Alabama Workshop[s] Toolkit Selected for Communication Arts Magazine Design Annual

“The optimist in me thinks that design is getting more integrated, more competitive and more imperative,” observes Bobby Martin Jr., a juror who selected Alabama Workshop[s] Toolkit as one of entries for Communication Arts Magazine Design 58th Design Annual Competition.

A guide into how craft artisans in Alabama conduct workshops, the Alabama Workshop[s] Toolkit was one of only 151 projects accepted out of 3,877 entries.

Alabama Workshop[s] Toolkit was created by Robert Finkel, associate professor of Auburn University’s Graphic Design in the School of Industrial & Graphic Design, and Sheri Schumacher, associate professor emerita in AU’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture.

“The main objective of designing the AL Workshop[s] Toolkit was to provide insight into how craft artisans and makers in Alabama conduct workshops,” Schumacher explains.

The toolkit will be used to promote a network of Alabama artisans, makers and organizations that offer workshops for craft production.

Its aim is also to encourage the mutual exchange of materials, tools, and information, and provides a resource for building creative economies in Alabama. Located in both rural and urban communities, the network of workshops also promotes cultural craft heritage, innovative cottage industries, along with exemplary handmade works.

Artisans featured in the Alabama Workshop[s] Toolkit work with a variety of materials including textiles, stone, metal, glass, clay and found objects. Their work is recognized regionally and nationally.

Alabama-based stone craftsman, Brooks Barrow, provides a foreword about the value of the workshops. A resource library in the back of the book provides templates for various waivers and forms for artisans to use in their own practice.

Specifications of the publication: 64-pages, 7.125” x 10.25”, 4-Color printing on Newsprint with a Silver metallic letter-pressed printed cover.

The winning projects are featured in the September/October 2017 issue of Communication Arts, which is the largest international trade journal of visual communications.

Image 1-  Communication Arts magazine, which has sponsored this annual design competition for 58 years, is the largest international trade journal of visual communications. 

Image 2- Featured artisans in the guide work with a wide range of materials such as textiles, stone, metal, glass, clay and found objects. Fabric is another important material which this Alabama artisan uses to create colorful and intricately patterned quilts.

Image 3- The Alabama Workshop[s] Toolkit was created by Robert Finkel, associate professor of Graphic Design in the School of Industrial & Graphic Design, and Sheri Schumacher, associate professor emeriti in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture. 

Image 4- The Alabama Workshop[s] Toolkit – a guide that provides insight into how craft artisans in Alabama conduct workshops – is featured in the September/October 2017 issue of Communication Arts. The toolkit was selected in the magazine’s annual competition out of nearly 4,000 entries. 

*Article Written By Jessica Armstrong and Images Courtesy of Sheri Schumacher and Robert Finkel

AIA Birmingham Announces Its 2015 Design Awards Winners!

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The American Institute of Architects, Birmingham Chapter (AIA Birmingham), is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 AIA Birmingham Design Awards. The winners were recognized at the Design Awards Gala at the Kress Building on August 20.

Awards were given in seven categories: Adaptive Reuse, Commercial, Detail, Institutional, Residential, Unbuilt and Under $300,000. A jury composed of four New York City architects judged all 53 entries based on clarity of construction, regional vernacular, structural logic, honesty and restraint, thoughtful detail, consistency, spatially thoughtful floor plans and sustainability.

The Award of Merit is presented to a project that meets the jury’s requirements for design excellence.

· MERIT AWARD in UNBUILT: The Addr3ss, bDot Architecture

· MERIT AWARD in UNDER $300,000: Crescent Building, Design Initiative, LLC.

· MERIT AWARD in DETAIL: stoolē, bDot Architecture

· MERIT AWARD in ADAPTIVE REUSE: Alabama Center for Architecture, Krumdieck A+I Design.

· MERIT AWARD in ADAPTIVE REUSE: Birmingham School of Law, ArchitectureWorks, LLP.

· MERIT AWARD in COMMERCIAL: Shades Creek Park Pool House, Barrett Architecture Studio.

· MERIT AWARD in INSTITUTIONAL: Homewood Board of Education, Williams Blackstock Architects.

The Award of Honor is the next highest level of recognition, presented to a project that exceeds the criteria set forth by the jury.

· HONOR AWARD in RESIDENTIAL: Homewood Residence, Krumdieck A+I Design.

· HONOR AWARD in COMMERCIAL: Taylor + Miree, Williams Blackstock Architects.

· HONOR AWARD in COMMERCIAL: Revelator Coffee, Appleseed Workshop.

This year, the jurors felt it appropriate to award a Best in Show to the project that stood out most in relation to its peers. This project was called “exceptional” for its open air plan, reuse of materials, and intricate details.

· BEST IN SHOW: Camp DeSoto Gym, ArchitectureWorks, LLP.

AIA Birmingham’s annual design awards exist to recognize excellence in architectural design by member architects. The purpose of the design awards is to honor those architects, clients, consultants and contractors who work together to improve the built environment. For more information about the AIA Birmingham Design Awards, please visit www.aiabham.org.

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