Design-a-Thons Live On!
Last October, Centerbrook Principal Emeritus Chad Floyd was contacted by Liam Nolan, an architecture student at Yale. Liam was planning an exhibition on the “Design-a-Thons," led by Chad in the late 1970’s, that pioneered the use of live television in planning the revitalization of urban areas.
From 1976 to 1982, Chad and a team from Centerbrook’s predecessor firm, Moore Grover Harper, produced Design-a-Thons in Dayton, Ohio; Roanoke, Virginia; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Watkins Glen, New York. They democratized design by offering a forum for citizen input, and in so doing, spurred public support for rejuvenated marketplaces, waterfronts, and parks.
“Design-a-Thons" in action
Now through February 14, Liam’s exhibition, Design-a-Thon: Experiments in Participatory Television is on view at the Yale School of Architecture. Chad and Mark Simon recently joined students and faculty to celebrate its opening. As students tuned in to video clips and leafed through phantasmagoric sketches, newspaper articles, and handwritten scripts, Chad and Mark fielded questions from a mock anchor desk. Amid the exhibit’s funky 70’s vibe, the past, present, and future merged.
Photo 5: Chad Floyd and Mark Simon stand with exhibit designer, Liam Nolan; Photo Credit: Ben Piascik, Yale School of Architecture
While the Design-a-Thons never really caught on, they spurred Chad and Mark to seek out diverse opinions as they and their Centerbrook partners designed a remarkably broad and diverse portfolio of work. And the Design-a-Thon ethos lives on as Centerbrook’s next generation forges its path.
Centerbrook workshops through the years
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