The Justice Institute at the University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design, Planning
TO: AAJ Membership
FROM: April Pottoroff, FAIA, Chair-University Outreach Committee
Survey Link: https://www.research.net/r/VRV56TV
Introduction
In July of 2016 the University of Kansas (KU) School of Architecture + Design (Arc/D) launched its first “Institute” program: The “Institute for Health + Wellness Design” (IHWD). With planning underway, KU|Arc/D is gearing up to start the Institute on Entertainment and Sports Design (IESD). KU|Arc/D is very interested in collaborating with us to start a Justice Institute. While KU|Arc/D approached us about starting a justice institute, a relationship with KU does not preclude AAJ from collaborating with other university or institutions to conduct research.
A justice institute?
The goal: Focus on new knowledge developed in partnership with practice, the industry, and the academy. In comparison to the IHWD and ESD one observation I made – given our specialty in the justice market: we source the majority of our work from the public sector. So in comparison, IHWD and IESD have deeper pockets to draw from, especially from industry partners and clients. Realizing that funding an “Institute” potentially relies on justice market sector firms and our specialized industry partners it is important for us to align expectations and outcomes that calibrate to the interest, expectations and long-term goals our membership and industry is willing to support. An “institute” offers a number of options for how we engage the academy – it’s not a “one size fits all” scenario.
The process starts with a standard Master Research Agreement, under an umbrella long-term agreement. A Master Research Agreement requires no specific commitment but offers a vehicle to accommodate a number of projects or series of studies that arise on an as needed basis.
I met with a group of faculty from various schools across the university, all interested in topics that relate to justice. In follow-up to my initial exploratory meeting with the faculty representatives, they provided me with bios of each interested faculty member and follow-up feedback on the potential subjects/topics they are interested in researching. Some topics aim directly at the issues the AAJ and membership firms tackle every day, some issues run tangential. When we consider the factors that influence our law enforcement, courts, and incarcerated populations, potential research may reveal valuable insights for the treatment and rehabilitation of the incarcerated, courts practices, and issues related public safety. I included the follow-up correspondence at the end of this memo.
In addition to specific areas of research that faculty focus on, doctoral students offer an institute the ability to conduct research that benefits our industry and furthers a student’s doctoral research – win, win.
Research options range from multi-disciplinary, data driven, grant funded research to an individual firm funding small targeted initiatives such as a post occupancy study that contributes to our industry’s collective body of evidence.
With funding levels that start at an entry level $5K, some ideas for participation and research options include:
- Roundtable discussions
- Sponsored research
- Project critiques
- Post occupancy studies
- Others TBD
The follow-up correspondence from faculty highlights additional ideas as well. Overall, this initiative offers the opportunity for the AAJ University Outreach Committee to collaborate closely with the AAJ Research Committee.
Initial University of Kansas Faculty team interest:
Below a list of KU faculty who expressed interest in building a strong design and research focus on Justice Systems. The faculty offer expertise and interest in:
- Conducting post-occupancy evaluations of different environmental settings within the system of Justice
- Designing community housing for rehabilitation purposes
- Creating impactful visual materials that promote Justice
- Working on policies and services that target adults with serious mental illness, particularly with a focus on diversion from institutional settings to community-based systems of supervision and care
- Advising and consulting in areas of mental health, suicide risk reduction, and systems operations
Faculty biographies
Hui Cai (Ph.D., Georgia Tech) is an Assistant Professor of Health and Wellness Program at the School of Architecture Design, and Planning of the University of Kansas. She has strong interests in cross-cultural studies on healthcare design. Her dissertation provides a comprehensive comparison between the U.S. and Chinese nursing unit typologies with quantitative metrics through space syntax analysis. Her current research focus is using a performance-driven and evidence-based healthcare design. Her research activities include conducting post-occupancy evaluations (POE) on healthcare facilities and other buildings using Space Syntax and Discrete Event Simulation.
Joe Colistra is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Kansas. He is a licensed architect and founding principal of his own architectural practice that is focused on community projects and housing. His research interests include Smart Cities, Affordable Housing, Population Health, and Urban Design.
Tim Hossler is an Assistant Professor of Visual Communications in the Department of Architecture at the University of Kansas. Hossler is the former in-house art director for photographer Annie Leibovitz, the Director of Design at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), and the Art Director of The Wolfsonian–Florida International University in Miami Beach. He has worked on books and exhibitions for artists, photographers, and cultural institutions including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Jason Matejkowski Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas. His research focuses on policies and services targeting adults with serious mental illness and criminal justice system involvement; particularly diversion from institutional settings to community-based systems of supervision and care.
Margaret Severson, Ph.D., is a Professor of Social Work in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas. Over 30+ years, she has worked with hundreds of correctional institutions to advise and consult in areas of mental health and suicide risk reduction, systems operations, and environmental design. Her research and evaluation efforts focus on the design and use of space, procedures and programs that support the physical and mental health of incarcerated persons, reentry initiatives and jail diversion efforts. She has widely published and lectured in these areas of justice innovations and provides consultation privately and on behalf of the National Institute of Corrections.
Kapila D. Silva, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of architecture at the University of Kansas. He researches into the social, cultural, and psychological aspects of architecture, urban and community design, and historic preservation. He has a doctorate in architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Kent Spreckelmeyer, D. Arch., FAIA, is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Kansas. He has consulted on more than fifty architectural projects in workplace and healthcare facilities. He has co-authored five books that advance architectural knowledge by integrating new theories and methods of design analysis into the design process. His research focuses on the ways the health and well-being of people who use and occupy built environments and are affected by those environments. He holds a doctorate in architecture from the University of Michigan and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
(Return to the cover of this 2018 AAJ Journal issue)