It is not uncommon for College of Architecture and Planning students to spend their weekends focused on their individual projects; however, what recently took place between a Friday night and Monday morning was unique. As part of a charrette competition, Architecture, Design, Games, and Planning students spent their weekend working in interdisciplinary teams to reimagine the university orientation experience. Facilitated by Associate Dean Lisa Henry, the College hosted this 65-hour creative initiative to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative problem-solving across departments.
The catalyst for this event was alumnus John Jex (Psych BS ’74, M.Arch ’77) and his wife, Sari Graven. After learning about the addition of the Division of Games to the College and thinking about the necessity of working across disciplines during their careers, John and Sari thoughtfully proposed (and generously offered to support) a charrette competition. Their primary objective was to create a meaningful opportunity for students from four distinct academic units to collaborate toward a shared goal, reflecting the college’s broader mission of cross-disciplinary engagement and impact.
The Challenge
Students were prompted to work in teams across multiple disciplines to reimagine university orientation as a designed experience or interactive journey that welcomes, informs, and inspires. Proposing a new model that creates belonging, fosters curiosity, and engages students as active participants rather than passive recipients.
Darsh Joshi, a Division of Games student contestant, shared his excitement for the challenge.
“It was the first design competition I had been a part of, and it was really interesting diving into different design styles across (Planning), Design, Architecture, and Games. ..it was great seeing how different students design products in their domains…bringing out the same experience desired by the customer, competition, whoever the end user might be!”
After two and a half days of exploring, designing, and creating, the teams displayed their vision of a reimagined orientation experience – ideas ranged from physical to virtual experiences, and everything in between. Models, drawings, and virtual mock-ups were used to demonstrate the teams’ ideas.
Judges from the College, University Orientation, and University Admissions selected three teams as final winners, commending the students for their dedication and creative responses to the challenge. The event was a success, demonstrating the support and connection that creative challenges can cultivate and showcasing the college’s commitment to community and collaboration.
