Nov. 18, 2010
A group of students from CUA's School of Architecture and Planning have created "CUArch: install," an exhibit to showcase students' many talents in architecture as well as other arts.
In the eight niches outside Koubek Auditorium in the Edward M. Crough Center for Architectural Studies that often collected discarded projects from classes, students have installed a formal display of their work. The exhibit opens Friday, Nov.19, with a reception at 6 p.m., and will continue through Monday, Dec. 13.
David Shove-Brown, assistant dean for special programs, and Patrick McClellan, a senior from Pittsburgh, discussed ways to clean up these spaces and showcase the talents of CUA architecture students at the same time. With minimal guidance, says Shove-Brown, "Pat took the ball and ran with it."
McClellan established guidelines and an application for students to complete in order to qualify to use a niche. Pieces chosen range from graffiti art to a perpetual marble race assembled from found objects and parts of a student's bike. Shove-Brown says, "This installation shows that as architects, we do more than just design buildings."
Corey August, a junior, says he chose to participate because it afforded him the chance to work on something other than "strict architecture."
"When you work on a piece like this, you think of things you might not think of with architectural design," he says. His group's installation includes printed elements, a three-dimensional wooden map of the streets of Washington, D.C., and bent wire and tubing.
These projects were created entirely outside of formal class time. Although August estimates his team spent approximately 50 hours on "Inner City," they receive no class credit for the work.
McClellan says, "The installation has become more than I expected." He has been impressed with the range and complexity of work that was completed in a short amount of time. A new set of installations, says McClellan, is scheduled to go on display in late January.
