San Diego—Nov. 27, 2013—NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD) students designed and built 12-foot-high modular benches that were a popular feature at the ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair 2013, Nov. 7–10 in San Diego’s Balboa Park Activity Center. The 40 benches, produced by the students through a collaboration with ART SAN DIEGO, incorporated sustainable design practices and materials and were reconfigured to suit the changing needs and ambience of the fair’s center lounge area. ART SAN DIEGO, now in its fifth year, is San Diego's premier contemporary art fair attended by more than 10,000 people. This year ART SAN DIEGO demonstrated the future of sustainable-friendly events by coordinating with several partners, including the NSAD students, to set a new standard for creating high design temporary furniture and event infrastructures using recycled materials. The interior design team for the Fair’s center lounge area was a collaboration between Noble Environmental Technologies' material ECOR® and NSAD students who are part of the Numisius Colony of Alpha Rho Chi fraternity for architecture and the allied arts. This project was part of the student group’s community outreach efforts to meet criteria in becoming a formal chapter.

Watch the video to learn more about this project.

Project Manager/Lead Project Designer: Ramiro Martinez Jr
Production Manager Molds/Project Designer: Sam Godar
Project Designer: Daniel Rojas
Production Manager Fabric: Heather Collins
Lead Operational Manager: Damian Roman
Operational Manager: Subrato Roy
Research/Fabrication: Jaqueline Guevara
Research/Fabrication: David Harrison

Fabrication Team:
Michel Fregoso
Joshua Nunally
Julia Flauass
Yvonne Martinez
Aaron Garcia
Nelson Martinez

The project  underscores the opportunities available to students at NSAD to put into practice sustainable design practices that are emphasized through the school’s programs.  NSAD’s interdisciplinary design offerings provide a range of opportunities for students to develop valuable skills in related specialties such as construction management, digital media arts, animation, game art, game programming, product design and interior design.

For information on possible rental or loan opportunities for the benches, or to learn more about the design element of the project, please contact: Anna Cearley, NSAD PR Manager at acearley@newschoolarch.edu