This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(March 2012) |
The Wall of Discovery is an environmental artwork that includes a 253-foot-long printed "blackboard" located in the center of the Scholars Walk on the University of Minnesota campus. This installation was designed to celebrate the discoveries, inventions and creations of alumni and faculty of the University that have brought significant changes to the world in which we live. [1]
The method used to capture the work was first to create an extensive list of notable U of M graduates in as many fields as possible. Extensive research was done by Minneapolis design firm LA ink that led to the finding of many original hand written notes and diagrams chronicling the discoveries by these scholars. The documents were then scanned and retouched, pixel by pixel, until they looked as if they were rendered in chalk on a chalkboard. 20 Glass edge lit panels were also designed to both illuminate the walkway and possibly inspire current students toward future discoveries.
An installation of this nature has never before been attempted by a major institution like the University of Minnesota.
The Artwork was submitted to the SEGD design competition in 2007 and won their "Honor Award" the highest achievement category. That same year it also received the AIA Minnesota Honor Award. [2]
Over 100 alumni and faculty from the University of Minnesota are represented on the wall a few of whom are:
The University of Minnesota is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The Twin Cities campus comprises locations in Minneapolis and Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) apart.
The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent Law (M.S.P.L.), and a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.). The J.D. program offers a number of concentration opportunities, as well as dual and joint degree options with other graduate and professional schools of the university.
Alex Anmahian is a Boston-based architect, co-founding partner of Anmahian Winton Architects and a faculty member of the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University's department for architecture. He received his BA from the University of Florida and his MArch from Harvard. His firm designed the Innovation Centre for Orange, one of Britain's leading cellular telephone companies.
Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership is an institution of higher Jewish education headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
LA ink is a design firm established in 1987 and based in Minneapolis, MN. Most notable for their pioneering work in large scale printed murals and achievement recognition installations. Some key examples of their work are the SEGD 2007 Honor Award / AIA MN Award winning "Wall of Discovery" and the Northwest Airlines hangar mural at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. At the time, the largest printed graphic in North America at 11,000 sq ft (1,000 m2). until the hangar was torn down in 2004 for airport expansion.
JLG Architects is an architecture firm that specializes in urban design, master planning and architectural design for sports/recreation facilities, universities, K-12 schools, aviation facilities, medical centers, and mixed-use/multi-family housing. JLG has offices in Minneapolis, St. Cloud, and Alexandria, Minnesota, and Grand Forks, Bismarck, Minot, Williston, and Fargo, North Dakota, Rapid City and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Boston, Massachusetts.
Kinji Akagawa is an American sculptor, printmaker, and arts educator best known for sculptural constructions that also serve a practical function. A pioneer in the public art movement, Akagawa has throughout his career examined the relationship between art and community, most notably the concept of art as a process of inquiry. His sculpture and public artworks are noted for their refined elegance and use of natural materials, such as granite, basalt, field stone, cedar, and ipe wood.
Gloria June Tew was an American abstract sculptor known for her work in marble, bronze and steel. Tew's sculptures are found in institutions, museums, churches and private collections including, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. She resided in Minneapolis.
Gregory Euclide is an American contemporary artist and teacher who lives and works outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Eric William Kaler is an American chemical engineer and university administrator. He has served as the president of Case Western Reserve University since 2021.
CVEDesign, formally Calori & Vanden-Eynden is a New York City-based firm specializing in environmental graphic design (EGD): signage, wayfinding, placemaking, and user navigation systems within the built environment.
VJAA is an American architectural firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm is the recipient of the 2012 National American Institute of Architects Firm Award. VJAA was founded in 1995 and is led by Vincent James FAIA, Jennifer Yoos FAIA and Nathan Knutson AIA, Managing Principal. Recent projects include the Charles Hostler Student Center at the American University of Beirut, the Guesthouse at Saint John's Abbey, the new Walker Library in Minneapolis and the Welland International Flatwater Centre for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am games. The firm's work has been published in Architecture, Architectural Record, Architecture Review (UK), A+U (Japan), The New York Times, Perspecta, Praxis, and in a number of books in the U.S. and in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the U.K., India, China, and South America.
Johannes M. P. Knoops is an American architect, international architectural correspondent, and Professor in the Department of Interior Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology / State University of New York in New York City. Knoops design for a private study in the tradition of a Japanese scholar's study as influenced by origami was written about in New York Magazine and his design for a new wedding chapel atop the New York Municipal Building by Architectural Scholar.
Robert Vince is an American scientist known for his contributions to the research in the area of drug design. He is currently the director and professor at the Center for Drug Design at the Academic Health Center for the University of Minnesota.
Ross Barney Architects is an architectural firm founded in 1981 by Carol Ross Barney in Chicago, Illinois.
Elena Manferdini is an Italian architect based in Venice, California, where she is the principal and owner of Atelier Manferdini. She is the Graduate Programs Chair at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). She has over fifteen years of professional experience that span across architecture, art, design, and education.
Mark G. Swenson is an American architect and founding principal of Elness Swenson Graham Architects Inc. based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Refik Anadol is a Turkish-American new media artist and designer. His projects consist of data-driven machine learning algorithms that create abstract, colorful environments. He lives and works in Los Angeles and is represented by bitforms gallery.
Lee H. Skolnick is an American architect and the Founding Partner and Design Principal of SKOLNICK Architecture + Design Partnership, a New York-based design firm specializing in both cultural/institutional and private residential projects.
David Graham is an American architect and founding principal of Elness Swenson Graham Architects Inc. based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.