Poltrona Frau and Parsons Announce Second Annual Student Design Competition |
NEW YORK, February 22, 2012—The Poltrona Frau Group North America, the world’s leading producer of luxury home furnishings, will partner for a second year with Parsons The New School for Design on a competition for product design students under the direction of faculty member and noted designer Andrea Ruggiero. “Partnering with leading design companies provides our students with the real-world experience and access to top talent that is critical in their development as designers,” said Rama Chorpash, director of Product Design at Parsons. “We look forward to a long-lasting partnership with Poltrona Frau, and credit talented faculty such as Andrea for helping to nurture these important relationships.” In a seven-week studio, junior-year product design students will be challenged to design and develop concepts for a piece of furniture that interprets the theme, “Dreaming.” The challenge pushes students to explore new forms of furniture design. “We were very impressed by the strong results of last year’s challenge, and it was no question that we would continue with the collaboration for a second year,” said Federico Materazzi, Executive Vice President of Poltrona Frau Group North America. “Both the students and faculty at Parsons have demonstrated a strong commitment to quality, craftsmanship and innovation in the area of furniture design, which makes this partnership a great fit for our company.” As with the previous year’s competition winners, the students whose designs are selected as the top projects will visit the Poltrona Frau studios in Italy and have the opportunity to fabricate prototypes of their furniture designs. Models of all the resulting designs will be on view at Poltrona Frau this spring during the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. 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 United States. 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. The Product Desigin program at Parsons is housed within its School of Constructed Environments, the only integrated school of Architecture, Interior Design, Lighting Design and Product Design in the nation. For more information, please visit www.parsons.newschool.edu. Poltrona Frau, backed by a great history and tradition, lives in the present. Interpreters of timeless beauty, the company believes in the designs and materials that guarantee wellbeing. Furnishing the home, office, public space and travel. For more information, please visit www.poltronafrau.com. # # # |
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