Hosted by Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM)
12-23 October 2009
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

The 44th Icsid Interdesign in 38 years, "Design Avenue - A path to meaningful innovation", took place at EGADE Graduate School of Business from 12-23 October 2009 in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Hosted by Icsid Member, Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superioes de Monterrey (ITESM), the largest private university in America; where 51 participants from fifteen different countries developed strategic design solutions to the following questions:

The event organisation started one year prior, in October 2008, with the identification of the main theme for the workshop, the Design Avenue, which is a figurative metaphor suggesting a means to find value innovation for any product or service through design. At the same time, Design Avenue is used as a term related to a route of public transport in which all the elements contained there­in will be designed within a value innovation frame work.
 
The official website was launched at "www.interdesignmty2009.com" and the registration period was open from November 2008 - February 2009.


Above: Interdesign Organizing Committee at EGADE Graduate School of Business.

The Organising Committee was in open communication with Nuevo Leon State Authorities to ensure their support and recommendations. They considered the implementation of projects of strategic value to the city and its citizens, as some recent urban projects developed by the State Government, such as Santa Lucia Riverwalk, and Fundidora Park. Nuevo Leon State Urban Development Agency provided plenty of data and orientation, with the intention of making the project as real and as feasible as possible.

Meaningful innovation should always reflect value; value perceived as such by the end user and other stake holders within the production and consumer chain. While the practice of innovation is highly desirable in any emerging society, innovation by itself is not necessarily perceived as valuable. Hundreds of products around the world are a vivid example of this principle. The concept of "Meaningful Innovation" is, therefore, centered in the final user, strategically oriented and supported by creative business models, sustainable, and socially responsible.

"Design transforms knowledge into meaningful innovation". The idea behind this is for design to show its value in a city that has openly declared its vocation to knowledge: "Monterrey ciudad del conocimiento" (Monterrey city of knowledge). A city that is about to experience a fantastic journey of transformation from this motto to "Monterrey city of knowledge, culture and design".

Download Appendix A for the Executive Presentation (PDF - 1.3MB)

The Organising Committee was in open communication with Nuevo Leon State Government. The project briefs were presented to the authorities who provided plenty of information and previous studies to facilitate the development of the project. The following publications where provided as reference:

Above: Interdesign participants Jose Luna (far left) and Cristina Noguer (center right) analysing field research results with project leaders Gabriel Minicelli (center left) and Matias Peraza (far right).

A transportation circuit was proposed for the Design Avenue to take place, and a ground area property of the State next to Santa Lucia River walk was suggested for the development of the Design Plaza to make the project as real and as feasible as possible.

This information was presented to the Interdesign participants who analysed it in preparation for the field research. During the next couple of days they made various visits to strategic points of Monterrey Metropolitan Area, to know firsthand the situation they were designing for. They used the current urban transportation buses, visited the most significant urban development projects, and analysed many street markets around the city area.

CEMEX, the world's largest building materials supplier and cement producer, participated in a lecture with all the teams about their new and exciting materials and new construction technologies that would bring high value to the project results, as an alternative to traditional methods and materials.

View promotional video on YouTube

A total of 51 outstanding industrial designers, senior students, architects and other related specialists, in transportation design, integrated product development, social interaction, sustainable development, and urban planning, from 15 different countries took part in this two­ week intensive workshop:

In addition to this there was a staff on-­site to facilitate the workshop, formed by 30 volunteer students in industrial design, marketing, digital art and animation. Download Appendix B for the full volunteer list (PDF - 60KB).

Participants were distributed among seven interdisciplinary teams working on seven identified projects, each having a project leader and a technical specialist as a support.

The workshop began with a team integration session, in which the design brief and objectives where explained to all participants. Previous documentary research was given to the teams in preparation for their field research, after which each team prepared a detailed presentation with their investigation results. They analysed users' needs, design requirements and essential characteristics of the city landscape.


Above: Conceptual sketches of the different proposals.

The creative process was enriched by regrouping the participants into new teams, each of which had members from at least three of the projects, giving them a global vision of the Design Avenue. These new teams developed preliminary concepts taking into consideration important aspects from all seven projects. The concepts were presented in a general assembly and the best concept "Flow of Life" was selected. The best ideas from the other concepts were also included into this new integrated concept.

Participants returned to their original teams to continue working on their projects now following the Flow of Life concept, giving each space and element a natural growing path that mimics the way of living things, combining the beauty of organic forms in harmony with simple yet effective function, and adding a strong emotional sense.


Above: Interdesign participant Juan Pablo Crovari working on the transportation model.

During the project development stage, each team conducted the following studies: scale, final layout, structure, usability, form and expression (look and feel), surface design, color and texture, materials and technology. Up to this point the participants were working at EGADE Graduate School of Business.

All teams moved to ITESM Campus Monterrey to work at the workshops, where they build the models for the final presentation. They used all the advanced prototyping equipment available at the workshops, including the thermoforming machine, Z Corp. and Stratasys 3D Printers, and HP plotters.

Final presentation took place at EGADE Auditorium, where the teams prepared an exhibition to show their outstanding results.

During the two-week workshop, participants demonstrated the highest level of professionalism and dedication. The diversity of experiences and international collaboration greatly enriched the creative process, nevertheless integrated on a unique concept, the teams presented strong conceptual proposals of the following items:

 
These projects were developed by the participants up to a conceptual stage, clearly illustrated with a set of digital renderings and scale models.

The Transportation proposal consisted of two different route types: one High Capacity/Low Frequency High­Speed Bus for connecting the different municipalities of the city; one Low Capacity/High Frequency Low­Speed Shuttle Bus meant exclusively for shorter routes inside each municipality.

The Bus Stops team proposed three types of stops depending on the location and the type of route: one minimalistic approach with a bus sign and a multisensory element; one where people lay half­seated for a short period of time waiting for the bus, without interrupting the natural flow of people walking on the sidewalk, along with a panoramic roof that lets the sunlight in but at the same time protects from the elements; and another variation that allows people to seat for low frequency routes, both of the later also include the ads already present on the current bus stops in a much improved way, that gives better visibility to the add from both sides of the sidewalk and from moving vehicles.

The Urban Elements grow on the city landscape, mimicking the natural elements, and generating personal spaces inside the city. The implementation of these elements in public areas addresses our needs as individuals and as a community. They provide comfort and safety to the citizens, and order to the urban space.

The Design Atrium is formed by three self-sustaining concrete shells, an abstraction of a flower starting to blossom. Together these shells create a space and a personal experience, intended for the contemplation of an iconic monument or natural beauty of the city. It isolates some of your senses in order to highlight others, giving you a different appreciation of your surroundings.


Above: Scale model of the Design Plaza on Santa Lucia Riverwalk.

The Design Plaza is conceived as a multi­-sensory experience, to take us back to nature. Its main element is a rising ramp that gently elevates above St. Lucia river walk to provide a great panoramic view of its surroundings; at the other end it delicately brings the river into the plaza, and disappears below the ground, with amenities (toilets, drinking water) and a service area.

The Plaza is the heart of a community; it unites culture, business, technology and people. The Children's Corner seamlessly spreads across one side of the ramp, and the Tianguis street market takes place at the other side. The plaza is also welcoming and inclusive, providing accessibility for all.

The Tianguis is based on an innovative business model, where design students from all universities in Monterrey compete for the opportunity to sell their design products on this market for one year. Providing them with the necessary advice to start their own business; including formal registration, business strategy, and other consulting services to help guarantee their success.

All these elements of the Design Avenue have a common aim to improve the quality of life of the citizens of Monterrey, and to create new direct and indirect jobs and business opportunities. This Design Avenue model (know­-how) has been developed in a way that it could be easily adapted and replicated in other places around the world, to provide economic stability for more people.

A record of the event will be edited, containing all the technical information and results obtained during the conferences and workshop. This will make it possible to use the other documents as reference material or as a text book for Industrial Design or other academic programs.

Since the beginning of the project, ITESM's Industrial Design Department maintained a strong communication with Nuevo Leon State Urban Development and Transportation Agencies. They provided a clear view of the City needs, and the current development plans of their respective agencies.

Key sponsors and partners: CEMEX, Industria Carrocera San Roberto, HP, Adobe, DUNL, AETNL, OCV Monterrey, Monterrey Chamber of Commerce, Icsid, EGADE and ITESM.


Above (left to right): Mario Alberto Martinez, Carlos Hinrichsen, Alberto Bustani Adem, Rogelio Flores De la Peña, and Jorge Gomez Abrams at official inauguration ceremony.

Icsid President, Prof. Carlos Hinrichsen attended the first day of the workshop and took part in the official inauguration ceremony, and team integration. He spoke to the audience about the key opportunities for design in developing countries, to improve the quality of life and to improve the economy; he also mentioned the possibility for Monterrey to run for World Design Capital for year 2016.

Craig Vogel, Associate Dean of the School of Design of the University of Cincinnati, author of "The Design of Things to Come" (Wharton School Publishing, 2005), and "Creating Breakthrough Products" (FT Press, 2001), attended the first week of the workshop. He worked closely with the teams during the field research and the conceptual stage; he also gave a lecture about design methodology to the participants. Special guests included:

"Design Avenue was an interesting approach for seeding the design culture in our city. I think it is a wonderful time to look for new alternatives and start a new phase in Mexico, all based on design thinking. Beyond creating a design experience through the project itself, the most important benefit I got was meeting all those wonderful and creative designers that came along to share their experiences and create an international network, that for sure it will create an impact on the future."
 - Erick Saucedo, Mexico, AC&M Group

"The Interdesign was a great experience for me. Being able to work with such a variety of talents, cultures, years of experience, ages and professions is not an everyday thing. Even though the project we were assigned to develop was very motivating and magnificent itself, I personally believe the true value of the Interdesign was in the network it developed and the knowledge it nurtured. It lits hope in your heart to find out that there are so many people in the world so in love with design that they do not care about giving away two weeks of their lives to work in a project on behalf of a city, which by the way is in many cases not where they live. Hopefully, the decision makers will embrace the project as much as we did and bring it into reality. Monterrey, being an important Mexican industrial city needs urgently to understand the importance of design and the impact it has in improving the quality of life."
­ Alejandra Chavira, Mexico, ITESM
 

"Icsid Interdesign Monterrey 2009 – Design Avenue" is the exclusive copyright holder of all images and materials on this website (unless otherwise referenced). No copying or distribution of these materials or concepts can be made without pre-­written authorisation.

For information on investment, partnership, stakeholder, distribution and/or transfer of intellectual or industrial property rights for production, marketing or other, please contact:
 
Andres Ahues­Vasquez
Project Manager
Industrial Design Department
ITESM Campus Monterrey
2501 S Eugenio Garza Sada Ave., Col. Tecnologico
Monterrey, NL 64849, Mexico
t: +52 (81) 8358 2000 ext 5480
e:
w: www.itesm.mx