COLUMBUS, Ind. — A design leader from the nation’s Capitol said mayors must be willing to become “the chief urban designer of their city.” And good and thoughtful design ideally can attack problems ranging from racial inequity to community divisions.
Those were the words of Trinity Simons Wagner, executive director of the Mayor’s Institute on City Design based in Washington, D.C. She served as keynote speaker Friday morning at the opening session at The Commons of the Exhibit Columbus symposium. She spoke before a crowd of about 150 people, ranging from representatives from offices such as the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce to visiting architecture students and others nationwide and also from Mexico.
The two-day event, under the theme of “Public By Design,” continues today at various locations listed at exhibitcolumbus.org
Simons Wagner’s organization has worked with some 1,200 mayors from tiny towns to metro cities and 700 design professionals through the years, according to its figures. That includes Columbus, too.
“We believe that mayors and designers are natural bedfellows (to work together),” Simons Wagner said.
Exhibit Columbus is an exploration of community, architecture, art, and design that activates the modern legacy of Columbus. Since the event began in 2017 with an exhibition, it has drawn thousands of people to its sometimes temporary structures, workshops and presentations, and triggered renewed international publicity and interest in the city’s heralded, mid-century modern architecture.
Plus, it has triggered something not previously and regularly noticed publicly locally — a burgeoning interest among teens and 20-somethings in local architecture and its impact and importance. That interest has been evidenced by everything from social media posts to discussions among young residents in local eateries and cafes.
In fact, a team of teens seated on the front row of the downtown venue were among the opening session’s key volunteers with the Landmark Columbus Foundation, the nonprofit umbrella agency of Exhibit Columbus.
For the complete story and more photos, see Saturday’s Republic.
