VPA design students to participate in Metropolis Magazine competition on curing energy addiction; 10 finalist teams will present designs Jan. 19

VPA design students to participate in Metropolis Magazine competition on curing energy addiction; 10 finalist teams will present designs Jan. 19January 14, 2009Erica Blustesblust@syr.edu

Industrial and interaction design and interior design students in the Department of Design in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) are competing this week on campus in the Metropolis Magazine Next Generation(r) Design Competition. Thirty student teams are working in the format of a charrette-a short but intense design project-to consider how our daily activities could be modified to break our cycle of energy addiction.

Ten teams will be selected as finalists by a jury of faculty and will present their work on Monday, Jan. 19, from 6-8 p.m. in Shemin Auditorium in the Dorothea Ilgen Shaffer Art Building. The University community is invited to attend. The top three projects will be awarded cash prizes provided by the Syracuse Center of Excellence (CoE) and will be forwarded to the Metropolis competition.

“As a collective group of students, professors and University experts, we believe there’s a wealth of knowledge at SU that can-and should-be directed toward this competition,” says Don Carr, associate professor of industrial and interaction design and one of the charrette organizers.

The charrette features a variety of guest speakers, including Edward A. Bogucz Jr., executive director of the Syracuse CoE; Rachel May, director of the Office of Environment and Society in the Center for Environmental Policy and Administration at the Maxwell School; Mike Kelleher, director of renewable energy systems for the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Sarah Kelsen, graduate student at SUNY-ESF; Patrick Govan, e2e Materials, LLC; Steve Lloyd, chief sustainability officer with the SU Energy and Computing Management Division of Sustainability; Tracie Hall, executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council, New York Upstate Chapter; and Kevin and Steve Stack, Northeast Natural Homes. All faculty from the industrial and interaction design and interior design programs as well as from VPA’s COLAB are also participating.

The Metropolis Next Generation Design Competition has promoted activism, social involvement and entrepreneurship in design since 2003 and is supported this year by sponsors ASSA ABLOY, Herman Miller Inc. and Sherwin-Williams. Metropolis will award the winner a $10,000 prize to be used as seed money to develop the winning design idea. The winner will be featured in the May 2009 issue of the magazine and on http://metropolismag.com.

For more information about the competition, contact Lucinda Havenhand, chair of the Department of Design, at lkhavenh@syr.edu.

VPA is committed to the education of cultural leaders who will engage and inspire audiences through performance, visual art, design, scholarship and commentary. The college provides the tools for self-discovery and risk-taking in an environment that thrives on critical thought and action. Learn more at http://vpa.syr.edu.