SCAD Sustainability Council presents “[Un]disciplined,” a series of lectures, discussions and workshops that take a multi-disciplinary approach to sustainability, Jan. 26-29. All events take place at River Club, 3 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Savannah. All events are free and open to the public.
TUESDAY, JAN. 26
The series begins Jan. 26 with an opening reception at 6:30 p.m. and keynote addresses from 7-9:30 p.m. Scheduled to speak are Matt Nolan, project architect for Belay Architecture in Tacoma, Wa.; Ursula Tischner, professor of Design for Sustainability at SCAD and CEO of Econcept, Germany; and Dror Benshetrit, multidisciplinary design, Dror, New York, NY.
To become familiar with Dror Benshetrit’s work is to increasingly understand the logic and process that drive his style. He thrives on uncovering the origins of movement while focusing on innovation in materials, technologies and geometries. His creations reflect a certain mode of living and well-being given greater definition and refinement by design.
Dror is an extension of Benshetrit’s work. Founded in 2002, Dror is a multidisciplinary design company specializing in product design, architecture and art direction. Dror’s client list includes Alessi, Bentley, Boffi, Bombay Sapphire, BBB Emmebonacina, Cappellini, Kiehl’s, Levi’s, Material Connexion, Maya Romanoff, Marithe + Francois Girbaud, Rosenthal, Skins Footwear, Yigal Azrouël, Shvo, Swarovski, and Target. Trained rigorously at the Design Academy Eidhoven, Dror cultivates originality in each project he adopts.
Benshetrit’s work has attracted attention from all major international publications. The Vase of Phases, his collaboration with Rosenthal, won the iF Product Design Award in 2006 and is included in the permanent collections of museums in North America, Europe and the Middle East. He has lectured widely and has exhibited without fail in Salone and ICFF since 2004. He is the youngest addition to Culture and Commerce, an agency representing such design luminaries as Phillipe Starck and Marcel Wanders.
Matt Nolan works as a project architect with Belay Architecture and is the head of their recently created LEED Consultant Services Group, which manages administration of both the in-house Belay Architecture projects and provides LEED AP services for other design/build teams and contractors. Through Belay Architecture, he is developing a niche market of introducing sustainable design practices to the US Army Corp of Engineers and to Navy Facilities Engineering Command. Around two years ago Belay Architecture began working with the Savannah District Corps of Engineers on the first of many Center of Standardization projects which were to be built in Washington State, all requiring sustainable technologies and a LEED Silver rating. They’ll be delivering the first building of that contract with a LEED Gold rating.
In addition to their projects with the Corps of Engineers, Belay Architecture has recently finished designing the new Olympia City Hall, which will be certified LEED Gold. Nolan was very involved in the project, both as the Architect’s LEED AP and as part of the design team. With the Navy, Belay has recently completed a LEED Gold Certified dormitory which gained local media attention and continued to Belay Architecture preparing a study of sustainable technologies which the Navy could utilize to reduce building energy use.
Ursula Tischner studied architecture and industrial design and specialized in eco- and sustainable design of products and services. After her master graduation in Germany she worked for four years at the German Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, where she was involved in developing concepts such as eco-efficiency, MIPS, Factor 4 and Factor 10, Ecodesign, Eco-Innovation etc. In 1996 she founded her own company, econcept, Agency for Sustainable Design, in Cologne. With econcept she carries out research and consulting projects with small and large companies and other organizations on sustainable- and eco-design and innovation.
She organizes several training and educational courses and programs, such as the Sustainable Design Program at the Design Academy Eindhoven, NL, and Ecodesign training courses, e.g. for the Electronic Industry in Korea, or the Furniture Industry in Australia. In 2010 she was appointed professor of sustainability design at SCAD. She publishes books and organizes conferences and networks around eco- and sustainable design, is member of design juries and standardization bodies such as ISO, and evaluator in European research programs.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 27
On Jan. 27, a panel discussion from 7-9 p.m. features professional journalists discussing how media coverage has shaped public understanding of sustainability. Scheduled to participate are Bill Dawers, columnist for the Savannah Morning News; Orlando Montoya, news producer for Georgia Public Broadcasting and Jim Morekis, editor in chief of Connect Savannah, The panel discussion is co-sponsored by SCAD’s chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists.
Bill Dawers has lived in Savannah since 1995 and has been writing freelance columns about civic life since 2000. His work appears in the Savannah Morning News and on SavannahNow.com three days a week. Dawers grew up in Frankfort, Ky., earned a B.A. and M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, and taught school in rural Massachusetts and in Philadelphia. In addition to his columns, he is an adjunct English instructor at Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Orlando Montoya is the Savannah-based news producer for Georgia Public Broadcasting. His reports can be heard across the state on GPB’s 16-station state-wide radio network and locally on WSVH 91.1 FM in Savannah and WWIO 88.9 FM in Brunswick. His beat is the entire Georgia coast, from Savannah to St. Mary’s, and includes such diverse issues as tropical storms, troop deployments, the environment, political scandals, education, art, music, history and culture. He is “the voice of the coast” for public radio listeners across the state and nation.
Jim Morekis is editor-in-chief of Connect Savannah, Savannah’s independent weekly newspaper. He is the author of several travel books about the region and currently serves on the city’s Cultural Affairs Commission.
THURSDAY, JAN. 28
On Jan. 28 from 7-9:30 p.m., representatives from local organizations working on sustainability issues will describe their efforts and explain opportunities for participation. Scheduled to speak are representatives from the Emergent Structures Project, the Savannah Bicycle Campaign, SCAD physical resources and others.
Presentation Schedule
7 p.m. Emergent Structures Project: Scott Boylston
7:15 p.m. Wind Turbines: R Campbell and Funfere Bodiowei Koroye
7:30 p.m. Savannah Bicycle Campaign: Larisa Varela
7:45 p.m. Question and answer session with presenters
8:15 p.m. New Moon Savannah: Jake Hodesh
8:30 p.m. Tybee Island Water Conservation Project: Conor McGlauflin, Mindy Abbruzzi, Clara Bunker and Ben Buglovsky
8:45 p.m. SCAD Physical Resources Department: John Housley
9 p.m. Question and answer session with presenters
FRIDAY, JAN. 29
Hands on workshops on a variety of subjects will invite participants to learn more about topics including bicycle design and modification, wind turbines and rainwater showers. Workshops will be held on Jan. 29 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Upstairs
10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Introduction to LEED (Seating is limited)
Downstairs
10 a.m. Bike Hacks: Learn how to modify your bike to make it safer and more functional.
11:15 a.m. Charrette: How to Make Savannah Greener
12:30 p.m. Film Screenings: “Dying Ocean,” presented by Mehmet Caglayan (16 min.), “Sea Breeze,” presented by Jenna Socha and Landon Armstrong (9 min.) “Cast-offs,” presented by Kyle Steineke (12 min.)
1:30 p.m. Build Your Own Wind Turbine
3 p.m. Charrette: Sustainable Design with Matt Nolan
[Un]disciplined is sponsored by the Office of Innovative Teaching and Learning and the Industrial Design Department.
E-mail: sustainability@scad.edu