SPOKANE – Washington State University Interdisciplinary Design students are kicking off the spring semester with a charrette (an intense design and problem solving process of limited duration) to develop new ideas for a revitalized downtown Hillyard along North Market Street in Spokane.
The 24 teams of four students will meet Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. at The Old Hillyard Variety Store, 5009 N. Market Street, to tour the area and learn what their designs will need to incorporate. The goal is to enrich the area for living, working, playing and learning.
With knowledge of the community, the teams will design a revitalized Hillyard downtown that is pedestrian friendly, meets the daily needs of all age groups, and fosters an entrepreneurial culture for the production of goods and services for sale to national and global markets.
The teams will present their design scenarios to a panel of judges comprised of Hillyard residents, business owners and local design professionals on Jan. 12 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Riverpoint Campus: 668 North Riverpoint Boulevard, Design Institute Gallery, Phase I Classroom.
The results of the charrette will constitute a semester long project involving landscape architecture, architecture and interior design students. The semester project will anticipate the trends of peak oil, water issues, aging society, and health beginning with a master plan that considers the economic and social revitalization of Hillyard in a time of global change. During the latter part of the semester the project will gain direction for a more detailed look at building complexes and interior design as noted by the Hillyard residents, business leaders and a group of Rogers High School students.
The student teams are encouraged to use computer graphics or freehand drawings to illustrate how Hillyard’s new business district could look. While contributing to the overall design process and final products, they will have two responsibilities: identify activities and businesses that would make downtown Hillyard an exciting and enriching place and to locate and plan the layout of a new school for high school juniors and seniors.
“One of the many unique things about this project is using the global issues as our guide,” said Bob Scarfo, associate professor at the Interdisciplinary Design Institute. “This is a unique venture. Very few projects take into account the global issue trends or actually incorporate them into a project.”
For more information, contact Bob Scarfo (509)358-7913 or scarfo@wsu.edu
