Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Designing for the United Nations

Tuesday, January 21, 2020, By Paula Meseroll
Share
College of Visual and Performing Arts
students looking at papers on a display board

School of Design students review their group’s work on plans for a United National pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai.

It was a coincidence that resulted not only in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) design students, but a first for the college’s School of Design itself. Rebecca Kelly, assistant professor of communications design, was looking for ways to engage her students in a real-life design project, with emphasis on the need for future designers to think and work globally. At the same time, the United Nations was seeking assistance in designing its presence for Expo 2020 Dubai, highlighting the organization’s 75 years of existence. By pure happenstance, Kelly saw the U.N.’s general call to universities for help designing the exhibition “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.” She responded, offering all of the design majors as collaborators with the international organization, and was accepted.

To create the project’s parameters, Kelly worked with colleagues throughout the School of Design—Marc Stress, communications design; Seyeon Lee, environmental and interior design; Meriel Stokoe, museum studies; and Louise Manfredi, industrial and interaction design. “It was the first time the entire School of Design collaborated in a single, international project,” she says.

During the course of the semester, that spirit of unified purpose flourished among the students, as well. “My biggest take-away from this project was the power of collaboration,” says Emily Braunstein ’21, a communications design major. “Working with students from other majors allowed me to see all of the disciplines in progress and witness the power of a community. We all brought our skills and design capabilities to create something we were proud of.”

During the semester-long course, the students worked in teams to create five different design concepts, complete with three-dimensional (3D) mock-ups. Close attention was paid to making the designs conceptually sound, visually attractive, engaging and interactive, and physically accessible. “We lived, breathed and dreamt about this project for months,” says Jane Ciminera ’21, a dual major in communications design and women and gender studies. “It was truly an amazing experience working on an interdisciplinary project—especially with the environmental design students. They helped us to be more aware of accessibility standards when designing a space—creating renderings, floor and ceiling plans, and mood boards for us all to explore.”

Firmly believing that the students deserved to showcase their talent before the client, Kelly was determined to raise the funds needed to bring nearly 60 of them to the U.N. “Thanks to our generous funders, we raised more than $6,000 to give students the invaluable experience of actually presenting their work—in person—to U.N. representatives at their headquarters in New York City,” says Kelly, who kept the funding secret, then surprised the students with an announcement that they were all going to the United Nations. She laughs, recalling the challenges of getting all those people, as well as the 3D mock-ups, through stringent U.N. security.

Attending the student presentation on Dec. 4, 2019, were Maher Nasser, director of outreach division and commissioner-general of the U.N. at Expo 2020; Jayashri Wyatt, special assistant to the director and chief of exhibits at the U.N. Department of Global Communications; Amanda White, creative director of the U.N. Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai; and Trine Schmidt, associate expert in communications and partnerships at the U.N. Department of Global Communications.

Schmidt notes that while the U.N. has a long history of collaborating with universities, this was the first time the organization worked with students who collaborated across various disciplines to design a U.N. pavilion. “We were very impressed with the insights, rational and designs presented to us by the teams,” she says. “When we presented the challenge to Professor Kelly in early 2019, we didn’t dare expect the amazing results we saw. VPA proved to be an ideal partner, as the faculty involved understood the significance of the work of the U.N. in tackling global challenges, as well as the design challenge itself.”

Due to open with more than 190 pavilions in October 2020, Expo 2020 Dubai will have widespread exposure, drawing millions of visitors from around the world. Kelly expects the strong connections forged with the U.N. during this project to produce long-term benefits for VPA and Syracuse University, which have already received positive publicity through social media posts by U.N. representatives. “The best projects are always those that lead to others,” she says. “For a program to earn open-ended future collaboration with such a prominent and renowned partner—that’s my idea of a best-case scenario.”

Emily B. Pearson ’21, an environmental and interior design major, is grateful to the design professors and the United Nations for giving the students the chance to take part in such an impressive, real-life project. “Developing and presenting ideas for the United Nations pavilion at Expo 2020 was an opportunity we never thought we would have,” she says. “Presenting our work at the U.N.—and seeing our designs used to change the world—really put into perspective the many opportunities we have here as VPA students.”

  • Author

Paula Meseroll

  • Recent
  • Ian ’90 and Noah Eagle ’19 Share a Love of Sportscasting and Storytelling (Podcast)
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By John Boccacino
  • Blackstone LaunchPad Founders Circle Welcomes New Members
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Japan’s Crackdown on ‘Shiny’ Names Sparks Cultural Reflection
    Tuesday, June 3, 2025, By Keith Kobland
  • The Milton Legacy: Romance, Success and Giving Back
    Monday, June 2, 2025, By Eileen Korey
  • 5 Tips to Protect Your Health and Prepare for Worsening Air Conditions
    Monday, June 2, 2025, By Daryl Lovell

More In Arts & Culture

Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’

Syracuse Stage concludes its 2024-25 season with the world premiere production of “The National Pastime,” a provocative psychological thriller about state secrets, sonic weaponry, stolen baseball signs and the father and son relationship in the middle of it all. Written…

Syracuse Stage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival

Syracuse Stage is pleased to announce that the inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival will be held at the theatre this June. Formerly known as the Cold Read Festival of New Plays, the festival will feature a work-in-progress reading and…

Light Work Opens New Exhibitions

Light Work has two new exhibitions, “The Archive as Liberation” and “2025 Light Work Grants in Photography, that will run through Aug. 29. “The Archive as Liberation” The exhibition is on display in the Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery at Light…

Spelman College Glee Club to Perform at Return to Community: A Sunday Gospel Jazz Service June 29

As the grand finale of the 2025 Syracuse International Jazz Fest, the Spelman College Glee Club of Atlanta will perform at Hendricks Chapel on Sunday, June 29. The Spelman College Glee Club, now in its historic 100th year, is the…

Alumnus, Visiting Scholar Mosab Abu Toha G’23 Wins Pulitzer Prize for New Yorker Essays

Mosab Abu Toha G’23, a graduate of the M.F.A. program in creative writing in the College of Arts and Sciences and a current visiting scholar at Syracuse University, has been awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for a series of essays…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.