INTERVIEWEES:
Group 3 completed interviews will 10 members of the faculty, staff, and administration. The individuals interviewed for our research were:
Sean Bauguess, IARc Digital Lab Director
Suzanne Buchanan, IARc faculty
Stoel Burrowes, IARc faculty
Robert Charest, IARc faculty
Tommy Lambeth, IARc department chair
Kate Pike, IARc staff
John Rife, Associate Dean of the School of Human Environmental Sciences
Patty Rowland, IARc staff
Laura Sims, Dean of the School of Human Environmental Sciences
Jake Tucci, IARc faculty
An additional four interviews were requested but not completed due to either schedule conflicts or no response from the interviewee.
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS:
1. How has design influenced your life? How has IARc influenced the School of Human Environmental Sciences/UNCG?
The major theme among the responses to this question is quality of life. Responses included:
* Design is a way of life.
* Design is a way to make a living.
* Design allows us to see the world more carefully; teaches us to analyze and be more thoughtful about our surroundings.
* Design influences where/how we choose to live.
* Design can improve quality of life by improving human environments (eg. Urban Studio).
2. What materials/artifacts represent IARc? What comes to mind when you think of IARc?
We received a variety of answers to this question. Some people listed very specific materials that are used often in studio projects. Others mentioned the human aspect of the department. Tommy mentioned that "material, period, are especially representative of the department." Responses included:
* Technology: laptops, Macs
* The people define the department (students, faculty, staff)
* Various materials that are commonly used: concrete, carpet tiles, chipboard, wood, glass, sheetrock, light, color
* Various tools that are commonly used: scale rulers, mat knives, pens, markers, laptops
* Well built models
3. Give 5 words that you feel are representative of IARc.
We had a great list of words that describe our program. As you can imagine, many people mentioned the same, or similar words, and they are:
* Creativity / Imagination
* Innovation / Forward-Thinking / Questioning
* Dedication
* Community / Collaboration
* Authenticity / Integrity / Stewardship / Ethical
* Sustainability
* Dynamic / Energetic
4. How do you envision IARc changing in the future?
Two ideas that many of the interviewees emphasized were the importance of sustainability and collaboration. Sustainability is clearly no longer something to consider, but something to put into play so that design can do its part for the environment. Ideas of collaboration took on broader meaning: among IARc faculty and students; IARc interacting with other departments on campus; integrating other design disciplines more and more into IARc (architecture, graphic design).
Other points that were made were the increasing role that technology plays in design and the way that shifting cultural needs and diversity will affect design in the future.
