Host: Pennsylvania State University
Year: 2002
Theme: “Good Deeds, Good Design”
Panelists: Tom Dutton, Kim Tanzer, Sergio Palleroni, Jae Cha, Dan Pitera, Teddy Cruz, Kent Spreckelmeyer, Danny Samuels, Deborah Gans and Matthew Jelacic, Scott Ball, Peter Wolk, Michael Rios
Keynotes: Ken Reardon, James Wines
Screening: “The Rural Studio” and discussion with co-director
Opening Remarks
By Jeff Evans
In the absence of good design, it is easy to say it is not important. People make due, they endow space with meaning beyond anything a designer can plan for. Community can still be found in the most humble of spaces–a child can still smile in the barest of dwellings, and a teacher can provide for his or her students in most conditions. Do circumstances guarantee or prevent success? I cannot answer that question. As a matter of fact, I struggle to answer one simple question, is design important?
I cannot assume to know why everyone chose to attend this particular conference, but I do fell that we share a common bond. We engage in advocacy work or fight for changes that we never dreamed would be a part of our scope of work. We are told design is frivolous, or that art is incredibly valuable. We are asked if beauty is only eye candy for us and other designers, or if the community will grow to need it as well. We are asked what is more valuable–the process or the end product. We see the realities of the living conditions of those we work with, and still dream great things. We realize that the answers are often located outside of our projects within broader social, political, cultural, and environmental questions.
SFI2 doesn’t claim to answer all of these difficult questions once and for all. Instead, we hope to present inspiring projects, to provide a forum for discussion of these questions and to teach designers skills that will allow them to forge their own answers to these questions. This conference is special because of the people that are here in attendance. Each of us has grappled with some very difficult questions about our future careers. The process of finding our answers and our answers themselves can be of great benefit to the other people in the room and to those that were not able to join us today.