Shapeshift

Design: Todd Cooke + Martin Thaler Construction: Andrew Bates, Todd Cooke, Adithya Ravi, Jason Romano, Martin Thaler — Design: Todd Cooke + Martin Thaler
Construction: Andrew Bates, Todd Cooke, Adithya Ravi, Jason Romano, Martin Thaler

Objectives

Curate and design a physical exhibition for Shapeshift: Design @ Illinois Tech, a design festival honoring the school’s Bauhaus heritage and demonstrating design’s crucial role as a catalyst for meaningful change in Chicago yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Participate in a panel discussion with Vicki Matranga, Petter Ringbom, and Ashley Lukasik on the topic of “What was the American Bauhaus?”

VIEW STORY ON ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST

Role + Responsibilities

Project Lead + Curator

Curation
Exhibition design
Graphic + communication design
Marketing
Primary + secondary research
Editorial content
Asset leasing, permissions + rights
Docent training
Panelist

Outcomes

Specifications: Todd Cooke + Martin Thaler

Model

Based on a one-to-two square relationship, the modular design can be adapted to accommodate future exhibitions. The dynamic design accommodates a variety of different viewpoints, visually expressing the theme of “shapeshift.”

Specifications

The exhibition is built around an 6’ x 8’ rectangle and consists of three rectangular panels measuring 64” x 32” and two square panels measuring 32” x 32”.

Panel Discussion

Participated in a panel discussion alongside The New Bauhaus Co-Producers Petter Ringbom and Ashley Lukasik and Design Researcher Vicki Matranga on the topic of “What was the American Bauhaus?” The conversation revolved around László Moholy-Nagy, the New Bauhaus, and modernism in Chicago in the 1930s and ‘40s.

AS FEATURED IN ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST

Article written by Rebecca Holland and published on AD PRO on September 30, 2019:

“Attendees also had a chance to explore the school’s corresponding exhibit, An American Bauhaus: The Institute of Design, which showcases historical documents and artifacts from the time the school was founded. The exhibition format, it turns out, is particularly relevant, given Moholy-Nagy’s obsession with the form. ‘Moholy started messing with the traditional gallery space by introducing moving sculptures and adding the element of time—of interacting with the pieces,’ Ringbom tells AD PRO. ‘At the time, that was completely new.’

The program was part of Shapeshift 2019: Design @ Illinois Tech, a festival celebrating the school’s heritage, which is open through tomorrow evening.”

— Rebecca Holland, Architectural Digest

“With our Shapeshift exhibitions and events, we look back on our early years as the New Bauhaus and consider how we’ve evolved. Our work in building sustainable solutions and cooperative futures demonstrates that we continue to greet ‘the challenge of technical progress with its recognition of social responsibility,’ as Moholy-Nagy had put it decades ago.”

— Denis Weil, Dean of IIT Institute of Design