{"id":11678,"date":"2018-03-22T15:38:05","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T19:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/?p=11678"},"modified":"2022-05-23T14:52:19","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T18:52:19","slug":"high-tech-studios-are-a-step-above","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/blog\/2018\/03\/22\/high-tech-studios-are-a-step-above\/","title":{"rendered":"High Tech Studios Are A Step Above"},"content":{"rendered":"

O<\/span>ver the last hundred years, two of the fastest-growing building types have been airports and tall buildings.\u00a0<\/span>According to the International Air Transport Association, in 2016 approximately 3.7 billion passengers traveled by airline, and even more passed through an airport.\u00a0Due to the growth of the world\u2019s population and trends of urbanization, efficiency in space and energy utilization require the adaptation of tall buildings. These multipurpose tall buildings are spreading across the globe at an ever-increasing rate.<\/p>\n

Wayne Place, Alumni Association Distinguished Professor<\/a> and a 2017 NCSU Outstanding Research award recipient, teaches advanced studios on these topics: ARC 503 Tall Building Design and ARC 503 Airport Design. Studios like these differentiate the College of Design from other architecture programs and expose students to the fundamentals of designing on the macro scale.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both studios provide a platform of exposure, an introduction to new technologies, and the expanded understanding of design constraints students would otherwise not have. Place, who has been teaching for more than 40 years and focuses his research on the system integration of daylighting, building energy efficiency, and architectural structures, believes designing such large buildings offers students \u201cthe opportunity to have a really profound impact.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Student work: Foad Faizi and Sara Noorani.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Place has an advanced degree in architecture, a PhD in physics, and is a registered structural engineer, all of which provide a multitude of fruitful experiences to students who choose to take his advanced high-tech studios. He hopes his students will become excited about the opportunity to redirect their career paths to concentrate on tall buildings or airports. By offering these studios, students learn \u201cthe issues of natural light and structure that they would not otherwise get in their careers.\u201d He adds, \u201cI think the studios also address issues of scale that are very important to us<\/i>\u2014as in the planet\u2014as we move forward.\u201d Place notes that there is a need for efficiency in designing and planning large structures as more and more people are moving into cities and density is becoming greater. \u201cTall buildings are incredibly important for human beings to inhabit the planet in an efficient manner that does minimal damage,\u201d he states.<\/span><\/p>\n

Place has been honing the tall buildings studio for five years and the airport design studio for four years. He has also added collaboration with two influential global firms that are thought leaders and experts on the topics and have become great community partners with the College: Fentress Architects<\/a> and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP<\/a> (SOM). Partnerships like these offer practical and hands-on experience to students and layer the design education with invaluable insights. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Student work: Foad Faizi + Sara Noorani<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fentress Architects, an international design firm with offices around the globe, has been instrumental in the airport studio. Place acknowledges that what founding principal and CEO Curtis Fentress<\/a> offers in terms of knowledge and legacy of airport design \u201cis invaluable to students.\u201d Fentress, FIAA, RIBA [B.Arch \u201972] is a 2010 College of Design Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and an expert in airport design and a wide array of other building types. He is recognized for the design of numerous iconic structures, including the Denver International Airport<\/a> and the Incheon International Airport<\/a> in Seoul, South Korea, both of which have received international acclaim. Fentress Architects has received more than 500 awards for innovation and excellence. The firm took part in the 2016 Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The firm enhances the airport studio and has numerous associates who provide FaceTime and teleconference critiques for students. In addition to the generosity of their time, they share digital resources, including codes, rules and regulations, and technical requirements for airports that are key when embarking on projects. Place adds that both Joshua Stephens [M.Arch ’13], AIA, and Ana-Maria Drughi\u00a0[M.Arch ’13], AIA, of Fentress Architects \u201cwere helpful in the initial conceptualization and creation of the studio. We would not have this airport studio if key personnel at Fentress Architects had not taken the initiative.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fentress himself is very active in the studio. \u201cI come the first week and spend a day and wear the students out,\u201d he says. He meets again with students at the end of the semester and has been influential in other ways: \u201cI\u2019ve gotten folks from the community Raleigh-Durham International Airport to be involved in the class so that students get the exposure of practical experience.\u201d Fentress has also hired several students from the program (including Stephens and Drughi<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

SOM is the other important partner in Place\u2019s high-tech studios, recognized for many projects and specifically for tall buildings. The SOM involvement in the tall-building studio has been possible because of the leadership of Mark Sarkisian, Chief Structural Engineer and author of Designing Tall Buildings: Structure as Architecture<\/i>. Sarkisian has mobilized a team of ten reviewers with a wide range of expertise to contribute to the studio. These professionals provide feedback and support to the students during critiques and throughout the process. For the past five years, the studio has taken a trip to SOM\u2019s San Francisco office at the kickoff of the semester so that students can interact with the team, tour completed projects, ask questions, and get a firsthand feel for the collaboration and process of designing and planning tall buildings.<\/p>\n

Place acknowledges that numerous SOM members are active and influential to students, and during the visit the team provides tangible, hands-on training to students. Also on this visit, Leo Chow, Principal Architect, gives a lecture that Place describes as \u201cso inspiring that when you leave the room after his lecture, you feel like you can change the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The experience was insightful and enduring for recent graduate Jeromy Clements [M.Arch \u201917], who participated in both studios. \u201cI would encourage any students who are remotely interested in working on a project that is challenging and will test them to take Wayne\u2019s class. They will certainly get more out of it than they put into it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n