We are excited to publish the inaugural edition of the digital format of Work In Progress, RISD Department of Architecture’s print publication. In tandem with the continuing student run print version, this edition will serve to catalog and recognize the achievements and the presence of the RISD Architecture Alumni community in the broader context to which we all belong.
This first issue posed a simple call for submissions. We wanted to see who was out there, and what was out there. We asked for current work, recent projects or experiences, on-going thoughts, sketches, models, photographs, and academic papers. As Alums, we were expecting a wide response. What we received did not disappoint.
Alum Lauren Crahan (BArch ’96), a Principal at Freecell with John Hartman and Peter Dorsey, Adjunct Faculty at the Department of Architecture submitted “Lighthearted”; a community engagement piece sited in New York City’s Times Square. The work represents the broad spectrum of projects RISD Architecture Alums are engaged in.
We are also taking the opportunity to feature the Department outside of the studio in what we hope will be a reoccurring column or article. Following the tragic natural disasters in Japan earlier this year, Architecture Instructor Aki Ishida’s Wintersession studio of twelve RISD students installed a collaborative work at the Japan Society in New York City during a 12-hour benefit for the Earthquake Relief Fund.
In the inaugural print edition of WIP, Professor Gabriel Feld proposed “a more open exchange with the larger community.” This digital platform intends to propose new and continue established connections among alumni of the RISD Architecture program. Simultaneously establishing a relevant archive of creative alumni work and experience it is our intention that WIP will foster conversation and maintain an ongoing dialogue.
Andrew Liebchen Chelsea Limbird Will McLoughlin Editors
Phase I, part of a larger 350,000 sq.ft project was recently opened in 2010. The entire project will be completely heated using geothermal. The arts building includes: art classroom, music classrooms, a 900 seat auditorium as well as lockers for field sports. Designed to meet Collaborative for High Performance Schools standards including but not limited to: super-tight insulated envelop construction, daylight controls for lights, natural lighting, radiant floors, and rain water storage tanks for water supplies to both bathrooms, and fields.
Hillside Elementary School
San Lorenzo Unified School District, San Lorenzo, California
Library
A new 2,000 square foot round library is a welcoming nest in the middle of a large open plaza, sweetening a lonely space with new planting, benches and whimsical text stenciled on the site. The cedar wood wrapping shades the building and warms the large asphalt play area.
The interior of the library uses birch plywood wall panels, and exposed glulam beams to create a tempting haven. New study areas, benches tucked within book stacks and a storytelling corner complete the space. Computer stations are provided throughout along with a generous reception area.
This newly built Arts & Crafts home sits on a quiet street a short walk from Silvershell Beach. It replaced a 1950s ‘Gunnison’ prefab ranch house that was the first house on Cove Street and had served the original owners, the Long family, and subsequent residents well for over 50 years. When Robert (BArch 1973), an architect, and Sharon decided to update and expand the ranch house, the prefab construction presented many obstacles, so the building was razed and a new 2 story design was developed to sit on the same foundation.
The goal was to use salvaged architectural objects, rich custom detailing and strong colors to bring a sense of history and romance back into modern home design. The inspiration was the summer camps, carriage houses and shingle style homes of coastal New England. The home is compact enough to be energy efficient yet has enough space for large family gatherings and reunions.
What role does decoration play in architecture? As architects we are taught to think beyond surface, to create space using solid, void and threshold. We are encouraged to use an abstract or limited representation of materials so that models and drawings express the third dimension. But what happens when materials that make up the ‘skin’ of a building, transcend the role of surface to become ‘something that adorns, enriches, or beautifies’ [1] — and does the act of decoration matter?
