Changes of Design Practice, a talk by prof Petra Müller brings departments together

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On Thursday October 8, York University’s Department of Design hosted professor Petra Müller from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland for a guest lecture on the subject of design practice and how it is changing. The event was sponsored by Lassonde Department of Engineering and took place in the new Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence. This unique event was part of an interdisciplinary partnership between the two departments.

One of the goals of the NSERC/Quanser Chair in Design Engineering for Innovation at Lassonde is to encourage and promote design education that is cross-disciplinary and engaging for students in all programs and departments. This lecture on how open engineers should to be open to other disciplines promoted intelligent technology and empathic design. The evening was well attended by many enthusiastic students from within the Department of Engineering and the Department of Design alongside other faculty members and community members.

Professor Müller’s lecture abstract:
Adapting, Growing, Thriving: Embracing Changing Paradigms in Design Practice

Form follows function – this short yet powerful phrase from 1850 is a favorite of our engineering students when they describe design they like. Engineers love solutions that show the use of construction and functionality while designers focus on the reasons for formal aspects and how they engage with the user. Due to the fact, that fast moving technology is changing our lives, contemporary products needs both – intelligent technology and empathic design. Whether Sullivan or Adler knew, how their phrase
would provide the narrative for the history of architecture and design or not. Industry realizes that there is more to great products than simply an engineered solution. Successful products feature easy-to-use interfaces, sympathetic product design, and intuitive feedbacks. Engineering and design disciplines should accept the others profession as a key asset for user-centered product development, as a matter of course. What will result is a new way of looking at form follows function.

Our New Home

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Bergeron Centre York University York University’s campus has a terrible reputation. The polar opposite of the well-aged, integrated and stately campus at U of T, when York was initially laid out back in the late 1960s, it was a sprawled out mess of Brutalist buildings and anonymous colleges like Vanier, Founders, and Stong (to mention only a few).

But is this stubborn image of the campus still accurate? It certainly was 15 years ago when I was first a student there. Back then Vari Hall and the recently completely Computer Science and Engineering Building were the nicest structures at York by a good margin.

Bergeron Centre York University Now, with the completion of a new home for engineering at York — one that’s just a stunning bit of architecture — it might be time to reevaluate the bad rep that the Keele campus has been weighed down by since it opened. There has been tremendous intensification at York over the last decade or so. It’s hardly recognizable as the same place where I studied.

Bergeron Centre York University Designed by ZAS Architects, the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence would certainly attract more acclaim if it was located downtown like Ryerson’s recently opened Student Learning Centre. It’s certainly on par architecturally, and one might argue that it’s an even more impressive structure.

Bergeron Centre York University As Urban Toronto notes, it’s nicknamed “the Cloud” for its rounded appearance. But the interior space is rather stunning as well, featuring loads of open layout learning spaces. Sure, it’s a bit minimalist in areas, but one gets the sense that this building will age very well.

Bergeron Centre York University While the Bergeron is surely the nicest of York’s new crop of buildings, one should also note that places like the Life Sciences Building, the Schulich School of Business, The Archives of Ontario, and the Accolade buildings have completely revamped the place in the span of less than a decade.

york university subway And not to be forgotten in all this is perhaps the most exciting pending addition to York’s campus of all: the arrival of the subway. The Spadina Extension isn’t due to open for another two years, but the stations are already starting to take shape, which must be a most welcome development for faculty and first year students who will still be enrolled when it opens.

Bergeron Centre York University So next time that you’re inclined to turn your nose up at York’s current campus, take a peek at the photo above (circa the late 1960s) and think about how radical the improvement has been since someone decided to plop a university down on this suburban plot of land.

Photos via ZAS Architects, the TTC, and York University Archives.

Department of Design students visit the engineering world in the Bergeron Centre

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A group of students [Julia Grzeskowiak, Mariana Fernandez, Francis Benoit, and Justine Rudnicki] from the Department of Design were guided and challenged last week in learning some of the methodologies of Design Engineering. Associate Professor Alex Czekanski was host to Associate Professor Wendy Siuyi Wong and her four Design students for a tour of the new Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, a talk about Design Engineering and discussion on the shortcomings in engineering design that can be met by students like themselves in pursuance of enhancement of the aesthetics and performance of engineered creations.

Prof Wong’s goal for the trip: “The intention of our visit is to connect with Design Engineering and hopefully will explore collaboration opportunity in research project between the departments. For the students, I hope to introduce them to the area of design engineering and to encourage them to explore their research creation interest.”

Masters Engineering student, Salman Chaudhry, in attendance, provided a demonstration of one of the numerous projects worked on in the various labs of Lassonde. His show of Quanser Rotary Inverted Pendulum which helps mechanical engineers practice control concepts and theories that will be present in their career work. It gave the visiting students an experiential experience in a new world.

PicMonkey Collage

“Design means the process” prof Czekanski stated during the presentation, referencing his own background, and with that process is the understanding from idea conception to completed fully functioning and aesthetically pleasing product, every step must be fortified.

Lastly, the groupd took a tour of the first and second floors, finishing the day in the basement viewing the $1 million facility Machine Shop. The day was a success and a great jumping off point for future connections between the departments, as can be seen in the reflections by two of the visiting students:

I greatly enjoyed being exposed to the Engineering Department, from seeing the facilities to the capabilities of the discipline. Personally, I wish there was a course that forced design and engineer students to collaborate. I feel that both the designers and engineer students would benefit greatly by learning about each others process’ (not just handing off an engineering project to the designers as aestheticians, but a complete hands on collaboration). Design considerations have the ability to change the functions and shape of a finished product/systems/mechanism. Which is why the Design and Engineering crossover would be, in my opinion, an incredible space to allow students to build something from the ground up. I know that personally I would have loved to have had an experience like that in my senior level undergraduate studies. I think that two specializations coming together and working as one unit can output some pretty amazing and award winning outcomes. Just something to think about. Hope to have more opportunities with the Engineering department in the future! – Julia Grzeskowiak
I really enjoyed visiting the Bergeron Centre. It was a great opportunity for me to get to know what they are working on and what it is that they actually do. My interest in design is more and more in creating meaningful and useful products that respond to a real necessity. Consequently, I think it is very interesting to see the potential of being part of a multidisciplinary team along with engineers. It was an insightful experience. Thank you. – Mariana Fernandez
They also got some great snapshots of their voyage: