LSU’s nationally renowned Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture holds its annual Design Week January 25‐29 with an expanded program that will include speeches and design workshops led by four nationally recognized designers. This year’s five‐day symposium also features a unique and beloved theme – tailgating on the LSU campus.

“Essentially all of the designers have been invited to come in and talk about all aspects of LSU tailgating,” says Kristi Dykema, an associate professor of landscape architecture who is organizing the event. “We’re fascinated by this amazing cultural phenomenon, and it’s not something that’s typically studied from a designer’s perspective. We want to look at how it might be transformed if designers had their hands in it.”

Leading the students in the design workshops are four rising stars in the field of landscape architecture: Scott Pobiner, an assistant professor of design and management at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City; Ivan Valin, a landscape designer with Tom Leader Studio in Berkeley, CA.; Liz Burow, an artist and designer at Wave Hill Fellow in Brooklyn, NY.; and, Beau Trinica, an environments designer with IDEO in San Francisco, CA.

Each designer will lead a one‐day workshop on Monday through Thursday of Design Week, each of which will tackle the tailgating theme from a different perspective. For example, students will look at how open spaces are used in tailgating and how they could be used differently. They’ll examine ways to connect the fragmented tailgating parties that go on simultaneously. They’ll also engage in a design of portable tailgating equipment – everything from pop‐up tents to furniture to barbecue grills.

“We want them to get really creative,” Dykema says. “Anything that goes tailgating – we want to come up with a portable version that you can pack up in a backpack or bag and then be able to unfold for tailgating.”

Each workshop will be preceded by a lecture, which will be open to the public. The lectures will be held at 10 AM each morning from Monday‐Thursday in the Commons area of the Design Building on the LSU campus. Design Week will culminate on Friday January 29 when students present their final designs. There will be a jury show with awards for the best presentation, followed by a tailgating party. The event will begin at 10 AM in the Commons in the Design Building on the LSU Campus, and is open to the public.