* Students in the K-State College of Architecture, Planning and Design showed a dozen ideas for how Greensburg might recover from the devastating May tornado. Ideas, exhibited in neighboring Pratt, ranged in scale from the restoration of the U.S. Highway 54 business corridor down to a tourism center for the town's "big well." The designs were the result of collaboration between the fourth- and fifth-year design studios of Melanie Klein, assistant professor of landscape architecture and regional and community planning, and Todd Gabbard, assistant professor of architecture. December 2007
* Students in the K-State College of Architecture, Planning and Design showed a dozen ideas for how Greensburg might recover from the devastating May tornado. Ideas, exhibited in neighboring Pratt, ranged in scale from the restoration of the U.S. Highway 54 business corridor down to a tourism center for the town's "big well." The designs were the result of collaboration between the fourth- and fifth-year design studios of Melanie Klein, assistant professor of landscape architecture and regional and community planning, and Todd Gabbard, assistant professor of architecture. December 2007
* A design project has earned a K-State student the highest award given by Kansas architecture professionals. Adam Wagoner, a fourth-year student in architecture, McPherson, received an Honor Award for Student Architecture from the American Institute of Architects Kansas for his scheme of the "Seattle Martial Arts Center." Wagoner worked on the project in a spring 2007 studio class taught by Larry Bowne, assistant professor of architecture. The award was presented at the November meeting of the American Institute of Architects Kansas in Topeka. November 2007
* Two recent graduates of K-State's landscape architecture program are the recipients of a top award in the annual American Society of Landscape Architects' National Student Design Competition for work they completed while at K-State. Celine Andersen and Mark Ruzicka, both May 2007 K-State bachelor of landscape architecture graduates, received the Residential Design Award of Excellence for "Prairie Roots: Site Design for Solar Decathlon Project Solar House." The award was given at the annual conference of the American Society of Landscape Architects in San Francisco. The project statement called for the students to design the site for K-State's entry in the 2007 Solar Decathlon using sustainable site elements to symbolically represent Kansas. The success of the design relied on a dichotomy of elements that satisfied the decathlon site on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and the Kansas landscape. October 2007
* Heather Wise, Bucyrus, a fourth-year student in K-State's interior architecture and product design program, claimed first place in the 2007 Institute of Store Planners' annual student design competition. Wise's design was called "In Motion," a children's retail space that promoted activity and movement. Two cash prizes of $1,000 were given to Wise and to her academic program. Carolyn Thompson, associate professor of interior architecture and product design, was Wise's studio instructor. A total of 86 entries in the competition showcased the design talents of students enrolled in recognized college-level architecture, interior design or environmental design programs. Students were challenged to create a prototype design for a kids store targeting 5- to 13-year-old boys and girls. The goal was to provide a casual and cool environment that emphasized fun and creativity. October 2007
* The regional and community program at K-State has received the 2007 Ad Astra Award from the Kansas chapter of the American Planning Association. The award was presented at the association's recent annual conference in Manhattan. The award recognizes significant long-term contributions to the field of community planning, taking the profession to higher levels and making great communities happen. The award also recognized the 50th anniversary of K-State's planning program, a part of the department of landscape architecture and regional and community planning in the College of Architecture, Planning and Design. October 2007
* A team of students from K-State will be showing how purple can go green to win an international competition -- and possibly provide some needed housing in a tornado-ravaged Kansas town. K-State is among the 20 universities and colleges competing in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, where student teams design, build and operate homes that are powered entirely by the sun. The competition is Oct. 12-20 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The K-State team is made up of mostly architecture students, but many other students from all departments of the College of Architecture, Planning and Design and some students from the College of Engineering have assisted with the project. Construction of the home actually began in the 2006-2007 school year. R. Todd Gabbard, assistant professor of architecture, has supervised the project, along with Larry Bowne, also an assistant professor of architecture. In addition, the team has received assistance from Ruth Miller, K-State associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. Once the competition is over, the K-State home may be headed to Greensburg, where a tornado wiped out much of the town earlier this year. Oct. 2007
* Dan W. Donelin, professor and head of K-State's department of landscape architecture and regional and community planning, has been inducted into the Academy of Fellows of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. The recognition was announced at the council's annual conference in August at Pennsylvania State University. Donelin has had a distinguished career in support of the council, which he has served as first vice president and president. He also has been vice president of education for American Society of Landscape Architects, in which he is a Fellow. He was chair of the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board from 1992-95. Donelin also is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Sept. 2007
* A K-State graduate student in landscape architecture received an award at the 2007 American Society of Landscape Architects Central States Conference in Kansas City, Mo. Brett Tagtmeyer, Emporia, received an Honor Award in the student unbuilt design category for "Confluence," a study of Sullivan's Cove in southern Tasmania's River Derwent Estuary. His design solution centered on returning a water drainage channel to its original path and creating wetlands that filter urban runoff. Melanie Klein, K-State assistant professor of landscape architecture and regional and community planning, was studio instructor for the project. May 2007
* Four interior architecture and product design students from K-State were among the top winners in the student project category of the 2007 Hospitality Design Awards for Creative Achievement, sponsored by Hospitality Design magazine. From more than 40 entries, the judges chose the project submitted by Colleen Wittman, Olathe, and Carly Hillman, Overland Park, to receive the first-place award. The project submitted by Rebecca Bayouth, Lawrence, and Renee Girard, Olathe, was named one of three finalists. All four students are entering their fifth year of studies in K-State's College of Architecture, Planning and Design. Both of K-State's winning projects were designs for restaurants. Neal Hubbell, associate professor of interior architecture and product design, was studio instructor for the projects. The projects will be featured in the May/June 2007 issue of Hospitality Design. May 2007
* Work by Larry Bowne, assistant professor of architecture at K-State's College of Architecture, Planning and Design, will be featured in two upcoming episodes of the show "Small Space, Big Style" on cable's Home and Garden Television or HGTV.
The first episode will premiere at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22. Bowne's project, a New York City apartment full of hidden storage, is one of four spaces featured. The apartment is owned by Iris Weinstein, a book designer with the Knopf imprint at Random House. The design of the apartment transformed a small studio in a terra-cotta masonry building formerly used as a printing house. The renovation included sliding glass panels and a free-standing storage unit which divided the narrow space into a sequence of rooms. The scope included interiors and custom furnishings. An air date for the second episode will be announced soon. February 2007
* K-State's master of landscape architecture program ranks second, its bachelor of landscape architecture program ranks third, its bachelor of interior architecture and interior design programs rank fourth, and its bachelor of architecture program ranks 12th in a 2007 nationwide survey of leading firms across the United States. Each year, DesignIntelligence and the Design Futures Council conduct the study, in conjunction with the Almanac of Architecture and Design, to determine the top 15 colleges and universities for architecture and design in the United States. Firms were asked to indicate which accredited programs in the past five years produced graduates most prepared for real-world practice. The K-State interior architecture and interior design programs have been in the top six each of the eight years in which the study has been conducted. This is the sixth time K-State's architecture program has been ranked in the top 12. Both K-State's bachelor's and master's programs in landscape architecture have been ranked in the top eight in the three years the survey has covered those programs. Five schools in the Big 12 have ranked programs in the eight surveyed areas, but only K-State has four ranked programs. January 2007