Pub. 2 2014 Directory

9  — continued on page 10 John’s enthusiasm, background and new perspectives are already making a positive difference in the School. The physical space of Cheever Hall continues to see significant— and positive—change over the last year. Cheever Hall underwent a seismic upgrade in 2013, which saw the introduction of many new windows, steel brace frames and new finishes throughout the building. This past year saw continued improvement to the phys- ical infrastructure of our program. Our large lecture hall, Cheever 215, underwent a complete renovation leading to new seating, new interior finishes, new lighting, new projection technology, enhanced sound systems and acoustics as well as the introduction of natural lighting into the space. The lecture hall has been trans- formed into an outstanding learning environment for our students. Just across the corridor from Cheever 215, the JLF conference was also renovated. The quality of this space increased dramatically through the participation of a design-build class that took on the challenge of creating a new conference table for the space. Under the direction of Assistant Professor Bradford Watson and Instruc- tor Bill Clinton, students initiated a rigorous user analysis of the conference room and the adjacent student commons space. This research led to a successful design, construction and installation of both the conference room table and student work spaces in the common areas. Elsewhere in our building, additional daylighting was introduced into both the Community Design Center studios and the Integrated Design Lab, which recently moved from Rom- ney to Cheever Hall. All of these projects have positively changed the learning environment in Cheever Hall. Last but not least, the Good Food Sign that sat atop Manny’s Burger Inn diner for many years has been restored and is being installed in a place of prominence within our studio space. The restoration of the Good Food sign was made possible through the generous support of Langlas & Associates General Contractor, Mo- saic Architecture, AIA Montana, School of Architecture Advisory Council, and Signs of Montana. The Good Food sign is one of three neon signs that have a home with the School of Architecture—the other two signs being the Bungalow Drugstore sign and Wong’s Restaurant. Our students and faculty continue to achieve great success in their work and are actively engaging problems in the world around them. Two of our students, Theresa Lindenau and Elyse Casper, collaborated with three mechanical engineering students (Martin Reaves, Terra Moran, Mary Peterson) on a design project that received First Place in the 2014 ASHRAE Integrated Sustainable Building Design Competition. Sixteen of our students and two faculty had their drawings selected for the 2014 Design Communi- cation Association Juried Exhibition, an international exhibit held once every two years. Of particular note, MSU students and faculty received three of the eight Best of Category Awards at this exhi- bition: Professor Henry Sorenson received Best of Category for Design Image Faculty, Associate Professor Christopher Livingston received Best of Category for Observation Image Faculty and Alena Heger received Best of Category for Observation Image Graduate Student. In addition, three of our graduate students—Meghan Haughey, Joe Morgan and Derek Tice—received Third Place in the national Charles E. Peterson Prize for their documentation of vernacular agricultural buildings in Gallatin Valley. The Peterson Prize is sponsored in part by the Historic American Building Sur- vey (HABS). The students’ drawings, completed as part of Associ- ate Professor Maire O’Neill’s graduate seminar, will become a part of the permanent HABS Collection. Continuing a long tradition of studying abroad and engaging the world, our students undertook study abroad studios in Europe (Rome Studio Summer 2014) and South America (Summer 2014). In addition, the Morocco Sustainable Community Development program entered its sixth year with Associate Professor Christo- pher Livingston and MSU Architecture alumna Cloe Erickson (2000) leading a group of architecture students—Jamie Smith, Agnes Pohl and Marlee Robb—to the rural community of Zawiya Ahansal. These students undertook the design-build of a sustain- able and ecologically-friendly community washing station for the village. Similarly, our faculty—Professor John Brittingham, Pro- fessor Fatih Rifki, Associate Professor Mike Everts and Assistant Professor Bradford Watson—continue to undertake and present their research on land displacement and reclamation, design and planning in the national parks, cross-comparisons of significant historical urban centers and innovative programming as a means for transformative design at national and international conferences such as the International Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the Annual International Conference on Archi- tecture. Study abroad in South America.