Columbia Design League

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What is the Columbia Design League?

We are a group of Columbia Museum of Art members who share a belief that design matters in every area of modern life. Our annual seasons abound with lectures and discussions led by architects, designers, artists, and other luminaries. The Design League collaborates with academic, civic, and professional organizations to bring appealing and insightful design programs and events to the region.

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Add a CDL membership to your existing CMA membership:

$15 for one cardholder, $25 for two
$5 for students

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This upgrade is only valid with a current CMA membership. Not sure if you're current? Give us a call at 803-799-2810 or email info@columbiamuseum.org.

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Recorded on September 19, 2024

Henry Grabar on Parking, Policy, and the Future of Urban Spaces

On the eve of Park(ing) Day, the Columbia Design League welcomes author Henry Grabar for a thought-provoking discussion on his latest book, Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World. Delving into the surprising ways parking influences our cities, shaping everything from transportation to housing and land use. This program provides a deeper understanding of the issues at the heart of Park(ing) Day, inspiring new ways to rethink and reclaim public spaces.

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Binder Podcast: The Columbia Design League

In this special presentation of Binder podcast, producer Drew and Columbia Design League liaison Jackie Palmieri celebrate the CDL's 25th anniversary. Then Jackie joins current CDL board president Anna Sveinbjornsdottir for a preview of what's next for the design league. After the break, CDL founders Tom Savory and Adrienne Montare stop by to discuss the group's history and some of their favorite memories.

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Play With Your City

Play With Your City 2019: Reimagining Lady Street

The winner has been announced! Learn more about the changes on Lady Street.

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The Public Restroom: Fear, Decency, and Design

The Columbia Design League presents Harvey Molotch, a professor of sociology and metropolitan studies at NYU and co-editor of the book Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, has a beef with American public bathrooms — the physical design often makes an important everyday experience exceedingly uncomfortable.

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Recorded October 4, 2020

CDL presents Please Have a Seat: A Conversation on Eileen Gray

Join Curator Catherine Walworth for a virtual conversation about architect and furniture designer Eileen Gray, a pioneer of the Modern Movement in architecture. Walworth and Adrienne Montare, a founding member of the Columbia Design League and executive director of AIA South Carolina, discuss Gray’s career and its relevance today, including the recent acquisition of a Gray chair to the CMA collection. This video includes a question and answer section recorded on Facebook Live immediately following the discussion.

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Past Events

Design Presentation featuring Philip Freelon

Philip G. Freelon, FAIA, is founder of Durham, N.C. architectural firm the Freelon Group. The Freelon Group is the architect of record for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Freelon serves as the design guarantor, ensuring the design reflects the values and priorities of the museum and the Smithsonian Institution.

February 2016

Screening and Discussion featuring Mack McCary & Matthew Miller

"If You Build It" is a documentary about a year in the life of one of America's most innovative classrooms, where students design and build to transform their hometown community. Designer-activists lead their students through a year-long, full-scale design and build project that does much more than just teach basic construction skills: it shows ten teenagers the power of design-thinking to reinvent not just their town, but their own sense of what's possible.

September 2015

An Evening with Architect and Educator Stephen Chung

Chung is host of the four-part public television series Cool Spaces! The Best New Architecture. In the show, he profiles buildings and spaces across the U.S. that have been created by architects and others who pushed the boundaries of design, materials and process. From napkin sketches to study models, Chung leads design buffs behind the scenes and into the architect’s mind, exploring the design process before the first wall is built.

May 2014

Lecture and Q&A with MTV's Jeffrey Keyton

Special lecture and Q&A session with SVP for On-Air Design and Off-Air Creative, MTV and MTV2, Jeffrey Keyton. Keyton oversees the award-winning design teams at MTV and has been instrumental in defining MTV’s distinctive visual personality for the last 20 years.

March 2011

Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio

Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio is a documentary film on the late architect Samuel Mockbee and the radical educational design/build program known as the Rural Studio. The film explores Mockbee's effort to provide students with an experience that forever inspires them to consider how they can use their skills to better their communities.

February 2011