Urbanscape installation takes top honors at SOFA CONNECT  

It was an idea that started with an insect. And from there a masterpiece was born, as that drawing of a dead insect inspired “Urban Nature: A Recycled Sanctuary,” the installation that won first prize at the 2016 SOFA Chicago CONNECT student design competition, which took place during the 23rd annual SOFA (Sculptural Objects, Functional Art and Design) Expo. 

The design students, who worked under adviser Sigrid Zahner, an associate professor of visual and performing arts, submitted their concept and were chosen as finalists for the competition. Now in its fourth year, CONNECT allows students to work collaboratively under faculty supervision to design and create an environment that incorporates seating and lighting installations, offering an intimate gathering space where show attendees can sit, relax, and connect. 

“The CONNECT design environments were based on three design objectives,” says Donna Davies, vice president with Urban Expositions, the competition’s production company. “One, to design seating elements that would be inviting and used by all patrons and exhibitors at SOFA Chicago where they could connect; two, to create lighting elements within their own space and three, to create staging, based on any theme each school desired, but to create an overall design environment/installation within their allotted spaces.” 

Purdue’s design stood out for several reasons, Davies says. Key among them was their attention to all three of the design objectives: seating, lighting and staging. 

“The installation answered all three of these objectives in very clear, unique ways that were cohesive to their entire installation,” she says. “Further, each element of their installation was marked by its technique. There was a tremendous feeling of the time and effort the students put into each element, made by hand.”

Miranda Herring, an art education major in her fourth year, was part of the award-winning student group, along with Gabrielle Bennett, Kara Hampton, and David Marchese. The group met early on to discuss concepts, settling on fine arts student Hampton’s drawings of dead insects as a jumping off point for concept, materials, and design. 

Their process, based on Bauhausian/material-driven design, incorporated simple materials of recycled fabric, porcelain, wood, and cement, all of which, they felt, reflected the surrounding urban landscape and are not considered inherently beautiful or valuable. Thus it was their mission to change that perspective. 

“The recycled/found element is really important in reflecting that effort of elevating that material to a higher realm,” says Herring. “The drawings of insects really grounded our design in that concept, but also in integrating nature into the urban landscape of Chicago. Our ultimate goal was to create a comfortable space which included seating, lighting and staging while also representing our concept.” 

Zahner shared the students’ inspiration from the insect drawings. “We had already decided that we would use as much of the waste materials that people throw away in Pao (Hall) that were still perfectly good and usable,” Zahner says. “Conceptually, the insect symbolizes another example of something whose beauty and usefulness is often overlooked. Our concept was based on this idea of ubiquitous and quotidian beauty, and we based our forms on the natural world. For example, the handwoven rug was based on the form of the moth drawing.”

The judges at SOFA CONNECT recognized the effort and innovation that went into the Purdue team’s concept. “Clearly, they worked very well as a team with clear definition of duties yet always with a vision of an overall aesthetic that the CONNECT jury noted,” says Davies.

Zahner agreed. The students, she says, supported each other incredibly well. “They have proven the flexibility and creativity intrinsic in those areas of art and design that are often not considered useful or ‘jobworthy,’” Zahner says. “We were up against some very prestigious design and architectural schools and departments, and our students’ ability to fabricate beyond just the designing part of the project is what put us ahead.”