NYC DESIGN Talks at The Cooper Union | May 15

Friday, May 15, 2015, 11am - 8:30pm

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The first of a two-day event on Friday 15 May and Saturday 16 May

Join the celebration of design during NYCxDESIGN at an free, public talk series depicting the nurturing relationships between city agencies and initiatives, the design industries and the community.

In coordination with a number of lively interactive events taking place at Alamo Plaza at Astor Place from May 15th to 17th, The Cooper Union opens its doors to this discussion platform of relevant cultural and commercial issues.

These city-centric talks will increase awareness of and appreciation for design, spanning all design disciplines from graphic and product design to architecture, urban planning and public art.  

Learn about the New York City design ecosystem, how these relationships are shaping the city at large, and what enhancements and growth are in store for the future.  

FREE ADMISSION. Open to all. Limited seating. First come first seated. Doors open 1/2 hour prior to each program starting time.

This event is co-sponsored by Shaw & Co. Productions and The Cooper Union


Program Schedule

 
Friday, May 15th
The Cooper Union
Frederick P. Rose Auditorium
41 Cooper Square, on Third Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets
 
11:00 - 12:00 pm - doors open at 10:30
Presented by CODAworx           
 
1:00 - 2:00 pm - doors open at 12:30
Presented by the New York City Economic Development Corporation  
 
3:00 - 4:00 pm - doors open at 2:30 pm
Presented by the New York City Economic Development Corporation   
 
4:30 - 5:30 pm - doors open at 4:00
Presented by Architectural Record and Van Alen Institute   
 
6:00-7:00 pm  - doors open at 5:30 pm
Presented by AIGA/NY       
 
7:30 - 8:30 pm - doors open at 7:00
Presented by the Design Trust for Public Space       

 

11:00 - 12:00 pm - doors open at 10:30
Presented by CODAworx
Powered by Collaboration
“The only way you can achieve something magnificent is by working with other people.”…Reed Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn
 
Collaboration is the watchword of our times, and the concept is being embraced by the world of art and design.  Large-scale projects by artists, created in collaboration with designers, architects, clients, and often, the ultimate users of the space, are emerging as an important new paradigm in the design of environments.  
 
Architects, designers, curators, and artists involved in making beautiful buildings, spaces, and objects for the public domain, are in search of resources and the means for connection.  What constitutes effective collaborations is a complex matter.
 
Explore the collaboration process with an informed panel of artists and design professionals who will share their stories of how art becomes an instrument to help generate ideas, solve problems, enhance the spatial experience, and activate participation.
 
Panelists:
Julie Conway, Artist/Designer Owner, Illuminata Art Glass Design
Malcolm Holzman, Architect Partner, Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture
Paul Housberg, Artist Principal, Glass Project
Kevin Walz, Designer/Artist Principal, Walzworkinc
 
Moderator:
Toni Sikes, CoFounder CEO, CODAworx

 

1:00 - 2:00 pm - doors open at 12:30
Presented by the New York City Economic Development Corporation
New York’s Next Top Makers: New Models of Making
 
New tools and platforms aren’t just changing how we prototype products, but how we design businesses around them. Hear from New York’s Next Top Makers Fellows, entrepreneurs growing their product businesses in NYC with financial, technical and operational assistance from NYCEDC community partners and sponsors. Starting with prototypes just six months ago, each of these teams has taken a different approach to building businesses around their products, experimenting with new ways of making, sharing and selling.
 
New York’s Next Top Makers is an NYCEDC program that encourages innovation and local manufacturing in NYC by assisting a cohort of selected fellows to establish their businesses and increasing public access to new technology and resources.
 
Panelists:
William Watts, Founder, BlackBox Manufacturing
Stephan von Muehlen, CEO, Poursteady
Nicolas Vansick, CEO, BotFactory
 
Moderator:
Alison Hodgson, Assistant Vice President, NYCEDC

 

3:00 - 4:00 pm - doors open at 2:30 pm
Presented by the New York City Economic Development Corporation
Making New York City Affordable for Artists
 
Is there still room for artists to live, thrive and create in New York City? 
Can we attract new artists to come to NYC and continue to make it the cultural capital of the world?
 
Mayor DeBlasio announced a city-wide Task Force regarding artist live and work spaces in his State of the City address.  At this session, the Mayor’s Task Force on Affordable Living and Working Spaces for Artists will report on city-wide strategies and policies to retain artists and attract more artists to come live and make their work in New York City; calling for cultural partners, tenants and developers. 
 
Panelists:
Elaine Braithwaite, Policy Advisor, Office of the Mayor, City of New York
Daniel Hernandez, Deputy Commissioner for Neighborhood Strategies, Housing Preservation and Development, City of New York
Shirley Levy, Chief of Staff, Department of Cultural Affairs, City of New York
Ana Ariño, Senior VP, Strategic Planning, NYC Economic Development Corporation
 
Moderator: 
Matthew Kwatinetz, Senior VP, Real Estate Transactions, NYC Economic Development Corporation

  
4:30 - 5:30 pm - doors open at 4:00
Presented by Architectural Record and Van Alen Institute
Design Competitions: Are They Good for Designers?
 
What does the architectural community really think about design competitions?   
 
Across the country, government agencies, cultural institutions, non-profit organizations, and even private developers are turning to design competitions to create bold visions and implementable plans for new buildings and open spaces, and to develop solutions to complex economic, ecological, and social challenges. Competitions can mobilize thousands of talented people across disciplines to creatively tackle pressing challenges. They can also be wasteful, exploitative, and not fully transparent.  
 
How can competitions be used most effectively, what models have proven to be the most innovative, and how will future competitions shape cities and regions across the world? The panel brings together designers, organizers, and government officials to discuss strategies for getting the best outcomes for the built environment, the public interest, and design, drawing on input from more than 1,400 designers who responded to The Architectural Record / Van Alen Institute Design Competition Survey.
 
Panelists: 
David van der Leer, Executive Director, Van Alen Institute
Stephen Cassell, Principal, Architectural Research Office 
Jing Liu, Principal, SO-IL
 
Moderator:
Clifford Pearson, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Architectural Record

 

6:00-7:00 pm  - doors open at 5:30 pm
Presented by AIGA/NY 
Legible, Visible, Navigable: Graphic Designers Help Shape New York Communities
 
When disaster strikes NYC, can designers add relief to suffering communities?   
 
AIGA/NY presents the final case study of Design/Relief, a creative place making initiative supported by ArtPlace, which addressed communication and information sharing challenges in three waterfront neighborhoods of New York seriously affected by Superstorm Sandy. 
 
A selection of project designers, community representatives, strategists and storytellers involved in the three Design/Relief projects in Red Hook, Rockaway and South Street Seaport will discuss their experiences, lessons and vision for the role graphic design can play in improving lives in urban communities. 
 
Panelists:
Alicia Cheng, Designer and Co-founder, MGMT 
Tony Schloss, Director of Community Initiatives, Red Hook Initiative
Daniel Latorre, Founder, The Wise City
Milan Taylor, CEO, Rockaway Youth Task Force
B. Tyler Silvestro, Managing Director, W Architecture
Catherine McVay Hughes, Chair, Manhattan Community Board 1
 
Moderator:   
Laetitia Wolff, Program Director for Civic Initiatives, AIGA/NY

 

7:30 - 8:30 pm - doors open at 7:00
Presented by the Design Trust for Public Space
Under the Elevated
 
Have you ever walked underneath an elevated highway, rail, or subway line, such as the Brooklyn Queens Expressway or 2/5 train line in the Bronx, and wondered how changes in the illumination, sound and spatial arrangement could reshape the atmosphere, mood and experience of the locale and neighborhood?  
 
A panel discussion about optimizing, reclaiming and transforming the space under NYC's elevated infrastructure, which stretches nearly 700 miles. The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Design Trust for Public Space are exploring the potential of millions of square feet below the city's bridges, highways, subway tracks and rail lines.
 
The resulting project, Under the Elevated, has aimed to develop innovative strategies for managing and redesigning the space defined by elevated infrastructure, or “el-space,” effectively creating multifunctional uses that provide alternative ways of moving through the city. Latest updates from the project will be shared and discussed.
 
Panelists:
Neil Gagliardi, Director of Urban Design, Urban Design & Art & Wayfinding, NYC Department of Transportation
Susannah Drake, Design Trust Urban Design Fellow for Under the Elevated;  Principal, dlanstudio architecture + landscape architecture
Chat Travieso, Design Trust Participatory Design Fellow for Under the Elevated
Rosamond Fletcher, Program Director, Design Trust for Public Space
 
Moderator :
James S. Russell, Architecture Critic and Journalist
 

Located in the Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, at 41 Cooper Square (on Third Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets)

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.