The urban landscape in the Southland and beyond is peppered with the influences of former College of Environmental Design students.
But the names of these Cal Poly Pomona graduates may not be common among their users or admirers.
On Monday, May 12, dozens of alumni will have their efforts highlighted at the opening reception of “Outcomes.” The exhibition at the Building 7 Gallery and Atrium will showcase more than 70 works by graduates from the departments of Art, Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Regional Planning.
“We are pointing out the impact of the work that people who came out this college have been doing in all of these different disciplines,” College of ENV Dean Michael Woo says.
College of ENV graduates from the late 1950s to 2012 will be represented at the exhibition. Their submissions include original works, books, videos, projects by firms and more.
Outcomes Curatorial Team Director Rennie Tang says that she was fascinated during the review process to see where graduates took their degrees.
“This shows what ENV is as a reflection of all of the disciplines in the college,” says Tang, an assistant professor in the Landscape Architecture Department.
“What one chooses to do with their course of study varies widely.”
Those decisions have seen alumni take on notable projects of local, national and international significance such as the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool and Shanghai Disney Resort — all of which will be showcased at Outcomes.
These alumni include:
• Ken Ryan, principal at KTGY Group, Inc., which serves as the urban design advisor for the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center. The world-class transportation hub, which is currently being constructed, is designed to connect Orange County to other areas in California and the United States. Ryan received his Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning in 1983.
• Donald Tompkins was the designer and project manager of the U.S. Capitol Mall Master Plan and U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool. A recipient of a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture in 1958, Tompkins was involved in the design as well as the preparation of construction documents and construction observation of the reflecting pool.
• Bob Weis, who received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 1980, heads the design and creative teams overseeing Shanghai Disney Resort.
Other works at Outcomes include:
• A 105-page book titled “Ocean Friendly Gardens” by Douglas Kent that details how to eliminate or clean water that runs off residential landscapes. Kent received a Master of Science degree in Regenerative Studies in 2006 and a master’s in Landscape Architecture in 2010.
• A six-minute video titled “Moving Diagrams” submitted by Mike Boucher aims to inspire a new way of looking at public space and physical movement. Boucher earned a Master of Landscape Architecture in 2011.
• A mixed media piece titled “Ascension Above, Ascension Below” by Ryan Colditz, who graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. It incorporates a stereoscopic 3D visual to create a futuristic alien landscape that makes reference to the clutter of the physical world and the possibility of new worlds unknown.
Alumni who are now faculty members, such as art lecturer Ann Phong and Andrew Wilcox, an associate professor in the Landscape Architecture Department, will have mixed media on wood works on display at Outcomes.
Some of the work by alumni will be displayed on 10 multi-function benches that were created by students in one of Tang’s classes. The benches contain an area to sit but also consist of a pin-up board that will showcase the work by alumni. The board slides out of the bench if more space is needed for attendees to sit and chat.
While the exhibition aims to recognize the notable work by those who have left Cal Poly Pomona, it also is meant to help current students realize all that is possible.
“We are celebrating our alumni, but, just as important, this is intended to inspire current students, people who might become students or young people who are thinking about going into these disciplines to get a sense of what’s possible with an education coming out of this college,” Woo says.
Outcomes will run from May 12-30 in the Building 7 Gallery and Atrium.