April 12-13, 2010
Stevens Point, WI
Location of Airstream exhibition (parking spot): Southwest corner of Lot R on campus (near intersection of Briggs & Phillips)
Open exhibition times: 1pm-5pm Monday, 10am-1pm Tuesday
Location of lecture/presentation: Noel Fine Arts Center
Lecture time: 12pm Monday April 12
Recent Blog Posts
Recap: University of Wisconsin Stevens Point
We rolled into the lovely town of Stevens Point in Central Wisconsin to kick off our last full week of the Design Revolution Road Show on Monday. UWSP was one that we were happy to be able to add to our itinerary after having already set most of the schedule. Nisha Fernando who heads the Interior Architecture department, had pulled tons of strings for us to be there (thank you Nisha!). Our visit was also one of our few 2-day stops. We parked in the parking lot near the Arts building, and across the plaza we had a great view of a student-done tile mural which we photographed the day before for our Daily Postcard.
The school only has Interior Architecture, Graphic Design, and Fine Arts departments, and we spent most of our time with the Interior Architecture students. After visiting a few studios, in which the students were learning everything from space planning to basic drafting skills and how to compile a furniture schedule, we gave a lecture in one of the main lecture halls (we brought Junebug up on stage with us as well). Questions after inquired as to our process of working “blindly” with communities, and I reverted to an explanation of our “with, not for” tactics for bringing our clients, communities, and partners, in as co-designers in the process.
After an afternoon of open exhibition time, in which we met some interested students who wanted to build Learning Landscapes locally and look more closely at the use of resources in dairy farming (yay for local engagement!), we joined some of the professors for a delicious Italian dinner. We learned about the best local brews in town (Central Waters and Point Brewing) and that the world’s largest renewable energy fair happens right outside Stevens Point!
On the second day, we enjoyed spending the morning with a senior class working on a hotel interior architecture project in Milwaukee. While most of our class critiques have been on conceptual product design projects, it was nice to look at construction documents and provide feedback on straightforward (albeit very creative) spatial solutions for a change. Despite the fact that the project was a high-end hotel, we found ways to speak to students about social impact within luxury, and how smart decisions about the use of space can change behavior for the better through design.
Before leaving, a class of fifty or so graphic design students came out to visit the trailer, and asked questions about everything from the Lifestraw to the One Laptop Per Child, which we reminded were not perfect, and that critique is key in pushing design to more socially relevant places.
Thanks so much to Nisha Fernando and the entire faculty and staff and student body at UWSP Interior Architecture for hosting us and for the great 2-day visit!
April 13th, 2010Daily Postcard: April 13th
Detail of the awesome tile mural at UWSP (see it full scale here)
Quote From The Road: April 13th
When: April 13th, 2:54 p.m.
Where: Standing outside the trailer in Stevens Point, WI
Fine arts student: “They tell us to ‘be good designers and get jobs,’ but not to ‘do good’ necessarily. It’s nice to know there’s something bigger.”
April 12th, 2010Daily Postcard: April 12th
Awesome tile mural on the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point campus
Quote From The Road: April 12th
When: April 12th, 1:45 p.m.
Where: Standing outside the trailer in Stevens Point, WI
University of Wisconsin Stevens Point interior architecture professor: “They said ‘Parks are too hard to build,’ and yet, they build man-made islands!”
(on the need for a design revolution in Dubai)
