Design Revolution Road Show

We spent 2 days at NC State hosted by Dean Marvin Malecha, the IDSA student chapter, and the Industrial/Graphic design department led by Santiago Piedrafita. Because of our work in Bertie County (2 hrs east of Raleigh), we were very excited to visit NC State in order to establish a closer relationship that might extend into a partnership with Bertie.

Also thanks to Andrea Weigl from the Raleigh News & Observer, who had written an article the day before announcing the road show at NC State. I woke up Monday morning with emails from at least a half dozen people who had seen the article in the paper and wanted details, including a mother and her four home schooled children. Her 11-year old son was studying engineering and was particularly interested in coming to the exhibition, and there they were waiting for us as the first visitors of the day after we set up!

We hopped the Airstream up a curb and parked right in front of Kamphoefner hall, the College of Design building, and were greeted warmly by Matt and Laura from the IDSA student chapter, along with Santiago Piedrafita who had helped us coordinate the visit. The morning flew by as a wide range of visitors walked through- students, men in business suits, young children, professors, and more.

Our lecture was scheduled for 1:30 pm, so Matt and I went to grab a bite before heading into the lecture hall. When we returned to the Airstream, we were met by seventy sixth graders from the nearby Exploris charter school! Their teacher had shown them my clip on the Colbert Report, and they were bouncing up and down, anxious to see the exhibition.

The lecture was by far our biggest triumph of the day. With a capacity of 200-ish, the room was literally filled to the brim, with people sitting on the floor, on the stairs, and pouring out the doors in the back. We definitely broke some fire codes. The presentation went well and the sixth graders in particular had some fascinating questions, including one boy who asked if the Hippo Roller might be shipped with a water filter. There was particular interest in our work in Bertie County, as many students wanted to come volunteer. Few audience members had been to Bertie (not a surprise), though a few people after actually approached us to tell us that they grew up in Bertie!

In the afternoon, we met with a graduate studio for a critique of their recently completed projects. Heated discussion ensued. After attempting to find thoughtful and constructive criticism for a student’s redesign of the traditional external hard drive (which was an aesthetics-driven, form-based assignment), Matt asked “Why the f$@k do I care? What about this project has any bearing on the world? How is it relevant in someone’s life?” While the question was harsh, it spurred a long conversation about the role of aesthetics as a tool rather than the end-game, and how students might push their form-driven assignments to a more social impact-based solution.

On day two, we met with the guys behind the student publication Volume 34 (look out for a piece in the publication about Project H soon!), along with a group of IDSA chapter students, Santiago Piedrafita, and finally Dean Marvin Malecha at the end of the day. After the exhibition viewing, the Adaptive Eyecare glasses had somehow broken, but we were thrilled at the overall success at NC State. This school stop in particular was a great beginning- a partnership that will hopefully continue for years to come through our work in Bertie and overlap with the students and studios. On our way out of town, we met with Bryan Bell, author of Good Deeds, Good Design, and Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism, who’s a good friend and hero of ours.