Project Description
As a source of inspiration for the 2018-19 cycle of programming, Exhibit Columbus looked to the 1986 exhibition, Good Design and the Community: Columbus, Indiana, created by the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. when Columbus businessman and philanthropist J. Irwin Miller became the first person inducted into their Hall of Fame.
That exhibition honored the Miller family’s legacy of servant leadership and the entire city’s commitment to make Columbus the best community of its size. When profiled by the Washington Post that year, Mr. Miller chose to emphasize the community’s process and involvement in building, rather than the architecture itself, as a source of his hometown pride: “Architecture is something you can see. You cannot see a spirit or a temperament or a character, though, and there is an invisible part of this community of which I am very proud because, in a democracy, I think that the process is more important than the product.”
Elaborating on the connection between the tangible and intangible culture that Mr. Miller described, Exhibit Columbus explores the idea of “good design and the community” and what it means today. The 2019 exhibition expands on these ideas in a tangible way by inviting architects, artists, and designers to create public, site-responsive installations and experiences that use Columbus’ built heritage as inspiration and context, while highlighting the intangible role that a visionary community plays in growing a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable city.
The J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize
The Miller Prize was created to honor J. Irwin Miller and his wife Xenia S. Miller, two of the twentieth century’s greatest patrons of architecture, design, and art, and a “family whose visionary commitment to community remains unparalleled.” The Miller Prize is the center piece of Exhibit Columbus. The J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize is the centerpiece of Exhibit Columbus’ exhibition and symposium, and recipients are international leaders selected for their commitment to the transformative power that architecture, art, and design has to improve people’s lives and make cities better places to live. With this award, Exhibit Columbus brings studios’ unique perspectives to Columbus to explore the traditions and values that have created this city’s internationally-renowned design legacy. Each studio is paired with a significant downtown site to create new forms that allow us to rediscover their purpose, while further connecting people to place and community.
2019 Miller Prize Recipients:
-Agency Landscape + Planning (Cambridge, MA)
Site: AT&T Facility, 1978, Paul Kennon of Caudill Rowlett Scott
-Bryony Roberts Studio (New York, NY)
Site: Columbus City Hall, 1981, Edward Charles Bassett, Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill
-Frida Escobedo Studio (Mexico City, Mexico)
Site: Cleo Rogers Memorial Library Plaza, 1971, I.M. Pei and Partners
-MASS Design Group (Boston, MA; Kigali, Rwanda)
Site: Central Middle School, 2007, Ralph Johnson of Perkins + Will
-SO-IL (New York, NY)
Site: Bartholomew County Courthouse Lawn, 1871-74, Isaac Hodgson
Washington Street Civic Projects:
Borderless Studio (Chicago)
Extrapolation Factory (New York)
LA Más (Los Angeles)
People for Urban Progress (Indianapolis)
PienZa Sostenible (Mexico City)
University Design Research Fellows:
These fellowships were created to showcase current research by leading professors of architecture and design and highlight innovative research that explores ways that architecture and design can improve people’s lives and make cities stronger
Viola Ago and Hans Tursack (Ohio State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Sean Ahlquist (University of Michigan)
Christopher Battaglia (Ball State University)
Sean Lally and Matthew Wizinsky (University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Cincinnati)
Daniel Luis Martinez and Etien Santiago (Indiana University)
Marshall Prado (University of Tennessee)
High School Design Team
Columbus’ architectural legacy and its impact on the community started with investments made in the schools. The commissioning of innovative, well-designed educational facilities helped create what can be seen today: a quality, forward-thinking educational system. Inspired by J. Irwin Miller’s vision, Exhibit Columbus seeks to connect the next generation of the Columbus community to its design heritage through the High School Design Team.
Environmental design and Wayfinding
Thirst is designing a system that provides a cohesive experience that connects each installation.
The Environmental Design and Wayfinding of the 2019 Exhibition unified the many facets of the exhibition through a system of color-coded installation kiosks and an exhibition guide design by Thirst, with complimentary guides in the form of a Family Activity Guide designed by Rosten Woo, and the Hear/Here app created by Halsey Burgund. Exhibit Columbus considers Environmental Design and Wayfinding as the 18th installation as it forms a continuous language that serves to inspire, educate, and connect to Exhibit Columbus’ purpose and the exhibition theme.
Publications, mobile app, and videos
Exhibit Columbus sought to provide an enjoyable and meaningful experience for all ages[11]. The Family Activity Guide, designed by Rosten Woo, invited children and families to learn about and interact with the exhibition, as well as interpret Columbus’ design heritage.
Hear/Here is an interactive location-based audio app that offers an aural exploration of the exhibition and invites visitors to upload their own voices. Historic audio clips, insights from community members, and interviews with exhibition participants come together in the Hear/Here app––creating a new way to interact with the exhibition and experience the city’s design legacy.