Pub. 1 2013 Directory

16 THE MONTANA ARCHITECT | 2013 | www.aia-mt.org The American Institute of Architecture Students Between the harsh studio schedule and demands upon your typical college student, The American Institute of Architecture Students at Montana State University have been keeping very busy! JAMIE E. SMITH W ith rigorous enthusiasm, the chapter has a record number of members and is only looking to magnify their presence this school year. Through numerous efforts, the chapter has been expanding its realm of involvement to include community service, working with regional professionals, and enhancing the student environment in Cheever Hall. One of the featured accomplishments of the 2012-2013 school year is the Bozeman Green Bus. The Bozeman Youth Initiative Green Bus has been an evolving project with MSU’s School of Architecture for nearly five years. Starting as a community design center project in 2010, an unused school bus was transformed into a mobile green house to be used as a teaching tool in local grade school programs. In 2012 AIAS got involved and worked to develop an improved design for the interior of the bus. The roof was remodeled to allow more natural light in and basic shelving was constructed to provide a place for plants. Currently, the improved green bus is at local schools to teach the basics of horticulture. MSU AIAS kicked off the Museum of the Rockies architectural themed exhibit, “Raise the Roof,” with interactive projects on the museum’s Family Day last fall. Students also created and taught a series of afterschool programs to elementary school kids. The six part classroom series featured projects such as soaring skyscrapers, designing domes, trusses and triangle, and dem- olition derby. Due to popular demand, the Museum of the Rockies has offered AIAS a reoccurring Spring Semester afterschool program which will begin this year. AIAS is a non-profit organization that has a strong national pres- ence, with over 172 chapters worldwide. Individual chapters host national and regional conferences throughout the year in varying cities and locations. Montana State has been well represented with the