UW-Madison design studies co-sponsors international conference

The design studies department and Design Gallery at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are co-sponsoring Architecture in Perspective 25, the international conference of the American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI), in Madison on Oct. 20-24.

The conference theme, “The Future Meets the Past,” describes a wide-ranging slate of presentations and workshops. Highlights include an advanced digital painting workshop, a workshop on Chinese brush painting by design studies professor Wei Dong, and a symposium, “Visualizing Intangible Realities,” co-sponsored by the Center for Visual Cultures. The conference also features sketch tours of UW–Madison and the city. There’s even a pumpkin-carving contest.

Participants travel to Spring Green, Wis., on Friday, Oct. 22, for special tours at the House on the Rock and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin studio. A reception for the show of award winning selections from Architecture in Perspective 25, the largest international architectural illustration competition, will be at the Taliesin Visitor Center following the tour. The show is open to the public through the month of October.

A post-conference retreat in Milwaukee explores the Third Ward, other historic architecture and the Milwaukee Art Museum.

The ASAI’s membership is made up of architectural illustrators who depict buildings and spaces before they are built, using a wide variety of techniques that range from traditional watercolors to the latest high-tech computer software. Design studies associate professor Mark Nelson is 2010 president of the ASAI.

Anyone is welcome to attend, but registration is required. Attendees can sign up for the full conference (cost: $525 for ASAI members) or selected events. For more information, visit http://mscnelson.com/aip25_web/ or contact Mark Nelson at mnelson2@wisc.edu.