Networking

The first networking event I attended was on February 24th, at the Light Gallery, which is located on the first floor of the Greenbridge development. The building’s reveal was a big event in town because it is now Chapel Hill’s tallest building and most extensive and contemporary building in the downtown area. This facility includes 97 condominiums and 36,000 square feet dedicated to retail on the first floor and office space on the second floor with two floors of underground parking. The building follows LEED standards in water conservation and indoor air quality. Sitzer Spuria Studios was the Interior design firm for this project. They are a full-service design firm that has been practicing local design for over twenty-five years. They specialize in finely detailed, classic and modern, sustainable interiors. The design team works with a network of suppliers, manufacturers, and contractors both locally and internationally. From their material research for Greenbridge, a sister company was formed called Caragreen. Caragreen is a material resource and distributer of sustainable, high quality alternatives to conventional building materials for architects, interior designers, builders, fabricators, furniture builders, and installers.

I was fortunate to meet designers of all levels in the firm as well as many highly appraised local artists who were showcased in the Gallery. This event was very useful in that it opened my perception to design to many different levels. It does not have to be strictly architecture or interior design, but it also involves many other types of artist and as well as developing new companies through the use of materials. This was a great example of how locality can be created through the use of design by bringing together various sets of skills to create a sense of community.

The second networking event I attended was on February 24, when the North Carolina Triad Chapter of the Alumni Association held Jack Davis as their 2011 speaker. The event was held at the Volvo training facility in Greensboro. The topic of the speech was “A recitation on Education- through research” Research highlights included past present Lumenhaus projects. He informed the audience of the achievements Virginia Tech has made, what technologies and advancements they have to assist design-build projects as well as their views on education of architecture and design. Jack Davis is the Dean of Architecture at Virginia tech as well as the architect for the College of Architecture and Urban Studies Research and Demonstration Facility. His goal was to show the capabilities that they have at Virginia Tech in the architecture department- with the ability to design and build large structures. This leads to the ability to compete in design competitions such as their research Lumenhaus project which has formed much success in the competition and even after in installations throughout the world. The design was to incorporate new technologies as well as be energy efficient while making the best use of daylight.

Virginia Tech’s main goal was to achieve as well designed residential structure that could be manipulated by the use of sliding and adjustable walls that would block harsh sunlight as well as create airflow throughout the space by using a duel door system. The interior door was a solid, while the exterior door acted as a drape to block sunrays, but also contained holes to ventilate the interior. Vegetation and a small pond were introduced to the exterior patio as another way to keep interior temperatures down.

This structure has been installed in many cities around the globe. Washington DC- Oct. 2009, New York City- Jan. 2010, Madrid- June 2010, Blacksburg (VT drill field)- Sept. 2010, Chicago- Nov. 2010, and is scheduled to be installed at the Farnsworth House, which served as the main source of inspiration, in spring of 2011. The projects was awarded thirteenth place in the US Solar Decathlon. The response from the jury was that they did not use as many innovative technologies in comparison to their competitors. The design was voted as the most appealing in the competition and met all of the required needs of the user. Virginia Tech was taken back by these assessments, deeming them as purposeless. They had been participating in this competition for many years, and found great interest in the amount of exposure and education their students gained from participation. However, they feel that god architecture is not achieved by new technologies, but by the design of the entire structure. New technologies take a supplementary role to well-thought-out design. So, the department decided not to apply for next year’s Solar Decathlon competition and is looking for other competitions that share their same values of architecture and design.

This networking event was helpful in that it showed me the particulars that I need to give great attention when deciding where to attend graduate school for architecture. All of the schools have different values and focuses. Virginia Techs department is now very appealing to me in that the students develop a lot of experience in building which leads to the understanding of how systems work.