Bio Page

Rhonda Gilmore

• Member - National Council for Preservation Education
• Member - National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Member - Preservation League of New York

Coordinator, Interior Design Admissions Committee:
Reviewed portfolios and files for prospective students and worked with College of Human Ecology Admissions Office.

Coordinator, Sustainable Tompkins HUB Materials Resource:
Worked with members of the Sustainable Tompkins' Board of Directors to design and create sustainable materials boards for both traveling exhibits and their future Resource Library that will be incorporated in their facility called The HUB, to be constructed in Ithaca by 2011.

Co-coordinator, Design Portfolio Seminars:
Worked with College of Human Ecology Career Development Staff to host two portofolio seminars for design students and other interested HE students.
  
Coordinator, DEA Senior Reception
In conjunction with the graduating seniors in the Class of 2008, we created a department-wide reception for the Class and their families. 

Presenter/Host, "Bring Your Child to Work Day" at Cornell:
For the past seven years, the sophomore design studio has worked with the children of Cornell employees during this annual event, teaching them the basics of the design process. Over 28 children and adults attended the 2008 session, with each student taking home drawings for an information kiosk for their school.

Outreach/Mentor, Learning Web of Ithaca:
Worked with local high school students in this one-on-one program shadowing professionals in a variety of fields.

DEA 2202 - Design Studio IV
Transitioning the sophomores from design students to potential design employees, this course combines both skill development and creative problem-solving in four primary projects:

• health care design
• lighting design for health care
• custom lighting design
• service learning

During the 2008 course, the students completed the programming/schematic design/design development/construction documents phases for a 7,000 square foot health care facility. This project then became the basis for the study of color and lighting in healing environments, using evidence-based design principles to guide their lighting solutions. The scale of the problem-set then shifted to the design and actual construction of a custom light fixture to be installed in their health care facility. Lastly, the power of design to transform a "space in need" became the service learning project. The sophomore interior design students selected the local non-profit Recovery Center's childcare room, where they designed and then built/painted/installed their design solutions for this space.

DEA 3030 - Introduction to Materials, Finishes, and Furnishings
After the study of interior materials' characteristics and capabilities, the course moves onto the sustainable approach to the selection and specification of "green" interior materials. LEED criteria are connected to the study of creating sustainable interiors with an emphasis on earning points for design decisions. Field trips expose the students to "materials in action" and provide examples of use/maintenance issues. Skills such as life cycle costing and writing green specifications are also part of the course, as are group work/presentations on current sustainable material options for the built environment.

DEA 3050 - Construction Documents and Detailing
Putting construction documents in context involves the study of archival drawings in the Kroch Rare and Manuscript Collection. Students analyze drawings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and then transition to the study of construction document production in the last 30 years.

• M.A. 1994 - Cornell University Interior Design
• B.S. 1982 - University of Cincinnati Architecture, Art and Planning (cum laude)