Fall 2005

 

Ferro Trabalzi, assistant professor, community and regional planning

Frank Owens, ISU Extension Community and Economic Development specialist

 

146 College of Design

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-3094

 

This class of graduate students prepared a comprehensive plan for the community of DeSoto. This small town, located just west of the rapidly growing West Des Moines suburbs, sought assistance to be prepared for future growth demands.

 

 

 

Spring 2005

 

Faculty:
Karen Quance Jeske, lecturer

 

146 College of Design

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-3094

 

This advanced planning studio class created a comprehensive development plan for the northeast Polk County community of Elkhart. Elkhart leaders realized that the rapid expansion of the city of Ankeny nearby and a proposed new Interstate 35 interchange might have a significant impact on their own city in the near future. To inform their planning efforts, students studied other small towns in Iowa that have faced similar growth pressures in the past and hosted public meetings to find out more about Elkhart residents' hopes and ideas for the future of their community. The class presented its final plan to the Elkhart City Council at the end of the semester.

 

 

 

Fall 2005 

 

Jim Grant, lecturer

 

146 College of Design

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-3094

 

Henry County sought to revise its plan after the opening of a new Highway 218 bypass around the city of Mount Pleasant, which created development pressures on lands in the unincorporated areas outside the city. This undergraduate planning capstone studio class recommended restricting residential development in the county, redirecting it instead to the incorporated municipalities. The plan also recommends cooperation with the City of Mount Pleasant and the Iowa Department of Transportation to plan for development and access policies that will guide land-use change around the Highway 218 interchanges.

 

 

 

Fall 2005

 

Lisa Fontaine, associate professor, graphic design

 

158 College of Design

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-3092

 

Students in this studio worked with the city of Jefferson to create design proposals for a new graphic identity for the city as well as identity, storefront and sign design for 21 downtown businesses. The project emphasized the importance of graphic identity in the revitalization of downtown districts, focusing on how individual businesses could enhance their commercial competitiveness through improved graphic messages. 

 

 

Mitchell County, Iowa 

 

Spring 2005

 

Christopher J. Seeger, Extension landscape architect and assistant professor

 

Katarzyna Grala, graduate research assistant

 

146 College of Design

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-3094

 

Seeger and Grala assisted the Mitchell County Conservation Board in planning for additional camping facilities to support equestrian activities in this county park in northern Iowa. The board is now using the plan to secure grant funding and intends to begin work in 2007.

 

 

 

Spring 2005

 

Debra Satterfield, assistant professor, graphic design

Mary Kay Wilcox, assistant professor, landscape architecture and community and regional planning 

 

Staff:

IDRO, ISU Extension, and College of Design faculty began work on this three-year project with Mount Pleasant during spring semester 2005. Many aspects of the community will be examined during this planning effort. In addition to the town-square planning completed by the landscape architecture studio, components that were addressed this year were planning for the highway bypass, preliminary development of a graphic identity, and public input sessions, as well as performing a photo inventory of the downtown area, which will be used in coming years for three-dimensional GIS-based modeling of development initiatives.

 

 

LA 401: Community Design 

Fall 2005

 

Mary Kay Wilcox, assistant professor

Thomas Dunbar, lecturer

 

146 College of Design

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-3094

 

Landscape architecture students in this advanced studio studied the redevelopment of the town square in Mount Pleasant. The class compiled an impressive 140-page report that illustrates the students' design and planning work. The community then selected students' work to be displayed in the public library for review and comment by residents at a special meeting in February 2006. 

 

 

 

Murphy Calendar Company Building 

Spring 2005

 

 

158 College of Design

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-3092

 

Seven undergraduate students designed a child-care facility for the main floor and adjoining enclosed courtyard of the Thomas D. Murphy Calendar Company Building in Red Oak. This proposed large daycare could serve young children throughout the day as well as school-aged children before and after school hours.

 

 

 

Spring 2005

 

M. Susan Erickson, PLaCE program coordinator

 

Heather Von Arb, graduate in graphic design

 

Institute for Design Research and Outreach 

126 College of Design

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-3091

 

Roland Park Board members contacted the PLaCE program for help in designing a new sign for a city park. PLaCE program coordinator Susan Erickson facilitated a link between a recent graphic design graduate, Heather Von Arb, and the park board. Von Arb gained valuable experience in designing the sign, and the park board benefited from working with a graphic designer and a sign design that was uniquely created to meet their needs.

 

 

 

 

Heidi Hohmann, assistant professor

Carl Rogers, assistant professor

 

146 College of Design

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-3094

 

Landscape architecture students in this studio designed a new residential development in West Liberty using principles of environmentally healthy design. Special consideration was given to integrating a fast-growing and diverse population into the social fabric of the existing community.