COLUMBUS IN.- The 2017 J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize-winning installation “The Exchange'' will be decommissioned over the next few days from its location at the Irwin Conference Center and then shipped to Taiwan where it has been acquired into a private collection.

“This has been one of the most popular installations from our exhibitions, and while we are sad to see it go, we are delighted to see it have another significant life,” said Anne Surak, Director of Exhibit Columbus. “Our community really embraced this installation over the years. We’ve seen it used in so many incredible ways — as a workspace for Cummins employees to a backdrop for live performances, wedding photos, family portraits, and company pictures.”

The Exchange was fabricated by hand in Los Angeles, California by Oyler Wu with support from Ayoroa|Simmons, Baller Hardware, M&K Metal Co., and Noblitt Fabricating. It was shipped to Columbus with support from TPS Industrial Services and installed on-site in August of 2017. The installation joins a long list of installations whose exhibition lives have extended far beyond the nearly four-month exhibition that takes place every two years in the heart of downtown Columbus. Also, many of the installations have gone on to win major awards around the country and world.

Early next year Exhibit Columbus will continue building momentum for the opening of the third exhibition. In early February the five 2020-21 J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize recipients and the seven University Design Research Fellows will present their design concepts to the Columbus community and viewers around the world in a dynamic online program.

20 of the 36 installations commissioned for Exhibit Columbus have gone on to have another life after the exhibition. They have become part of larger exhibitions, displayed at other institutions, or become incorporated with materials to serve new purposes.

• All 129 arborvitae trees from SO-IL’s “Into The Hedge” were replanted at the Miller House & Garden this spring

• Hundreds of native flowers from Frida Escobedo’s “Untitled” have been replanted at the Blackwell Pollinator Park, and throughout the community

• “Soft Civic” by Bryony Roberts Studio is on view at the Columbus Air Park




• Parts of “Thank You, Next” by LA Mas now serve as furniture for BCPL, Viewpoint Books, and Foundation For Youth

• “Entry Portal” by Daniel Martinez and Etien Santiago of Indiana University will go on display at a sculpture park next year

• Seating elements from “XX” by Agency Landscape Planning will be placed in the newly-renovated girls locker room at Columbus East High School

• “Playhouse” by Snarkitecture has been part of an international traveling exhibition that opened at the National Building Museum in 2018

Seven Exhibit Columbus installations have won major awards

• “Playscape” by Sean Ahlquist of the University of Michigan won a 2020 Innovative Research Award of of excellence from the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture award for research

• “Soft Civic” by Bryony Roberts Studio was named Best Installation by Architect’s Newspaper 2019 Best of Design awards

• “UTK Filament Tower” by Marshall Prado of the University of Tennessee won a 2020 award for composites excellence from the American Composites Manufacturers Association

• “Conversation Plinth” by IKD was awarded an Architect’s Newspaper Best Of Design Awards for Best New Material in 2017