"Going Back to School on School Design"

I just got back a few days ago from a 1-1/2 day training session at Steelcase HQ in Grand Rapids, MI. It was phenomenal!! I truly learned so much, and met so many great people. It really was fantastic!

So, a lot of what I learned is still semi-confidential... (I sound so, important hehe) so I can't share everything I learned with you. But I've got a couple of tasty tidbits to hold you over until then.

Product Focus | Steelcase Node
What does 'node' mean? Well the 5th definition on merriam-webster.com was:

5

a : a point at which subsidiary parts originate or center 

This is the whole idea of the node chair. Each student has their own "subsidiary", their own little piece, of the classroom; where they can all come together to create a classroom experience.  

 

 

 

 

 

node chair, Steelcase

The node chair is designed to allow everyone to keep their belongings with them, while moving into teams, small groups, or lecture modes throughout the course of one class period. 

Let's face it, education is changing. In fact, classrooms are changing too. Why? Because children are changing.

Our entire education system has evolved so much since the days of the one room school house. You know what hasn't changed?? The furniture!

I mean really! Look at these images below:

historic classroom

modern day classroom

What looks different to you? Not a whole lot. 

Product Focus | Steelcase Verb
So next comes Verb. The system of classroom products (that blend super great with node seating) to create the ultimate flexible classroom.

The unique chevron shape of the tables allows for a curved (versus straight) lecture set-up, a distinct personal zone at the table, and increased sightlines between students.

Verb tables, Steelcase

The other pieces in this system include a very unique instructor station, markerboards, easels, and a wall track for markerboards. All of which pair nicely with many of the other products Steelcase has to offer (including interactive whiteboards).

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "You send your child to the schoolmaster, but 'tis the schoolboys who educate him."

How do we expect our children to learn from each other, when they can't even see each other, or work in groups, because the furniture in their classroom is built for lecture mode?

Steelcase has written up some great articles that include much more information about changing the way our education spaces look and act. Visit their website www.steelcase.com to find out more.

Where has the year gone??

Not that I'm getting tons of traffic like some people who do this professionally, but I realized this afternoon that I have, um, neglected! this blog for more than a year.

My apologies...

Can I just tell you something?

Last year (2012) was a crazy year for me. I mean, really. First of all, we bought our very first house at the end of January 2012. THEN, we planned our September wedding. THEN, we had a honeymoon. THEN, it was the holidays (and we threw a totally awesome Halloween party!).

a pretty wedding shot for your viewing pleasure

Can you blame a girl??? I've been busy, I told you!

So, in case you haven't noticed, the header on this blog has changed, since my name has changed. Hope you like it! I picked it out just for you all ;)

So... since we last spoke, I think you have missed out on pretty much an entire position here at Color Art. So, my first job was the Customer Experience Manager, doing showroom/inside sales/design/miscellaneous. Then I was the New Business Development Designer for one year, doing only preliminary design work. NOW, I'm am the Higher Education + Corporate Consultant. I really just started this position about two weeks ago... sooo... I will keep you posted.

:)

I'm happy to be back!

Beautiful weather + beautiful furniture

The weather around here has just been phenomenal lately! Sunny, breezy, and mid-70's during the day with cooler, clear nights. What more could ask for?? Makes me want to spend my time outside in some beautiful furniture, like the pieces below from Coalesse.

Emu Heaven Seating / Italy 2009 / Jean-Marie Massaud



Emu Heaven Seating / Italy 2009 / Jean-Marie Massaud



Emu Heaven Seating / Italy 2009 / Jean-Marie Massaud

Emu Heaven Seating / Italy 2009 / Jean-Marie Massaud

Pinterest

My cousin was telling me about this site, Pinterest and said I should check it out. It's vitrual cork boards that you "pin" pictures and videos onto. I thought it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a whirl.

Well, first you have to request to get an account.

.....

Four hours later, I was the newest member of Pinterest, free to pin to my hearts desire.

It is actually pretty cool. You can have (what seems like) unlimited number of boards that you title and pin pictures to. You can create tags and mention fellow pinners as well. So far, I only have two boards. But... I'm getting there.

You can literally pin a picture from almost any site. I am having trouble with some sites though, it will pick up the wrong images off the site (like the banner at the top) or it will say "no large images found". But you can also pin pictures by uploading them. I have a wedding board and an house ideas board. There are fashion boards, food boards, quote boards, and much more!

Significant Memorial Buildings

I was browsing the Architectural Digest website and came across an interesting article. Here are some of my favorite pieces of the article. (For the full article, click here)

"The National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center opens on the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the United States. Like other well-known memorials, the fountains designed by architect Michael Arad in the footprints of the twin towers incorporate figurative symbolism, while exploring architecture’s power to express emotion. AD visits the most noteworthy memorials of the modern era from around the world"

Gateway Arch, St. Louis

"Most people don’t think of St. Louis’s celebrated Gateway Arch as a memorial, but in fact it’s the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial built to commemorate the westward expansion of the United States. In the 1948 competition for the memorial design, an unknown Eero Saarinen beat out his famous father, Eliel, with a simple but powerful steel parabola. America’s first modern monument, the 630-foot-high engineering marvel did not begin construction until 1963, two years after its designer’s death."

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington D.C.

"Just 21 years old and a student at Yale University, Maya Lin was plucked from obscurity and immediately plunged into controversy when her design—a visual scar on the National Mall—won the 1981 competition. The memorial invites the viewer below ground level to read the names of the war’s more than 58,000 dead and missing inscribed on the face of two 247-foot black-granite walls. Decried as an insult to veterans, the simple structure elicited such powerful emotions upon opening to the public that its critics were almost immediately silenced."

Jewish Museum, Berlin

"No museum dedicated to the history of the Jews in Germany can be just a museum. Opened in 2001, Daniel Libeskind’s first major work is arguably his best. Built around the concept of erasure and void, its architecture integrates the meaning of the Holocaust into the consciousness of the city, physically and spiritually. The zigzagging form of its main building, the unusual gradient of the Garden of Exile, and the Holocaust Tower’s claustrophobic container are disorienting, but the architect calls the project an 'emblem of hope.'"

Pentagon Memorial, Washington D.C.

"In a two-acre park near the point of impact of American Airlines Flight 77 on 9/11, the Pentagon Memorial features 184 cantilevered, benchlike “units,” each engraved with the name of a victim, hovering above a pool of water. Somewhat convoluted in its details, Keith Kaseman and Julie Beckman’s design was chosen from more than 1,200 submissions in an international competition."

USS Arizona Memorial, Honolulu

"The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship’s 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor 70 years ago. The 184-foot-long memorial, accessible only by boat, sits on the surface above the sunken vessel’s midsection, rising at either end to signify the United States’ ultimate victory. Its designer, Austrian-born Alfred Preis, fled the Nazi takeover of his homeland only to be imprisoned as an “enemy alien” in Hawaii, not far from where his monument now stands."