CDI moves closer to permanent home

By: Ken Keuffel | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: January 04, 2011

The Center for Design Innovation is one step closer to having a permanent home.

The UNC system has acquired nearly 4 acres in the South District of the Piedmont Triad Research Park, officials involved with the project said yesterday.

That means that planning for the center could begin in a matter of weeks, with construction to follow by the end of the year.

"I think that's realistic," said Carol Strohecker, the center's director. "CDI's staff has eagerly awaited this important milestone."

The land cost slightly more than $1 million. The money came from a pot of more than $11 million in state-allocated capital funds that Winston-Salem State University has been holding for several years for the CDI.

The CDI has been operating since 2007 at a temporary site in Winston Tower. It was established in 2005 as a multicampus research center of the UNC system, the result of a partnership between WSSU, UNC School of the Arts and Forsyth Technical Community College. WSSU is handling the design and building of the center, and the UNC School of the Arts will oversee its maintenance and operations.

The CDI specializes in two areas: motion-capture techniques and rapid prototyping.

Motion-capture techniques support animation for films, video games and mobile applications as well as improvements in health care related to physical and occupational therapy. The techniques can also provide analyses of moving or flexible machinery and movements of people engaging in activities such as dance and sports.

Rapid-prototyping techniques support the design and development of furnishings, medical devices and other industrial products through a quick-design cycle that includes 3-D modeling.

"When the building is completed, it will house full-fledged programs based on CDI's initial technologies for motion capture and rapid prototyping, which can be important economic drivers for the community and the state," Strohecker said.

"CDI's new facility will be a place where students can learn and experiment with the intricacies of new digital tools, the future of the global economy," said Michael Pulitzer Jr., the chairman of the CDI's advisory board.

kkeuffel@wsjournal.com

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