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Design Revolution Road Show visits Cincinnati today

The Design Revolution Road Show is a traveling exhibition that has visited 22 schools and covered thousands of miles in the course of 75 days with just one mobile trailer. The exhibition is the brain child of Emily Pilloton who founded Project H Design – a San Francisco-based non-profit that focuses on design that improves health, habitats, humanity and happiness. The road show has taken Project H’s message on the road and will visit Cincinnati today.

Over the past two months the Design Revolution Road Show has traveled all over the country visiting high schools and colleges in an attempt to inspire students to step up and change the world. In addition to the message, the traveling exhibition features 40 humanitarian design solutions that were previously highlighted in Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People which was also written by, you guessed it, Emily Pilloton. The designs vary, but range from homemade water filters designed for those living in developing countries to educational toys for mentally challenged children.

Design Revolution Road Show at NC State – photo from Project H Design.

“Each product is an example of how design can enable and improve life, rather than simply take up space as a commodity or accessory,” described Pilloton. “We believe design can change the world, and we’re taking the show on the road.”

The University of Cincinnati (UC) was chosen as one of the sites because of the university’s prominent college of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning that is world renowned for its design innovations and talent. According to Pilloton, the hope is to create a stronger connection between education and design that is both provocative and socially relevant to the problems facing society today. Students at UC will be presented the evidence and tools for designing solutions with a social impact.

The Design Revolution Road Show will be at the University of Cincinnati today from 10am to 4pm. The mobile trailer known as ‘The Airstream’ will be parked on McMicken Commons in the heart of UC’s main campus. Project H Design founder Emily Pilloton will be giving a free lecture that is open to the public from 12:30pm to 2pm in room 4400 inside the Aronoff Center for Art & Design (map). Parking is available throughout UC’s campus parking garages for a fee, or you can try your luck at nearby on-street parking. Several Metro bus routes also provide service to the Aronoff Center for Art & Design, and a great deal of bicycle parking is located just feet away from the entrance to the building.

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Business News

$8.5M Facilities Grant to Bolster UC’s Research Standing

The University of Cincinnati has been awarded nearly $8.5 million by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) for the repair, renovation, and modernization of existing research facilities in uptown Cincinnati.

In 2003, then University of Cincinnati president Dr. Nancy Zimpher championed UC|21 – a comprehensive academic planning process that would help lead UC into the 21st Century. Among UC|21’s six primary goals, Goal 2 was to “grow our research excellence” by building on the university’s greatness as a major research university.

The goal was taken even further by Dr. Zimpher who often said she intended on making the University of Cincinnati the nation’s premier urban research institution.

Click to open larger version in new window. Chart produced by Randy A. Simes.

In 2009, the University of Cincinnati generated $378 million in research funding compared with $194 million in 2000, just before the start of UC|21, representing a 95 percent increase in research funding over a ten year period. Announced by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the nearly $8.5 million grant will be issued tomorrow on March 4, 2010 and remain active for five years after its activation.

“This is great news for the University of Cincinnati,” said U.S. Representative Steve Driehaus (D-OH). “UC carries out cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, and this investment will help ensure the university can continue its important work.”

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Experience Covington tours offer unique view of Nky river city

With recent funding from Preserve America, the City of Covington introduced the Experience Covington Tour series which can also be found at the main branch of the Kenton County Library at the corner of 5th and Scott Street (map). This free tour series is self-guided but there are many resources at your fingertips to make it enjoyable.

While you can do most of your homework on the website, the library also offers a kiosk to help you plan your outing. The kiosk is a bit hard to find in the library, so when you go make sure you check in with someone so that you can easily find it or just do your homework at home as the kiosk is simply the website made available in the library.

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption [TOP] by City of Covington; UFO House [LEFT] by Joe Orman; and Roebling Suspension Bridge [RIGHT] by Derek Jensen.

In all there are six tours that you can take in and around the Covington area, and while there is some overlap there are a total of 48 different stops that are discussed on the Playaway audio devices that you can pick up at the library. The device is easy to operate and you can either follow the tours as directed or make up your own as you go along. Additionally driving directions are available from the web or the kiosk to make sure you don’t get lost as you Experience Covington.

So what will you see on tours of Covington? Well, it depends on which tour of the six you choose. Not surprisingly, there is a Historic Tour which has stop including the Roebling Suspension Bridge and the accompanying murals as well as the Riverwalk Statues and the Duveneck Arts & Cultural Center among many other stops.

More surprising, and dare I say unexpected, is the Unexpected Covington Tour. Think you know Covington? Well, this tour stops at places such as the Spaceship House, Glier’s Goetta, and the Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center among others. Stops along this tour (and all the tours for that matter) will definitely teach folks about some of the gems around Covington regardless of how familiar they are with one of Cincinnati’s southern neighbors.

Now for the really good news: this whole thing is free and open to everyone, not just members of the Kenton County Library! Check out the audio for a 3 day period and work your way through whatever tours you feel like you’d enjoy. The audio selections are located near the kiosk, so make sure to ask where it is when you go and the good folks that work there will point you in the right direction. The library will provide headphones, or you can plug the Playaway device into the A/V jack in your car which definitely makes the time even more enjoyable.

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News

Taking the Stage kicks off second season at Cincinnati’s SCPA

The second season of Taking the Stage kicked off this past Thursday on MTV. The reality show takes place at Cincinnati’s famous School for Creative & Performing Arts and follows around a select group of students looking to make it big. Produced by Cincinnatian and former 98 Degrees front man, Nick Lachey, Taking the Stage airs each Thursday at 11pm and is primarily set in historic Over-the-Rhine and Downtown.

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Mercantile Library Renovations

The Mercantile Library is one of those easily overlooked gems, and is located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. Housed on the 11th and 12th floors at 414 Walnut Street, this quiet oasis in the middle of the city is one of the best kept secrets around town. Few folks have heard of it, and even fewer would be able to tell you where it is, but hopefully that is about to change.

Executive Director Albert Pyle states that “there are about 2,000 members currently and we could easily welcome in 2,000 more.” This year marks the library’s 175th anniversary making it one of the three oldest cultural organizations in the city, and they have been in the same location since 1903. Recently, the Mercantile went through its first major renovation since moving into the space over one hundred years ago and UrbanCincy got to take a peek.

Mercantile Library restoration photograph by Scott Beseler.

“This library deserves it” said Mr. Pyle, as it relates to the renovations made, at a recent preview event. This massive undertaking led by local architecture firm Brashear-Bolton and local construction firm HGC Construction. The main goal was to add modern touches while trying to maintain the Machine Age feel, and based off what we saw, they did a wonderful job.

Some of the changes are more cosmetic than anything, such as the movement of the 16 portrait busts featuring presidents and authors, among others, to eye level mounts throughout the room. This was done so that members could appreciate the art and “hold better conversations with them” joked Mr. Pyle.

Other changes were made to help accommodate a more modern era such as the replacement of an old and noisy air conditioning on the south side of the reading room which will allow the library to comfortably host events during the summer. In the same part of the room, two story stacks were built out of steel beams which were actually hoisted up from Walnut Street and through the windows so that they could be installed.

Two final updates move the library firmly into the 21st century modernization as the card catalog has been made electronic and moved online. Not only is it now accessible through the Mercantile’s website but it actually forced the library to make its first official count of its collection. Totaling over 78,000 books, many first editions, the Merc provides a unique collections as about 2/3 of it cannot be found elsewhere in the city. Additionally, the walls that used to separate The Ladies Reading Room from the rest of the library have been removed to allow for a more open and bright space in the northeast corner of the room.

The Mercantile is a membership library, one of only about twenty in the United States, and dues start at $45 for an individual membership. Mr. Doyle stated that many members like to visit on their lunch hour during the week and will actually bring their lunch along with them. Others come to find peace and quiet and have been known to doze off during their visit. Aside from their traditional website, the good folks at the Mercantile also maintain the blog Stacked.