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News Release
PROGRAM NEWS RELEASE / October 15, 2008
Basque Block Consortium Will Showcase Collaborative Design
Project By Boise State and University of Idaho
New design concepts for Boise’s Basque Center and Basque Museum and Cultural
Center will be unveiled at the Basque Block Consortium, a public open house
from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Idaho Urban Research and Design Center inside
Boise’s Idaho Water Center building at 322 E. Front St. The exhibit is the
culmination of a progressive academic partnership between seniors in Boise
State University’s construction management program and fifth year
architecture students at the University of Idaho.
“Traditionally, the builder has been separate from the architect and the
engineer. They just get the design and build it. But the design process is
getting more collaborative,” said Rebecca Mirsky, associate professor and
chair of construction management at Boise State.
Mirsky said the consortium developed over the last year. It started with a
Basque Center board member contacting the College of Engineering about plans
to modify the Basque Block and the potential for a related student project.
The pieces fell into place this summer when Mirsky presented an Extended
Studies course on green building with Sherry McKibben, assistant professor
of architecture at the University of Idaho and director of its Idaho Urban
Research and Design Center.
The architecture students brought their ideas to the table, and once a week,
the construction management students sat down with them to talk about
feasibility and brainstorm concepts that would honor and express Basque
culture. Mirsky doesn’t know if Basque Block administrators and neighborhood
stakeholders will pursue anything concrete, but she is pleased with the
results of the interdisciplinary, multi-institutional endeavor.
“These kinds of projects broaden students’ horizons. When we ask people what
they wish our graduates did better, one of the things they always say is
‘communicate.’ This enhances their communication skills,” Mirsky said. “It
gets them out of their comfort zone and working with a greater variety of
people.”
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Media Contact: Erin Ryan, University Communications, (208) 426-4910,
erinryan@boisestate.edu
Boise State University is “The New U Rising” with record student
enrollment, new academic buildings, additional degree programs and a growing
research agenda. Learn more at
www.boisestate.edu.
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Last reviewed on
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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