Winterset, Iowa, United States
Supporting a culture of innovation, design thinking, and community engagement for positive change. Work in Progress At the Westbrook Artists’ Site (WAS) I am currently working on integrating on-going investigations into the environmental history and native ecology into an architectural perspective of co-inhabitation. Our practices of human habitation are typically exclusive of non-humans and co-habitation. In some rare cases, exceptions are made but they often mean displacement or endangerment to the non-humans. In even more rare cases humans are excluded at least temporarily. None of these approaches actually engenders meaningful understanding or leverages opportunities that might lead to a more holistic and long-term approach. We have to address our values as well as our basic understanding. I hope to shift our focus by advocating for encounters and engagement that decenters the human and seeks a more ethical and sustainable outcome. In addition, we can have a far richer experience if we can become more attuned to the world around us starting with a mission of equitable co-habitation. One of the first areas of investigation for at WAS has been the reintroduction of fire as part of native ecology. Ironically, human initiated fire has become over thousands of years has become fully integrated into native systems. However, this key to this transformation is that it occurred through pre-industrialized methods, speed, and scale. Fire presents a real hazard and potential disregard for the boundaries associated with private property and permanent settlement. Of course, we have only replaced the more dynamic and visible hazard of fire with other, more profitable hazards that only appear to respect our boundaries. The return of fire as an essential part of native ecology is one of the ways we can start to redesign human habitation around co-habitation with the non-human.
DSWA Level II Certified The Stone Trust Inc. is a rapidly growing registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides education, training, and consulting services. We advocate for the preservation of existing dry stone walls and promote using the correct structural standards for the construction and restoration of dry stone walls. The Stone Trust organizes its curriculum to incorporate the world-wide industry standards developed by the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain (DSWA-GB). Certified DSWA-GB instructors and examiners facilitate workshops and certification tests at The Stone Trust Center. The Stone Trust also provides consulting services for projects involving dry stone walls, book and tool sales, custom workshops, and much more.
ARCH 528E Material Intelligence Fall 2024 ARCH 301 Studio Fall 2024 ARCH 202 Studio Spring 2024 ARCH 528E Innovation X Entrepreneurship Spring 2024 ARCH 301 Studio Fall 2023 ARCH 528E Material Intelligence Fall 2023 DES 230 Design Thinking Spring 2022 ARCH 202 Architecture Studio III Spring 2022 Studio coordinator - Detail in Architecture ARCH 490H Independent Study Fall 2021 ARCH 528E Design as Entrepreneurship Fall 2021 ARCH 301 Architecture Studio III Fall 2021 Reciprocal Landscape DsnS446/546/490 Design for Change Summer 2021 ARCH 528A Design as Protest Spring 2021 DES 495 Design Launchpad Spring 2021 ARCH 202 Architecture Studio III Spring 2021 Studio coordinator - Detail in Architecture DES 230 Design Thinking Spring 2020 ARCH 301 Architecture Studio III Fall 2020 Ecocultural Landscape ARCH 202 Architect Studio II Spring 2020 (coordinator) I DES 495 Launchpad Studio 2016- 2020 ARCH 301 Architect Studio III Fall 2017-19 I DES 230 Design Thinking Fall 2018-19 DSN S Design for Change - Immersive study in New Cuyama, CA DSN S 102 Design Studio 1 Fall 2017 DsnS446 Rural and Proud Summer 2017 DES 250 (d)human Spring 2017 DES 495 Capstone Spring 2017 ARCH 302 Architect Studio IV Baton Rouge, LA Spring 2017 ARCH 401 "Ecologic - Options for Rehabilitative Architecture" Fall 2016 BAID 340 "Rural Matters" Fall 2016 B DES 240 - "How to Imagine" - Narratives on Art + Ecology Summer 2016 B DES 250 - "Design Entrepreneurship" (Design Forum) Summer 2016
Direct the vision, mission and operation of the Westbrook Artists' Site; Collaborate with network of professionals and local stakeholders in the pursuit of the creative potential in the post-industrial rural environment; Seek to support social, natural and economic capital and creative place-making for vibrant and diverse communities. The Westbrook Artists’ Site (WAS) is located on approximately 500 acres of land near Winterset, IA. From 1996 to 2006, WAS operated as an artist owned venue for interdisciplinary art, design and architecture. WAS has deepened its mission, focusing on the history and condition of the land itself, to provide an experiential laboratory for exploration of the post-industrial rural condition. The WAS mission contains four goals: 1) to re-frame the post-industrial rural site, 2) to build WAS as an art space that reveals the complexity and nuance of rural and farm existence, 3) to expand the discourse of art and design in rural contexts, and 4) to provide a resource and inspiration for innovation in interdisciplinary art and design. WAS projects involve individuals and interdisciplinary teams working both on and off site and culminate with annual public events. The work consists of installations, events and the documentation (visual, textual) of work process.
Our mission is to build networks through artists, educators and professionals of all disciplines to help rural communities reach their creative potential. After the developing an international design competition for the Winterset Public Library I initiated the plan to develop a more strategic community effort to foster art in the public sphere. I provide creative direction and oversee the curatorial vision for Rush Hall at Wilkins in Des Moines, IA.
Board member to support innovation in education