IA&D Celebrates Winners of 2021 Charrette Project
1st place project, “The Aviary” created by Team 311: Grace Bryant, Christine Wahl, Aubrey Honerbrink, and Haley Valtz.
The Department of Interior of Architecture and Design is proud to recognize the winners of this year’s Interior IA&D 2021 Charrette. Each year, sophomore, junior, and senior students are organized into cross-expertise teams with the goal of accelerating the learning of the earlier students from their more experienced peers, a strategy that leverages leadership and mentorship opportunities within the groups. The Charrette started as a way to answer the need for additional creative exploration of theoretical design scenarios within the curriculum. Eight years later, these projects have proven to be essential supports for the social and learning atmosphere of the department.
Each year the Charrette is organized by Steve Webber, Associate Professor whose areas of research include emotional intelligence, empathy, systemizing, design process and pedagogy, and trends in practice. Webber annually selects the theme of the projects that have ranged from a zombie safe house to imaginary cities as described by historic author Italo Calvino. This year, each group was tasked with the challenge of creating a “mind palace” based on upon an assigned poem. Popularized in historic and recent literature, a mind palace is a mental structure one builds in their imagination as a repository of memories, impressions and emotions. It can, but does not have to resemble built architecture. Armed with their creative, sketching and digital representation abilities, each team was assigned one of the following poems: The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, and Aerialist by Sylvia Plath.
The Charrette kicked off on January 6th of 2021 and concluded on January 11th. With classes held online this semester, the Charrette was conducted through an entirely remote process. While in previous years students would have their Charrette posters showcased in building hallways, adjustments were made in order to have the student’s work posted on the Canvas learning management system. The Department is also currently working on alternative ways to display the projects from the Charrette in the near future.
The judging process was completed by full-time faculty in a remote process this year. Concept and creativity, analysis of the poem, placemaking, and graphic presentation were among the criteria. There were many strong projects submitted. Congratulations to these teams whose work was identified as particularly strong:
Pictured right, “Shadow of Nevermore” placed 2nd created by Team 301: Estefania Touza Maya, Arianna Dantes, Keyton Bielecky, and Cameron Bennett. Pictured left, “Stairway to the Inevitable” placed 3rd, created by Team 313: Laura Fussell, Taylor Barnwell, Sarah Kobes, and Karla Lemery.
First Place: Team 311: Grace Bryant, Christine Wahl, Aubrey Honerbrink, Haley Valtz
Second Place: Team 301: Estefania Touza Maya, Arianna Dantes, Keyton Bielecky, Cameron Bennett
Third Place: Team 313: Laura Fussell, Taylor Barnwell, Sarah Kobes, Karla Lemery
Honorable Mention: Team 325: Colleen Thornhill, Sarah Findley, Camryn Porter, Sydney Lashbrook
Honorable Mention: Team 314: Savannah Sutter, Makenna Carlson, Elisabeth Gregory, Sarah Johnson
Honorable Mention: Team321: Kailey Brown, Brianna Salzenstein, Amelia Gates, Sandra Kirwin