News release prepared by: Diane Potts, 785-532-1090, potts@k-state.edu

Monday, Nov. 1, 2010

2010 BOWMAN DESIGN FORUM ON CAMPUS NOV. 17

MANHATTAN -- The 12th annual Bowman Design Forum of the Kansas State University College of Architecture, Planning and Design will be Wednesday, Nov. 17.

The event includes lectures by Kirsten R. Murray and Les Eerkes of Seattle-based Olson Kundig Architects.

The forum will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Little Theater of the K-State Student Union. The lectures will follow at 5:30 p.m. in Forum Hall, also at the Union. All events are free and open to the public.

Murray is principal/owner of Olson Kundig Architects. She joined the firm in 1989, becoming an owner in 2008. She is a generalist architect with particular interest and experience in community, arts, workplace and residential projects. She is currently working on several urban infill projects in Seattle, including Art Stable, the 1900 First Avenue hotel and apartments, and the Casey Family Programs headquarters.

Murray's work has been published in a variety of magazines and books, including the New York Times, Architectural Digest, Interior Design, Architectural Record and Architecture. Projects she has led have received several awards from the American Institute of Architects. She was instrumental in creating Olson Kundig Architects' widely recognized international intern program. She speaks about issues of design and professional practice at universities and professional conferences around the country, and regularly serves on design juries.

Les Eerkes joined Olson Kundig Architects in 1994, becoming a principal in 2010. He is a versatile architect with a balance of design and technical expertise.

Eerkes has contributed to projects that have won multiple awards and have been published in such publications as the New York Times, Architectural Record and Architectural Review. He served as project manager on The Brain project, which received a national American Institute of Architects Honor Award and was published in "Tom Kundig: Houses," released by Princeton Architectural Press in 2006. The Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, another project, was featured in the book "Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete,"also released by Princeton Architectural Press in 2006, and in the exhibit of the same name at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

Murray and Eerkes will lead the jury for the Bowman Design Forum, a competition open to K-State architecture students in their third year of study. Brent Bowman, a 1972 K-State architecture graduate and principal of the Manhattan-based architecture firm Bowman Bowman Novick, with also has offices in Kansas City, sponsors the forum.

Continuing education credit for design professionals attending the lecture is available by contacting Diane Potts at 785-532-1090 or potts@k-state.edu. For more information on the forum, contact David Sachs at 785-532-1183 or sachs@k-state.edu.