Steve Visser, Laura Drake, TJ Kim, Joyce Xu, and Industrial Design Students
Please join me in congratulating industrial design faculty professor Steve Visser, associate professor Laura Drake, associate professor TJ Kim, visiting scholar Qiuying (Joyce) Xu, and industrial design students in the Department of Art and Design in the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts, for winning the 2017 CONNECT student competition SOFA Chicago for the second consecutive year. Last year art and design students led by Sigrid Zahner and Laura Drake won from Purdue.
The Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) Fair in Chicago is an annual exhibition of gallery-presented three-dimensional art and design. SOFA invites visitors to “connect” on the SOFA CHICAGO show floor at the annual CONNECT student design competition. Each year, six schools are chosen to create unique installations based on their prestige as top design institutions. Other university finalists represented Columbus College of Arts and Design, Metropolitan State University of Denver, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of California-Davis, and Herron School of Arts Design at IUPUI.
The Purdue project, “Nature or Nurture: A 3-D Printed Space,” created a juncture of technology and nature, consisting of an organic lattice made of branches and twigs that had been scanned, and then connected with 3-D printed joints to define the space. Integrated into the installation were benches and lamps, creating an inviting atmosphere for relaxation and interaction. As the winning school, the team was awarded a cash prize.
Congratulations, Professor Visser, Dr. Drake, Dr. Kim, and students!
David A. Reingold
Justin S. Morrill Dean
College of Liberal Arts