On Sept. 2 in Lee Hall, Clemson’s college of architecture hosted 41 students and six faculty from Clemson University, Boston College, Virginia Tech and NC State for the Design Thinking ImpACCt program kickoff event.
“Clemson was incredibly welcoming. We were given a tour of The Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business by Dean York, who was the representative for that college. I loved learning about the intentions behind the architecture,” said Molly McGrane, senior architecture major at Boston College.
“There was so much intention in the structures that we analyzed while on-campus, and my favorite was one that was designed by a team of mostly women. It was set up in a way that you could always see everyone’s feet, so that it couldn’t be used as a place for someone to hide,” said McGrane.
The Design Thinking ImpACCt program is in its third year, and was started in conjunction with the ACC Leadership Network Program, which is sponsored annually by the provosts’ offices from all ACC schools to embrace connectivity and leadership through academics.
Dan Harding, a professor and the director of graduate studies in architecture, was the leading faculty member in attendance for Clemson students, and helped lead the event kick-off.
Winning design teams have produced product concepts such as: applications for mobility, devices for detecting mold in homes and other humanity driving solutions requiring multi-disciplinary teams, design thinking and innovation.
“The event was filled with games, collaboration, and thought-provoking lectures from each professor,” said Eric Downing, a graduate architecture student at Clemson. “We all had an amazing time getting to host students from across the east coast, and I can’t wait for the remaining trips to give my new teammates a visit.”
The teams have generated significant results, last year receiving recognition for their collaborative design work in two international competitions: the Stanford Longevity Design Challenge and one sponsored by the Royal Society of the Arts.
Along with the semester kick-off hosted at the University, there will be a mid-semester meeting at Virginia Tech and a Final Symposium at Boston College in late November.
