a queen in our midst: ALLISON CONLEY

Allison Conley, a fifth year IARc student who is writing her thesis before graduation in December, was recently crowned the 113th queen of Ak-Sar-Ben at a coronation ball.  She was a page in 1995 and princess in 2008, so her crowning as queen is certainly a great honor.  This award acknowledges her own accomplishments as well as her family’s civic leadership and community service, and her parents have certainly influenced her outstanding accomplishments and commitment to service.  She studied abroad in France where she wrote a bilingual book in French and English that discussed sustainability in French architecture.  Allison has also volunteered for My Sister’s House, helped raise money for the Ronald McDonald House in Winston-Salem, NC, and taught English to African refugees.  We are quite proud to have such a dedicated student and citizen in the IARc department!

Allison with her parents. Photo courtesy of Allison Conely

Allison at the crowning ceremony. Photo courtesy of Allison Conley

graduate student profile: ASHLEY BOYCHER

Ashley Boycher completed an undergraduate degree in Anthropology with a minor in Religious Studies from LSU. At that time, her particular interests revolved around the archeological aspect of Anthropology, but as she gained experience in the field, she realized that a focus in one particular subject area was not her preference.  Rather, she began to understand that her interests sought an array of topics and, so, decided to shift her academic focus in a more multidisciplinary direction. This new understanding of her interests led her to the evolving, interdisciplinary world of Museum Studies and Exhibition Design. With its concentration option in Museum Studies and interdepartmental classes with Public History students, Ashley feels fortunate to have found such a nice fit in the UNCG IARc graduate program.

While she has worked specifically on exhibition projects (see a walkthrough animation of her 2008 studio project here) throughout her time at UNCG, Ashley’s work this semester reaches beyond the bounds of IARc and Museum Studies. Her studio project, which is titled The Hatchery: An Exhibition-Retail Collaborative, grew from an idea that a business school faculty member, Joe Erba, proposed to several department heads about opening a space in downtown Greensboro to exhibit and sell student work exclusively. The Hatchery would accommodate visual art, performance art, and design work from the various creative departments on campus including art, interior architecture, creative writing, consumer apparel and retail studies, dance, music, broadcasting and cinema, and theatre. The project intends to foster community while cultivating talent and encouraging cross-discipline collaboration—to bridge gaps within the university and between the university and the city. Also, if/when The Hatchery comes into existence, by getting students off campus and into a budding area of interest downtown, they will gain practical experience while forming a more solid relationship with the arts and entertainment industry of greater Greensboro. Ashley holds these ideals close to heart and hopes that her work this semester will keep the project’s momentum going.

This past summer, Ashley interned for six weeks at The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. She gained some valuable experience working behind the scenes there in the 3D Exhibition Design Department, which reinforced her eagerness to begin a professional career in museums and to continue working collaboratively with people from different backgrounds and disciplines.

Ashley Boycher

connect with iarc: SELECT GRAND OPENING

The Grand Opening of the Salvation Army Select on November 13 was a grand success.  This boutique-style Salvation Army store was greeted with a full parking lot and a full store on its first morning open to the public.  Shoppers got a kick-start on their Christmas shopping, enjoyed refreshments, and mingled with students involved with the project.  People’s faces seemed to light up each time they entered the store and encountered a beautiful, inspiring space with a great selection of second-hand clothes as well as some great second-hand furniture that was revamped by students.  The opening marks the culmination of Matt Jones and Debbie Nestvogel’s senior thesis project, one that will continue to do the most good for the community.  With fixtures designed and created by Stoel Burrowes’s studio, displays and merchandising by Suzanne Cabrera’s studio, a mural by local artist Sage Hanna, and tons of volunteer hours getting the store ready, this store was truly a communal effort and a success that many helping hands made possible.  If you weren’t at the grand opening, you can still go see the space for yourself at 3610 North Elm Street.

not a space open...photo credit: Claire Keane

the crowd rushes in once the doors open...

eager shoppers in the trendy new store. photo credit: Claire Keane

the displays were a big hit! photo credit: Claire Keane

grad school: TRIPLE DIP THESIS WEEK

This week, three graduate students will give their thesis defenses.  Kate Zylstra presents Visualizing Architectural Character: the effects of rehabilitation on the voice of theater at 9:00 am on Wednesday, November 18 in Gatewood 303.  Katie Nash’s presentation, Tourism as Heritage: Defining the Tourist Vernacular of Gatlinburg, 1912-1970, following Kate’s defense at 10:30 am on the 18th in Gatewood 303.  Lastly, on Friday, November 20, at 10:00 am in Gatewood 303, Joy Williams will present Historic Tax Incentives and Disaster Relief: A Case Study on Post-Katrina New Orleans.  Please go and support these students at their presentations! See their flyers below:

 

graduate students: PROJECT PROFILES

This year IARc’s Graduate School had a record enrollment of students. Due to the high number of attending graduate students, the diversity of the projects also has had an impact in IARc. Projects range from several product designs to museum exhibit development to historic preservation. For several months graduate students researched and developed a topic of interest for their field of study. All projects are unique, and the grad students have kindly shared their theory, process and development with us. The following three graduate students concentrate their projects around product design.

[Brandon Jones]

Brandon Jones is currently looking at the human body and car shapes. Can one borrow back some energy from car design to reuse or reinterpret it to design and make furniture? Are cars designed to be anthropomorphic? If they are, what aesthetically pleasing forms can be reused or reinterpreted to shape a chair? So far he is finding that the scale of the automobile divided by four is human scale; the smaller the car, the smaller the human. The fronts of cars look like faces and have been studied. The side profile of most cars resembles a reclining figure. In the end his process will lead to designing a unique chair, rethinking how we recycle the junked car, both literally and figuratively.

The development of his piece is shown below.

initial sketches.

automobile scale studies.

first prototype

second prototype

prototype development

All images are courtesy of Brandon Jones

[Tracy Kalman] Nostalgia Remix: Fusing Traditional Craft and
Contemporary Design

In Tracy Kalman’s thesis investigation a design process has been developed that fuses together traditional craft techniques, such as sewing, quilting, and weaving, with contemporary design. From that ideology she developed a line of products called “cocoon”; these items help to create personal space, privacy, and comfort. This design process encompassed textile arts, or products with a textile component, in particular products that soften the environment. Tracy Kalman’s interest is in using the past and memory as an inspiration for design but reinventing these references in an innovative way, integrating traditional and contemporary. The line of products for cocoon currently include sit and Tracy is working on a second product cocoon: nest, which is a textile divider.

All images are courtesy of Tracy Kalman

[Kim Wade] Urban Interaction: Supporting Social Development through Interior Products in Private Dwelling

Kim Wade explores the idea of Urban Interaction through the development of emotionally sustainable objects that stimulate traditional cookware pieces. The idea is to create cookware that is inherently more aesthetically pleasing thus providing a catalysis for people within the urban community to come together and experience cooking together. Some of the aesthetic inspiration for the pieces that she is currently working on are: the art of origami, sculptural objects, and the notion of gathering food within a napkin in order to share it with another person. In the following images you can see several paper folds which were done in order to create some initial shapes. Currently Kim begins to explore the paper forms in steel in order to finalize the details of the first piece.

All images are courtesy of Kim Wade

call for volunteers: [us] MY SISTERS HOUSE

The “big pour” has come and gone. On February 27th, urban s t u d i o students poured, in the pouring rain, 99 cubic yards of concrete. In all, the wall system consumed 117 cubic yards. Nine months, 117 students, 5 graduate interns and many extra hands….later….My Sisters House exterior construction, lighting, plumbing and most cabinetry is at its completion. However, in order to have the house ready for its ribbon cutting and for the fortunate moms to move in, areas around the house must be finished off. One being the landscaping of the house, Robert Charest and a few student volunteers are endlessly working on having the house completed but are in need of more helping hands. On Saturday November 14, they will be working on finishing off the landscaping and have one less area to worry about, if you would like to volunteer some of your extra time please contact Robert Charest at rmchares@uncg.edu

events in IARc: INTERNSHIP FAIR & AVENUES TRADE FAIR

The success of the internship fair and the first ever trade fair for the students of IARc was outstanding. The internship fair allowed many students to familiarize themselves with possible internship options available. Interns answered questions about the experience they had and gave tips and suggestions to students about what they did to get the most out of their internship.

Following the Internship Fair, the Advisory Board hosted a first ever trade fair called AVENUES. The trade fair further allowed students to explore an avenue that is possible to take after graduating from the IARC Design Program. Avenues such as Hospitality Design, Product Design, Healthcare Design, Museum Design, and Graphic Design are all different paths that students can venture into and all are rewarding and unique just for you.

[3rd] & [4th] year studio: CBI SHOWROOM IN RALEIGH

Tina Sarawgi’s Commercial Design Studio has been working on several different phases of the renovation of a historic building for CBI in downtown Durham, N.C. The space will house Knoll products to exhibit for large clients such as Duke University in Durham. CBI will also use the space to entertain, hold meeting, and as a workplace.

t h e s i t e :

Sara Easterling + Leah Petriccione use the concept of edge: node: vista to organize the space for the CBI showroom. Upon entering the space, it is soon apparent that the building is divided into sections with various purposes enclosed. Each section of the space, or node, is where the main activity takes place. These zones are further separated by edges; the edges define the boundaries of the spatial nodes. These edges are far more significant than mere boundaries, for they also connect the layers of the space, thus performing as a guide through the extents of the building. As the nodes and edges progress through CBI, the visual sense of a vista begins to form. As one enters the space, the branding of CBI serves as the iconic view, whereas upon exiting, the view of the Durham Post Office reigns superior.

Jayson Parker + Maiken Schoenleber developed the CBI showroom design from their concept of Flexible Identity. The identities of Knoll and CBI, while independent and different from each other share a lot of commonalities. Throughout the space they capitalized on these commonalities and integrated a flexible juxtaposition between the two.

Jon Davidson + Robert Fausset describe their project as a beacon (person, act, or thing that warns or guides a person or thing that illuminates or inspires) of light . With that, they wanted to create a space that will be self guiding, inspires it’s guest, and illuminates a part of Durham that has been abandoned. With CBI renovating this space, Jon and Robert hope that the building will become a beacon to attract more customers and business’ into the area.

Johanna Kjesbu + Micah Martin developed and organize the space based on the theatrical experience.

beyond the classroom: NEOCON EAST

A group of fifth year students took a fulfilling field trip to Baltimore, Maryland for the annual NeoCon East. The day was filled with exciting and educational moments where this group of ladies experienced more than 250 exhibitors, 30 CEU-accredited seminars and association forums, keynote speakers, new products, innovative design, building resources and for a few short hours had countless materials all at their finger tips. Among the keynote speakers was Hellman-Chang, which was founded only two years ago. Hellman-Chang is a New York based furniture design studio that’s quickly gained attention from interior designers with their innovative designs. Exceptional presenters like Hellman-Chang, among many others, has made NeoCon East the premier design exposition and conference for the mid-atlantic design community. All IARc students can use NeoCon as a resource, but if driving to Baltimore is out of the question then may I suggest visiting their website here.

Jessica Schupe, Allison Conley, Eric Chang, Dan Hellman, Sarah Craig, Rachel Pound, Marianne Mulford and Janel Graupensperger after the student keynote lecture given by the two founders and designers of Hellman Chang furniture.

a new look: HPMS WEBSITE

The Historic Preservation and Museum Studies programs recently updated their website, and this catchy new design was made possible by a donation from the Covington Foundation. The new site includes videos that elaborate on different aspects of the programs, Master’s theses, current events in the department, faculty profiles, and student views. Check it out at: http://www.uncg.edu/hpms/!

The new, fresh face of The Historic Preservation and Museum Studies Website.