Parsons Students Design ICFF Metropolis booth

Team Led by Designer David Stark Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Magazine

Parsons + Metropolis @ ICFF
International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Booth 1448
Tour with Designers:
Saturday, May 14, 10 am-noon

NEW YORK, May 9, 2011—Breaking preconceptions, stretching boundaries, and working through rigorous means of making, Parsons the New School for Design challenged students to design and build the Metropolis booth at the ICFF to mark the magazine’s 30th anniversary.

In a studio led by celebrated event designer David Stark, Parsons architecture, interior design, lighting design, and product design students approached interiors as conceptually charged art experiences. "Our design is inspired by the Metropolis 30th anniversary logo, and the bright colors of cyan, magenta and black paying homage to the printing process," said the student team. "As one walks around the structure, the visual overlap creates new hues of color, as well as a vibrant experience of changing textures and patterns."

The team was inspired by the value placed by Metropolis on material innovation, as well as the return to craft that is evident in the contemporary design world. They fabricated the booth from thick spools of yarn, which are strung from a metal frame that defines the central programming elements of the booth, including a lounge and an exhibition space for the Metropolis Next Generation winning designs. At the top of the frame are laminated covers of magazine issues from the past 30 years. A reception desk, shelving and benches are fabricated from plywood wrapped in the same yarn. Additional furnishings include the Tropicalia Chair by Moroso and a table by BluDot.

"Each year Metropolis collaborates with young designers on the creation of our booth, but this is our first year partnering with a design school, and the first time a whole semester was devoted to designing, making, recycling the project," said Susan S. Szenasy, Editor-in-Chief of Metropolis. "We are really impressed with the final result. The students demonstrated a clear understanding of our magazine's values and communicated it thoughtfully through their design." Previous collaborations include Project H, Moorhead & Moorhead, and Urban A&O.

"This project challenged our students to really gain an understanding of what it means to work with a client and produce an installation that met their needs and timeline," said David Stark, who led the course alongside his design director, Juliana Jaramillo.
"It was impressive to see them work across the disciplines of product, interior, and architectural design to create a number of innovative concepts that they were able to them merge into one inspired design."

The student team includes: Patrick McNaughton, MFA Interior Design; Michael Brotherton, Lauren Zailyk, Amy Johnson, and David Lawrence, Master of Architecture; Christopher Mattiucci, Nixie Pardi, and Janice Wong, BFA Interior Design; Phillip Song, BFA Architectural Design; and Goeunee Park and Soyoun Wang, BFA Product Design.

For more information on the project, read an interview with the students on the Metropolis website.

Parsons has a number of events taking place during the run of the ICFF. The school will present the first Parsons Festival from May 7 through 23, which showcases the creativity and talent at the school, a global leader in art and design education. The event will include exhibitions, screenings, thought-provoking public programs, interactive installations, and other events, culminating in a daylong Block Party on May 21. The Festival includes an exhibition of thesis work from Parsons architecture, interior design, lighting design and product design students, which includes a reception on May 17 from 6-8 p.m. For more information, please visit www.newschool.edu/parsonsfestival.

Waiting for You is an exhibition at Poltrona Frau New York on view May 14-17, with an opening reception on May 14, 7-9 p.m. Featuring work by Parsons product design students under the direction of Parsons faculty member and noted designer Andrea Ruggiero, the exhibition features concepts for furniture and environments that improve the experiential aspects of waiting, an activity that the average person is frequently engaged over the course of a lifetime. Students will consider new forms of furniture that address how people might spend their time waiting today and in the future. Editor's note: a press reception will be held May 14 from 5-7 p.m., please contact Deborah Kirschner at [email protected] for more information.

Metropolis Magazine is relied upon by professionals in all areas of design-architecture, interior, landscape, technology, industrial, and graphic- for dynamic journalism that speaks to their core interests and continually addresses ways to make our world more environmentally and socially sustainable. Metropolis's grassroots commitment to design education is exemplified by the Metropolis Tour. Developed by the magazine's editor in chief in 2007, it has been hosted by more than sixty leading architecture and design firms in North America to date. This forum, which features compelling Metropolis-produced films, explores today's increasingly complex design issues with active design professionals, exposing them to lessons of regional architecture and modern preservation, as well as design innovation and research. For more information, visit www.metropolismag.com.

Parsons The New School for Design is one of the leading art and design schools in the world, and builds upon The New School’s legacy of progressive ideals, scholarship, and pedagogy. For over a century, the school has pioneered art and design education, establishing the first programs in fashion, interior design and communication design in the nation. Based in New York City but active around the world, the school offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the full spectrum of art and design disciplines. For more information, please visit www.parsons.newschool.edu.

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PRESS RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Deborah Kirschner,
The New School
212.229.5667x4310
[email protected]

Carri Winters,
Metropolis
212.886.2524
[email protected]

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