Excursion to New York by the Productdesign competence centre
Parallel to Design Week in New York City, 15 students and 4 lecturers from the Product Design competence field visited the most exciting metropolis in the USA in May 2023. In addition to the largest American furniture fair icff (international contemporary furniture fair), the design fair Wanted Design and the design festival NYCxDesignx, the group visited the annual exhibitions of the Parsons School of Design and the Pratt Institute. They also visited the MAD Museum, the Cooper Hewitt, the MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum.
The excursion participants gained insights into everyday working life through studio visits to Huemen Design, INDEED Design and Pensa. The surrounding area was also explored. On a day trip on the silver Amtrak trains along the Hudson River, the group visited the neon light manufacturer Lite Brite Neon in Kingston, New York. In addition to exciting insights into the craft and history of fluorescent tubes, the participants learned a lot about the humour and warmth of the locals on a turbulent return journey by bus.
A trip to Brighton Beach on Coney Island brought the cultural phenomenon of the amusement park closer and helped to reflect and understand the citizens and the urban-geographical interplay of New York City more comprehensively.
Excursion report: Prof. Matthias Ries