A handful of design:SD team members headed a little south yesterday to present at the Midstates Conference 2008 in South Sioux City, Nebraska. We shared with folks from communities in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska how we put together the design:SD project and launched it in Corsica last spring. We co-presented with the Iowa Architectural Foundation’s Community Design Program.
Here are some shots of Joe and Eric presenting, along with our new Iowan friend Dale. Others from d:SD who attended were Sandy Dickenson, Tom Reasoner, Lindsey Karlson and Alan Weiskamp. Rey Gonzalez is one of the event organizers.
Here’s the powerpoint we showed yesterday. Thanks to Midstates organizers for letting us play!
Our Minnesota Design Team friends have added a blurb on their website about d:SD. See it here. The Charrette Center in Minneapolis has also added a link to this blog. I learned a lot of what I know about charrettes from Peter Musty at the Charrette Center when we both worked on another project in South Dakota a few years ago. Thanks to MDT and Peter for the love!
The d:SD Team is gathering for a little barbecue next week in Sioux Falls. We’ll share any new ideas or developments with you coming out of that meeting. We’ve also been meeting with our good friends in Corsica since the charrette in May. We’ll be filling you in on the cool things that will be happening there too.
Happy Summer,
Joe B.
Below is a letter written to a number of newspaper editors in South Dakota by design:SD team member Sandy Dickenson of Vermillion, SD. Hope you enjoy it:
I recently had an opportunity to be a volunteer on the first “design:South Dakota” team. The team consisted of architects, engineers, planners and rural developers and was the result of collaboration between the Rural Learning Center, the South Dakota Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and others. The community selected was Corsica, SD, population about 650. The team of twelve spent nearly three days in Corsica living with host families. We learned about the community one day, drew up visioning ideas the second day, presenting them to the community the third. I think the townspeople were very pleased with the results.
The most surprising part of the exercise was what I learned. I am unarguably citified but have spent a fair amount of time visiting many of the communities in South Dakota. I thought I knew this state pretty well…….boy, was I wrong! My vision of rural South Dakota was completely blown away. Here’s what I learned: Continue reading ‘Visioning Works Both Ways’
Tuesday, April 24th will mark the official local kickoff for design:SD, Project Corsica. Please join members of the South Dakota design team for an evening of “Dessert and Design” from 7:00 to 8:30pm on April 24th in the Corsica grade school gym. The evening gathering begins the three week countdown to the design:SD event that will be held May 16-19. Dessert and coffee will be served while the design team describes the project and what it means for the Corsica region. Area residents will discuss what ideas and dreams they have for the future of the Corsica region. Those ideas will help create the foundation of the design team’s visit in May.
Corsica and the surrounding region is the first-ever design:SD project community. The event will draw 20-30 professionals from all walks of design and community development to the region to visually express local dreams for the future. The design team will spend three intense days in the area learning, listening, and drawing what locals want the community and region to look like in years to come. The design event will help people of the Corsica region dream about the future, with special emphasis on the importance of design in building a vision we can all share.
The success of design:SD, Project Corsica relies on your involvement in the process. Please join members of the design team on Tuesday, April 24th to learn more about becoming involved in this special event. To view the flyer, click here.
Jim Beddow and I visited about the design:SD project with the Douglas County Commissioners in Armour yesterday morning. We talked about the regional impact the project can make, and particularly about transportation routes and Corsica Lake.
We also had lunch with leaders of the Armour Horizons project at the Blue Moon, and met with Nancy Barrick at the Conservation District. Nancy provided some great watershed maps for the team, and we signed her up for a presentation during the charrette. The Horizons team has done some great work in Armour, and we invited them to take part in design:SD too.
This may be a great opportunity to point something out–design:SD Project Corsica is not just about Corsica, SD!!The team will provide an outside look at the whole region, including all of Douglas County. There are many treasures and assets in Douglas County that don’t just belong to Corsica folks, so it’s great to get the Commissioners and the Armour Horizons program into the mix.
Thanks for the hospitality, Armour!
By the way, comments are always open and welcome. Just share your thoughts or ideas by clicking on “COMMENTS.”
Joe Bartmann, The Rural Learning Center
The Design South Dakota team introduced the project to many Corsica area residents at the Corsica Commercial Club’s Customer Appreciation Days last Saturday. The Commercial Club served pancakes and sausages for free to hundreds of Corsica locals, while Jim Beddow, Ward Whitwam and I talked design and charrette with the locals.
Big thanks go to our friends at the Willmar Design Center in Willmar, MN (especially Bev Daugherty) for allowing us to borrow their charrette boards to use in our display. Also thanks to TSP Architects in Sioux Falls for lending us the display background, to Bobbi Gaukel at one8ty creative for designing the logo and handouts on super short notice, and to Nathan Hinker and the Corsica Commercial Club for inviting us to participate (and giving us the idea for the booth)!
Ward Whitwam, AIA and a member of the design:SD planning team, ran into an old friend (or maybe adversary?) at the pancake feed. Ward designed the Corsica Elementary School 39 years ago. At that time, Sid Hoekstra, who still lives in Corsica, was the School Board Chair. Sid and Ward recalled the arguments they had almost 40 years ago over the price of the project.
Ward also visited with the folks in the Douglas County Hospital booth. He learned they will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of building the hospital later this year. As it turns out, Ward also designed that building half a century ago!
Thanks to the Corsica community for the warm welcome!
Joe Bartmann, The Rural Learning Center
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