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Montana State University announces Dean Adams as its next College of Arts and Architecture dean

2023-04-13T13:56:00-04:00

Montana State University has announced Dean Adams as the institution’s next dean of the College of Arts and Architecture. Adams will take up the new position on July 1st, where he will oversee 1,100 students across schools of architecture, art, music, film, and photography.

Adams was chosen for the role following an interview process that included meetings with faculty, administrators, and students. Members of the public were also invited to participate in open forums and submit comments online.

“As the newly appointed dean of the College of Arts and Architecture at Montana State University, I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to help lead a community of students, faculty, and staff who are dedicated to advancing our understanding of what it means to be human through studio-based learning, critical studies, creative practices, and public engagement,” Adams said in a statement following the announcement.

Montana makes history as the first U.S. state to approve 3D printed alternatives to concrete walls

2022-08-31T17:51:00-04:00

Montana has become the first state in the nation to adopt broad-ranging regulatory approval for the use of 3D printing in construction.

The state’s building code regulators recently voted to approve local contractor Tim Stark’s request to 3D print walls as an equal replacement for either CMUs or standard cored concrete blocks.

Stark was petitioning to use the special wall prototype developed by the Florida-based construction technology company Apis Cor and later tested at the University of Connecticut’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, resulting in a specification that was published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in 2019.

Stark seeks to incorporate 3D printing into multiple housing developments in the hopes of expediting the construction process while at the same time reducing overal...

Francis Kéré fashions arts pavilion from pine logs

2019-07-12T15:12:00-04:00

Architect Francis Kéré has completed work on Xylem, a new pavilion at the Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana that is fashioned from a collection of tree trunks.

The 2,100-square-foot pavilion, described as "a quiet place to contemplate nature" by the organizers, draws inspiration from the wooden and straw toguna structures in West Africa's Dogon communities. In their native context, togunas are seen as sacred structures and are often located at the center of each village where they host communal discussions and debates. Designed with squat proportions that force visitors to sit down when inhabiting the space, the traditional structures play a vital role in the governance and everyday life of their respective villages.

Interior view of the pavilion, which is made up of from ponderosa and lodgepole pine logs. Image courtesy of Iwan Baan, Tippet Rise Art Center.

For the pavilion in Montana, Kéré has created a lively and textured space built entirely from the logs of ponderosa and lodge...

Meditative pavilion designed by Francis Kéré for Montana's Tippet Rise Art Center soon to break ground

2018-12-13T14:33:00-05:00

Montana's sprawling, 12,000 acre sculpture and music park will soon begin construction on a permanent pavilion designed by the Berlin-based Burinabé architect Diébédo Francis Kéré. The commission for Tippet Rise Art Center, which will kick off their 2019 Summer concert season, is being funded by the Tippet Rise Fund of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation, which is also helping to construct a new school in Kéré's hometown of Gando.

The wooden pavilion is derived from Kéré's 2017 Serpentine Pavilion and his 2015 canopy structure for the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. It is inspired by the traditional togunas of the Dogon culture of Mali and will be constructed of locally and sustainably sourced ponderosa and lodgepole pine. Described by the architect as creating a "rain of light" effect, the structure will offer visitors a space to gather, contemplate the views, and/or meditate.

Naaba Belem Goumma Secondary School.

“At Tippet Rise, we want the buildings to have the material and formal int...

Francis Kéré will design a canopied log pavilion for the Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana

2018-05-17T16:29:00-04:00

Francis Kéré is the latest architect commissioned to design a new permanent pavilion on the grounds of the 10,260-acre Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana. Nestled in a cluster of aspen and cottonwood trees on the banks of a flowing stream, the design of the 1,900 square-foot pavilion is derived from Kéré's 2017 Serpentine Pavilion and his 2015 canopy structure for the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Kéré's design pays tribute to the traditional sacred toguns of the Dogun people in Mali, which are shelters made from ornamented wooden pillars that are carved with representations of one's ancestors, and a roof of layers of wood and millet straw.

Exterior view of the pavilion. Credit: Francis Kéré.

Circular aerial bridge. Credit: Francis Kéré.

Built from locally sourced logs of ponderosa pine and lodegepole pine, the Tippet Rise pavilion will be a round structure connected to a circular aerial bridge that spans the stream. Touching the ground at only a few points to preserve the landscape...

Frank Lloyd Wright's Lockridge Medical Clinic demolished after owner rejects buyout offer from preservationists

2018-01-11T17:37:00-05:00

Building owner Mick Ruis had set a Jan. 10 deadline for preservation groups to raise $1.7 million in cash to buy the building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Local business leaders, the Montana Preservation Alliance and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy all were working toward a deal that would have spared the building [...] It is the first viable Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building to be lost in more than 40 years.

In a frustrating turn of events, Frank Lloyd Wright's Lockridge Medical Clinic — which was completed after his death in 1959 — in Whitefish, Montana was demolished overnight. The building's current owner Mick Ruis moved up his demolition plans and refused to give more time to preservation groups who were working on a deal to purchase and save the building. Ruis, a developer, plans to replace the FLW building with a three-story, mixed-use commercial facility.

“None of us are aware of why the owner changed his mind and moved up his demolition plans. It left us all scrambling to find a new cash buyer at the last minute. When none could be found, we made several appeals to the owner for more time to mobilize the many small donors from the public who contacted us [...] but he would not grant any more time,” said Barbara Gordon, executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, on the Daily InterLake.

Monumental land art emerges in Montana's new Tippet Rise Art Center

2016-08-12T13:36:00-04:00

"They have strong architectural properties: they create space, they provide shelter and shade, they change the thermal and acoustical properties of the surrounding context and thus they enable new activities and programs to take place. But also, they can live empty without looking like empty buildings...”

Land art installations stand majestically against the pristine Montana landscape at the Tippet Rise Art Center, a working sheep ranch turned art destination that opened in June about an hour away from Billings and 2.5 hours north of Yellowstone. Ensamble Studio principals Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa briefly talk about the collaborative design process behind the Center's masterplan and the landscape works they created.

Make It Right unveils new designs for Native American housing in Montana

2014-06-23T13:10:00-04:00

The Make It Right foundation has unveiled its new home designs for the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes of Fort Peck, Montana. Following LEED Platinum certification and Cradle to Cradle practices, the foundation is known for building sustainable homes for people in need. For the Ft. Peck project, Make It Right plans to build twenty solar-powered homes for tribal members, and develop a sustainable master plan for the reservation of over 6,000 people.

Designers and architects involved included GRAFT, Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, Architecture for Humanity, Method Homes and Living Homes. The homes will be available to tribal members with a household income of 60% or lower than the area's median income.

Find more information on the Ft. Peck project from Make It Right here.