i. institutional support and commitment to continuous improvement

I. Institutional Support and Commitment to Continuous Improvement
2) The GFRY Studio
The GFRY Studio—aka “Motorola Gallery”—for advanced projects is a multi-function gallery and
construction assembly space. The Motorola Corporation bequeathed this space and its supporting
endowment in memory of their late designer Geoffrey Frost, who designed their successful RAZR
phone. Each semester, a single course, typically with multidisciplinary support, is given the GFRY
Studio as an extra space for the staging of complicated full-scale assembly over a period of weeks.
The endowment can cover materials and travel expenses. Having the construction activity in full
view, in a central location, is even more inspiring than an exhibit of completed work.
3) Additional Exhibition Spaces
Juries, or scheduled group critiques of class work, can take place in an open pin up and critique
zone inside each studio space, or on the wall in the adjacent wide public corridor. These occasional
corridor critiques provide a chance for students in different disciplines and at different levels to see
and benefit from the work of their fellow students. Additionally, students, faculty and professional
partners use the west wall of the main north-south corridor for scheduled department-wide exhibi-
tions of work.
C) Administrative physical resources
In addition to the office space for staff and the program heads for AIADO (accessible through room
#1257) offices for the Fabrication Studio (#1232a) and AOC (accessible through #1243), and individual
full-time faculty offices, AIADO also gained a Meeting/Library room on the adjacent floor. The easy
access of this communal space preserves the constant discussion that faculty enjoyed while designing
the AIADO curriculum in their pre-existing shared office space. Part-time faculty maintain their shared
office space (#1257), and AIADO academic unit-mates HPRES maintain their faculty office space in
the Sharp building across the street (37 S. Wabash St.)\. All of these spaces have access to networked
computers and/or wireless capabilities to complement SAIC-issued laptops.
D) Ongoing challenges in physical resources
Budget appropriations of $10,000 have been identified to develop and install storage and acoustic
separation solutions for the MArch program studio spaces. The project will be studied by a faculty and
student committee, with the intention of opening up the design and fabrication of new architectural
objects and treatments to student competition or alumni commission. In either instance, students
and/or alumni would design systems and manage their fabrication and installation. Working with the
School’s instructional resources and media services departments (IRFM and CRIT), solutions will be
finished and installed by the Spring 2011 semester.
E) Floor plan of department
On the following page find a floor plan for the AIADO facilities. After that, find a floor plan for the
faculty offices.
95 | Spring 2011
SECTION I Institutional Support and Commitment to Continuous Improvement