IU senior Quinn Scott spent his final summer as an undergraduate helping rural Hoosier communities reimagine their public spaces.
The comprehensive design student interned with IU Center for Rural Engagement’s Rural Placemaking Studio, a partnership with the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, where he and other students traveled throughout rural Indiana to meet with community members and tour local sites that residents felt needed a fresh vision.
From there, the students used their talents to create innovative placemaking designs. Quinn's group worked on murals for New Pekin and Spencer Pride, signage for Spencer Pride, pre-architecture work for the Black Vulture Project in Paoli, and an extension for a park in Shoals.
The experience culminated in a final design showcase on August 27 at The Mill in Bloomington, where their designs displayed for the public.
Quinn said his creative journey began in childhood when he discovered a love of origami and arts and crafts introduced to him by his grandparents. His passion for design only grew from there.
"I've always been hands-on and working on projects," he said. "I'm more of a jack-of-all-trades than I am a professional of one thing, which I think is perfect for comprehensive design."
He grew up in Morristown, Indiana, a small rural town about 30 miles east of Indianapolis with a population of about 1,200.
"Coming from a small town, I was actively involved in everything from a very young age, and it's nice to get that feeling again," Quinn said. "It truly makes me feel at home. Meeting all of the community members during our first community visits was also a highlight. Seeing all of them get excited about revitalizing their towns and bringing life to areas that are often forgotten is what it's all about."
Before his internship, he’d never visited most of the small towns that partnered with the Rural Placemaking Studio. Now, he feels like he's forged lasting bonds with many of the close-knit Hoosier communities.
Coming from a small town, I was actively involved in everything from a very young age, and it's nice to get that feeling again," Quinn said. "It truly makes me feel at home.
Quinn Scott, undergraduate student, School of Art, Architecture + Design
"I feel like I have connections in these communities now. If I ever go back to Shoals, now I know the owner of the Bo-Mac's Drive Inn. It's cool feeling like I have an anchor in southern Indiana," he said.
Quinn said that working with rural towns provided a more personalized and hands-on experience than he might have encountered in a fast-paced urban setting.
"If I was doing a project for metropolitan Indianapolis or something, sure, I know some people who live in Indianapolis. But I would have no connection to the majority of the people that would be involved with it," he said. "But with these smaller towns, it felt like I actually knew the people that I was working with."
And after several years of creating purely conceptual designs for his classes, the Rural Placemaking Studio was his first opportunity to work on projects for real people and communities.
"I designed what was probably a $15 million apartment building last semester. Yes, I could make it look pretty, but it was never going to be built. Not just because of budget, but because it's just a school project. This summer, the goal was to make something feasible that can be built in the next couple of years, which I think is exciting."
Now, Quinn is wrapping up his final semester as an undergraduate, and he said he feels more prepared than ever to take on practical design challenges.
"This work has helped me greatly to bring my concepts into real life," he said. "It's all fun and easy in the classroom when you don't have any true bounds besides being creative, but in the real world, there is a lot more to juggle at all times—materials, feasibility, and budget."
As graduation nears, Quinn is looking forward to applying to graduate programs to earn his Master of Architecture degree.