The College of Design building opened in fall 1978 and was dedicated in May 1979. The 2008-09 academic year marks our 30th anniversary at Iowa State University, and we will celebrate this milestone with a series of special events, including lectures, exhibitions and receptions.

 

The theme for this year is "Design : Community." We believe design and community are inextricably entwined. We all affect community and are affected by it. While the most colloquial concept of community is linked to place, community's forms encompass groups of people with common cultures, traditions, values, ideas, goals, skills or lifestyles.

 

Community is both physical and social, designed and happenstance. Our professional design community designs communities, work that is inherently influenced by the individual and myriad communities from which the designers have come.

 

What is "Design : Community" in an era in which there are so many opportunities for each of us to associate independently of spatial boundaries and historical cultural connections? Through the events and activities of our 30th anniversary year, we will explore how community in its many forms affects design and in turn, how design affects community. We will address issues of identity, diversity, power, environment, ethics, politics, economics, and physical and conceptual boundaries inherent to design and to community.