Design Students Help City Envision New Home for Looff Carousel

SPOKANE, Wash.—Fall classes for WSU Spokane’s Interdisciplinary Design Institute kicked off with the 10th Annual Fall Design Charrette. Seeking to replace the home of the historic Looff Carousel in Riverfront Park, the city of Spokane teamed up with the Design Institute for the charette in order to jump-start design ideas for the facility and surrounding area. The 48 hour intensive competition united students in architecture, interior design and landscape architecture in a collaborative effort to design a new home for the carousel.

“We were really excited to see what new ideas the students would present,” said Bette Largent, president of National Carousel Association. “It was fascinating to see the excellent work that transpired in such a short amount of time.”

Within the first three hours of the competition, students were divided into 28 teams and charged with the task of envisioning a new carousel building that would enhance the experience of Riverfront Park and the Looff Carousel while emphasizing the synergy between Riverfront Park and the city of Spokane. They also received a general overview of the historical aspects of the carousel and Riverfront Park, and had a chance to experience the carousel and its surroundings first-hand during a site visit.

After taking a few of the horses for a spin and absorbing all of the surroundings at Riverfront Park, the students worked for the next 45 hours to develop their design concepts. The designs—communicated through a series of images, drawings and text on a display board—were then judged by a panel of professionals from the university and the Spokane community. Eight teams received awards:  the Honor award, the Merit award, and six Judges Choice awards.

“The multiple scales and historical aspects of this project proved to be good challenges for the charrette,” said Todd Beyreuther, visiting assistant professor for the Interdisciplinary Design Institute. “The students did a great job managing the complexity of the problem to propose thoughtful and sometimes innovative design concepts.”

The winning team (Jason Bushman—architecture, Liliya Rusavskaya—interior design, Bianna Musser—interior design, and Rachel Aust—interior design) captured the meaning of this project with “Go for the Gold Ring” and took home the Honor Award which is the highest level award acknowledging distinctive character and outstanding merit.

Their design concept incorporated the use of rings and the idea of reaching for the prize—throughout history, when one captures the gold ring, they win a free ride. This concept was used throughout the building, from the glass rings in the ceiling to reflect the light, to the circular design of the building, and a “reaching” staircase leading to a better view of the Spokane River. Even the new proposed location of Skyridge Meadow in Riverfront Park integrated the notion of reaching. The design combines the traditional space for the carousel and new facilities that enhance the overall experience with historical education and most importantly a gathering destination for welcoming Spokane’s visitors and community members.

“This project was not just about creating a building to house the carousel,” said Darrin Griechen, visiting assistant professor for the Interdisciplinary Design Institute. “It was also about creating a special sense of place within the park and the city. The students accomplished this very well.” (First Place Honor Award Design Board.pdf)

To view the students’ design work, visit the Gallery in the Phase I Classroom Building on the Riverpoint Campus at 668 N Riverpoint Blvd. Their work will be on display until September 12.

About the Interdisciplinary Design Institute
The Interdisciplinary Design Institute at WSU Spokane advances knowledge to enhance the quality of people’s lives in the built and natural environment through interdisciplinary instruction, research and community service. Research and design at the institute focus in particular on people and place, design history and community service learning, with sustainable design being the theme throughout the curriculum. Faculty and students from all design disciplines are brought together for a one-of-a-kind opportunity in higher learning and discovery. Internationally renowned faculty and students from architecture, interior design and landscape architecture work collaboratively to improve people’s lives through the advancement of design. This distinctive interdisciplinary experience, combined with state-of-the-art facilities located near downtown Spokane, creates an outstanding professional academic and research environment.

About WSU Spokane
WSU Spokane is the urban campus of Washington State University, a land-grant research university founded in 1890. The campus features advanced studies and research in health sciences and health professions, the design disciplines, education, social and policy sciences and science and technology. WSU is one of just 95 public and private research universities with very high research activity, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifications. In addition, U.S. News & World Report ranks WSU as one of the top public research universities in the nation.

Web sites:
National Carousel Association:  www.nca.usa.org
Interdisciplinary Design Institute:  www.idi.spokane.wsu.edu
WSU Spokane:  www.spokane.wsu.edu
Past news release on Interdisciplinary Design:  www.news.spokane.wsu.edu

Awards:

Honor Award:
Jason Bushman – Architecture; Liliya Rusavskaya – Interior Design; Brianna Musser – Interior Design; Rachel Aust – Interior Design.

Merit Award:
Jennifer Hohlbein – Architecture; Predrag Maksic – Masters of Interior Design; Jill Sampson – Interior Design; Jessica Roe – Interior Design.