A student team from the School of Design and Construction (SDC) recently unveiled their latest exhibit at the SDC Gallery in Carpenter Hall on the Pullman campus.
“It’s one thing to design something, but it’s another to be able to present it in a way that is cohesive with others’ designs,” said Ethan Baum, one of the 13 students on the SDC Gallery Team this semester.
The gallery experience is a part of an upper-division and graduate-level interior design course taught by SDC Associate Professor Carrie Vielle. Students meet once a week to brainstorm and collaboratively plan all aspects of the semester’s upcoming exhibits, which are generally rotated once every three to four weeks. The curriculum combines elements of exhibition curation, space planning and code requirements, display design, and installation strategies to best engage visitors in gallery environments.
The team is challenged to always keep each new exhibit fresh by featuring a range of “artifacts,” including research posters, three-dimensional models, process work and/or videos; but always presented in new and dynamic ways.
For student Emily Rader, working with the gallery team provides a perspective on the variety of design disciplines.
“It can be challenging,” she said. “The bigger the group, the more ideas we have, and everyone wants to be heard. So, we learn to compromise and collaborate.”
Working in a gallery builds skills that all designers can benefit from, says Vielle. The team works together to develop each exhibit, however never in the same way. The team is challenged to always keep each new exhibit fresh by featuring a range of “artifacts,” including research posters, three-dimensional models, process work and/or videos; but always presented in new and dynamic ways. Designing for this variety affords fantastic opportunities for collaborative experimentation.
For lead curator of the current exhibit, senior Steinar Goheen, the gallery design experience is a rare and valuable addition to the SDC curriculum.
“This usually happens only in graduate school,” he said. “This is important to me as I see myself going to the field of curation.”
The completed gallery exhibits provide a unique opportunity in which all SDC students get to learn about all four disciplines within the school, which include architecture, construction management, interior design, and landscape architecture. Each exhibition is celebrated with an opening reception, free to all WSU students and public at large, during which attendees can enjoy refreshments while listening to short, entertaining presentations about the projects being featured in that month’s exhibit.
When asked about prospective students, Vielle said the program is looking for students who are ready to collaborate and learn from each other.
“We are looking for highly creative thinkers and students who like pushing up their sleeves and working with their hands while learning the nuances of display design, visitor circulation, accessible viewing standards, and so much more,” she said.
The SDC’s most recent exhibit, “Contested Carbon: A History of Sustainable Design and the Path Forward” is being showcased through April 23.
