Designing for Good
To find sustainable solutions to tough issues facing our communities, the U of M is bringing together great minds from diverse disciplines—by design.

By Mary Winstead
For many people, design is about consumer trends: making things look more attractive or function more efficiently. But 21st century design is much more than just another pretty face. It’s a socially conscious discipline that is aiming to improve quality of life, solve problems of global significance, and sustain a healthier world.

U students designed and built this shade pavillion in a Biloxi, Mississippi park.

We’ve entered an age in which the practical imagination of designers adds value to a growing number of fields. So observes Tom Fisher, dean of the College of Design, who adds that designers are collaborating with experts from many disciplines to address such pressing issues as alternative sources of energy, shortages in affordable housing, and the need for eco-friendly urban planning.

Blueprint for Giving
The U.S. Department of Energy has chosen the U of M as one of 20 finalists participating in Solar Decathlon 2009, an international competition to develop the new solar energy technologies that will power the homes of the future. Public and private funding helped launch the project, and the team is hoping that additional gifts will provide the resources they need to compete in the design and construction of a home that harnesses the sun to heat, cool, and generate electricity.

In addition, fellowships are making it possible for students like Shengyin Xu to participate in Solar Decathlon. Xu is heading up the U’s team, which draws from architecture, engineering, and construction management. Recent recipient of a master’s degree in sustainability at the U – one of the nation’s first – Xu is one of many students being trained to meet the growing need for professional sustainability coordinators who will create tomorrow’s more environmentally responsible homes, parks, and workplaces.

“Fellowships have allowed me to study one of the most important issues facing our future – sustainability,” Xu says. “The Solar Decathlon team will showcase the U’s sustainability expertise on a world stage.”

When finished in the fall of 2009, the home will be displayed at an International Solar Village on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Away from 'One Client, One Designer'
Socially responsible design also means finding solutions for people in underserved communities. Thanks to McKnight Foundation funding, the Direct Design Assistance (DDA) program offers design expertise to at-risk communities. “We’re working with several urban neighborhoods,” says Katie Thering, whose fellowship is also funded by McKnight. DDA helps residents identify their goals and make plans to revitalize blighted urban spaces.

“Right now we’re helping the Jordan neighborhood in North Minneapolis to design a bikeway,” she adds. “This will go a long way towards meeting community goals to increase safety and boost property values. The neighbors also want to develop stronger pedestrian connections and create an attractive place of neighborhood pride.”

Charity Gulf Event
Other outreach efforts are extending to Gulf Coast communities still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Catherine Sandlund, who received both the Pesek Fellowship and the Ron Krank Vision Award in architecture, worked with a team of U students and faculty to help residents rebuild a park in Biloxi, Mississippi.

With input from community members, the team designed and built a multi-generational green space, where kids now enjoy a playground they helped design (making handprints in the concrete blocks that border the play area), beside a community garden where older residents can sit in shady comfort, watching both their gardens and grandchildren thrive.

“One woman told me that she didn’t feel safe in the old park. Now she brings her granddaughter to the new park every afternoon,” Sandlund says. “My fellowship gave me the confidence to do this. It was an affirmation of my chosen field of study.”

As needs for such basics as better shelter, people-centered cities and a healthier environment become more urgent, design is providing a focal point for collaborative action. “Preparing students to design effective and sustainable solutions is one of our top challenges,” Fisher concludes. “We must rise to the occasion.”

Launch narrated slide show about Catherine Sandlund’s work in Biloxi

Mary Winstead is a U of M Foundation senior writer.

This story originally appeared in the fall 2008 issue of Legacy, a quarterly magazine for U of M donors and friends published by the University of Minnesota Foundation.