Announcing YES Design—AND Research, the 2025 Exhibit Columbus University Design Research Fellowship Colloquium
This two-day event is produced in collaboration with Indiana University J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program.
Columbus, Indiana — Landmark Columbus Foundation announces the 2025 University Design Research Fellowship Colloquium, entitled YES Design—AND Research. This free, two-day event focuses on the work of the six teams awarded the 2025 Exhibit Columbus University Design Research Fellowships (UDRF). It will feature a keynote presentation by Chris Cornelius ofstudio:indigenous. Cornelius was a 2016–17 J. Irwin and Xenia S Miller Prize Recipient whose project Wiikiami received international acclaim. The event is created in partnership with Indiana University J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program, and produced with support from a grant from the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation. It will occur in downtown Columbus and highlight the Fellows’ work and design research within their respective institutions.
YES Design—AND Research was created so that attendees could:
Deepen the understanding of each UDRF installation and its relationship to this cycle of Exhibit Columbus;
Gain practical and valuable knowledge about how quality of place amenities can create benefits for communities;
Spark new collaborations between universities, community partners, municipal leaders, funders, and patrons.
The two-day event will kick off on Thursday evening with the keynote by Cornelius, now the Chair of Architecture at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture + Planning. He is a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and the founding principal of studio:indigenous, a firm that creates architecture and artifacts that dismantle stereotypes surrounding Indigenous design and offer a distinct vision of contemporary Indigenous culture. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised on the Oneida Reservation in Wisconsin. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia.
Friday sessions include reflections from community partners on the UDRF installations, such as the Bartholomew County Public Library and YES Cinema, followed by University Design Research Fellows presenting their work. After lunch, the afternoon continues with additional partner reflections from Central Middle School and the Bartholomew County Historical Society, and Fellows exploring their work. The day concludes with an evening art opening at Ellipsisby Columbus High School senior Maria Ramas.
YES Design—AND Research builds upon Columbus’ commitment to quality of place through design excellence and education. This year’s UDRFellows represent nine universities across seven states.
“Our program is excited to be a partner in producing the YES Design—AND Research Colloquium with Landmark Columbus Foundation,” said Daniel Luis Martinez, Director of the Indiana University J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program “We see this as a wonderful opportunity for our students in the Masters of Architecture program to hear directly from the Fellows on how Exhibit Columbus has impacted the community and their research. We look forward to how this event can inspire our students in their own studies and research moving forward.”
“The beauty of Yes And is rooted in bold storytelling and intentional collaboration within the community. The six Fellows amplified their installations with their research,” said Joseph Altshuler, Yes And curatorial partner and previous 2022–23 University Design Research Fellow. “The Colloquium will be an exciting event to engage with the participating community partners and to hear from the Fellows themselves about how their projects currently on exhibit in Columbus might also drive future directions in their creative practices.”
2024–25 University Design Research Fellows
The University Design Research Fellowship (UDRF) recognizes full-time university professors whose work is deeply rooted in design research. For this cycle, Exhibit Columbus launched a national open call for UDRFellows. From sixty application submissions, the Curatorial Partners selected six UDRF teams. Each team is partnered with a Columbus-based organization and assigned a site where they create an installation rooted in their research.
Chandler Ahrens, Constance Vale, and Kelley Van Dyck Murphy
Washington University in St. Louis
Sam Fox School College of Architecture
St. Louis, Missouri
Installation: Inside Out
Site: Cleo Rogers Memorial Library Plaza
Partner: Columbus Area Visitors Center and Bartholomew County Public Library
Sarah Aziz
University of New Mexico
School of Architecture and Planning
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Installation: A View of the World from Indiana
Former Site: St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
Partner: Columbus Propeller
Akima Brackeen
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
School of Architecture
Chicago, Illinois
Installation: Pool/Side
Site: Cleo Rogers Memorial Library
Partner: Bartholomew County Public Library
Andrew Fu, Aaron Goldstein, and Aleksandr Mergold
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Hillier College of Architecture and Design
Brooklyn, New York; Berkeley, California; Ithaca, New York
Installation: The Steel Horsie
Site and Partner: Bartholomew County Historical Society
Michael Jefferson and Suzanne Lettieri
Cornell University
School of Architecture
Ithaca, New York
Installation: Apart, Together
Site: Ovation Plaza
Partner: YES Cinema and Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center
César Lopez, Jess Myers, Amelyn Ng, and Germán Pallares-Avitia
University of Virginia, School of Architecture; Syracuse University, School of Architecture; Columbia University, GSAPP; Rhode Island School of Design
Charlottesville, Virginia; Syracuse, New York; New York City, New York; Providence, Rhode Island
Installation: PUBLIC / SCHOOL / GROUNDS
Site: Central Middle School
Partner: Central Middle School and Columbus Signature Academy Lincoln Elementary School
Event Schedule
Thursday, October 10, 2025
5:30 pm–6 pm
6 pm–7 pm
Reception
Keynote Presentation with Chris Cornelius of studio:indigenous
YES Design—AND Research will feature a keynote presentation by Chris Cornelius of studio:indigenous, who will address education in art and architecture, and how design research advances our built environment.
Friday, October 11, 2025
8:30 am – 9 am
9 am – 10:15 am
10:30 am – 11:45 am
11:45 am – 1:45 pm
1:45 pm – 3 pm
3:15 pm – 4:30 pm
5 pm – 7 pm
Light Breakfast
Session One with Community Partners, moderated by Richard McCoy
Post-occupancy reflection: Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family Center, Columbus Propeller, and others
Session One with UDRFellows, moderated by Leticia Pardo
Social Infrastructure: Apart, Together; Pool/Side; A View of the World from Indiana
Lunch and Explore
Session Two with Community Partners, moderated by Daniel Luis Martinez
Post-occupancy reflection: Central Middle School and others
Session Two with UDRFellows, moderated by Joseph Altshuler
Public Interiors: Inside Out, PUBLIC / SCHOOL / GROUNDS
Art at Ellipsis: Maria Ramas’ Art Show
The colloquium will be on the move and in the city, exploring the five installations while engaging the community. The day will be divided into two sessions: session one highlighting community partnerships and session two highlighting the work of the UDRFellows.
The event is free and open to the public. Learn more and register here.
Media Contact
Jamie Goldsborough
jamie@landmarkcolumbus.org
About Exhibit Columbus
Exhibit Columbus is a program of Landmark Columbus Foundation and an exploration of community, architecture, art, and design that activates the modern legacy of Columbus, Indiana. It creates a cycle of programming that uses this context to convene conversations around innovative ideas and commissions site-responsive installations in a free, public exhibition. exhibitcolumbus.org
About Indiana University J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program
The J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program (Miller M.Arch) at Indiana University reimagines the links between art, architecture, and the city by educating architects to be civic-minded, innovative, and imaginative world thinkers. The program is housed in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, within the College of Arts and Sciences, the home of liberal arts at IU Bloomington. The school offers a range of master’s degrees at the Bloomington campus and at The Republic Building in Columbus, a city that is nationally known for its outstanding examples of great modern architecture.
Header photo: 2024-25 University Design Research Fellows at the 2024 Symposium by Hadley Fruits
From left to right: Constance Vale, Aleksandr Mergold, Suzanne Lettieri, Akima Brackeen, Sarah Aziz, and César Lopez
