The Design District

Posted By Rachel DeSchepper on 03/18/2008

The Gehry Wiggle Chair, which in the 1970s set the standard for furniture made of cardboard.

One good thing about reality TV shows: Some of them actually feature people who know what they’re doing. (Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t honestly claim the contestants on Bravo’s Project Runway and Top Chef aren’t truly talented.) I hope this will be something similar: This spring, PBS is airing a new season of their kids’ competition show Design Squad (starting in Portland on OPB Saturday, April 5th at 9:30 am) and the first challenge will be to have the kids design eco-friendly cardboard furniture for IKEA.

I think it’s great premise for a show. Not only is cardboard furniture hot right now (inspired by Frank Gehry’s cardboard Wiggle Chair), but I love the idea of creating a forum that nurtures kids’ creative design instincts.

And a little local connection: The host of the show, Nate Ball, is an Oregon native, born in Newport, and he lived here in Portland for a spell.

Photo by Anthony Tieuli

Oregon-native Nate Ball hosts Design Squad. A designer himself, he won a prestigious award at MIT for designing the Atlas Powered Rope Ascender, which military personnel and rescue workers use to reverse-rappel up buildings at high speeds.

And if you have creative kids, check this out: To coincide with Design Squad, kids from around the country (from kindergarten to high school) are invited to compete in Trash to Treasure, a competition to design “the next big thing” straight from their recycling bin. The winner will receive a $10,000 college scholarship from the Intel Foundation (another Portland connection). Check out the By Kids for Kids website for more information.

Photo by Anthony Tieuli

The teen-age creatives who make up the cast of Design Squad.