Volume I Spring 2014

STUDIO

Layout des ign by Luisa Lacsamana, Aust in Ledzian, and Kevin Garc ia

Fir s t edi t ion.

© 2014 Studio Col l e c t iveCopyright 2014Al l r ights reser ved. No par t of th i s publ icat ion may be copied or reproduced without permiss ion.

For a request : contact@studiocol lect ive .orgstudiocol lect ive .org

Des igned in the Appalachian Mountains .

STUDIO COLLECTIVE

Volume I, Spring 2014

Studio Col lect ive i s a research project a imed at creat ing an ongoing archive of conversat ions about des ign in thi s t ime and place . Good des ign i s about people , so thi s project i s rea l ly about people and the communit ies they create in CAUS, Virg inia Tech, Blacksburg, Appalachia , and beyond. Through many long nights and la te meet ings , we have produced something we’re proud of on the foundat ion of the works of our peers . And we want to share i t with you.

The open format of s tudio encourages interact ion and col laborat ion. Unfor tunate ly, most majors are in di f ferent bui ld ings where projects can’t be seen by people outs ide of that major. This i s a p lace for those projects to be di sp layed for everyone to exper ience and to s tar t conversat ions . We go beyond s tudent work by featur ing facul ty b ios , s tudent inter v iews , coverage of current events , and anything we f ind interes t ing that i s representat ive of the present . The journal wi l l be re leased at the end of every semester to show recent , re levant content that can be a he lpful source of inspirat ion and intr igue that cannot be found e l sewhere .

You can f ind more informat ion on how to submit or donate to our fa l l i s sue at s tudiocol lect ive .org

Welcome.

6

10

18

20

28

30

36

44

48

64

68

JOHN KNUTESON INTERVIEW

THE FARMER’S MARKET

DESIGNER SHOWCASE

CHRIS PRITCHETT INTERVIEW

CENTER FOR THE ARTS FORUM

PLAYLAB INTERVIEW

FORM

STUDENT PROJECTS

LOOKBOOK

MEET THE TEAM

SPECIAL THANKS & CREDITS

JOHN KNUTESON“For me thesis is something that is going to challenge or broaden my idea

of what design really is.”

How did you arr ive at your thesis?

Well I had something complete ly di f ferent in mind. I th ink that’s the case for most people . A lot of thes i s i s jus t unders tanding what a thes i s i s . At the beginning, our whole s tudio s tar ted by doing conceptual work and explorat ions to generate s tudies , so the thes i s rea l ly emerged out of that . What I had in mind in the beginning was some sor t of hous ing or res ident ia l program that had something to do with the American Dream, which i s not a t a l l where I went”

How did you give yoursel f l imitat ions?

I th ink you have to remember that you a lways have l imitat ions , even when you think you don’t . That’s what des igning i s–f inding l imitat ions and f inding res i s tance . To work with my own l imitat ions i s a l i t t le b i t d i f ferent , but then aga in that’s what the thes i s i s . You know, i t ’s a th ing that you have complete control over as a des igner in order to le t your interes t come to the sur face .”

What’s your process when you star t a drawing?

The process has evolved very much. At the beginning the drawing s tar ted with memories or impress ions that I had of space . That was just k ind of a way for me to do some se l f -searching, f igure out what i s e s sent ia l to archi tecture , for myse l f . But that quickly changed. At thi s point I ’d say i t ’s a lot f reer. It usual ly s tar t s with a constra int now. So for example how do you f ind space and exper ience in an axonometr ic drawing? In the la tes t drawings I ’ve been doing in axon I ’ve explored the quest ion ‘what i f I rotate the page 90 degrees everyday? ’ I f I had to draw, i t would be a d iverg ing l ine , not a converging l ine because I ’m tr y ing to open up more and more quest ions by abstract ing more and more .

How long does a drawing usual ly take?

Well they vary. I ’d say typica l ly a drawing would take two weeks . But aga in, a t the beginning I was doing perspect ives because i t ’s the convent ion I was more fami l iar with. I knew what I was doing so those drawings would take le s s t ime but the la tes t one I ’ve been doing took a lot longer. Just because I ’m not sure where i t ’s going and I ’m not concerned about the t ime l imit .

When you’re working do you real ly consider the l ine or act impulsively?

In a way I do both. I don’t want to know what I ’m doing before I do i t , I don’t want to be sure of anything. That i s a lot eas ier sa id than done though, I ’ve had to t ra in myse l f not to think too much about that which i s why the ser ies has progressed the way i t has f rom a perspect ive to the axon, which i s a lot more abstract . So I ’m not sure about anything, i t ’s more interes t ing to me to explore what’s embedded in what I ’m making. For the most par t though I don’t know what l ine weight to use , I jus t do.

7

STUDENT INTERVIEW

What do you think about color in architecture?

We l ive in a wor ld where color i s present , so i t ’s inevi table . It ’s important to unders tand the consequences of co lor, so that i t s use i s a very intent ional act . For me us ing color i s jus t another layer that can add so much r ichness to qual i t ie s of l ight or shadow. I th ink i t ’s a rea l ly wonder ful th ing to see color used power ful ly.

Who are your favorite architects and designers?

Luis Barragán i s a Mexican archi tect who I respect a lot for hi s use of co lor and the t ranscendenta l moments he creates . Also Ross i has had a major inf luence on my drawings . He’s interes t ing because he bui lds , he’s an archi tect , he’s a theoret ic ian, a phi losopher, he’s th i s renai s sance guy, and his drawing rea l ly have a presence . Sverre Fehn i s a Norwegian archi tect who I d i scovered because of my fami ly her i tage . I th ink there’s something pure about hi s work. For example , the Nordic pavi l ion has la s ted so le ly because of the archi tecture that’s jus t there for you to exper ience .

Do you think your drawings have been successful?

Yes , I would say they are success fu l , but success occurs in di f ferent ways . For myse l f they are very success fu l because I have pages and pages of wr i t ing where I ’ve been s tudying them. They’ve been f rui t fu l to me. For other people they might not be as success fu l because they can’t engage them or maybe have a hard t ime exper iencing them. But the drawings are not supposed to be pieces of ar t . So I th ink they’re very success fu l in the conversat ions that they’ve been able to engage .

9

STUDENT INTERVIEW

THE FARMER’S MARKET

A bust l ing farmer’s market i s synonymous with the fee l ing of a summer morning. Fresh a i r, f resh food. The s ight of loca l ly grown treasures in a mot ley di sp lay enchant the

senses . Textures ampl i fy the beauty of the scene–a canvas apron next to warm muff ins , or the sof t hand of a toddler aga inst the fur of a farmer’s dog. Cri sp apples are p i led high in crates with deep green le t tuces and a spectrum of tomatoes res t ing on a table nearby. Loca l ly produced eggs and meats expand the poss ib i l i t ie s for eat ing hea l thy. The smel l of the ear th invi tes you to t rays of vegetables that are as d iverse as the mingl ing crowd. Bowls shaped f rom loca l wood, newly f i red ceramics , and hand-craf ted beeswax candles f ind the i r way into the col lect ion of goods on display.

The Blacksburg Farmer’s Market i s an exce l lent example of the two-decade long resurgence of smal l farms. Our loca l farmer’s market as we know i t today began in the mid-1980s , and i t has grown s igni f icant ly s ince a volunteer group ca l led Fr iends of the Farmer’s Market took over management in 2004. Due to the increased popular i ty of the market , the necess i ty arose for a larger space that would accommodate the increase in foot t ra f f ic and encourage l inger ing. Through donat ions and grants , the t imber- f ramed Market Square Park was bui l t on the corner of Draper Road and Roanoke Street . The pavi l ions are powered by loca l ly donated so lar panel s that para l le l an ecologica l facet of the market , whi le thoughtful ly p laced t rees create an int imate green space di s t inct f rom the s t reet . It opened of f ic ia l ly in 2010 with the “cutt ing of the v ine .”

The Fr iends of the Farmer’s Market members have organized over a dozen educat ional programs that benef i t loca l ly susta inable foods . Events l ike “Breakfas t a t the Market” and the “Tomato Tast ing” are regular ly he ld in the market to foster a connect ion between the farmer’s and the patrons . The vendors supply high qual i ty, f resh goods to market-goers thus creat ing a l ive ly symbios i s . Loca l music ians somet imes p lay as market-goers res t on the benches or peruse loca l produce f rom one of the merchants . The market ex i s t s as a unique l i t t le utopia , unaf fected by the pace of the town outs ide i t s modest corner, and i s s t i l l undiscovered by many s tudents . The Blacksburg Farmer’s Market provides more than f resh apples and homely bowls . It provides a momentary escape f rom our rout ines to enjoy the bount ies of nature and the idyl l ic beauty of a thr iv ing community.

“People are much more likely to have a conversation at a farmer’s market than at a grocery store.” -Kathryn Albright

THE FARMER’S MARKET

13

PHOTO ESSAY

17

PHOTO ESSAY

DESIGNER SHOWCASEThe Fashion, Merchandising, and Design Society

Saturday, March 22nd was the Des igner Showcase in the Squires Perspect ive Gal ler y as a prev iew to the Annual Spr ing Fashion Show on Apri l 30th. New ideas in fashion were highl ighted aga inst the backdrop of Appalachia in these se lected pieces . The three col lect ions shown to the r ight were chosen for the var ie ty of s tor ies that they te l l .

The sunset p ieces by Kri s Kern were an i terat ion f rom a prev ious project inspired by s ta ined g las s . The hand-dyed gradient in the garment of fers a warm and v ibrant touch of spr ing; the b lack accents ba lance the tones .

Lauren Walkup, an industr ia l des ign s tudent , des igned the s imple b lack evening gown with a subt ly deta i led texture . The dress features a s l i t for added drama.

The hand-made col lect ion by Ri ley Sixta cons i s t s of woven fabr ic layered on s imple b lack garments to create contras t and an unusual combinat ion of mater ia l s . The addit ional woven components compl iment the form of the outf i t .

18

CHRIS PRITCHETTInterview with

CHRIS PRITCHETTArchitecture and Screen printing professor Chris Pritchett reflects on his

profession, his past, and the town he’s come to love.

Have you always been interested in architecture? Or is there a speci f ic t ime you remember becoming interested in architecture?

Not rea l ly. As a k id I l iked to make things and I l iked to draw. When I was a senior in high school , I thought that co l lege wasn’t for me. High school was rea l ly easy for me, and I d idn’t t r y very hard. So I ended up jo ining the mi l i tar y, and I th ink four and a ha l f years out in that wor ld, see ing people that had i t much worse of f than me, made me have an apprec iat ion for educat ion. I met my wife when I was get t ing out of the mi l i tar y. It was me throwing a dar t a t a dar tboard choos ing what I wanted to do. I chose archi tecture over ar t because I as sumed ar t majors weren’t going to make any money and archi tects were . It was the absolute worst reason to choose a major. But within the f i r s t two weeks I fe l l in love with i t , a s a profess ion and as an idea .

How did you end up coming to teach at Virginia Tech?

I was probably four months f rom f ini shing up my masters , my wife was going to get a post -doc, and Scott Poole , then director of the school , saw that I was rea l ly interes ted in teaching pr intmaking. I was he lping out with a second year c las s as a graduate s tudent , and I jus t enjoyed working with undergraduate s tudents . Scott saw that and asked me i f I wanted to come in and teach second year s tudio, and my wife rea l ly wouldn’t l e t me turn i t down.

What is something you real ly enjoy about being a professor?

It’s about get t ing to know people who have the same interes t s I have , and then watching them blossom. That sounds rea l ly cheesy. It ’s about watching them grow as des igners and grow as people . I remember me between e ighteen and twenty-two. These years are a meaningful par t of your l i fe . It ’s where you’re rea l ly becoming an adult , and for me to expose people to cer ta in things , to my pass ion, and watch them grow, that’s absolute ly fantas t ic .

How did you become interested in screen printing?It was when the four th year Chicago s tudio f i r s t s tar ted. I went up and we had thi s c las s “What makes a town,” and you would go in and you would eva luate , you would pick l i t t le aspects in a ne ighborhood. You would be an observer, and choose what made one par t icular area di f ferent f rom another par t icular area . I chose graf f i t i . I came back and I had to document thi s graf f i t i somehow, and I even plotted of f some posters in the pr int room, and I fe l t l ike i t was too easy and i t d idn’t g ive just ice to the media that I was looking at . There was thi s f i f th year and he’s the one who taught me the technique. I fe l l in love with i t a f ter that . I got pret ty good at i t , and I s tar ted teaching f i r s t year and second year s tudents how to screen pr int , and af ter I graduated the col lege asked me to make i t into a c las s .

22

INTERVIEW

25

INTERVIEW

How would you say graphics have changed the way you look at or think about architecture?

It’s hard to say that i t changed the way I des ign, because I ’ve evolved as a des igner with i t . It made me more aware of process , and I th ink there’s a re la t ionship where process can create a graphic and process can create a bui ld ing.

What has surprised you in your t ime of teaching screen printing?

Oh, the graphic abi l i t ie s of s tudents . There’s a bunch of s tudents who are way bet ter graphic ar t i s t s than I am. I fee l l ike they’re teaching me somet imes .

You went to Sweden recently. What can you te l l me about going there?

We went because my wife got of fered a rea l ly amazing post-doc a f ter my f i r s t year teaching here . They asked me to s t ick around, but there was no way I could do that . I would never be separated l ike that f rom my wife . I th ink Sweden’s an absolute ly amazing place , but I don’t know i f I would chose to l ive there because I l ike the rowdiness of Americans . Swedish people aren’t rowdy.

What place has inf luenced you the most?

Here. When I say here I mean Virg inia . Appalachia . Growing up in rura l areas , and growing up very b lue col lar, very working c las s , I th ink that’s inf luenced the way that I look at l i fe , the type of archi tecture I am drawn to, the type of people that I ’m drawn to. It ’s Appalachia .

You have sheep. And you buil t a barn for them. How was that experience?

It’s fantas t ic . You know, whi le we were in Sweden we fe l l in love with these sheep they had there , ca l led Gute sheep, and we wanted to br ing some back. We bought a farm, and we’ve a lways been interes ted in having some l ives tock, but i t ’s rea l ly d i f f icul t to get the Gute breed here . So we researched these sheep, and we found there’s th i s breed ca l led Hog Is land sheep. It’s the only sheep nat ive to Virg inia , and they’re endangered. So we thought i t would be rea l ly great to be a par t of preser v ing them as a breed. And, in a way, i t ’s th i s separate thing f rom des ign that I can escape to. I a l so think i t ’s par t of be ing a des igner. Des igners are rea l ly good people watchers , that’s why we t rave l . We go and we absorb other people’s cul tures , we absorb other people’s habi t s . At some point we have to become those people and I th ink we can learn a l i t t le b i t more . So I know that I ’ve learned a lot , a s a des igner and as a person, jus t in the past year of taking care of animals . And I ’ve a lways wanted to bui ld a barn. The barn i s a s done as i t ’s going to get r ight now. One door i s not pa inted, but I th ink once that door gets pa inted I ’ l l be happy with the barn.

What are other things you do to continue your interest in design?

I love f i lms. My wife and I t r y to watch good TV, and we both rea l ly apprec iate good f i lms. I t r y to ta lk about directors instead of actors because I th ink the directors are the archi tects of movies . Instead of focus ing on the directors we focus on how pret ty Ryan Gosl ing i s , we should ta lk about the people who are bui ld ing movies .

Can you name any designers or works that you think wil l be remembered in the future?

I th ink Olson Kundig i s making huge contr ibut ions , and I th ink they’re making them at a smal l sca le . They’re focus ing on res ident ia l , for the most par t , and I th ink the moves they make at that sca le wi l l be remembered.

Why do you teach f irst year s tudio?

I was g iven a choice and I actua l ly asked to teach second year, because second year would have been eas ier to teach for me. It rea l ly focuses on archi tecture and the s tudents are more mature . I ’ve been amazed at the leve l of matur i ty between e ighteen to nineteen. Fir s t year i s a l i t t le harder for me, however, I rea l ly l ike i t . I f I was asked now to go to second year i t would be a tough dec i s ion because I get to exper iment with f i r s t year a lot more . By not having to focus on s t r ic t ly archi tecture , I can g ive projects that are a l i t t le more exper imenta l , and I enjoy that .

What do you hope for your students to take away from this year? What do you emphasize?

Work ethic and observat ion of the i r environment . Work ethic i s huge. Most e ighteen year o lds in the archi tecture depar tment have a rea l ly bad work ethic because they’re so smar t and everything has been re la t ive ly easy for them. They haven’t pushed themselves as hard as they could or need to. So I t r y to push them and get them to have a much better work ethic .

What responsibi l i t ies do you think this generat ion has in terms of design?

I don’t know. I don’t know i f I buy into your generat ion being that much di f ferent f rom my generat ion or my generat ion being that much di f ferent than my parent’s generat ion. Time Magazine i s rea l ly good at i t , a t naming generat ions . I don’t know i f your respons ibi l i t ie s are any di f ferent than mine. Just be good c i t i zens . Do good work. Use your tools proper ly.

Final ly, what are your favorite things about Blacksburg?

The Cel lar. That’s probably one of my favor i te things about Blacksburg… I rea l ly l ike the smal l town atmosphere , be ing able to walk around and see fami l iar faces , a t l eas t people in the s tores , and the res idents . And being c lose to nature . I l ike be ing able to be around people and then be able to dr ive for ten minutes and not be around people .

27

INTERVIEW

With the Ribbon-cutting in 2013, the Moss Art Center became home to The Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech along with the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology. Designed by Snohetta, an architecture firm in Norway, the 150,000-square-foot facility holds a 1,260 seat performance hall, an amphitheater, classrooms, and several stu-dios and visual arts galleries. The Moss Center, built on the perimeter of campus is undoubtedly one of the more contemporary buildings at Virginia Tech and has inspired a lot of conversation.

CENTER FOR THE ARTSPerspectives on the

With the Ribbon-cutt ing in Fa l l 2013, the Moss Ar t Center became home to The Center for the Ar ts a t Virg inia Tech. The center was des igned by Snøhetta , a h ighly es teemed archi tecture f i rm in Norway, with notable projects such as the Oslo Opera House , Bibl iotheca Alexandr ina , and the v i sua l ident i ty for the Winter Olympic games in 2022. The 150,000-square- foot fac i l i ty holds a 1 ,260 seat per formance ha l l , an amphitheater, c las s rooms, and severa l s tudios and exhibi t ion spaces .

Lois Han, Interior Design

“In terms of the inter ior, I a t tended Craig Dykers’ l ectures—I’m a big fan of h i s f i rm—and i t seemed l ike everything was mindful ly thought out . It ’s a wel l des igned bui ld ing. I love dr iv ing by and see ing i t s g las s façade.”

Cat Do, Architecture

“The main s tage area i s rea l ly nice ly des igned for both contemporary and formal per formances , which e levates i t to a f ine ar t s per forming center. I th ink i t ’s n ice that there’s a cer ta in path to get to each area , g iv ing a ‘wander ing’ exper ience because you can wander f rom the s ta i r s to the open area to the external exhibi t ion room. It’s obvious the bui ld ing i s more modern and bears l i t t le to no re la t ionship to other Virg inia Tech bui ld ings but I don’t th ink that’s a bad thing. Personal ly, I th ink i t se t s i t apar t and cas t s a futur i s t ic idea onto a t radi t ional smal l town.”

Darren Si ler, Architecture

“I ’m impressed by what I ’ve seen. It’s very modern and e legant . It has a good ba lance of Hokie Stone, which t ies i t n ice ly into the res t of campus.”

Tomon Sasaki , Industr ia l Design

“My ini t ia l thought was that i t was pret ty cool , but I d idn’t get to see much. I walked into the main theatre f rom the ba lcony and def ini te ly l iked the space and how i t’s arranged. However, I fee l l ike they went overboard with the s tone texture as i t fe l t unnecessary in p laces l ike the spira l s ta i r s . Overa l l , I th ink the bui ld ing i s a nice addit ion to campus—it def ini te ly pushes for a more modern direct ion for future construct ion.”

Erin Young, Architecture

“There was actua l ly a proposa l that had the same pr ic ing and programs that people were on board with. They proposed us ing Hokie Stone in a rea l ly unique way but the Board of Vis i tors shot i t down. So, I fee l a l i t t le sour towards the bui ld ing because I know what i t could have been. The f ront of the bui ld ing i s great , e spec ia l ly the big g las s window in the f ront . The pattern i s gothic which f i t s with Tech s ty l i s t ica l ly, but when you get to the back of bui ld ing i t ’s qui te unappeal ing. For a town l ike Blacksburg, the CTFA i s the most unique bui ld ing they have bui l t , but why set t le for the best in the town? We pr ide ourse lves in t radi t ion, but i t doesn’t have to be so grounded in the past—we are supposed to be invent ing the future .”

Daniel Choi , Industr ia l Design

“I honest ly don’t rea l ly know how to take the new bui ld ing. I th ink i t ’s ra ther s t range looking. There are a lot of par t s to the bui ld ing I fee l that are a b i t unnecessary and I ’m cur ious to see why the archi tects and engineers dec ided to bui ld i t in that way.”

FORUM

29

PLAYLAB INC.Interview with Archie

B oundary. Simply the concept ion of something that separates one thing f rom another must be ent i re ly fore ign to Archie and Je f f, the propr ietors of PlayLab. As i f somehow

the two avoided learning the conf ining les son which boundar ies inst i l l in us .Archie and Je f f, graduates of Virg inia Tech with degrees in graphic des ign and archi tecture respect ive ly, met in Cowgi l l and have s ince been col laborat ing under the name PlayLab. Since then, they have been doing just about anything that interes t s them.

The par tnership between Archie and Je f f was se t into motion at Bol lo’s cof fee shop; the name PlayLab was conceived in the cafe . With napkins as the i r medium, the duo produced sequences of sketches–cont inuing unt i l they made the other laugh, or cr y. Even today they deve lop ideas through s imi lar ly humorous methods , a great example be ing the Marc Jacobs col laborat ive ( see next page) . Upon graduat ing f rom Virg inia Tech, PlayLab produced some records and a lbum ar t in 2008 before moving to Greensboro, Alabama to Launch PieLab. With the hope to re invigorate the smal l town, people were brought together a t one table . PieLab was a cr i t ica l cata lys t informing PlayLab how to move the i r des ign f i rm forward.

“We went door to door asking people to come have pie for $2 a s l ice , and eventual ly people came, and the pastor brought hi s gui tar in and people s tar ted shar ing loca l s tor ies . And then we got a grant to buy a bui ld ing on main s t reet . It was the f i r s t bui ld ing to open in the town in ten years . At the same t ime i t was rated the #1 pie in America by the magaz ines my mom reads , but i t was never rea l ly about pie , i t was about people . And then we came back to New York and we were l ike , we need to do shi t l ike that aga in and aga in. It wasn’t about making a ton of money, i t was about doing a good project and making i t susta inable . That was the thing: make something and g ive i t to people .”

30

31

ARTICLE

Design, in i t ’s a t tempt to be s igni f icant and es teemed i s of ten inc l ined to neglect the people and communit ies for which i t i s intended. Archie and Je f f l earned through thei r work on PieLab that des ign i s never about an indiv idual , i t ’s about people . They appl ied thi s pr inc iple to the i r des ign work in New York, where they es tabl i shed the PlayLab f i rm to output the i r ideas . Just a few of PlayLab’s present ventures inc lude an archi tecture journal , a smal l c lothing l ine , and a water- f i l ter ing pool to f loat in the r ivers of the Hudson River.

Over cof fee , we had the p leasure of ta lk ing to Archie about what a l lows PlayLab to operate e f fect ive ly in so many contras t ing domains . “Stay interes ted in things , be cr i t ica l but not too cr i t ica l , and make things you want to make. Rea l ize you have a l l the power in the wor ld to make them.” You can fee l the sor t of youthful exuberance that f loats f rom his words when discuss ing how PlayLab grew from two s tudents with a propens i ty for des ign into a s tudio in New York that co l laborates with the l ikes of Marc Jacobs and Google . This pa lpable enthus iasm i s der ived f rom the absence of boundar ies , a s the exc i tement i s not l imited by one’s preconceived not ions . When s tar t ing a project they are not hindered by what one thinks the idea should become, achieved by constant ly recons ider ing assumption, which i s undoubtedly one of PlayLab’s s t rongest as set s .

Archie and Je f f rea l i zed whi le s tudying at Virg inia Tech that the i r work was more than a task to complete , and that indiv idual s couldn’t thr ive funct ioning as i s lands in the sea of des ign. “You’re dr inking cof fee and l i s tening to music and shar ing things with people and joking around and being assholes . You’re not working 100% of the t ime and you do that because in those moments , some rea l ly nice things happen, but you might only be working 15% of the t ime.” The bond between Archie and Je f f, one fostered within the wal l s of Cowgi l l Hal l , remains a constant in the i r l ives . This connect ion i s why thei r work remains unmistakably s t rong regardless of the current PlayLab direct ive . “Most days s tar t of f jus t meet ing with Je f f to ta lk . ‘What happened las t n ight? What did you see? ’ We just t r y to share what’s happening and get r ight into i t , looking for something s t imulat ing.”

In emphas iz ing the par tnership, I cer ta in ly don’t want to di scount the apt i tude for des ign that Archie and Je f f possess . Talking with Archie I th ink he tends to do thi s h imse l f, only out of modesty. But i t rea l ly i s the youthful sp i r i t in the i r co l laborat ion that makes PlayLab unique and has s tar ted to at t ract a h igh echelon of c l ients that provide them with the resources to do the i r most inspir ing work.

At present they’re working on PlayLab’s most ambit ious project to date , the +POOL. The wal l s of the pool wi l l act ive ly f i l ter water f rom the Hudson River into the pool i t se l f , o f fer ing the oppor tunity to swim in a r iver that would otherwise remain too pol luted. The shape of the pool i t se l f wi l l introduce a high sur face area of f i l t ra t ion mater ia l into the r iver that would not be poss ib le with a di f ferent shape. The +POOL has es tabl i shed i t se l f a s an opt imist ic beacon for a c leaner, hea l thier r iver and i t ’s a beaut i fu l d i sp lay of an ini t ia t ive in new technology.

A top c las s of engineers , such as those f rom ARUP and IDEO, are working on the pool’s f i l ter s and a tes t ca l led FloatLab i s current ly underway. “We ra i sed money thi s summer to tes t the f i l t ra t ion sys tem that we des igned to f loat in the r iver for s ix months and to tes t every 15 minutes . The f i l ter s are looking good so far. They seem to be working, but we’ l l see a t the end of the s ix months .” Addit ional ly, a long l i s t of h igh-prof i le corporat ions have of fered capi ta l and publ ic i ty for the +POOL, now a nonprof i t in i t ia t ive . There’s an ecosystem surrounding each PlayLab project .

“Because of the publ ic i ty f rom +POOL our phone r ings a lot more , but we just keep i t chi l l . We s t i l l jus t do the work we want to do. Now we just have a lot more f reedom because of a l l o f that . Right now we’re ta lk ing to Marc Jacobs . They asked us i f we had ideas for thi s one spec i f ic th ing and we gave them something they didn’t rea l ly think they were going to get . And they sa id yes , l e t’s do that . And we were l ike , exact ly.”

MARC JACOBS SKETCHES

ARTICLE

33

34

ARTICLE

LOOKBOOKWe chose to document students’ fashion whose

looks are representative of the present.

Darren Si ler

Mali th Waharaka

Chelsea Ki lburn

Jared Dura

Nikki Norris Ricky Soto

FORMLine, Plane, Solid exhibition

Why did you do the form exhibition?

I think students learn quite a bit in the foundation year, and I think there’s something very specific that they ought to have before they start to do very technical things. It kind of emerged three years ago, and I was interested because I wanted that to be true for industrial design the way it’s true in architecture.

Why did you make the displays rather than purchase them?

We were open to purchasing an extruded aluminum system, and it did come up when we were having a really hard time figuring out who was going to make these. But we realized that we loved this thing we had designed so much that we didn’t

want to give it up for something off the shelf.

When you can design a system with a joint that can work with everything, that’s the very best of industrial design. It’s like architecture. You don’t put a thousand different conditions in a good piece of architecture, you have a system that you build on. I wanted them to understand from the beginning what it meant to design something that you have control over so that you can have a system that’s not thoughtless.

There are seven different flavors of the joint, which is the heart of the project. I call it tinker toy for travel, because we needed it to break down to be shipped around the world. The guys in the metal shop felt that they could CNC mill them, and

they worked overtime to make these happen when we needed them.

Our fabrication team of students cut, degreased, deburred, filed, and then brushed every surface on over 1100 pieces. It became an intense commitment to architecture, really. It’s architecture. I think we all felt crazy, none of us had slept for about two weeks before the opening happened.

What message are you trying to convey to the public?

For academics and students- the intellectual importance of the stuff we buy and use. For the general lay public- that product design is not skin-deep. I think the timing is good because people now can understand the beauty of an Apple product, and

that wasn’t true so much twenty years ago. But I think now people have a different level of appreciation for the thing that they hold all the time. So part of it is showing people that there is a level of thought beneath the production of things they buy. There’s a deep, layered foundation in order for students to do this professionally, like in architecture.

To me, this should go other places, other people should see this. We’re currently talking about sending it to Japan, we also have a venue in Sweden that’s interested in it. We’re going to San Francisco to display at the AutoDesk headquarters as well. We wanted to share it with other academic places where students could participate in this exchange and show what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and that it’s important.

Interview with Mitzi Vernon

What was the process of the exhibition?

Well, Mitzi had asked us in the end of fall semester if there was any interest in helping the team. I thought there were going to be more people joining the exhibition team from my class, but I ended up being the only one and that caught me off guard a little bit. I just remember seeing the third and fourth years sitting around the white table, and at that point they were picking which pieces would go into the exhibit. It was really interesting to me to watch them identify the pieces that showed the qualities we wanted the most. At that point it was the only thing I had really seen, and it caught my interest. One of the third years who told me his platter went to Europe two years ago. And I thought “that’s really cool, that you can say your work has been displayed internationally.” I didn’t know at the time if we were going to be traveling, but I just kind of assumed we would, and I was really excited to be a part of something that big.

How is it working with the upperclassmen?

I love it so much! I love my studio and I definitely feel like ID is a lot tighter than architecture and other disciplines. I’ve gotten to know them and most are really friendly. Initially I watched people work and asked a lot of questions. I would say definitely that they’re like another part of my family now, like my studio and then their studio. We had a conference this past weekend, where a good amount of people went down to Savannah, so I would say that we’ve definitely bonded a lot. I’ve learned so much from them experience-wise, like what to expect next year, photography skills and light organization. It was quite worthwhile.

Interview with Amanda Phung

What was the biggest lesson you learned throughout this entire process?

I think craft is one of the big things that I feel like a lot of people missed out on, and I really had the opportunity to learn more about. For your work to be in an exhibit it’s got to be top-notch, and that just shows you that craft is extremely important. If the idea’s there but it’s not well-crafted, you don’t want it in the exhibit. I put a piece in there and I’m not happy with its craft, and every time I walk by it, I don’t like looking at it because I know that I could do better. And once I get that thing back I’m going to redo it. So I think craft is one of the things I definitely took into consideration and learned a lot about.

Was there a specific project or a form of yours that was a success?

I loved all of mine. But I feel like my most successful, not in the sense that it’s finished, but in the sense that it’s well-designed and well thought through, was a platter that’s up there right now. It’s really great because I got to learn all about the process. I made it by hand instead of CNC-ing it, and the process was something unbelievable, I can’t even begin to explain to you how intricate it is. It involves about ten machines, just going back and forth between machines and adding false pieces to turn it on the lathe and then taking off false pieces. But I don’t know, I know that it’s not done and I want to finish it a little bit more, there are some curves that I want to fix, but every time I look at it I know it’s one of my most successful pieces because I went through so many different iterations and so many specificities of how it’s made. Process-wise, it was really awesome.

The exhibition is comprised of over 200 forms from over 100 Industrial Design students. It is viewable in the Perspective Gallery in Squires until May 17, 2014.

Interview with Matthew Cox

47

INTERVIEW

STUDENT PROJECTS

49

STUDENT PROJECTS

PINHOLE CAMERAALBERT FAJARDO, FIRST YEAR ARCHITECTURE

CITY OF HOPE WOMEN’S CANCER TREATMENT CENTERCHELSEA BUEL, FOURTH YEAR INTERIOR DESIGN

BROTHERSMATTHEW COX, SECOND YEAR INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

NEW RIVER HIKING CO. LOGOALYSSA MORRISON, FOURTH YEAR GRAPHIC DESIGN

COLOR STUDY: SCREEN PRINTINGHANNAH BYRD, FIFTH YEAR ARCHITECTURE

RISING URBANISMYASIR AMR, FIFTH YEAR ARCHITECTURE

UNTITLEDDYLAN FANT, FIFTH YEAR GRAPHIC DESIGN

STEAM-BENDING WOODLEO NAEGELE & BRENT SIKORA, FIFTH YEAR ARCHITECTURE

TEMPORALITY OF ARCHITECTUREEMILY ANNA HAGEN, FIFTH YEAR ARCHITECTURE

THINNESS IN CONCRETEGREG CATRON, FIFTH YEAR ARCHITECTURE

RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE + DESIGNLINDSEY RAE SLOUGH, FOURTH YEAR INTERIOR DESIGN

THE CHINATOWN TRANSIT HUB: A TRANSFER ACROSS SCALESNNEKA SOBERS, FOURTH YEAR URBAN PLANNINGABIGAIL ALLEN, FOURTH YEAR ARCHITECTURE KAITLIN VAVOSO, FOURTH YEAR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREJORDAN KELLER, FOURTH YEAR ARCHITECTUREALEX HELMS, FOURTH YEAR ARCHITECTURE

PINHOLE CAMERA

“We were tasked with des igning a pinhole camera . I wanted to break away f rom the s tereotype of a box shape. The form i s informed by how l ight t rave l s in space and how humans see .To me, des ign i s a process for the idea and the des igner. There’s growth when you s tar t out with an idea , and that begins to evolve as you feed i t with t ime and creat iv i ty unt i l the idea mater ia l i zes : a s the idea grows, the des igner learns . He i s cur ious and thoughtful of the funct ion. The combinat ion of the two leads to a great des ign.”

Alber t Fa jardo Fir s t Year Archi tecture

50

STUDENT PROJECTS

CITY OF HOPE WOMEN’S CANCER TREATMENT CENTER 

“ We perce ive the environment f i r s t through our s ense s , and then through our minds” .

 “Through the t reatment process , people can be hea led even i f they are not cured and people who are cured may not be hea led. Heal ing i s not l ike cur ing; pat ients can learn to be at peace despi te the i r condit ion. Heal ing involves the body as a whole . There needs to be harmony of the mind, body and spir i t . This t reatment center focuses on these three factors in order to a id the pat ients in the hea l ing process . 

In order to des ign for the mind, body and spir i t , there must be the fo l lowing: connect ions to nature and the outdoors , choices and opt ions for pat ients as a par t of the t reatment process , and the space must be des igned for soc ia l suppor t .

The t reatment infus ion areas are p laced by the f loor to ce i l ing windows looking out to the hea l ing garden and creat ing a seamless connect ion and interact ion with the landscape. The infus ion bays are des igned to g ive the pat ients choices dur ing the t reatment process , f rom group infus ion spaces to pr ivate .

The overa l l des ign focuses on natura l l ight , nature and suppor t ; a l l o f which direct ly a f fect the hea l ing process . The space i s des igned for interact ion with the surrounding natura l environment . By br inging in natura l mater ia l s f rom the surrounding environment and expos ing the center to the outdoors , there wi l l be a b lend between the t reatment center and nature .”

Chelsea BuelFour th Year Inter ior Des ign

51

STUDENT PROJECTS

BROTHERS: A FORM STUDY

“Brothers i s an express ion of re la t ionship and a p lay on dependence. The two veneers are the same yet cannot ex i s t without each other. One s t r ip nest s within the other and cont inual ly reaches for the dominant s t r ip. The younger s t r ip chases the o lder. The form expresses l inear e lements in a f lowing manor conveying direct ion and movement . The piece was formed us ing wood s team bending, a compl icated process that y ie lds beaut i fu l ly s imple resul t s .

“Des ign i s to invent wi th intent . If you take away the ‘ invent’ b i t , you have an engineer. If you take away the ‘ intent’ b i t , you have an ar t i s t .” — Rebecca Reubens

Design i s s tudying, see ing, and creat ing. Studying the human and i t s interact ions , see ing a need for improvement , and creat ing the man-machine inter face .”

Matthew CoxSecond Year Industr ia l Des ign

52

STUDENT PROJECTS

“Inspired by a Sunday hike with a f r iend, thi s nature- lover s i te revea l s new places to explore . It ’s a p lace for   people who love to hike , camp, and explore the Virg inia mounta in range and makes i t poss ib le to share exper iences , f ind t ra i l s , read rev iews, and organize group hikes with others across the area .”

Alyssa Morr i sonFourth Year Graphic Des ign

NEW RIVER HIKING CO. LOGO

53

STUDENT PROJECTS

54

STUDENT PROJECTS

COLOR STUDY: SCREEN PRINTING

“As par t of the ass ignment for my screen pr int ing c las s , we had to do a se l f -por tra i t ( shown le f t ) which led me to become interes ted on how colors interact with the subject matter.

The por tra i t ser ies for me i s a way of s tudying color. The color se lect ion i s of ten a resul t of analyz ing the prev ious pr ints . Most of the subjects are music ians that I admire .

For the pr int I made of Big Sean, ( shown r ight) I hand-wrote a l l the lyr ics to one of h i s songs as par t of the back-paint ing process , and pr inted the b lack on top.”

Hannah ByrdFi f th Year Archi tecture

STUDENT PROJECTS

RISING URBANISM“Red Hook of Brooklyn NY was the set t ing for our project which prompted us to provide a new center of urbanism via res ident ia l , commercia l , and industr ia l uni t s . The area had been recent ly s t ruck by a major s torm which brought a f lood to an a l ready desolate area of the c i ty. Upon researching I found that the people of the area were a very bike- f r iendly community and I wanted that to be par t of my des ign, which lead to the creat ion of the expans ive ramp running over the bui ld ings . Normal ly commercia l and industr ia l bui ld ings can be re jected by res idents of an area , but the ramp not only bui lds of f of these s t ructures but provides something everyone in the c i ty can enjoy.”

Yas i r AmrFif th Year Archi tecture

56

STUDENT PROJECTS

UNTITLED

“This was my f i r s t rea l screen pr inted poster. I cre -ated i t a s par t of a c las s pr int exchange. Lining up four colors was fa i r ly d i f f icul t and I wish I had used some sor t of reg i s t rat ion marks to make i t eas ier. I s t i l l l ike that some of the colors don’t l ine up per fect because i t rea l ly speaks to the idea of screen pr int ing be ing a hand made craf t instead of jus t pr int ing something out on a computer. The image just s tar ted out as a random sketch, I rea l ly l iked the way the s ty le evolved so I brought the or ig ina l watercolor into photoshop to t r y and sep-arate the colors for screen pr int ing. I don’t have a s igni f icant concept behind the piece . It was sor t of nice to just draw something and have i t f l e shed out into a f ina l poster.”

Dylan FantFi f th Year Graphic Des ign

57

STUDENT PROJECTS

STEAM-BENDING WOOD“We set out to push the l imits of wood and of spat ia l des ign through an independent s tudy of s team-bending wood.   We took advantage of the technique to make curves for both s t ructura l and aes thet ic purposes .   We bui l t a sect ion of a wal l that we imagine could outf i t a space , curv ing to become openings , she lves , seat ing, or whatever e l se you might want to implement in a space .   We learned a lot about process and of course our mater ia l , American ash, throughout the project .   As we worked, we constant ly re f ined our process unt i l we reached peak e f f ic iency.   We a l so deve loped a very good unders tanding of the l imits and poss ib i l i t ie s of s team-bending wood.”

Leo Naegele & Brent SikoraFi f th Year Archi tecture

TEMPORALITY OF ARCHITECTURE

“A s tudy of t ime us ing archi tecture to fac i l i ta te and create an environment to foster two types of t ime - chronos and kairos . The permanence of archi tecture i s guided by the tempora l cyc le of growing and harvest ing Chri s tmas t rees .”

“In the mountains there are thousand-year-o ld t ree s , but in the towns there are hardly any hundred-year-o ld peop le”

Emily Ann HagenFif th Year Archi tecture

60

STUDENT PROJECTS

THINNESS IN CONCRETE

“Concrete can do anything as long as you unders tand how to do i t . Through the act ion of making, we bui ld an intui t ion towards the nature of the mater ia l . We can never know i t s t rue nature , but we can ask i t quest ions to approach the unders tanding of i t s nature . Kahn asked the br ick what i t wanted, and i t sa id i t l iked the arch. I asked the concrete what i t wanted to be , and i t to ld me i t wanted to be thin. This work i s a s tudy to achieve thin sect ion in concrete as a react ion to i t s own des i re . The program of a s tool presented i t se l f a s a means to tes t the l imits of th inness in concrete a t the sca le of my own weight .

Greg CatronFif th Year Archi tecture

61

STUDENT PROJECTS

RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN

“My pass ion for thi s project s tems f rom a hydrophobic , or water repe l lent , façade which mimics the spider web and cap-tures water f rom wind and fog based on humidity. The future of des ign, to me, i s spaces , bui ld ings and communit ies that can ser ve the indiv idual and soc ia l needs such as hunger, drought , employment and more . Of course , not a l l des ign has to “save the wor ld” , however even the smal les t of deta i l s can impact how a per-son exper iences a space . The des ign of the chi ldren’s space i s s imple , yet i t a l -lows chi ldren to explore and manipulate to meet the i r needs . Chi ldren are en-couraged not only to read books but to create s tor ies . Des igners have the abi l i ty to ser ve people and inf luence the i r ac-t ions even at a minute leve l . Custom fea-tures throughout the l ibrary such as the interact ive pr ivacy screen and respons ive ret r ieva l sys tem break the barr ier of per-son and archi tecture . The two become one and together they are able to create indiv idual s tor ies dur ing the i r t ime in the new Chris t iansburg Library.”

Lindsey Rae SloughFourth Year Inter ior Des ign

STUDENT PROJECTS

62

CHICAGO TRANSIT HUB: A TRANSFER ACROSS SCALE

“Within a v ibrant network of unique neighborhoods and networks , Chinatown i s a s igni f icant as set that i s known for i t s v ibrant cul ture grounded in empowerment , unity, and community. Bounded by t ranspor tat ion infras t ructure that has d i sconnected the neighborhood f rom the greater Chicago area , the proposa l of a t rans i t hub located within the hear t of the community not only connects two ex i s t ing ra i l l ines , but ser ves as an oppor tunity for Chinatown to extend beyond the phys ica l boundar ies and become soc ia l ly connected within the greater Chicago area . The t ransfer between sca les u l t imate ly di s so lves boundar ies making Chinatown a pivot of connect ion.”

Nneka Sobers , Urban PlanningAbigai l Al len, Archi tecture

Kait l in Vavoso, Landscape Archi tectureJordan Kel ler Archi tecture

Alex Helms, Archi tecture

63

STUDENT PROJECTS

MEET THE TEAM

PRESIDENT

AUSTIN LEDZIAN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Aust in i s a very predictable person because a l l he ta lks about i s chair s , chr i spy s tudio, and red curry. His l i fe goa l i s to own a Waff le House .

VICE-PRESIDENT

CHRISTINE YEN INTERIOR DESIGN

Short t iny As ian g i r l that i s a lways with Aust in Ledzian. You wi l l most l ike ly hear them ta lk ing about des ign and how great the i r f i r s t year s tudio i s . Interes ted in colors and fashion. She tends to s tare a t people with pleas ing outf i t s .

EDITOR

STEPHEN GOOD ARCHITECTURE

Quiet and contemplat ive . Student of Des ign. Casual wr i ter and explorer.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

LUISA LACSAMANA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

An a l ienoid super ior and scared of most humans/ honorary member of chr i spy s tudio #bread

65

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

KEVIN GARCIA ARCHITECTURE

The other dark-skinned Fi l ip ino person, and commonly mistaken for Luisa Lacsamana.

MARKETING

MEGAN MYKLEGARD MARKETING/TOURISM

Major ing in Market ing and Hospita l i ty and Touri sm Management with a minor in Pop Culture . Excess ive use of the words chi l l , rad, and he l la .

SECRETARY

SYDNEY NUGENT APPAREL

Sydney hopes to shop as a career, spec i f ica l ly as a re ta i l buyer. In her down t ime she enjoys t rave l ing and admir ing anything in a houndstooth pattern.

TREASURER

SARAH ROZAIDI ARCHITECTURE

A food enthus ias t and keen ar t i s t who envis ions herse l f to be an archi tect whose work proudly embodies the boldness and intr icac ies of her Malay her i tage .

66

WRITER

JENNIFER DANG COMMUNICATIONS

Probably the ta l le s t As ian g i r l that you’l l ever encounter with an obsess ion with s ty le .

WRITER

CASEY FEDEROVITCH ANIMAL SCIENCES

Nature lover seeking a hip, fashion forward man for long-term re la t ionship. Must be at t ract ive , submiss ive , punctual and l ight-hear ted. Can be o ld but I ’d l ike to have twins someday.

FUNDRAISING

CELESTE WONG ARCHITECTURE

Internat ional s tudent f rom Macau major ing in archi tecture . Two words : outgoing and pass ionate .

67

Blacksburg colleyarch.com

Kathryn Albr ight for her inva luable suppor t

and kindness .

El len Braaten for her ins ightful edi t ing.

Chri s Pr i tchett for be ing an amazing sponsor,

he has surrounded us with so many he lpful

people and resources .

Nugent Family for be ing our f i r s t donat ion and

suppor t ing us f rom the beginning.

Thomas Koontz Archi tect for the i r generous

donat ion.

Wong Family a l so for the i r donat ion.

Sidney Gardner for p lay ing the interes t ing

fact game with us a t 1am.

Gina Leonard and Shiba Pate l for the i r

extremely thorough layout suggest ions .

Lauren Marion for her input on organizat ion

and her sas s .

Margaret Nelson and Taylor Terr i l l for the i r

he lp with our grant proposa l .

SPECIAL THANKS CREDITS

John KnutesonInterv iew conducted by Aust in Ledzian and Chri s t ine Yen

Farmer’s MarketEssay and photos by Aust in Ledzian

Designer ShowcaseWords by Chri s t ine Yen / photos by Aust in Ledzian

Chris Pr i tchettInterv iew conducted by Becca Good / photos by Luisa Lacsamana and Aust in Ledzian

Center for The Ar tsInterv iews conduced by Jenni fer Dang / photo by Aust in Ledzian

PlayLabInterv iew conducted by Luisa Lacsamana, Aust in Ledzian, Kevin Garc ia , and Stephen Good / words by Stephen Good / photos by PlayLab and Luisa Lacsamana

LookbookOrganized by Chri s t ine Yen / photos by Luisa Lacsamana and Aust in Ledzian

Form: Line, Plane, Sol id exhibi t ionInterv iews conducted by Aust in Ledzian, Kevin Garc ia , and Luisa Lacsamana / photos by Matthew Cox and Aust in Ledzian

211 Draper Rd SW, Blacksburg, VA(540) 951-9817www.sycamoredeli.com

Complete solution. Complete comfort.Learn more at www.humanscale.com

VECTORWORKS

Download a free trial of our design software at student.myvectorworks.net.

Explore the Possibilities.

Design by Graham Landscape ArchitecturePhoto courtesy of Mike Stog | mikestog.com #Vectorworks