David Seamon, Professor of Architecture, published the article, “A Jumping, Joyous Urban Jumble”: Jane Jacobs’s Death and Life of Great American Cities as a Phenomenology of Urban Place,” in the peer-reviewed, open-source Journal of Space Syntax, vol. 3 (fall), pp. 139-49 (available at: http://joss.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/journal/index.php/joss/issue/view/5/showToc ). Seamon attended and presented a blind peer-reviewed paper at the annual meeting of the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, held at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, August 8 -11.

Associate Professor of Architecture Mick Charney conducted the workshop “Looking for Mr. Wright, and Finding Him on Facebook” at the Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK at the 19th International Conference on Learning, August 14-16.  Additionally, Charney presented the paper “Hint Fiction and Vivid Grammar: Quick Ways to Jump-start Writing Objectives” at the 13th National Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching and Learning in Traverse City, Michigan, September 20-23; he also served as a judge for the Laurie Ryan Memorial Award, a $400 prize presented to the author of the best poster at the Lilly Conference.

A team of K-State students advised by Assistant Professor Michael Gibson collaborated with the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center in Topeka, KS to design and construct a new outdoor pavilion to enhance the Discovery Center’s outdoor learning initiative. The pavilion (photo above), dubbed the “Outdoor Learning Classroom,” was supported in tandem by the Discovery Center and by Westar Energy, who provided reclaimed utility poles to serve as the primary structure. Students ultimately provided over 800 hours of volunteer work over four weeks designing and constructing the project. The project opened in late August and the process and final installation is exhibited in a blog found at http://teeculus.wordpress.com/. 

Professor of Architecture Peter Magyar and his ARCH 806 Master of Architecture students went on a week-long field trip to Budapest, Hungary, for an architectural site visit during September 2012, which is a first step in the planned cooperation between K-State and the Technical University of Budapest. The maiden trip project, which will be designed simultaneously by selected students of both Universities, hopefully will be followed by cooperation between other colleges, resulting in possible student and faculty exchanges, and mutual research projects.

Professor of Architecture Susanne Siepl-Coates and her ARCH 806 Master of Architecture students went on a week-long field trip to Zurich, Switzerland to visit the 2012–2013 Distinguished Regnier Visiting Professor Beat Kaempfen in September. Visiting many of Kaempfen’s exemplary buildings, students learned about Swiss standards with regard to ecological, sustainable and energy-efficient design.

Professor of Architecture Jim Jones and Professor of Architecture Dragoslav Simic took their ARCH 304 and ARCH 806 Master of Architecture students on a week-long field trip to Honduras for an architectural site visit for the design of a Trauma Center for the Island of Roatan.