04/17/23

AMES, Iowa — The Iowa State University Institute for Design Research and Outreach, part of the College of Design, recently announced the college’s internal research and outreach grant recipients for 2023.

Two interdisciplinary faculty teams received grants from the BNIM Regenerative Design Challenge Fund. Three faculty members received awards from the Fieldstead & Company Endowment for Community Enhancement Fund. One faculty member was awarded funds from the Curriculum-Based Design Outreach Fund. Selections were made through a competitive proposal submission process.

BNIM Regenerative Design Challenge Fund

Established by BNIM, an award-winning architecture and design firm with offices in Des Moines, Kansas City and San Diego, this fund supports grants up to $10,000 for one calendar year for multidisciplinary faculty research in the areas of sustainability and regenerative design.

Awards for 2023:

Co-creating Communities of Climate Resilience: Lessons Learned for Regenerative Design

  • Jiwnath Ghimire, assistant professor of community and regional planning
  • Alenka Poplin, associate professor of community and regional planning
  • Ellee Stapleton, assistant professor of landscape architecture
  • Andrea Wheeler, associate professor of architecture

This team aims to study practices of engagement and co-creation that are innovative and informal, based on empathy and care for the human being and environment, that lead to the regenerative design of the community.

Case studies will focus on communities in Nepal, Scotland, Oregon and North Carolina.

Grown in Iowa: Low-Carbon 3D-Printed Concrete from Local Waste

  • Shelby Doyle, associate professor of architecture and Stan G. Thurston Professor in Design Build
  • Pete Evans, assistant professor of industrial design
  • Nick Senske, assistant professor of architecture
  • Chengde Wu, associate professor of architecture

This team aims to demonstrate methods for reducing the environmental impacts of 3D-printed concrete while harnessing the structural properties that make concrete a resilient building material for extreme weather events. The research consists of developing optimal local waste concrete mixtures suitable for 3D printing and developing high-performing wall assemblies.

Results will contribute to the design of a site-specific affordable 3D-printed concrete house, which will be constructed as a demonstration in Hamburg, Iowa. The design can then be adapted to site conditions and specific needs of other communities in Iowa and the Midwest.

Fieldstead & Company Endowment for Community Enhancement Fund

This fund supports grants of up to $5,000 for one year for projects that inform the “artful development of the communities of Iowa and the surrounding region.”

Awards for 2023:

Expanding Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies in Iowa Communities

Monica Haddad, professor of community and regional planning

This project will create opportunities to engage with communities in Iowa that are in the initial stages of developing their Climate Action Plans.

Learning Landscape

Julie Stevens, associate professor of landscape architecture

This project will develop design solutions for an outdoor learning landscape for a nonprofit organization that assists underserved individuals in Iowa.

DSN S 546: The Great American Rail-Trail

Austin Dunn, assistant professor of landscape architecture

This project will create a framework for design studio outreach and landscape-scale trail enhancements in rural Iowa, using the High Trestle Trail and the community of Madrid, Iowa, as a case study.

Curriculum-Based Design Outreach Fund

Grants of up to $1,500 for one semester are awarded to initiate studio courses that promote faculty-student interaction with potential communities to identify curriculum-based outreach activities.

This year’s award goes to Monica Haddad, professor of community and regional planning, to create a student course as a follow-on to the Fieldstead & Company Endowment-supported “Expanding Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies in Iowa Communities.” The design outreach fund award will provide support for a studio class to develop a partial Climate Action Plan for a selected city.

Contacts

Julie Robison, Institute for Design Research and Outreach, jrobison@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, College of Design Strategic Communications, hsauer@iastate.edu

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