When a painting by Van Gogh is restored it is news. The same is true when preserving the legacy of a landscape architecture masterpiece.
Where a painting might go through several conservators hands, the conservators at the Miller House require a team of people working daily to maintain the 13 acre landscape and home designed collectively by Eero Saarinen, Alexander Girard, and Dan Kiley.
When designers stop to ask, “How can we help?” it changes history.
Exhibit Columbus exists to activate the design legacy of Columbus, Indiana by inviting architects, artists, and designers to listen to the needs of the residents and use them to create new design futures. Spirit of Space works closely with the exhibition curators to reveal this intent through short films. When tasked with creating an exhibit, SO-IL toured the Miller House and asked the conservators what materials might be needed for the landscape. They identified an area of The Miller House that needed new hedges to restore the garden to the state of the original Dan Kiley landscape and brought it to fruition.
Most exhibitions create temporary impact. Exhibit Columbus is the opposite. It exists to create community impact for the residents of Columbus, Indiana. Spirit of Space was there to document the transformation of the project from concept in the SO-IL office, to exhibition, to the final installation at the Miller House and Garden with the help of the architects, and curators of the exhibit and the groundskeeper of the house.
