Click an event link below to see what is going on at the College of Design.
School of Art + Design Events
August 2026
10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
See industrial design works by two groups of students
Product Design Department’s second year students designed a portable wireless speaker. Students considered different use-case scenarios and associated needs for various user demographics from active outdoor lovers to café owners to office workers. They learned about injection molding manufacturing process and constraints, to satisfy technical needs of housing for the internal electrical components in their speaker design.
The Industrial Designers Society of America's (IDSA) mission is to promote the practice of industrial design through education, information, community and advocacy. Our IDSA UO student chapter is comprised of UO product design students, prospective product design students, and others who are interested in engaging in the design world. We strive to build a collective of design students, faculty, and professionals who support each other and increase the accessibility of industrial design. We facilitate connections between students and professionals to inspire design quality and responsibility through professional development and education.
Student Org Engage page https://uoregon.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/na
School of Architecture & Environment
September 2026
5:15–7:15 p.m.
Restore Oregon is excited to host the final event in their 2026 Modernism Calendar, the annual lecture, with the support of the UO School of Architecture & Environment. The co-founders of Open Space, Elias Tebache and Mick Aure, will return to Portland for a film screening and conversation titled, "Oregon Modernism Through the Lens of Open Space."
Last year, Open Space turned its lens toward Oregon, exploring five architectural treasures that define the Pacific Northwest Modern style. Through their distinctive storytelling and cinematography, the series highlights two homes designed by John Yeon, two homes by Pietro Belluschi, and William Fletcher’s personal home.
Time: Doors open at 5:15pm Presentation starts at 5:45pm Location: Innovation Commons (3rd Floor, Innovation Building), UO Portland. Public entry via the courtyard at the north side of the building. Free, on-campus parking is available in the adjacent lot.
Tickets: Free for UO faculty, staff, and students. Promo code: UOFriend or Student. $30 general admission (Modernist Society members receive one complimentary ticket as part of their membership).
School of Planning, Public Policy and Management
October 2026
4:00–5:20 p.m.
Guest speaker: Fernando Ortiz-Moya, Assistant Professor, Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, Japan
Japan is shrinking. How are its cities and towns responding?
Traditionally, Japanese local governments, encouraged by national policy, have sought to halt or reverse their decline by luring urban migrants, increasing birth rates, attracting businesses, and curbing outmigration. This obsession with growth threatens to exhaust already limited resources, closing windows of opportunity for managing a soft landing.
Eventually, continuous shrinkage will force local governments to abandon growth-focused planning and redesign their communities: they must learn to shrink gracefully. Some municipalities are already charting this different course. This presentation argues that shrinking municipalities must break free from pro-growth strategies, embracing more sustainable approaches. These cities are putting socio-environmental concerns at the centre of their strategies, identifying new ways to transition successfully into smaller, sustainable communities.
Event sponsors: School of Planning, Public Policy and Management, Department of Geography, Ecological Design Center, Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Kakenhi Grant.