Central Michigan University

Thursday, June 18, 2009

CMU students mix design ideas with future of Beijing architecture

Click here to view an audio slideshow.

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Media Contact(s):

Tracy Burton
989-774-1072
tracy.burton@cmich.edu

To download this podcast, or to browse our other podcasts, please visit: http://www.cmich.edu/podcasts

The demands of society from increased workloads to family dynamics are changing in China. Now, more than ever before, a greater number of Chinese families are relying on both parents having to work outside the home, which has spurred an increased need for more day care, preschool, independent and elderly care programs.

This emerging shift in culture inspired a group of Central Michigan University interior design students to pair up with architecture students from Northern China University of Technology in Beijing to create concepts for intergenerational facilities, which include quadrants for both children and seniors that are open enough for daily interaction.

Their plans feature building structures and courtyards down to the fabrics for furniture inside. Students also identified living necessities from the proper lighting for older adults to adequate living space and accessibility.

Jeanneane Wood-Nartker and Julie Zuo, both interior design faculty members at CMU, oversaw the project. Wood-Nartker said there are many benefits to creating a shared environment, especially as the Chinese culture adjusts to a more westernized approach of living.

"Research shows that when the two generations come together, the older adults feel like they are a valued part of society," Wood-Nartker said. "The children get one-on-one attention, and they tend to do better in school. They learn to read quicker, and they have a higher self-esteem as well."

When the students first connected, they toured a nursing home in Beijing and gathered ideas on how to expand the facility. They took that information back to the classroom and over the next five days developed several concepts for an intergenerational facility. At the end of the week, students returned to the same nursing home and presented their plans to staff and residents.

"The students and their talents really came together to make this project a real possibility," Wood-Nartker added. "This could lead to something big."

CMU junior Autumn Nethercott said the collaboration opened her eyes to a whole new world of design.

"In order to fully understand how to design in another culture, you really have to immerse yourself in that environment," Nethercott said. "This is exactly what we did in Beijing, and we made lifelong friends in the process, which made this experience that much better."

Click here to view an audio slideshow interview with CMU student Autumn Nethercott.

CMU's interior design program is accredited by the Council for Interior Design and the National Association for Schools of Art and Design. To learn more about this program visit http://www.cmich.edu/Admissions/Academic_Programs/Human_Services/Interior_Design.htm.