Associate Professor

Rob Whitehead

Associate Professor, Architecture

Education

BArch, Iowa State University, 1993
MArch, University of Texas at Austin, 1995

On the Web

https://thinkmakebreak.blogspot.com

Research Interests

Prof. Whitehead’s work examines experimental structures and the somewhat untidy, but important efforts to coalesce ideological values with technical constraints. Through the lenses of construction history and design-science research, his work explores the complications inherent in structures that intend to do “more with less” including long-span thin-shells and lightweight / deployable structures; the imbricated nature of design and production (i.e., intention and outcome) are topics of focus. Recent work examines aspirational designs that attempt to leverage technical innovations in structures to address profound humanitarian challenges including expanded access to shelter, resiliency, and sustainability. By examining both the process and products, formative failures emerge alongside critical lessons in the evolution of tools, models, and tactics for their integration in practice. Whitehead’s experience as a registered architect and practitioner of design-build activities provide context for the work; this scholarship is coordinated between the writing, design-research, and novel pedagogical activities that introduce these topics to emerging designers. 

His work has been included in books, journals, conference proceedings, funded research projects, and exhibitions. Prof. Whitehead’s work as an author, educator, and designer have been widely recognized with awards including: TAA Textbook Excellence Award (2021), BTES Textbook Award, Honorable Mention (2021), ISU Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching (2020), AIA Iowa Impact Awards, (2020), Design Intelligence, 30 Most Admired Educators, (2014), AIA Iowa Educator Award, (2014), the ACSA Creative Achievement Award (2013), and Building Technology Educator’s Society (BTES) Emerging Faculty Award (2011). 

Prof. Whitehead’s book publications include: Constructing Building Enclosures, “Saarinen’s Shells: The Evolved Influence of Engineering and Construction,” Clifton Fordham, Ed., Routledge, 2020, Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, + Breaking, Routledge, 2019 and Design-Tech, Building Science for Architects, 2nd Edition, Co-Author with Tom Leslie & Jason Alread. Routledge Books 2014. 

Portfolio and dossier of scholarly work, teaching, and extension:

https://issuu.com/robwhitehead5/docs/portfolio_whitehead_isu_17

Current Projects

Construction History, Otto: The Educator.  This scholarship exams Frei Otto’s work as an leading experimenter in lightweight structures. Otto’s ideological imperative of “lightness” and the resulting complications of translating unique forms into constructable buildings was the topic of intense and innovate educational research and pedagogical development at Otto’s ILEK (Institute for Lightweight Structures) at the University of Stuttgart. In his work, the connection between thinking, modeling, and constructing was an ongoing and evolving set of research experiments that included significant advancements in tools and models that became contemporary digital parametrics. Unlike other summative works on Otto that focus primarily on the technical qualities of the physical work, this project will examine Otto’s role in education / research, specifically the ideological foundation of his humanitarian-based efforts in his earliest work (1951-55) with the progressive publications and pedagogy of ILEK’s humanitarian-based experiments.

Design-Research: Micro-Structure Damping System for Resilient Facades, is a multi-stable adaptive passive cladding connection for rainscreen systems that enhances structural resilience by mitigating external loads through axial displacement (with Prof. LaFlamme, (Civil Eng., ISU) and Prof. Ricles (Civil Eng., Lehigh Univ.))—the proposal is being submitted for an NSF ECI grant.

On-going research and instructional design-build activities research for “Structures in Service.” Realms include disaster relief, resilient construction, and sustainable food access systems. Applications include: deployable shelters, innovative upcycled materials, portable modular flooring systems, pneumatic forms for shell casting, and sustainable vertical gardens for agroecology. 

Education: Ongoing scholarship of teaching and learning including publication of: Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, Breaking (Routledge, 2019) and Experimental Structures (2022 w/ Prof. Leslie). Focus is on connecting tools, models, and intentions of structural design with a pedagogical process that includes haptic-learning experiences and digital design and fabrication.

Current Scholarship

• ISU Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching, 11/18/2022

  Iowa State University. Award presented to recognize faculty members for outstanding teaching performance over an extended period of time.

• Revisiting the Arctic City: 50-years of Pneumatic Progress and Perspective, 09/21/2022

  Structural Membranes 2021 conference (Xth International conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures). 

• BTES Textbook Award, Honorable Mention, 06/14/2022

   

  Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, + Breaking, R. Whitehead. Building Technology Educators Society (BTES). June 2021. Award recognizes excellence in any published scholarly work (International) that contributes towards building technology topics

• Disaster Safety Assessment Program (SAP) Evaluator, 02/14/2022

  American Institute of Architects (AIA), State of Iowa certified

• Frei Otto’s Pneumatic Experiments for Humanitarian Design, 07/14/2021

  Proceedings, Building Technology Educators’ Society (BTES), Out of Bounds 2021 Conference. Eds. M. English. Auburn University School of Architecture. Paper peer-reviewed, published, and presented.

• TAA Textbook Excellence Award (College), 02/14/2021

  Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, + Breaking, R. Whitehead. Textbook & Academic Authors Association. February 2021. Award recognizes excellence in current textbooks (U.S.) across multiple disciplines.

• Thinking, Making, Breaking (A)Way, The Relationships of Innovation in Pursuit of Great Problems, 01/14/2021

  Student Innovation Center, Iowa State University, Innovation Mindset Session (Invited Lecture).

• Innovation by Design: Project-Based Learning workshops, 09/14/2020

  Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), Iowa State University.

• Impact Awards, Merit Award of Excellence, 08/14/2020

  American Institute of Architects (AIA), Iowa Chapter. Interdisciplinary studio, DSN 546 projects & Whitehead Design Workshop: “Waterwall” and “Store Floor” (Students: L. Keeble, J. Hiestand, and S. He, (Waterwall) & E. Johnson, A. Knepper, M. Engel, and N. Becker (Storefloor)).

• Constructing Building Enclosures, 07/14/2020

  Constructing Building Enclosures, “Saarinen’s Shells: The evolved influence of engineering and construction,” Chapter author. Clifton Fordham, Ed., Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group), 2020.

• Re-affirmation > Replacement: Tactical Enhancement for Difficult Conditions, 07/14/2020

  Building Technology Educators Society (BTES), “Alternative Pedagogies” webinar (invited).

• Pneumatics for Humanitarian Design: The ideology and technology of lightness and adaptability, 10/19/2019

  International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, “Form and Forces” conference, 2019. Barcelona, Spain. October 7-10, 2019. Abstract peer-reviewed and selected for presentation

• “Frei Otto’s Pneumatic Humanitarian Design Experiments: The ideology and technology of lightness and adaptability.” , 10/08/2019

  International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, “Form and Forces” conference, 2019. Barcelona, Spain. October 7-10, 2019. Abstract peer-reviewed and selected for presentation. 

• Faculty Fellow for High-Impact Practices, 08/14/2019

  Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CELT), Iowa State University. 2-year term, 50% appointment. Develop and implement campus-wide cross-disciplinary initiatives related to: Project-Based Learning, Service-learning, and inclusive classroom training. 

• Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, + Breaking textbook, Routledge Books (Taylor and Francis Group). , 07/16/2019

  Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, Breaking is a new type of structures textbook for architects who prefer to learn using the hands-on, creative problem-solving techniques typically found in a design studio. Instead of presenting structures as abstract concepts defined by formulas and diagrams, this book uses a project-based approach to demonstrate how a range of efficient, effective, and expressive architectural solutions can be generated, tested, and revised.
  
  Each section of the book is focused on a particular manner by which structural resistance is provided: Form (Arches and Cables), Section (Beams, Slabs, and Columns), Vectors (Trusses and Space Frames), Surfaces (Shells and Plates), and Frames (Connections and High-Rises). 
  
  The design exercises featured in each chapter use the Think, Make, Break method of reiterative design to develop and evaluate different structural options. A variety of structural design tools will be used, including the human body, physical models, historical precedents, static diagrams, traditional formulae, and advanced digital analysis. 
  
  The book can be incorporated into various course curricula and studio exercises because of the flexibility of the format and range of expertise required for these explorations. More than 500 original illustrations and photos provide example solutions and inspiration for further design exploration.

• Structures for Relief & Resiliency: Enhancing Creative Applications of Technical Acumen through Constrained Conditions”, 07/16/2019

  Proceedings, Building Technology Educators’ Society (BTES), Integration + Innovation 2019 Conference. Eds. C. Brause, N. Darling, and P. Clouston. U. Mass Amherst, MA. Paper published and presented.

• “The Lore, Lessons, and Limits of Building Experience.” , 06/22/2019

  With Shelby Doyle. Presentation and discussion of design-build and service learning in architectural education. Building Technology Educators’ Society (BTES), Integration + Innovation 2019 U. Mass Amherst, MA.

• Mobile Micro-Grid Disaster Relief Crate, 05/14/2019

  Grant: Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), Iowa State University (ISU) Investigation Team: Dolf Ivener (Sun Crate), Dan Stieler (Solar Film), Anne Kimber, Chao Hu, Ulrike Passe, Rob Whitehead (Arch). Total Funding: $158,396

• “Portentous, and Predictable: Eero Saarinen, Ammann & Whitney, and the Damaging Failures of Kresge Auditorium (1950-1955)” , 07/16/2018

  Proceedings of the IASS Symposium 2018, Creativity in Structural Design, C. Mueller and S. Adriaenssens (eds)., July 16-20, 2018. MIT, Cambridge, MA

• The Lore of Building Experience: Deconstructing Design-Build, 03/16/2017

  With Shelby Doyle. 33rdAnnual, National Conference on the Beginning Design Student (NCBDS), University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, March 9-11, 2017. Paper published and presented.

• “Model Behavior: The Evolving Use of Physical Prototypes in Structural Shell Design, 1959-1974,” , 03/16/2016

  104th Association for Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, March 17-19, 2016. Paper published and presented.

• Supporting Students: Using Anthropomorphic Structures to Enhance Early Structures Education, 02/28/2016

  32ndAnnual, National Conference on the Beginning Design Student (NCBDS), University of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Feb. 25-28, 2016. Paper published and presented.

• All Hands on Deck: Instructors as Collaborators and the Modified Dynamics of Design Build Instruction, 02/28/2016

  With Carl Rogers.

  32ndAnnual, National Conference on the Beginning Design Student (NCBDS), University of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Feb. 25-28, 2016. Paper published and presented.

• Ten Concrete Buildings: Donald Judd’s Incomplete Integrations of Art & Engineering, 08/20/2015

  International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), Symposium 2015, Future Visions, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, August 17-20, 2015. Paper published and presented.

• Pedagogical Progressions: Reflections from an “Integrated” Technology Sequence, 06/27/2015

  Building Technology Educators Society (BTES), 2015 International Conference, Intersections & Adjacencies, Salt Lake, UT, June 24-27, 2015. Paper published and presented.

• Formative Experiences: Saarinen’s Shells and the Evolutionary Impact of Construction Challenges, 06/16/2015

  5thInternational Congress on Construction History (5ICCH), Construction History Society of America,Chicago, June 2015. Paper published and presented.

• Building a Framework: Rethinking Structural Design in an Architectural Curriculum, 04/25/2015

  Structures Congress 2015,Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Portland, OR, April 23-25, 2015. Paper published and presented.

• Comprehensive and Creative Conclusions: Enhancing Structural Design Educational Opportunities in Labs for Architecture Students,, 03/27/2015

  6th Biennial Professional Conference 2015 of the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) & Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), Milwaukee, WI, March 24-27, 2015. Paper published and presented.

• Design Intelligence, 30 Most Admired Educators for 2015, 10/15/2014

  Design Intelligence Magazine, Volume 20, Number 6. Selected by Design Intelligence staff with “extensive input from thousands of design professionals, academic department heads, and students” from architecture, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture programs nationwide.

• Miller Faculty Fellowship, 10/01/2014

  “Active Collaboration for Sustainable Technological Integration.” Rob Whitehead (P.I.), Ulrike Passe, Andrea Wheeler, and Kris Nelson. Fellowships provide faculty with “opportunities to enhance their scholarly work in the undergraduate academic programs of the university and to develop innovative approaches to enhance student learning.” Funding for Research Assistant Funding, Travel Funding for Non-Faculty Practitioners, and Printing/Production of Project Results.

• AIA Iowa Educator Award, 09/20/2014

  American Institute of Architects, Iowa Chapter, 2014. Award criteria presented to educators that have made a “significant contribution to architectural education in Iowa.”

• Saarinen's Shells: The Evolution of Engineering Influence, 09/15/2014

  International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures + 6th Latin-American Symposium on Tension Structures, (IASS-SLTE 2014) International Symposium, Historical Spatial Structures Working Group (WG 17), Brasilia, Brazil, Sept. 15-19, 2014. Abstract and full paper accepted for publication following peer reviews. (Digital Proceedings, IASS-STLE 2014, WG-17, 2014).

• Vernon Stone Fund in Architecture, 09/01/2014

  “Practicing Failures: Making, Breaking, & Innovating Building Designs.” Selected Recipient, Department of Architecture Faculty Fund for travel and research development.

• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Scholars Program, 09/01/2014

  Iowa State University, Selected Participant; This program selected participants that showed potential for examining specific research questions related to teaching scholarship. The program involved a year-long research program related to teaching methods. 

• Brick by Brick: Improved Outcomes Through Linked Learning Objectives in Building Technology Labs, 04/03/2014

  National Conference for Beginning Design Student (NCBDS), Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, April 3-5, 2014. With Co-Author Kris Nelson, ISU. Paper published after blind peer review of abstract was accepted. (NCBDS30:IIT Proceedings, Eds. L. Johnson, C. Wetzel, K. Nagle, 2014), pgs. 292-299. Acceptance rate 51%.

• “Pedagogical Progressions: Reflections from an “Integrated” Technology Sequence” , 04/01/2014

  102nd Association for Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Annual Meeting, Special Session for Building Technology Educators Society (BTES) on Integrated Technology Curricula, Miami, April 2014. Paper published after blind peer review of abstract was accepted (BTES 2015 Conference Proceedings, 2015).

• Design Tech: Building Science for Architects textbook, 02/15/2014

  Design-Tech, Building Science for Architects textbook, Second Edition, Routledge Books (Taylor and Francis Group), 600 pages, ISBN: 978-0-415-81785-1; Co-Authors with Tom Leslie & Jason Alread. Exclusively responsible for writing Part 5 Structural Design, Chapters 20-28, (150+ pgs.) Work included development and production of 100 new images and illustrations. Published February 24, 2014

• (RE)Covering Shelter: Enhancing Structural Design Pedagogy by Designing for Disaster Relief, 10/17/2013

   2013 ACSA Regional Fall Conference, Sub-Tropical Cities 2013, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, October 17-19th, 2013. Paper published after blind review of abstract was accepted (“Subtropical Cities” Proceedings, ACSA; Washington D.C. 2013, Eds. A. Abbate, F. Lyn & R. Kennedy, 2013), pgs. 523-532. Acceptance Rate 70%.

• ACSA Creative Achievement Award, 03/25/2013

   http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/03/26/whitehead-award

• BTES (Building Technology Educators Society) 2011 Teaching Award, 08/09/2011
• NCARB Grant for the Integration of Practice and Education in the Academy, 12/09/2009

  Practicing Structures,” with Professor Tom Leslie. Awarded highest funding level of all grant recipients.

• Honorable Mention, U.S. Green Building Council, Excellence in Green Building Education Awards , 03/09/2009
  Higher Education Category, SCI-TECH: A Technology Sequence for Generation Green,” with Professors Tom Leslie and Jason Alread