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Faculty Dean Abbott Roger Clemence Ann Forsyth Clint Hewitt John Koepke Rebecca Krinke Roger Martin Kristine Miller Laura Musacchio Lance Neckar David Pitt Robert Sykes Adjunct Faculty Joseph R. Favour Robert J. Gunderson Jon Kingstad Richard Murphy, Jr. Patrick Nunnally Peter Olin Sharon Pfeifer Dan Shaw Lecturers Research Fellows  faculty+staff main page | |||
Aaron Mikonowicz When armed forces recruiters advertise the military life as good preparation for the work world, they may not have landscape architecture in mind. However, Aaron Mikonowicz says that it can in fact be very good preparation for landscape architects. Before starting his career as a landscape architect, Mikonowicz spent five years in the US Air Force as an airframe repair technician, working on almost all parts of an airplane. Mikonowicz credits that experience with cultivating the task-oriented thinking and problem solving skills he continually puts into use today. He says the process of working on the individual details of a complexly interrelated system helped him appreciate the role of detail in design. "The richness of the design is in the details," he comments. In addition, he likens the unique repairs that constantly must be made on an airplane to the unique situation a designer encounters on almost every project. In each case the fundamentals must be applied in a new way. Mikonowicz has also used the knowledge he gained in materials and fabrication in his own design work. In one project in particular, he assisted Cliff Garten in the conceptual design of two tensile-structure canopies for a courtyard as part of a proposal for Soku University in California. Mikonowicz continues in the Air Force Reserve, and when on duty, he supervises fifteen people in the day-to-day operations of an aircraft repair facility. Most of his time, however, is now taken up by his duties as a research fellow and a project manager of several of the department's research activities. Some of the projects Mikonowicz works on include the Green Infrastructure initiative and the corridor development and transit study of the southeast Twin Cities metro area. Along with his research work, Mikonowicz teaches several classes, including computer methods classes in both the departments of landscape architecture and architecture. A continuing interest of his is exploring how computer-modeling software can aid landscape architects in analyzing their designs and finding solutions. His goal is to model a design with regard to complex changes in solar and weather patterns, climate changes, surface drainage, or other unforeseen environmental factors that are not apparent in paper drawings. Mikonowicz has also co-taught a landscape detailing class and is an instructor in the department's Italy program. It was during his several trips to Italy that he developed one of his research interests, which is the application of historic design solutions to the problems of the modern world. An example he gives is the ancient Roman's use of grit chambers and filtration in their freshwater systems and their potential for use in modern urban stormwater treatments. | |||
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