Biomimicry at Pecha Kucha in Ryerson Woods

Lindsay and Amy will be speaking at a Pecha Kucha at the Ryerson Woods next Thursday, October 13th at 7:30pm.  Come learn about biomimicry in this fast-paced forum - 20 slides x 20 seconds each!  Press release after the cut:

Friends of Ryerson Woods is pleased to announce

A Mini Lecture Series on Green Design

Inspired by the Japanese PechaKucha

LAKE COUNTY, IL, October 3,2011 – Friends of Ryerson Woods will host an unusual and fascinating event inspired by the Japanese PechaKucha trend on Thursday, October 13, 2011 from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.  This one-night-only, mini lecture series will explore the exciting work in green design currently happening in our region.

Inspired by the PechaKucha (Japanese for "chit chat")  trend that is generating buzz in hundreds of cities around the world, this evening will feature 10 exciting and dynamic speakers from a variety of fields whose work in the greater Chicago area involves environmentally conscious design.  The idea is simple: 20 images x 20 seconds.   Because no speaker will have more than 6.6 minutes, presentations will be fast-paced and dynamic, creating an atmosphere of excitement and possibility. 

Presentations will include designs for the Bloomingdale Trail (Chicago’s version of New York City’s “High Line”), Prairie Crossing Charter School’s bold new vision for a curriculum integrated with nature, the elegant simplicity of Strand Design’s “unique objects for sustainable living,” and the styles of Frei Design’s Annie Novotney—the Chicago Reader’s Best Fashion Designer in Chicago 2011.

Designers and artists participating in PechaKucha:

• Christina Bader of Farr Associates, the firm described by the New York Times as, “the most prominent of the city’s growing cadre of ecologically sensitive architects” 
• Ted and Sharon Burdett of Strand Design, who create locally made and beautifully designed products from salvaged lumber, urban lumber, locally manufactured materials and re-purposed materials
• Crystal Grover of Windows by Indo, which centers its remarkable window installations around found objects in an attempt to rejuvenate the character of the old and worn
• Sage Morgan-Hubbard, independent teaching artist, activist, poet, performer and consultant, currently working with Young Chicago Authors’  Youth Poetry Slam, "Louder Than a Bomb" 
• Hana Ishikawa of Site Design, who designs dazzling and sustainable urban landscapes such as Mary Bartelme Park, a new iconic park in the West Loop with many innovative features new to Chicago
• Amy Coffman Phillips of Liquid Triangle Sustainability, an expert on “biomimicry,” or design that draws innovative solutions from nature, and Lindsay James of InterfaceFLOR, who studies ways to harness the economic system to improve our natural systems 
• Jenny Kendler and Molly Schafer of the Endangered Species Print Project, where 100% of the proceeds from ESPP's limited-edition prints support the critically endangered species they depict—and editions are limited to the species' remaining population count
• Annie Novotny of Frei Design, award-winning clothing designer, performance artist, and educator at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• Beth White and Diane Davis of the Trust for Public Land, working to convert an under-used freight railroad embankment into a multi-use trail and linear park
• Nigel Whittington of Prairie Crossing Charter School, a public school working to transform children through academic discovery and interaction with natural, ecological, and community resources

The Mini Lectures event is part of the GREEN DESIGN series of public programs at Ryerson Woods.  The series seeks to promote a broader understanding of sustainable design and art-making practices across many disciplines. Programs include lectures, workshops, art exhibitions, building tours, and film screenings that will run throughout 2011.

The event will take place in the Ryerson Woods Welcome Center, a Plantinum LEED-certified building designed by architect Bill Sturm.   The Welcome Center employs a number of sustainable strategies, from materials choices to the use of natural light, geothermal heating and cooling, and recycled rainwater—in short, the perfect place to host an event devoted to green design in Chicago. 

Key Information

WHAT:  Mini Lecture Series on Green Design

WHEN:  Thursday, October 13, 2011, from 7:30pm-9:00pm.

WHERE:  The Welcome Center at Ryerson Woods.  Ryerson Woods is located on Riverwoods Road, between Half Day Road (Route 22) and Deerfield Road near Deerfield.  Follow signs for Brushwood once you enter the front gate.

COST:  $10.  No registration required.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call Ryerson Woods at 847.968.3321 or visit us on the web at www.ryersonwoods.org.

Ryerson Woods

Ryerson Woods is an oasis of 556 acres of magnificent woodlands in the heart of densely populated Lake County.  Set in Deerfield, Ryerson Woods is one of Illinois’ premiere natural and architecturally significant areas.  A Lake County Forest Preserve, it is listed as a Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places and is also part of the Illinois Nature Preserve System, a designation given only to the most ecologically significant natural areas in the state.  Over 100,000 people visit Ryerson Woods each year to attend an education program, walk, bird watch and enjoy the quiet of nature.

Friends of Ryerson Woods

Through innovative arts programs presented against a backdrop of stately woods where pre-settlement flora and fauna still linger, Friends of Ryerson Woods seeks to build an environmentally literate constituency.  Friends of Ryerson Woods is a not-for-profit organization that uses the unique setting of Ryerson Woods to catalyze people’s understanding, life-long appreciation, and behavior in support of nature.