Co-working spaces designed for a conflict-ridden Venezuela and a furniture collection embodying Saudi hospitality are featured in this VDF school show, which presents work by students from the School of Building Arts at the Savanna College of Art and Design.

The ten proposals showcased below were drawn up by post- and undergraduates from the school's architecture, furniture and interior design courses.

School of Building Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design

University: Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
Department: School of Building Arts
Courses: Master of Architecture, BFA Architecture, MFA Furniture Design, BFA Furniture Design, MFA Interior Design and BFA Interior Design.

School statement: 

"The Savannah College of Art and Design is the preeminent source of knowledge in the building arts. With preservation design and interior design programmes as two of the university's original eight programs, SCAD has prepared talented students for professional careers in this multibillion-dollar market for more than 40 years.

"SCAD enrols upwards of 1,200 building arts students across six disciplines focused on architecture, interior design, furniture design and other building arts-related industries. SCAD is the only art and design university in the US to offer a Master of Urban Design degree, and the first and only university to offer an MFA in Architectural History."

Resurrecting the Ruin of Caledonia Road Church by Hamilton R. Brindley, MArch

"This thesis argues that the most sustainable form of architecture is a timeless design that embodies tangible traditions. To illustrate this position, an adaptive reuse project was undertaken for the ruin of Caledonia Road Church located in Glasgow, Scotland.

"The design was informed by qualities of timeless design, which were researched and developed throughout the thesis process. The resulting proposal takes a ruinous shell on a desolate site and transforms it into a building that embodies beauty, utility, durability, adaptability, ecology and context. The project exemplifies authentic sustainability for the 21st century."

Website: hamiltonrbrindley.wixsite.com
Email: [email protected]

Need & Desire: The Centennial Series by Steve Avakian, MFA Furniture Design

"Our world is driven by commerce and our industries perpetuate the premature discarding of fully functional objects while nurturing our inability to be satisfied. Need & Desire is a critique of the haphazard overproduction, overconsumption and overabundant meaninglessness in parts of the furniture industry.

"Through the use of emotionally durable and sustainable design methodologies, the Centennial Series emphasises beauty, craftsmanship, design morality and integrity of the arts. The culmination of this provides a viable path towards more sustainable production methods and the development of enduring relationships with objects."

Website: steveavakian.com
Email: [email protected]

Beyond Hospitality by Tahani Ahmed Aldeini, MFA Furniture Design

"Beyond Hospitality is a high-end collection of furniture and lighting that draws on notions of Saudi hospitality. The collection combines Saudi cultural values and symbols with modern materials and aesthetics to appeal to consumers from around the world.

"Designing this collection involved examining Saudi regional architecture and each piece in the collection was designed to embody the most significant architectural qualities of each region in Saudi Arabia. The collection is more than the nostalgic preservation of Saudi cultural heritage and traditions – it seeks to translate the traditional into something energetic and alive."

Website: issuu.com/tahanialdeini
Email: [email protected]

Two Points Post Office by Victoria Ballard, MFA Interior Design

"This thesis explores how interior design can revitalise commercial spaces, making them relevant components within modern communities. After conducting four months of research, a list of formative ideas was compiled and then applied to a post office located in Westside, Atlanta.

"The design concept behind Two Points plays on the idea of stop and go, node and line, going from point A to point B. The aesthetic combines the design concept and merges it with the existing feel of the local art culture."

Website: issuu.com/vrballard
Email: [email protected]

Le Fer Plat V: The Flatiron V by Crystal M Martin, MFA Interior Design

"Meta-luxury, or 'luxury beyond luxury', is a term coined by Manfredi Ricca and Rebecca Robins. It describes a cultural and economic paradigm of excellence based on purpose, knowledge and timelessness through focus, craftsmanship, history and rarity.

"This thesis relies on a historical and theoretical framework, examining wellness from a psychological, emotional and sustainable perspective. It tests the principles of meta-luxury on the example of a luxury brand hospitality extension. The space itself is influenced by japonismé in a Louis Vuitton context, as a nod to the alliance formed with Japan leading to the brand's globalisation."

Website: crystalmartin.myportfolio.com
Email: [email protected]

Curva by Daniela Duarte Arango, BFA Furniture Design

"Furniture is an indirect language that has the ability to transform. With Curva, I aim to turn functional products into memorable, emotional and enduring experiences by creating a visual and experimental sense of belonging between the user and the design itself.

"Visually, interlocking shapes unconsciously evoke this feeling of belonging and will help the user to empathise with the design. Combined with thoughtful ergonomics, this aims to produce a sense of comfort for the user, while reconnecting them to their profound need to belong."

Website: d-duarte.com
Email: [email protected]

El ñeru by Valentina Vitrián Fiorillo, BFA Interior Design

"El ñeru is a co-working space for creative entrepreneurs in Venezuela that seeks to provide them with business development opportunities. El ñeru evokes the multifaceted nature of Venezuela's cosmopolitan culture, assembling fractured forms from both similar and dissimilar components to create a unified whole.

"It is a place where different people who would not necessarily be associated with one another can come together to make great things happen, have an impact in the community and lead Venezuela back to being a home to its people."

Website: issuu.com/valentinavitrian
Email: [email protected]

Love Flow Furniture Collection (愛。) by Shih-Ya Fiona Wu (吳詩雅), MFA Furniture Design

"Love Flow is a furniture collection that gives people a sense of wellbeing by embodying interactions with loved ones. When people move away from their families to forge a better career for themselves, this can lead to a disconnection between their physical and emotional home.

"These furniture designs aim to attract people to them through a multilevel sensory experience and help them find a way back to their spiritual home. Talk (伴) embodies the love of sharing. It is a wall sconce that you can talk to, and that responds to you with different colours according to the volume and pitch of your voice.

"Hug (擁) embodies the love of receiving. It is an upholstered rocking chair, which the user can hug for warmth. Pet (寵) embodies the love of giving. It is a soft pillow that you can stroke and lay on your body to feel its weight. The pillow is filled with lavender and flax seeds to aid relaxation."

Website: fionawudesign.com
Email: [email protected]

The Web by Jessica Ma, BFA Interior Design

"Today's cities are hubs for technology, innovation and cultural diversity. Yet the daily lives of individuals are not always reflected in the spaces that they live in. The Web aims to transform the culture of living for diverse individuals in San Francisco.

"The goal is to facilitate a collaborative approach that promotes community interactions, health, wellness and sustainability through catered environments that will allow individuals to thrive. The design challenges the expectations of what a 'home' really is and how living in the future starts today."

Website: issuu.com/jessica.ma
Email: [email protected]

The Asheville Museum of Algorithmic Art by Amanda Ridings, BFA Architecture

"The Asheville Museum of Algorithmic Art is a museum designed to celebrate algorithmic design as a new medium of humanistic art. The museum itself expresses this by utilising algorithmic design in its structural expression.

"Existing between the industrial revolution and the digital age, the museum creates a new structural order through a 3D-printed, steel groin vaulting system. The diameter of each structural element remains consistent while the density of the interior lattice varies with direct correlation to its structural load."

Website: issuu.com/amandaridings
Email: [email protected]

Virtual Design Festival's student and schools initiative offers a simple and affordable platform for student and graduate groups to present their work during the coronavirus pandemic. Click here for more details.