The Communique

Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Feature

Interior design student Laura Shuckmann-Gluck's final layout is showcased in a model condo at Bottleworks, 921 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids. Open houses are held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Starting from a concrete shell, Kirkwood Community College interior design students competed to renovate an urban loft in downtown Cedar Rapids.

A layout by Laura Shuckmann-Gluck, a second-year interior design major, was selected as the winning entry out of 21 submitted. All floor plans for the Bottleworks project were presented to the owner of Point Builders and two other judges.

According to Sheryl Konen, an instructor in Kirkwood's interior design program who worked on the Bottleworks project, Kirkwood received $5,000 from Point Builders to stage a model for the parade opening of Bottleworks in September.

Students started working on the project during a summer course this year. "It's a complete student-run project," said Konen. "The students found clients and chose which project would be their final one of the course."

Deciding on Bottleworks, located at 921 Third St. SE in Cedar Rapids, close to New Bohemia and Czech Village, students in two classes worked on their own designs.

Each shell is two stories and about 1,100 square feet. Shuckmann-Gluck's winning design had a different appeal: The living space was upstairs and the bedrooms were downstairs.

According to Konen, Shuckmann-Gluck lived in Europe, which influenced her floor plan. "It was interesting and definitely what Bottleworks was looking for," said Deanna Berchenbrieter, an interior design major.

Bottleworks was looking for a sustainable design, which "means intelligent life-enhancing design," said Konen.

The Bottleworks building was the first to be constructed in Cedar Rapids after World War II. It is a five-story-high structure that housed Witwer Wholesale Grocery Co. In the 1990s, Osada Apartments occupied the former warehouse for low-income housing units. It is now owned by Point Builders, which decided to make urban lofts.

Two honor courses came out of the Bottleworks project. Shuckmann-Gluck and Jeff Zippe, third-year interior design major, worked together to finish the loft.

Shuckmann-Gluck designed the floor plan and worked with the builders, while Zippe bought furniture and accessories, according to Konen.

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