appears that we should arrive at that target.
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Our Great Students Student Work: Year One Interior Architecture students at KU enroll in the same classes as students beginning the 5-year Master of Architecture degree. This includes two 6-credit studios in fall and spring of the first year with a sequence of projects coordinated among all of the studio sections. Professor Anne Patterson serves as First-Year Coordinator for Interior Architecture and teaches studios for both Architecture and Interior Architecture students in the first year. Professor Alejandro Aptilon also teaches first-year students in both degree programs. The fall semester studio emphasizes the development of spatial thinking and the skills necessary for the analysis and design of architectural space and form. Assignments consist of exercises that include direct observation: drawing, analysis and representation of the surrounding world and fullscale studies in the making of objects and the representation of object and space. Students learn about different descriptive and analytical media and techniques of representation to aid in the development of critical thought. Examples of the projects that Interior Architecture students completed in the two studios this fall are shown above.
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THE PROGRAM
Our Great Students
WHAT’S AHEAD
Studio Projects: Year Two The first class of Interior Architecture students advanced to Year Two this fall and enrolled in Professor Casey Franklin’s 3-credit Interior Architecture I studio. In the class, students are introduced to the basic application of design determinants of Interior Architecture in which precedents research, programming, design, and presentation skills are developed. Design solution methodologies for small- and medium-scale interior spaces allow students to explore spatial configurations, programming, user-centered design solutions, human psychology, and behavior in space. The class includes an introduction to accessibility requirements. Students also learn to demonstrate their explorations with verbal presentations and visual communication skills including sketching, diagramming, photography, digital representations and physical models. The project this fall involved the adaptive reuse of a former warehouse mixed-use building in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas. The program for this 5,500 sq. ft. remodel was a co-working space based off of neighborhood needs and workplace research. Students were required to include multiple styles of work stations as well as rentable offices, meeting spaces, a coffee bar, a multi-purpose room, restoration spaces, and support areas.
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THE PROGRAM
Our Great Students
WHAT’S AHEAD
Beyond Public Speaking 101 Everyone would agree that the key to success in almost any profession is the ability to communicate effectively. It was largely for this reason that KU instituted an across-the-board communications course requirement years ago. Recognizing that success in the design fields involves much more than simply giving rehearsed speeches, Professor Abbey Ockinga created a new class for Interior Architecture that provides students with an introduction to both visual and oral communication skills. Course work was focused on foundational design skills, composition, color theory, typography, layout design, and branding. Design work created for each project became the content for students to then organize and deliver speeches. The class benefitted greatly from a visit by Jessica Kleoppel (communication specialist) and Pennie Liu (KU alum and architect) of Gould Evans who covered the topics of “effective storytelling in design presentations” and “using sticky ideas to make presentations memorable.” Their visit paired nicely with the course reading Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Students wrapped up their semester by visiting local interior architects and designers as part of an interview project. Working in pairs, students prepared questions regarding their chosen career path and challenges faced in practice. Following their interviews, each group prepared a visual presentation delivered to their peers and faculty. Special thanks go to the following firms and offices for allowing the interviews: BRR Architecture
Helix
El Dorado inc.
Hollis + Miller Architects
Encompas
KU Facilities, Office of Space Management
GastingerWalker&
Populous
As a new university course in integrated visual and oral communication techniques, IA 405 stands out from others that are available to Architecture and Design students. It is currently being proposed for University acceptance into KU’s Common Core.
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THE PROGRAM
Our Great Students
WHAT’S AHEAD
IIDA Chapter Started at KU Interior Architecture students and faculty gathered in the Marvin Hall Forum on Monday, November 4 to hear from Katie Parker, of the MidAmerica Chapter of the International Interior Design Association. Katie’s presentation focused on the programs and benefits that IIDA makes available to student members. In addition to the many local networking and career preparation events that IIDA organizes, student members have the opportunity to attend conferences in different regions, communicate with members and firms in other parts of the country, and enter sponsored design competitions. Most of the students in the new IA program were able to attend and almost all have indicated an interest in becoming members of KU’s new student chapter. Professor Casey Franklin volunteered to serve as the chapter’s first faculty sponsor and plans are already being made for a special kick-off event as soon as the chapter’s establishment becomes official. Also in the works—a new student mentoring program and a trip to NeoCon 2020 in Chicago this June.
Career Readiness for IA Students Under the leadership of Professor Nilou Vakil, who is the faculty advisor for KU’s Women In Design student organization, the Interior Architecture program has partnered with Women in Design to sponsor a series of Career Readiness sessions designed specifically for young designers. The sessions are prepared and run by professionals from Gould Evans Architects. The first session, “Story Telling in Design Portfolios,” took place on November 6. The second, “Human Resources Do’s and Don’ts,” took place on Wednesday, February 19. Two more sessions are scheduled for the 2020-21 academic year.
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What’s Ahead Study Abroad and a Visit from the DIS KU Interior Architecture students are required to study abroad as part of their degree program. The requirement is modeled on an existing component within the KU Master of Architecture degree which involves extended architectural tours of foreign countries and major cities, studios based in other countries, traditional study abroad experiences at foreign universities, and even internships in firms located in the world’s leading cities. While some of the School’s existing programs and agreements may work well for Interior Architecture students, the program has already started developing foreign educational experiences uniquely designed to incorporate a strong focus on interior spaces. In summer 2020, Professor Nilou Vakil will lead a new month-long program of study that will take place throughout the Southern Edge of Europe (Spain and Portugal) and Northern Africa (Morocco). This study abroad program will provide an opportunity for Interior Architecture students and others to experience the Moorish and Arabic Architecture that has influenced the world from Europe and South America to India and China. Examining the rich history of courtyard buildings, the elaborate Zelji tile work and the medieval city of nine thousand streets of Fez will take students back in time. They will study the history of
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THE PROGRAM
OUR GREAT STUDENTS
What’s Ahead
shelter, the interior architecture of courtyards and view architectural details in one of the oldest universities in the world. They will be able to see in person how culture, materiality and natural resources affect the ways that people interact, communicate and live. This first Interior Architecture program will visit a number of rich historic sites located in Seville, Granada, Fez, Marrakech and Lisbon, and will also include time in the blue city of Chefchaouen and explorations of the contemporary architecture of Madrid and Lisbon. In addition to these types of summer and winter programs, students will be considering semester-long study abroad programs at universities that offer advanced programs in interior architecture and design. For example, many KU students over the years have spent a summer or a semester at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS). As part of the development of study abroad options for Interior Architecture students, the program hosted a planning visit with Henning Martin-Thomsen, Associate Academic Director of the DIS Copenhagen and Program Director for Architecture, Interior Architecture, Furniture, Graphic and Urban Design on Friday, February 21. Additional programs are being developed through the School’s existing options, the University’s extensive Study Abroad organization, and in partnership with other Schools.
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THE PROGRAM
OUR GREAT STUDENTS
What’s Ahead
Student Internships on the Horizon The Interior Architecture degree was designed to incorporate the strengths of the School’s programs in Architecture and Design. In addition to study abroad and design-build requirements, the degree includes a required professional internship which can begin following the third year of study and must be completed by the spring semester of the fourth year. The requirement parallels a similar component of the Master of Architecture degree. Discussions have already been initiated to determine if existing internship networks might be expanded slightly to include placements in the interior architecture divisions of larger firms. The IA program has already been contacted by several firms outside of the School’s current internship networks to explore the possibility of placing students in firms that specialize in interiors.
At this point, our intention is to have an internship program with approximately 20–30 openings in place by winter 2020, ready for placements in spring 2021 and internships in summer/fall 2021. Any firms, offices or organizations that would like to discuss the possibility of working with us to develop the KU Interior Architecture Internship Program should contact Mike Swann at mmswann@ku.edu.
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B.S., INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE (120 credits) YEAR 1 (31 Credits) CREDITS (15)
ARCH 103 Introduction to Architecture
3
ARCH 108 Arch Foundations I
6
ENGL 101 Composition I (GE 2.1)
3
MATH 105 Topics in Math or 115 Calculus (GE 1.2)
3
SPRING
CREDITS (16)
ARCH 109 Arch Foundations II
6
ARCH 110 Intro to Design Computing
3
PHSX 114 College Physics I (GE 3.1 N)
4
ENGL 102/105 Critical Reading & Writing (GE 2.1)
3
KU CORE REQUIREMENTS
FALL
YEAR 2 (30 Credits) FALL
CREDITS (15)
IA 208 Interior Architecture Studio I
3
ARCH 540 Global Architectural History I (GE 3.1 AH)
3
ARCH 524 Structures I
3
IA 510 Human Factors in Interior Architecture
3
IA 405 Professional Communication Skills (Goal 2.2)
3
SPRING
CREDITS (15)
IA 209 Interior Architecture Studio II
6
ARCH 541 Global Architectural History II (AE 4.2)
3
ARCH 624 Structures II
3
General Education Elective
3
YEAR 3 (35 Credits Including Study Abroad) FALL
CREDITS (15)
IA 508 Interior Architecture Studio III
3
IA 522 Furniture Design
3
ARCH 626 Bldg Tech I: Construction Systems (GE 1.1)
3
ARCH 530 Environmental Systems I
3
ARCH 552 Professional Practice (AE 5.1)
3
SPRING
CREDITS (15)
IA 509 Design-Build Studio
6
IA 520 Products, Materials and Specifications
3
IA 541 History of Interior Design
3
ARCH 531 Environmental Systems II
3
SUMMER
CREDITS (5) 5
IA 690 Study Abroad
YEAR 4 (24 Credits) FALL
CREDITS (12)
IA 608 Professional Internship
6
General Education Elective (AE 4.1)
3
General education Elective (GE 3.1 S)
3
SPRING
CREDITS (12)
IA 609 Integrated Interior Architecture Studio (AE 6.1)
6
VISC 425 Environmental Graphics
3
General Education Elective
3
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Abbey Ockinga _ Lecturer, Interior Architecture
Faculty Spotlight Any new professional degree program with specialized classes can benefit greatly from the participation of adjunct lecturers. Fortunately, the Interior Architecture program has been able to engage a number of adjunct faculty members who have extensive professional experience and are highly effective educators. Abbey Ockinga has been teaching in the KU School of Architecture & Design since 2013, primarily covering Design and Architecture classes. During that time she has developed a reputation as an outstanding studio instructor in both departments. Abbey earned an Interior Design degree from the University of Nebraska. She then went on to practice commercial interior design with Carlson West Povondra Architects in Omaha. Her work there focused on materiality, space planning, and building information modeling. Abbey got her start with teaching at Kansas State University in the Interior Architecture and Product Design Program; while there she covered a variety of studios and classes at different levels, including courses in Programming and Digital Applications. She also holds LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional status and is the co-owner of Hazel Studio design firm.
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THE PROGRAM
OUR GREAT STUDENTS
What’s Ahead
“My favorite parts of teaching are connecting with students, supporting their work, and seeing their growth throughout the semester.” —ABBEY OCKINGA
While teaching at KU, Abbey completed a graduate degree in Urban Planning that focused on Housing and Development. Her teaching interests have expanded to accommodate courses in visual communication and foundational design skills. In addition to teaching the first-year Interior Architecture studio, she has also created the new and highly successful IA 405 Professional Communications course. Abbey has gone beyond the traditional role of an adjunct lecturer by developing a new course for the program based on the KU Core communications requirement, working with students to help them prepare their portfolios and interview skills, and actively engaging in the planning of the new program’s development. Most importantly, she provides students with a clear and accurate view of the professional world that they’ll encounter as they transition from the studio to the office.
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A Standout Student Growing up in Jackson, Missouri and having family ties to Mississippi, Brooke Blankenship always assumed she would head south for her college education. She also knew that she needed to be in a fast-paced profession that involved meeting new
Brooke Blankenship
people, one that would give her an opportunity to
_
make a positive impact on the lives of others. After
2nd-Year Student,
months of touring programs in the Southeastern
Interior Architecture
Conference, Brooke’s cousin, a KU alum, arranged a visit to Lawrence. Not only did Brooke fall in love with the town, but she became excited about the prospect of a new program, Interior Architecture. At the time of her visit the program was being developed so there
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THE PROGRAM
OUR GREAT STUDENTS
What’s Ahead
was no finalized application process. However, many emails and a few month later, Brooke received an acceptance letter. While her love of the South is by no means diminished, she has found a home in Lawrence and is now a part of the inaugural Interior Architecture class. Brooke’s interest in the people-oriented, fastpaced practice of architecture stems from her small-town upbringing in the family restaurant business. Her parents designed and opened Tractor’s Classic American Grill over twenty years ago and it has been a second home to Brooke and her siblings. As a baby, she took naps in the bar and was notorious for “helping” the waitstaff during busy lunches. Eventually, she became an official employee and learned how to interact with a variety of customers and how to handle difficult situations. The restaurant background has proven to be a major part of her identity. Working at Tractor’s also gave Brooke an opportunity to observe her parents follow their dream of doing what they love every day. She embraced this way of thinking as a life philosophy. On her own, she saved enough money to finance her senior year trip to Europe and it was this experience that ignited a passion for understanding and experiencing different cultures. Today, her passion is to develop spaces that enhance the social cultures of communities. She wants to design restaurants, religious spaces, sports facilities, clubs, and other kinds of gathering spaces that create identity and a sense of belonging. Since her first semester of Interior Architecture at KU, she has taken advantage of opportunities to help develop the program. She is a student ambassador, an IA panel representative, and she participated in the interview and hiring process for new faculty. The IA program has many student leaders, each of whom has their own source of motivation and passion for their academic work and a unique story that explains it. Brooke stands out because of her people-oriented background, her enthusiasm for what her degree will enable her to accomplish, and the positive attitude she brings to every project and every class. In many ways, she’s highly representative of her entire class.
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Search for a Program Director Interior Architecture at KU is now in a transition from a small program led by a founding director to a larger professional degree program with a core of tenure-line and affiliated faculty teaching required classes to over 100 students. The School of Architecture & Design has launched a search this spring for candidates for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor to direct the program to its full development and beyond. The duties of the position include teaching responsibilities (minimum one course per semester) research and scholarly activities, and administration of the program including service to the School, the University and the design profession. One of the most important responsibilities of the position will be leadership in the CIDA accreditation process. A full position description is available at www.employment.ku.edu/academic/16455BR The initial deadline for applications is March 6, 2020. The goal of the search is to have a director in place for the fall 2020 semester as the third cohort of students enters the degree. For additional information, prospective candidates can contact: Professor Jae D. Chang, IA Search Committee Chair jdchang@ku.edu 785.864.1446. 1465 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045
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IA Faculty
Alejandro Aptilon
Hugo Sheward
Casey Franklin
Nilou Vakil
Abbey Ockinga
Anne Patterson
Ted Meadows
IA Professional Advisory Committee
Amy Stortz Miller,
Beth Harmon-Vaughan,
Chari Jalali,
Chris Hale,
Populous,
Gastinger Walker&,
Cannon Design,
Perkins + Will,
Kansas City, MO
Kansas City, MO
Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL
Debbie Jaffares,
Eric Mersmann,
Kathy Achelpohl,
Linda Atha,
Herman Miller,
Gensler,
PGAV,
Knoll,
Kansas City, MO
Chicago, IL
Kansas City, MO
Kansas City, KS
Traci Webster, Good, Fulton & Farrell, Dallas, TX
IA Program Contact Information Interior Architecture
200 Marvin Hall
School of Architecture & Design
1465 Jayhawk Boulevard
The University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas 66045 785.864.4281 arcd@ku.edu arcd.ku.edu
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university’s programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and are the Title IX coordinators for their respective campuses: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity & Access, IOA@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Ave., Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY (for the Lawrence, Edwards, Parsons, Yoder, and Topeka campuses); Director, Equal Opportunity Office, Mail Stop 7004, 4330 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205, 913-588-8011, 711 TTY (for the Wichita, Salina, and Kansas City, Kansas, medical center campuses).