Fall Break- Charleston

I love visiting Charleston, SC and seeing the historic homes on the Battery. I love the old southern homes from the 1700's with the wrought iron and wood details. These homes strongly influence my design style today. I'm still a southern girl at heart.

This visit I was able to do some house tours which I have never done. I especially enjoyed a tour of the Calhoun Mansion which I do not have any pictures of, because they do not allow photography within the home as it is still a private residence. The Calhoun Mansion is ecclectically decorated almost like a museum, with decor from all around the world including some pretty creepy taxidermy on the 3rd floor.

My Bus/Shelter Design

I chose to experiment with a unique form, taking inspiration from a spider web reflecting the bus routes. This form allows bus users to utilize the bus stop in a different way. Rather than sitting on a straight bench, one can sit on any side of it and can still see the road because of the open design. The glass ceiling provides shelter as well as the opportunity to view the surrounding natural area located on Tate Street in Greensboro.

Alexander Fisher- The Peacock Sconce

The Peacock Sconce was made around 1899 by Alexander Fisher. A sconce is used as a holder of a light source on a wall. He designed the sconce for the sole purpose to be exhibited and not used within a home. However, if the sconce were to be used within a living space, the space would be designed in the style of the arts and crafts movement. There is also a strong influence of art nouveau, because of the peacock motif relating back to nature. The use of metals and the enameled decorative peacock feathers give off the impression that this would be a higher class home. The windows are therefore taller with long sweeping curtains, ideally velvet. The fireplace is more grand with a frame surrounding it along with a larger mantle. The furniture pieces included in the space are from the art nouveau movement with very organic details such as the swirling woodwork in the couch on the back wall. Furthermore, the decorative pieces added to the space reflect the natural theme of the peacock as well. There is a vase in the far corner of dried flowers and the rug in the center of the floor has an art nouveau influenced swirl. The same swirl motif is shown in the oversized mirror as well as the metal fire screen. Alexander Fisher’s use of metal is also reflected in several other areas of the room including the mirror on the opposite wall of the room and the fire screen just below the sconce. The Peacock Sconce represents a harmony between embracing nature with the art nouveau and arts and craft movement, and the industrial revolution with his use of steel and other metals.

WAS Benson fire screen

The fire screen was designed by William Arthur Smith Benson in 1891 in England. He was considered a master of metalwork, the fire screen being made of a combination of bronze and copper creating leaf like parts that fanned to cover the fireplace. Unlike many other designers during the arts and crafts movement, Benson wanted his designs to be used for mass production and really embraced the industrial movement.
This approach to design is a stark contrast to the John H. Belter sofa which is a very intricately crafted piece of furniture. He creates overly embellished woodwork, that is a Rococo Revival and a very high style look. This sofa is in no way appropriate for mass production. Belter's approach to design is one of a kind pieces. He is especially known for his work with carving rosewood, which is a very organic material, as opposed to the bronze and copper pieces that Benson is known for. Benson's work is much more streamlined and focused on form, rather than the embellishments of Belter's woodworking.
However WAS Benson worked similarly to Isaac Merritt Singer who created the Singer sewing machine. Singer was quick to embrace the industrial world as well by creating a sewing machine for commercial use. His design was much more practical than those that had already been invented. He made several improvements such as switching from a curved needle to a straight one. Once he started his own company he began to target sewing machines for people’s homes. Benson's fire screen is much like this in that he was able to bring a part of industry into peoples homes, just as Isaac Singer did with his home sewing machine.

Communications for Shelter/Bus or Bus/Shelter

For our you tube video to promote the IARC department and the bus shelter that we will create, we thought we could get the most hits if we gave it a shocking title.
A fake campaign on campus, such as vote for Stoel, would create a interest in the department and we would pass out fake campaign buttons to promote IARc and our work even further.

***Our other designs for communications are on Kurt, Katie, and Kevin's blogs.