DESIGN THINKING Bsu.Edu/Cap
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At CAP we are proactive in the promotion of multidisciplinary and multicultural collaboration as a Through this short review of some of the things that CAP has been doing for many years, it may means of enriching our understanding of the problem space, transform problems into opportunities, become clear that CAP students are indeed Entrepreneurial Learners, and that the mindset, skillset, DESIGN THINKING and opportunities into projects. and methods associated to Design Thinking hold remarkable alignment with the characteristics of Charles M. Sappenfield Lecture In the toolbox of the ENTREPRENEURIAL LEARNER an Entrepreneurial Learner. We look forward to seeing Design Thinking serve our institution as a significant core element of distinctiveness. The CAP welcomes The Design Thinking Skillset: Communication, simulation, and Jeanne Gang, award- An Entrepreneurial University is fundamentally affiliated to a community of Entrepreneurial Learners, prototyping namely; students, faculty, staff, alumni, and administrators, including their leaders. An Entrepreneurial winning architect and Learner is someone who is proactive in the process of taking control of his or her own learning process. MacArthur Fellow, as In the Design Thinking framework we make use of all forms of thinking in order to move from In the College of Architecture and Planning, that someone is everyone. understanding the problem to solving the problem. Some of us have a natural tendency towards the featured speaker for divergent thinking, while others feel the same about convergent thinking. Some of us are system the 2015-2016 Charles Design Thinking allows the Entrepreneurial Learner to transform what many consider the problem of Alumnus champions multidisciplinary collaborations thinkers and need to be fully aware of the big picture, while others feel the need to know everything M. Sappenfield Guest learning into an opportunity to learn, and the opportunity of learning into the project of becoming a about something rather than something about everything. Whatever the case, we will need to perpetual learner. The Design Thinking mindset, skillset, and methodologies can maximize the ability Larry Roan, ’77, weaves through clusters of Lecture Series. Gang is constantly communicate as a means of prototyping our ideas. of Entrepreneurial Learners to re-invent themselves on a constant basis. landscape architecture students, reviewing Founder and Principal The Entrepreneurial Learner knows how to manage risk. Design thinkers prototype ideas as a way of cover letters as he stresses the importance of of Studio Gang The Design Thinking Mindset: Problem definition testing their feasibility and manage risk. In a design process we do that all the time, and we use all flawless, compelling written correspondence. Architects, an award- forms of media depending on the nature of the idea and its level of development. A design thinker The soft-spoken guest lecturer regularly returns winning architecture and urban design practice based The Entrepreneurial Learner is an empowered learner. We all learn, but not everyone learns to learn. must cultivate all forms of communication. Sometimes textual and verbal communication can serve as to his alma mater to connect with and offer in Chicago and New York. Internationally recognized Traditional teaching environments have guided their students into learning as a dead-end process conceptual prototyping environments. In other instances graphics may provide the necessary vehicle for guidance to future generations of design for her innovative use of materials and environmentally establishing “proof of concept”. Yet in other cases, physical or digital modeling may deliver the multi- where after learning something we do not come back to question what we have already learned. As sensitive approach, Jeanne explores the role of design a consequence our learning becomes a limitation in our ability to address change. Our accumulative parametric depth of information necessary for the simulation of a project solution. thinkers. experience gets in the way of our ability to question our interpretation of problems and in consequence in revitalizing cities. Through projects ranging in scale their potential solution. Under that condition we tend to rely almost exclusively on the precedents “I draw great satisfaction from working with from community anchors and cultural institutions we have been exposed to, and the repetition of solutions that turn a blind eye to the opportunity for students and helping them identify their to tall mixed-use buildings and urban planning, she innovation. passion and realize how to achieve those engages pressing contemporary issues and their impact on human experience. Employing this approach, The traditional structure of academic silos contributes to a deep but narrow-minded learning enterprise professional goals. It’s an honor to be invited that needs to be balanced with a proactive effort to articulate a multidisciplinary dimension. Students back to connect with the college in such she has produced some of today’s most compelling from different academic majors can bring different precedents to the table and that fact alone promotes personal ways,” says Roan, vice president architecture, including the Arcus Center for Social the challenge of identifying what precedents are more relevant to the problem at hand. This kind of for business development for Browning Day Justice Leadership, the WMS Boathouse at Clark Park, intellectual alchemy adds richness to the problem space and frequently results in the interpretation of Mullins Dierdorf. The leading architecture the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, and Aqua the original problem as an opportunity. Left: An example of the traditional pin-up review with graduate student Paul Desmond. and landscape architecture firm is based in Tower. Join us at 4:30 on April 11, 2016 for an engaging Right: An example of a review utilizing the latest in virtual reality technology. In a similar way as academic silos limit our capacity to explore the true potential of a problem, our Indianapolis. conversation at Pruis Hall. The event is free and open cultural silos tend to do the same and call for the need to open our cultural framework beyond the one to the public. Reception to follow in the CAP building. we are familiar with. As in the case of bringing together learners from different majors, it is of great At CAP we take pride in our long-term commitment to master all forms of communication. We have Through his work with students, the president of CAP’s Alumni Council identified benefit to bring together learners of different cultural backgrounds. International and multicultural dismissed the now old rivalry between textual and graphic media, or traditional and digital media. an opportunity for increased collaboration between the landscape architecture Images of the Aqua building: Steve Hall © Hedrich Blessing. collaboration also enriches our problem space and promotes original interpretations of the problems Portrait of Jeanne Gang: © Kevin Miyazaki. we are trying to define. department and the construction management program within the College of The Design Thinking Methods: The Studio and the Charrette Applied Sciences and Technology. In 2015, Roan—also treasurer of the Ball State University Alumni Council—endowed distinguished professorships in construction The Entrepreneurial Learner is connected to the broader world. That means that as the workplace moves away from rigid and top-down structures in favor of more flexible and collaborative management and in landscape architecture. He also directed funds toward enriching CAP Lecture Series organizations, our learning environments must emulate that pattern and make the transition between and diversifying the college’s curricula. school and a paid job as easy as possible. The CAP is proud to present our fall guest lecture series. Lectures occur at 4 pm in the Architecture Building, room 100, unless otherwise noted. Additional lecturers will be “My varied roles in the construction industry, paired with work as a developer and The natural habitat of the design thinker is the design studio. In a design studio learning is subscribed added; check the web at bsu.edu/cap for updates. All lectures are free and open to the designer, provided me with priceless perspective and knowledge. Working on a within project teams that are largely self-assembled and respond to circumstances in strategic as well as public. opportunistic ways. Within the studio dynamic it is possible to identify many operational patterns but project, I fully understand the constraints and roles of others around the table,” says perhaps the best known are the desk critique and charrette. Roan, who is the past president of Ball State’s construction management program’s Left: The CAP World Tour PolyArk group in a sketching session on the Greek Island of Hydra. September 14 – Peter Walker. FASLA Right: The CAP Asia group discussing the geography of Bhubaneshwar, the capital of the Indian state of Odisha. industry advisory board. “My gift aims to inspire collaborations among the programs, September 28 – Craig Wilkins, Phd, RA providing students in both colleges with the opportunity to grasp concepts and roles November 9 – Marla Nelson, Phd beyond their singular focus.” “Larry’s generosity is perfectly aligned with our institutional commitment to BALL STATE UNIVERSITY BALL STATE UNIVERSITY provide our students with a learning experience that is consistent with their future ANNUAL REPORT