It may look like scrap to you, but AV俱乐部 architecture students are used to seeing things a bit differently.
鈥淲e wanted to drive home the idea that it鈥檚 not really 'scrap,'鈥� says Greg Whistance-Smith, a masters student in architecture, pointing at the piles of wood being assembled behind Sexton Campus鈥� Medjuck Building.
鈥淵ou can make gorgeous material out of it if you鈥檙e creative.鈥�
On May 19, the Architecture Students Association organized a street furniture competition on Sexton Campus. Ten teams, each with a handful of students, were given abandoned wood and materials to work with: some from the new Halifax Public Library site, some from AV俱乐部 Facilities Management. Their task: design and build an original piece of furniture in seven hours.
The competition was inspired by a similar event by Edmonton鈥檚 M.A.D.E. (Media, Art, Design Exposed), an organization co-founded by Dal alumnus Shafraaz Kaba. That competition has been running for 11 years, but Mr. Whistance-Smith says that the Halifax event was the first time that it鈥檚 been attempted outside of Edmonton.
鈥淭he students use mostly hand tools,鈥� explains Daniel Toumine, a fourth-year architecture undergrad who planned the event with Mr. Whistance-Smith. 鈥淲e have a carpenter here who is doing major cuts, but mostly it鈥檚 by hand.鈥�
A win sealed with a kiss
Some of the projects included bar furniture, rocking chairs and tables 鈥� all with colourful, vibrant shades of wood, based on what was available.
The winning project, named 鈥淭he Kissing Chair,鈥� was the work of students Sara Jellicoe, Renaude Laberge-Boisjoli, Hannah Brash, Madelaine Merkel and Kathryn Townsend.
鈥淲e were inspired by the roughness and colour of the scrap wood,鈥� explains Ms. Brash. 鈥淲e also had an old skid that we were interested into turning into a backrest of a chair. Instead of designing a traditional loveseat-like bench, we decided to make the users face each other to create a more intimate experience: for conversing, hugging and, sure, even kissing!鈥�
She says that the competition challenged her and her team to refine their design based on the pieces available 鈥� the sort of ingenuity and creativity that organizers were hoping for.
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鈥淵ou really have to work as a team,鈥� says Mr. Toumine, to which Mr. Whistance-Smith quickly adds, 鈥淎nd this architecture school has a culture of that. So it really fits in.鈥�
The organizers are hoping to make the competition an annual event.