02 FERN-ITURE
I-CARES Competition Winner | St. Louis, Missouri | Spring 2014
Fern-iture was originally conceived as a conceptual entry for the 2013 I-CARES (International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability) Competition. The project demonstrates and encourages multidisciplinary and multifunctional thinking through sustainable design which addresses both social and ecological elements. It is intended to be installed on large, impervious surfaces to create opportunities for new, spontaneous social interaction, in addition to the micro scale environmental impacts. The installation is a small scale proposal to identify and transform urban and ecological issues through design. The piece of Fern-iture is compartmentalized into 8 components each of the six seating sides of the hexagon can be removed from the central planter, which can be separated into two halves. This allows for two individuals to disassemble the project within minutes, transport, and reassemble the project in a new location with little effort. The hexagonal shape optimizes seating variations to create more social or more isolated experiences, based on the user’s desire. The more pieces of Fern-iture that exist in a space, the greater the impact and potential for accumulation and organization of the various spatial strategies. While the project is not a solution to climate change, it can begin a dialogue on approaching issues of urbanization and ecological instability. Fern-iture will be on exhibition at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts July 30 - August 3 for Marfa Dialogues / St. Louis. The Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Ballroom Marfa and the Public Concern Foundation are bringing Marfa Dialogues to the St. Louis area to examine the ways in which art can serve as a catalyst for unexpected collaboration. This experiment is aligned with the Pulitzer’s current exhibition, Art of Its Own Making, which features artists who examine materials, environment, and how generative elements impact the works of art they create.