May 01, 2024

ArtCenter Students Look Toward Showcasing Public Art Project on Historic Route 66

Students at ArtCenter College of Design, long known for its leadership in transportation design, hope to soon have their creative talents showcased along historic Route 66 at a planned new Rusnak Porsche dealership on East Colorado Boulevard.

Rusnak Auto Group commissioned a public art project to enhance its new dealership through an ArtCenter “Design Storm” in which multidisciplinary student teams, guided by faculty members, work night and day for 72 hours to develop a range of design solutions. The Rusnak team turned to ArtCenter for artistic concepts supporting the dealership because of its prominence in the field of automotive design and to incorporate an important local institution and support student programs.

The new dealership and its featured art installation are now up for consideration at various Pasadena city committees over the next few months including the Pasadena Planning Commission on May 9, 2024.

The Rusnak-commissioned challenge was to design a structure that would create a vibrant pedestrian experience at the front of the dealership property, support the city’s plans and serve as a beautifying and inspiring public art piece.

At the conclusion of the Design Storm, the ArtCenter students presented their design solutions to the Rusnak team. A variety of city planning staff also visited the ArtCenter lab and viewed the design concepts and final products. The final design was selected based on alignment with city plans along with feasibility of construction.

“Successful partnerships with industry, businesses and our community are part of ArtCenter’s DNA,” said Karen Hofmann, president. “Our college has been a part of this community for nearly 100 years, and we are proud to have our talented students and faculty contribute to its beauty and vitality. We are grateful to Rusnak Auto Group for providing this opportunity for our students.”

“Projects like this allow us to bring the world into the classroom and bring the classroom into the world,” said David Mocarski, Chair of Spatial Experience Design at ArtCenter. “They support the core values of a studio-based educational experience at ArtCenter. The Rusnak team provided our students with a real-life experience in how a project transforms from conceptual idea into design, engineering, and fabrication, and how it all works within regulations. These kinds of opportunities make a real difference in the work our students produce and in the professional portfolios they’ll have when they graduate.”

The winning student team included Isaac Xu (Spatial Experience Design), Xiyu Chen (Interaction Design) and Brian White (Grad Graphic Design). Their design is based on the principles of biomimicry, which draws from nature to solve design challenges. This premise arose from a study of the iconic Porsche 911, which features curves rather than angular edges -- a unique perspective on performance sports car design. The 911 and other Porsche models marry organic design with state-of-the-art technology and ultra-high performance. This merging of nature and technology inspired the idea for a sculpture both organic in shape and exemplifying motion and technology.

Following the design selection, Rusnak continued to partner with ArtCenter through professional design development and feasibility studies. Concurrently, Rusnak worked with Porsche branding and design teams to obtain approval from Porsche headquarters in Germany.

The Rusnak team stated they are “proud to partner with ArtCenter and pleased to create a rare opportunity for students to collaborate with an iconic international brand such as Porsche. The student’s work is impressive and will be a significant addition to the city’s collection of public art as well as an important new landmark in the Lamanda Park District.”

The construction of the custom-designed piece is itself novel. It utilizes an innovative technique that converts three-dimensional form into hundreds of unique two-dimensional aluminum parts. The parts are highly optimized and nested into sheets, which are then laser cut to fit perfectly together. For the art piece these custom-cut aluminum strips will bend and twist to reflect the lanes on a highway and the curves of a racetrack. The metal finish will complement the metal cladding of the Porsche building which also reflects curvilinear forms.

Beneath the sculpture will be a display garden with the arches of the piece framing each car like a work of art and invite engagement with the site. At night, the sculpture will be lit for dramatic effect. The design will provide a revitalizing artistic highlight for the East Colorado Lamanda Park Business District.

About ArtCenter: Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and 10 graduate degrees in a wide variety of art and design disciplines. In addition to its top-ranked academic programs, the College also serves the general public through a highly regarded series of year-round online and on campus extension programs for all levels of experience. Renowned for both its ties to industry and its social impact initiatives, ArtCenter is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status. Throughout the College’s long and storied history, ArtCenter alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important issues in our society.

Contact:
Anna Macaulay, Director, Campus Communications
anna.macaulay@artcenter.edu
626 396-2205

Marketing and Communications ArtCenter College of Design
Keith Wang, Coordinator
keith.wang@artcenter.edu
626 396-2338