April 20, 2011
School of Architecture planning Design Day 2011
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- It will be a “homecoming,” of sorts, for Design Day 2011 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Saturday, April 30.
Visitors will have the opportunity to see exhibits and work of students in the three programs that comprise the School of Architecture all within the confines of Quigley Hall, home to the Architectural Studies, Fashion Design and Merchandising, and Interior Design programs. Previous Design Day events have been at the Student Center.
In addition to the location change, the exhibit, open from 1 to 5 p.m., is on a Saturday this year. Organizers believe the day change will also serve as an Open House for community college students, along with high school students and their parents who are interested in the programs.
The varied exhibits in the Quigley Gallery and Courtyard offer a wide range of student work, including models and plans of architecture projects, interior floor plans and original garments. There is also a series of experimental design garments made from recycled materials, including grocery bags, film strips, bubble wrap, duct tape, cardboard, and a wide variety of other non-fabric materials, according to event organizers.
Media Advisory
Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to cover Design Day 2011 activities. For more information, contact Laura Kidd and David J. White, associate professors in the School of Architecture by phone at 618/453-3734, or by email at lkidd@siu.edu or djwhite@siu.edu, respectively.
Each of the programs offers individual events during the year but, “collectively this is the largest event we have every year,” said David J. White, an associate professor in the architecture and interior design program.
“It’s a concerted effort and everyone is involved,” White said.
The various gallery and courtyard exhibits will be open for viewing beginning at 1 p.m. At 2 p.m., Walter V. Wendler, director of the School of Architecture, will award the School of Architecture’s Design Excellence Awards to student designers from each program. He will also recognize students who earned other scholarships, honors and awards throughout the year, and recognize those involved with producing Design Day 2011.
There will be two runway fashion shows, the first beginning at 3 p.m. in Quigley Auditorium. The fashion shows will feature the annual “red and black” segment, and the original works of graduating senior fashion design students Alina Liwo, Shakira Quilter, and Cassandra Simpson. Liwo is from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Quilter is from Chicago, and Simpson is from Pleasant Plains.
Laura Kidd, associate professor in the fashion design and merchandising program, said students decide on their fashion lines during the fall semester and then work on them during the spring semester -- with each line featuring a minimum of eight garments. Students are in charge of sewing and fittings and finding their own models. The work is comparable to “Project Runway.” Students are also responsible for presenting a collection and completing a portfolio.
“Having this event on a Saturday may allow people from Southern Illinois to come and visit these excellent programs and meet the faculty and staff that make them possible,” Wendler said. “People will be impressed with what they see. I guarantee it.”
White and Kidd said the move to Quigley Hall from the Student Center provides an intimate setting to show off the programs within the School of Architecture. Both added that they appreciate the time at the Student Center, but that the renovated gallery in Quigley gives students and faculty an opportunity to show off the facility.
“For the people who participate it’s a really nice way to stay home, and it brings the school a stronger identity,” White said. “It also gives us the benefit of select studios being open where students will be working on final projects. People can walk through and really see the work in progress rather than just a model.”
For more information on Design Day 2011, contact the School of Architecture at 618/453-3734.