Architecture Engineering Interior Design Historic Preservation Graphic Design Landscape Architecture Industrial and Product Design Urban Design and Planning From Mars to Main Street The uses of design in government range from tax forms to courtrooms; but the significance of federal design goes far beyond the design of artifacts for the governing process itself. As we become increasingly aware of design as a force in our lives, we become aware of the federal government as a force in design. We live in a designed environment. The United States government is the nation's largest design client, with more than S40 billion invested each year in the design of such public facilities as buildings, highways, publications, parks, scientific and technical research facilities, stamps, money. So when- ever we mail a letter, camp in a national park, drive on a highway, cross a bridge, work in a laboratory, occupy a hospital bed, handle money or step into a voting booth we may be consumers of federal design. But we also are consumers of design whenever we cook a meal or eat one, turn on a light or a furnace, adjust a car seat or shop in a mall. And the design underlying those activities of daily living - the design of our cars, appliances, houses, clothing, shops and stadiums - is likely to incorporate materials and design features developed in, or with the help of, federal programs. Whether as superficial as the adaptation of the camouflage motif to fashion, or as liberating as the access ramp in public building, federal design influences how we live. Design inevitably reflects the social climate in which it was created. If design at best is an expression of what it means to be civilized, federal design at best is an expression of what it means to be American. Ralph Caplan ■ ■ in or Hi iH h:-.;"': i! BBS From Mars to Main Street — America Designs, 1965 - 1990 An exhibition developed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Building Museum opening 1992. m Location National Building Museum 401 F Street, NW Judiciary Square Washington, DC 20001 Telephone (202) 272 2448 m How to get there Judiciary Square - F Street, between 4th and 5th, NW. Metro - Red line, Judiciary Square, F Street exit. M ■ .v I • *K'v, M ■ m ■ *ss m ■■•" ■•=.■:. 7 ■•- ■ <•-■•.• «■ William Bushong Project Researcher 202-272-3526 401 F Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 An exhibition developed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Building Museum opening 1992 Nffi [M iBEg James H. Johnson Exhibit Coordinator 202-272-7782 Fax 202-272-2564 401 F Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 An exhibition developed by the National Endowment (or the Ans and the National Building Museum opening 1992 93H EXHIBITION TEAM William Bushong is an historical research consultant and freelance writer whose publications on American architectural, social, and urban history include A Centennial History of the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (1 987A Historic Resources Study of Rock Creek Park (1990), and North Carolina's Executive Mansion: The First One Hundred Years (1991/ His honors include a U.S. Capitol Historical Society fellowship for which he prepared an annotated edition of Glenn Brown's History of the United States Capitol: 1900-1903. Mr. Bushong holds an undergraduate degree in history from North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in American Civilization from the George Washington University. William Bushong is the principle researcher for our exhibition. DoubleSpace is an award-winning design firm that provides graphic design, advertising, communications, and marketing services to clients as diverse as Citicorp, MTV, the National Audubon Society, and the American Museum of the Moving Image. The New York firm, founded in 1979, recently opened a branch office in San Francisco. The firm's honors and awards include the 1986 & 1988 Award of Distinction from the American Association of Museums and the Gold Medal Designers of the Year award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. DoubleSpace is designing our exhibition graphics and informational material. Jane Kosstrin is a Principal and co-founder of DoubleSpace. She founded, with partner David Sterling, Fetish: The Magazine of the Material World, that later brought the firm some of its first major clients, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Barneys New York. Ms. Kosstrin studied graphic design, as well as print making and drawing, at Carnegie Mellon University and received her M.F.A. from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. David Sterling is a Principal and co-founder of DoubleSpace. Before leaving to start his own firm, Mr. Sterling was the Art Director of ID magazine and brought the publication international attention through many award-winning covers. Mr. Sterling studied painting and literature before receiving his M.F.A. from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Timothy Fitch has been serving the Design Arts Program since 1987, when he was awarded a three-month NEA Arts Administration fellowship. Mr. Fitch has overseen a number of projects for the Design Arts Program, including the creation of a national design information clearinghouse and technical assistance program. He studied architecture, textile design, and graphic design at University of Cincinnati, Philadelphia College of Textiles, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and attended Indiana University for his M.A. in Arts Administration. Timothy Fitch is the project director for our exhibition. James Johnson is an independent curator and museum consultant with extensive exhibition design and production experience who specializes in the American Decorative Arts. His clients include the National Society of Children of the American Revolution Museum, the Alexandria, Virginia Archaeological Research Center, and the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, where he planned and oversaw 32 period museum room installations. Mr. Johnson received a B.A. in American studies and decorative arts from the University of Delaware. James Johnson will be assisting with the curatorial responsibilities of our exhibition. Jeffrey Plungis is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in national and international magazines and publications. His work includes "Eighties," an article for South China Morning Post Sunday Magazine, research for the book, Ohio Matters of Fact, and research and writing for the Ohio Senate. His honors include a Rotary International Peace scholarship to study in Hong Kong, where he wrote and edited pieces for Commercial Radio Hong Kong and two forthcoming books. Mr. Plungis received his B.A. in English from Ohio State University and his M.A. in journalism from New York University. Jeffrey Plungis is the researcher for "the times" section of our exhibition. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/frommarstomainstOObush Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design creates interpretative exhibitions and installations for museums, corporations, and other cultural institutions and designs a broad range of internationally recognized, award-winning architecture projects. The firm's exhibition projects include "The Intimate World of Alexander Calder"at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and "Building Buildings" at the Staten Island Children's Museum. Additional clients include the Jewish Museum, the Library of Congress, the Louisiana Arts and Science Center, and the Western Hermitage Museum. The firm's honors include a 1990 Record House Award for Excellence in Planning and Design. Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design is designing our exhibition and managing the development of its content. Jo Ann Secor is Director of Museum Services for Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design, overseeing all museum exhibition and education projects. She is the former Program Director of the Staten Island Children's Museum and is an Adjunct Professor of Exhibition Design and Interpretation at Bank Street College. She received a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design and an M.S. in Supervision and Administration in the Museum Leadership Program at Bank Street College of Education. Lee Skolnick, AIA, Principal of Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design, is active in design education as a speaker, writer, teacher, and creator of educational prototypes for institutions including the Guggenheim Museum and the New York Hall of Science. He has served on architectural design juries and his design work has been widely published and exhibited; he was recently named by Architectural Digest as one of the world's top 100 architects. Mr. Skolnick received his Bachelor of Architecture with honors from Cooper- Union. OTHER CONTRIBUTORS Mina Berryman is the Director of the Design Arts Program, being named in the spring of 1991 after serving as Assistant Director for two years. Ms. Berryman's program support activities include regional workshops on low income housing design, research for an institute on design education in public schools, and this exhibition on Federal design. Ms. Berryman was formerly Director of the Office of Historic Preservation at the White House. She is serving her fourth year on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and has won numerous awards for her restoration work on Federal buildings. Ralph Caplan is a writer, lecturer, and design consultant who has authored several books on the design process and written on subjects ranging from the behavior of chairs for Psychology Today to post-modern clothing for The New York Times magazine. His book, By Design, is the basis of a four-part public television series to be produced next year by ETV South Carolina. As a consultant, Mr. Caplan collaborates on publications, exhibitions, and strategies with a wide variety of clients. Former editor-in-chief of Industrial Design magazine, he is a director of the International Design Conference in Aspen, Colorado. David Chase is the Curator of Design at the National Building Museum. In addition to his duties at the museum, Mr. Chase is a consultant on design matters, including preservation planning, tax credits, and National Register nominations. He is an active speaker on design, architecture, and historic preservation. He has authored numerous publications including The Architectural Heritage of Newport II (scheduled for 1992) and contributed to many others such as The Architecture of the United States (1981). Robert Duemling is President and Director of the National Building Museum. In this dual capacity, he both administers the museum and directs its program of exhibitions, publications and educational activities in furtherance of the museum's Congressional mandate to celebrate the achievements of Americans in building and the building arts. Mr. Duemling came to his current position with thirty years of experience in diplomacy, including ambassadorial and senior management appointments in the U. S. Department of State. Thomas Grooms is Program Manager of the Federal Design Improvement Program and the Presidential Design Awards, which are administered by the Design Arts Program of the NEA. He is responsible for developing and implementing programs that will foster design excellence in the federal government. Prior to his work with the NEA, Mr. Grooms spent six years as Executive Director of the Center for Environment Education, Washington, DC. He has been both a practicing designer and attorney. PROJECT ADVISORY GROUP Ralph Caplan, writer, lecturer, and design consultant, New York, NY Lois Craig, Associate Dean, School of Architecture & Planning, MIT, Cambridge, MA Bill Lacy, Principal, Bill Lacy Design, New York, NY Dianne Pilgrim, Director, Cooper-Hewitt National Museum of Design, New York, NY PARTIAL LIST OF OTHER ADVISORS Deborah Edge Abele, Historic Preservation Officer, City of Phoenix, AZ Adele Fleet Bacow, consultant (state and local design projects), Boston, MA Ellen Beasley, consultant (preservation planning), Houston, TX J. Max Bond, Principal, Bond Ryder James (architecture). New York, NY Ken Brecker, Director, Boston Children's Museum, Boston, MA Juan Manuel Carrillo, Director of Visual Arts, California Arts Council, Sacramento, CA Mildred Constantine, curator and consultant (graphic design). New York, NY Sherry DuVries, Director, Public Affairs, Field Museum, Chicago, IL Edward Feiner, Architect, Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration, Washington, DC Cynthia Field, Director, Office of Architectural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Mildrid Friedman, consultant (design exhibition and publishing), New York, NY DiDi Hilke, Director of Education, National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC Marylyn Hoffner, Director of Development, Cooper Union, New York, NY Raymond Huff, Principal, Ray Huff Architects, Charleston, SC Deborah Karasov, Assistant Education Director, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN Wil Fleissig, consultant (urban design), Denver, CO Robert Frasca, Partner, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca (architects), Portland, OR Louisa Kreisberg, President, The Kreisberg Group (marketing and development), New York, NY Dr. Thomas Linehan, Director, Visual Simulation Laboratory, Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX Nellie Longsworth, President, Preservation Action, Washington, DC Susan Lubowsky, Director, Visual Arts Program, NEA, Washington, DC Donlyn Lyndon, Principal, Lyndon/Buchanan Associates (architecure/urban design), Berkeley, CA Jean McLaughlin, Director of Visual Arts, North Carolina Arts Council, Raleigh, NC Bill Moggridge, President and Director, ID Two (industrial design), San Francisco, CA Philip Morris, Editor, Southern Living, Birmingham, AL Patricia O'Donnell, Principle, LANDCAPES (landscape architecture), Westport, CT Samina Quraeshi, Principal, Shepard/Quareshi Associates (graphic design). Chestnut Hill, PA Kent Schutte, Professor of Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN Jean Sousa, Associate Director of Education, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL Michael Spock, Vice President for Public Programs, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL Leila Vignelli, Executive President, Vignelli Assoc, (architecture/graphic design), New York, NY Charles Zucker, Director, Community Assistance Initiative, American Institute of Architects, DC John Zukowsky, Curator of Architecture, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1 si ^mi jfe WliKJ}' &£$? ~!*/*^ r.'< iy a