Mike Wolanin | The Republic Exhibit Columbus curatorial partner Mila Lipinski, in green, moderates a panel discussion with members of the Exhibit Columbus High School Design Team from left: Gloria Phillips, Bryce Olson, advisor Spencer Steenblik, Ashley Perez, Davida Harden and Alex Depaul on the second day of the Exhibit Columbus symposium at First Christian Church in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.
Patrons of the 2024 Exhibit Columbus Symposium heard insights from the architectural talent of the future, whose abilities were fostered right here in Columbus.
The symposium was part of the 2024-25 cycle of events, guided by a curatorial theme of “Yes And.” The theme originates from an improv theater technique and is an effort to use existing material to shape positive change.
The high school design team (HSDT) participated in a panel discussion moderated by Mila Lipinski, a member of the original HSDT from 2017 and now a full-fledged member of the industry, Indiana University EskenaziSchool of Art, Architecture and Design professor Steven Steenblik, who is serving as an HSDT advisor, along with BCSC stem coordinator Davida Harden.
HSDT representatives during the panel in First Christian Church’s Fellowship Hall were Alex DePaul, a junior at East, Ashley Perez, a senior at Columbus North, Gloria Phillips, a senior at North and Bryce Olson, also a senior at North.
Several of the panelists had been part of the design team for 2023’s Machi, a Japanese word meaning a busy downtown area or street. The 64-foot by 53-foot installation featured a large group space defined within its overall boundaries while several small, intimate spaces are created around its perimeter.
The curatorial theme back then was “Public by Design” — students said Machi was to flip that idea to Design by Public, and make a space that feels welcoming and secure for all.
Founded in 2016, Exhibit Columbus is a platform that celebrates the intersection of art, architecture and community and advances Columbus’ Modernist architectural legacy through a two-year cycle of events.
Lipinski began the conversation asking those returning HSDT members to reflect on what they had learned throughout that process.
Gloria Phillips said during her first year in the architecture program, things weren’t quite clicking until she experienced Exhibit Columbus for the first time.
“To meet all these people, hear the stories and their processes — it was really interesting to me,” Phillips said. “It was the first thing that got me thinking in that architectural mindset.”
For Perez, it was watching kids play around with the installation after it had come to life.
“It’s so satisfying seeing all the hard work you’ve put into it and it becoming real.”
This cycle, the HSDT and C4 Architecture Instructor Darin Johnson teamed up with Steenblik and IU’s architecture school.
Steenblik acknowledged that they’ve only been at it for about a month so far, but he’s already impressed with the students ability to compartmentalize.
“It’s interesting because the students can kind of just pick things up and work on them for a little while and then put them away for a week,” Steenblik said. “That’s definitely not the way that I’m used to working.”
The professor has been visiting the C4 students once a week, where he’ll give them a prompt. During the next visit, they review what they came up with and have further conversations.
He also praised the facilities the C4 students have access to.
“When you walk around their facilities, they’re better than some of the facilities at IU, which is pretty crazy to think,” according to Steenblik.
Some HSDT members had been surrounded by architectural history since they were little and some had an affinity for the art form ever since they could remember.
Bryce Olson recalled attending an architecture camp at The Commons when he was in kindergarten.
“I heard about preservation, like at the (Crump Theater) and how it’s a problem — it’s cool to see that is a working building now, but back then it was just empty and abandoned.”
His mom saw the spark in her son, Olson said, and suggested he take architecture during his freshman year. It was delayed for a year (because he had to take a gym class first) and he’s been heavily involved ever since.
“I don’t think I’d be considering a career and applying to Ball State and (The University of Cincinnati) for architecture if I never joined architecture class.”
Something similar was the case for Perez, who when walking downtown with her family said she would sometimes become entranced by the city’s structures.
“I would always look at all the buildings and I remember I would always space out because we were walking and then I’d be staring at the 405 office,” said Perez. “My mom was like, ‘What are you doing?’ and I’m just standing there looking at that building, like, ‘It’s just so pretty.’”
She reflected on walking past some of the previous Exhibit Columbus installations, knowing she wanted to “create something for the public” when she came of age.
DePaul had helped put Machi together, but this will be his first time designing the installation as part of the HSDT.
During the design process for Machi, there was a blackboard with a long-list of ideas that had to be deliberately whittled down.
“I do remember seeing just a whole list of ideas on the board and it looked kind of chaotic and crazy, so I’m not sure how I’ll handle that this year.”
The prospect of “Yes And” was appealing to DePaul, he said, because unleashing creativity under a set of restriction is something he said he enjoys.
“If you have a guide or restrictions, it’s also a lot easier to be creative because we learn to work around the restrictions,” DePaul said. “…You can still find a way to make it your own.”
Exhibit Columbus Design Presentations are slated for Feb. 21-22 of 2025. The exhibitions themselves will be scattered throughout the city from Aug. 15- Nov. 30, 2025.
