Text 2983, 95 rader
Skriven 2006-07-10 23:34:18 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0607103) for Mon, 2006 Jul 10
====================================================
===========================================================================
Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
July 10, 2006

Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards
The East Room



10:42 A.M. EDT

MRS. BUSH: Thank you very much, Paul. Thanks so much, and it's such a
thrill to have every one of you here today, and to thank you very much for
your contributions to design and to our life in our country and around the
world. Thank you to all the winners, and congratulations.

I always look forward to this gathering. I'm particularly interested in
design, and I get this chance, when we get to meet with the Cooper-Hewitt
design award winners, to meet people whose work I've admired for years. And
so I really think it's great to get to have this event at the White House
and to pay particular honor to designers who mean so much to our country.

As Paul just showed us with this presentation, from rocket design to
clothing design to design of vases to architecture to chair design, the
reach of designers' innovation has no limits. Your creations have the power
to inform and inspire us. Powerful graphic designs have become symbols that
help organize historical and social movements. Appealing book covers draw
readers into the books for the information in the book, or record design.

Skilled architects have designed enduring structural icons in our country
and around the world, like the one we're gathered in today. Over the last
two centuries, the image of the White House has evolved from James Hoban's
early sketches into a recognized symbol of our country.

Also, there are some really wonderful friendship -- ideas of friendship and
pride that are part of design. Your lifetime achievement award winner, Eva
Zeisel's work, was given to us by the Prime Minister of Hungary as a gift,
a state gift to the President of the United States. Those gifts go to the
United States government, to the archives. And they gave her work as their
pride in her, but also as a symbol of friendship between our country and
Hungary.

But design is also much more than symbolism and aesthetics. Last week, I
saw The Devil Wears Prada. (Laughter.) And as one of the fashion editors in
the movie said, clothing design is "greater than art, because you live your
life in it." (Laughter.) Of course, the movie doesn't offer as much hope
for living our lives in couture, when it proclaims that "size 2 is the new
4, and 0 is the new 2." (Laughter.)

But the film does show us how everyday objects like clothes influence the
way we live. A well-designed chair, like we saw in the presentation, can
make us more efficient at work. A well-designed room can make us more
comfortable at home. And a well- designed piece of athletic equipment can
allow us to run, or mountain bike well into our more advanced years.

The union of form and function is especially visible in architecture,
landscape architecture, and urban design. The planning of buildings, city
blocks and public spaces determines how businesses, governments, civic
organizations and neighbors come together and interact as a community.

One area that's especially in need right now of excellent urban designers
is the Gulf Coast. And I know that many of you are active on the Gulf Coast
now. That region, devastated by last summer's hurricanes, faces an
unprecedented challenge of rebuilding whole cities. These communities are
steeped in some of our country's richest and most fascinating history. And
it's important to preserve their architectural and cultural legacy, and
their original urban plans, and at the same time, it's an opportunity for
architects, landscape designers and urban planners to plan communities that
offer something for everyone -- communities that successfully integrate
schools, homes, cultural centers, and commercial enterprises. And those
sort of communities will bring families back to the Gulf Coast. It also
gives us the chance to build green buildings and to build energy-saving
buildings on the Gulf Coast.

I know that many of you are working there already, and I want to encourage
everyone here to discover how you can become involved and contribute to
this effort. This will just be one part of the legacy that today's
designers will leave to future generations.

Thank you to each one of you for your contributions to our country, to
design in our country, and for using your creativity to make life better
for people around the world.

Congratulations, and thank you all very much. (Applause.)

END 10:46 A.M. EDT
===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/07/20060710-3.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)