The Committee on Design visited Columbus, Indiana in April, 2012. Click here to read the conference report written by John Morris Dixon, FAIA. Photos courtesy of Jim Childress, FAIA, Ann Thompson and Aaron Trahan.
COD Columbus, Indiana Spring Conference Video
February 3, 2013
In April, 2012, about 120 members of the Committee on Design went to Columbus, Indiana for our spring conference. Together we explored the architecture of the community, talked with many of the architects who designed the projects, and met with citizens who have been active in championing modern architecture. We also discussed and considered how to measure design excellence. The following film was created by Boaz Ashkenazy and his crew at Studio216 as an overview of what we saw and experienced.
For a guide of the projects we saw, and the people we met, please see the Committee on Design to Columbus, Indiana here.
Memorable Quotes From The COD Spring Conference
May 10, 2012
Photo: Pre-Conference Symposium: What is Architectural Design Excellence?By Aaron Trahan, COD Spring Conference Knowledge Scholar
The AIA Committee On Design Spring Conference began with an opening symposium, hosted by the Indiana University Center for Art + Design. The speakers began discussions during this symposium that became the theme for the rest of the conference: What Is Architectural Design Excellence? Throughout, I made a point of writing down memorable quotes that I felt captured the theme of a moderated discussion or a point that our invited panelists were trying to make.
The conference featured moderated and informal discussions with Susan Szenasy of Metropolis, Will Bruder, architect from Phoenix, Ed Feiner, FAIA of Perkins+Will, formerly with the GSA Design Excellence Program, and Jane Weinzapfel, FAIA of Leers Weinzapfel in Boston. We were also honored to hear from Gunnar Birkerts as well as Ben And Cynthia Weese. In noting these quotes, I chose not to credit a specific person to each one. Throughout the conference, we came to a general agreement that design excellence is not about personal style, trends, or celebrity. So I thought it fitting to consider these quotes a product of our discussions, and credit them to everyone who attended the Spring Conference.
It is interesting to note the progression of our theme through these quotes; they are listed chronologically.
Please feel free to comment on these, choose your favorite, or post one that resonated with you from the conference!
“Pragmatism doesn’t quite raise the hair on the back of your neck”
“Excellence in design makes you want to be there alone and together, at all times of the day”
“What is a building but a series of interior spaces?”
“When the human face is missing, that is not excellence”
“[Excellence] is probably the most overused word after professional”
“[Excellence] is clearly identifiable as an exemplary advancement for its time”
“Architecture is creating the membrane of space”
“An architect takes something circumstantial in our lives and makes it meaningful”
“Architects seem to think that they are the only ones asking the question of excellence”
“Cities are made more of background buildings than foreground buildings”
“Excellence is lyricism through complexity of situations”
“[Excellence in architecture] is not built, it’s born”
“[Design excellence] is harmony through juxtaposition; you understand the old and you understand the new.”
“When the style is a representation of the larger ideas within that building, then it becomes important”
“Style is a term that we apply retroactively”
“If anyone today sets out to create a style, they probably shouldn’t be practicing architecture”
“Maybe as architects we think we are more important than we really are”
“Having core principles about the way you work is essential”
“The cross disciplinary intent of [the younger] generation is powerful”
“Architecture in Columbus is a visual expression of community values”
Defining Architectural Design Excellence in a Measuring Society with Will Bruder, Tom Fisher, Ed Feiner, Jane Weinzapfel, Susan Szenasy, Anne Schopf
Join us at the AIA National Convention in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
The AIA Committee on Design (COD) is focused in 2012 on seeking definitions of architectural design excellence. Five prominent leaders of our profession have spent the past 10 months discussing and searching for those definitions. The definitions are important because they will allow architects to more clearly explain the value of their work to their clients and because architects will develop a greater shared understanding of architectural excellence and a greater ability to judge their own work as it develops. In addition, the presenters hope that attendees will contribute their own ideas. A related conversation is already under way in the COD Discussion Forum on the AIA.org Web site—a discussion that will continue long after this event. All architects invited to join that conversation.
Will Bruder is well known for his work in the southwest, and with projects now further afield brings an international perspective to the discussion. Tom Fisher is Professor of Architecture and Dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. He has taught, lectured, and written extensively about architecture over the last few decades. Ed Feiner was the instigator and leader of the GSD design excellence program and brings insight on how to achieve excellence in public architecture. Jane Weinzapfel, of Leers Weinzapfel, provides a grounded voice in how to design with difficult programs in complex locations. Susan Szenasy, editor of Metropolis Magazine, is not an architect and provides a public point of view on how to judge excellence. Anne Schopf, former Chair of COD and design partner at Mahlum Architects in Seattle will moderate the conversation. It promises to be rich with insightful perspectives and provocative candor.
This workshop is a primary fund-raiser for COD. The fees for this lecture help COD continue to support design excellence through our awards programs, publications, and conferences.
Wednesday, May 16 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Earn 3.75 CEH | Cost $155.00
Register for this event here.
The Committee On Design Is Going To Columbus, Indiana
April 5, 2012
Image provided by UnconfirmedBreakingNews.com
The Committee On Design is holding its Spring Conference in Columbus, Indiana April 12 – 15, 2012. COD Chair Mike Mense selected Columbus as part of his year’s theme: Defining Architectural Design Excellence.
His premise:
Why, after so many years of excellent public and commercial architecture in Columbus, Indiana, are there almost no modern houses?
Why, when you drive north from Florida’s South Beach passing miles and miles of waterfront houses, less than one percent are anything we would call architecture?
Why do Americans drive designer cars and drink designer coffee but live, most all of them, in a house or apartment that is pretending to be the home of some wealthy ancestors long deceased?
Are we determined as a profession to continue to define ourselves in ways that isolate us from the greater part of the society in which we practice?
Can we find some definitions of architectural excellence upon which we can agree and that we can explain successfully to the silent majority? Is it even something we want to do?
The exclusive opportunities for attendees to the Columbus Conference Include:
- The opportunity to meet and converse with many of the national and local architects who have worked in Columbus, Indiana, including Gunnar Birkerts, Ben and Cynthia Weese (representing Harry Weese), Daniel McCoubrey and Nancy Rogo Trainer (representing Robert Venturi), Ralph Johnson of Perkins+Will, Jane Weinzapfel, Kevin Kennon, Carlos Jimenez, Fred Koetter and Susie Kim.
- An open house tour, with personal photography allowed, of the Miller House and Gardens, “America’s most significant modernist house” per Travel+Leisure. The house showcases the collaborative design of leading 20th-century architects and designer: Eero Saarinen, Alexander Girard and Dan Kiley. You will be allowed to wander the house and gardens on your own, with docents available for information, instead of the limited guided tours. Personal photography is permitted, not allowed on public tours.
- Meet Will Miller, patron of modern architecture, son of J. Irwin Miller who commissioned the Miller House and started the renowned Cummins Foundation architectural program.
- The Cummins’ Friday evening reception and dinner at the Cummins Corporate Headquarters, designed by Kevin Roche, including tours of the workplace. Dinner provided by Cummins’ executive chef. You will also have the opportunity to meet and dine with Cummins executives and community leaders. Cummins Corporate Headquarters is a secured building and typically not open to the public except for the lobby.
- Tour Cummins midrange engine plant in Walesboro, an innovative sustainable design by Kevin Roche completed in 1973. Cummins facilities are not typically open to the public without special arrangements.
- If you have never been to Columbus, Indiana before, we will visit many of it’s unique collection of over 80 modern buildings, designed by nationally and internationally noted architects, including Eliel Saarinen, Eero Saarinen, I.M Pei, Harry Weese, Robert Venturi, Richard Meier, SOM and many more. Columbus was ranked 6th in the nation for innovation and architectural design by AIA members. It was ranked 11th by National Geographic Traveler’s on a list of 109 historic locations to visit worldwide.
- If you have previously visited Columbus, but not been back in the last 5-10 years, we will visit many new buildings and experience the ongoing redevelopment of the downtown, designed by noted architects Carlos Jimenez, Ralph Johnson, Deborah Berke, William Rawn, Cesar Pelli, Fred Koetter and Susie Kim.
Visit the COD website for more information and follow the conference on our Facebook page and Twitter feed.
