Surface Media Announces Surface Summer School at Penn in Collaboration with University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design

NEW YORK, May 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Surface Media, publisher of Surface, the 27-year-old American magazine of global contemporary design, announces the launch of Surface Summer School at Penn, a design challenge and competition in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. The first partnership of its kind between a media company and an accredited university, the challenge will invite students from Penn to respond to a brief for architectural and design solutions for a mobile medical testing unit for COVID-19. The winner of the competition will be profiled in Surface Magazine and will be eligible for an internship with the publication at a later date.

Inspired by Penn students' recent involvement in the 3D printing of 1,000 face shields for Penn Medicine's six-hospital health system, and recognizing the unique challenge faced by students seeking an internship or employment this summer, Winka Dubbeldam, Miller Professor and Chair of Architecture at Penn, conceived a month-long challenge in which students create a prefabricated COVID-19 testing structure that will enable quick and easy assembly on site. Taking place from June 1 - 30, 2020, the challenge is intended to express optimism in this challenging time through the exploration of exciting new directions in manufacturing, highlighting Surface Media's belief that creative design and emerging technologies can solve the world's problems.

The launch of Surface Summer School and competition marks the beginning of a variety of new initiatives for Surface Media as it continues its evolution under the leadership of Marc Lotenberg, CEO of Future Media Group, which brought together the Surface and Watch Journal titles together to form its new holding company in 2019.

"At Surface, we have always believed that great design has the power to impact the world, and we wanted to offer a positive way for the up and coming design community to showcase that idea," said Lotenberg. "The Weitzman School of Design is an exceptional program, home to a wide array of young talent and we are looking forward to seeing what the students can create."

Design proposals will be reviewed at the end of the month by a Super Jury which will judge the student submissions and choose the winners. The Super Jury will feature some of the world's leading minds in design including Winka Dubbeldam, Miller Professor and Chair of Architecture at Penn, as well as renowned artist and designer, Dror Benshetrit and Pritzker Architecture Prize Winner, Thom Mayne, designer Yves Behar, Susan Sellers of 2x4, Marion Weiss, Ferda Kolatan, and Joe Doucet. Additional jurors will be announced in the coming weeks.

Surface Summer School will also feature weekly lectures on the magazine's Instagram channel, made available to both Penn students and the public and led by The Super Jury which will work in collaboration with Surface. Additionally, in-depth weekly tutorials to critique students' analytical thinking, design work, and presentation techniques will be held throughout the duration of the program. The hour-long lectures will kick off with designer Yves Behar on June 3rd at 6:30 pm EDT.

Dubbeldam stated, "The goal of Surface Summer School at Penn is for us to provide students with an opportunity during this crisis to meet design professionals, create better portfolios, and to hone their creativity and design skills even further. We're thrilled to partner with Surface Media, which has always championed creative design and supported upcoming talent within the community."

Winners will be announced mid-July and in addition to publishing their competition entries in the magazine, Surface will also offer a summer internship to the winner. More information on Surface Summer School can be found at https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/surface-summer-school/. For more information on Surface Magazine, visit www.surfacemag.com.

About Surface Media
Surface Media is a storytelling company that looks at the world through the prism of design. With various channels, including print magazines, websites, social media, live events, and custom publishing, it sets the standard for quality across a vast range of creative disciplines and industries.

About Surface Magazine
Since 1993, Surface has led the conversation around what's new and what's next in the worlds of contemporary global design, architecture, art, fashion, and culture. Offering special access to tastemakers including Thom Browne, Delphine Arnault, David Adjaye, Nobu Matsuhisa, Kanye West and more, Surface is a compass for today's creative leaders that boasts a circulation of 100,000 with in-room distribution at top hotels including The Edition, The Nomad, and The Gramercy Park Hotel.

About University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design
The University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design prepares students to address complex sociocultural and environmental issues through thoughtful inquiry, creative expression, and innovation. As a diverse community of scholars and practitioners, we are committed to advancing the public good–both locally and globally–through art, design, planning, and preservation.

MEDIA CONTACT
Evan Rome, Sunshine Sachs
[email protected]; (248) 877-4747

SOURCE Surface Media