Exploring Sites in Transition

Faculty:

Ronit Eisenbach

John Ruppert

Mark Earnhart, TA

 

Community Partners:

Impact Silver Spring

The Long Branch Business League

Montgomery County Public Libraries

Montgomery Housing Partnership, Inc.,

 

Visit links where project is featured

http://www.architectmagazine.com/installation/urban-renewal-in-maryland.aspx

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/05/maryland-students-showcase-works-of-art-in-long-branch-neighborhood-88802.html

http://www.justupthepike.com/2013/05/montgomery-housing-partnership-makes.html

http://blog.creativemoco.com/public-art/u-of-maryland-art-and-architecture-students-spruce-up-long-branch/

 

Sponsors:

Merrifield Garden Center, Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs, ,  Old Takoma City Hardware, The University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth Research & Education, Architecture Program, Art & Architecture Libraries Endowment, Department of Art, and the Office of Diversity & Inclusion

 

 

 

Designers: Kurt Pung, Carolina Uechi, Matt Miller, Rochelle Heyworth

Materials: Wood, Paint, Panels, Hinges, Re-bar

 

Located at a heavily trafficked stair situated between two parking lots, “Passage” altered the identity and perception of this frequently traveled route by marking this joint in a celebratory manner.  

 

In addition to marking the passage, the shifted arch’s folding colorful forms redirected the view toward the Long Branch Library in one direction and Flower Avenue in the other, visually connecting two important areas of Long Branch. Shadow patterns played along the ground surfaces adding delight to one’s day.

 

This temporary work offered an artful suggestion as to how one might permanently connect disjointed areas of the neighborhood in festive, unique and beautiful ways through public art.

 

 

 

Designers: Koray Aysin, Kristen Fox, Molly Seligman

Materials: Wire Mesh, Recycled + Hand-dyed Cotton T-Shirts, Tulle

 

Upon observing an untended area of the library building, this group developed a work that both captures the imagination and brings to life an important question.  “Drain Tree” unwound and unfurled itself as a  colorful, abstract plant form that gained sustenance and took root from a broken drain pipe as if posing the question, ‘What would you like to see grow in Long Branch?’ 

 

“Drain Tree” was sited on the front corner of the library’s façade so that it was visible from the children’s reading room as well as from the library entrance and street. The ‘trunk’ of the sculpture protruded from the broken scupper, wrapped around the railing and ended in a bright, green canopy on the corner near the entrance. 

 

Highly visible, the work brought attention to the missing scupper and the water damage it caused inside the library. And in anticipation of the Long Branch Super Block Festival, which brought attention to the premises, the scupper was miraculously fixed!

 

 

 

Designers: Rochelle Heyworth, Joe Largess, Rachel Mihaly, Kurt Pung

Materials: Wood, Paint

 

Designed as three parts that together formed a whole, “Chairs 1, 2, 3” explored a new style of seating that children and adults were drawn to.  Through color and form, the project encouraged playful interaction:  a place to sit, a place to relax, a space to move through and a place to reconsider the library plaza and its potential as a public space.

 

The addition of these colorful spatial forms activated the library plaza space and re-framed viewers’ perception of the plaza’s potential. The semi-modular forms offered new places for resting, watching, and moving. About 4.5’ high and 6’ wide, the “Chairs” were assembled out of a series of wooden 2” x 3” frames that were held together by smaller wooden spacers set between each frame. 

 

On each vertical side each frame was painted differently creating a dynamic effect; as one moved around, the work constantly shifted and changed. The sun reflecting off the structure’s colors and form produced a layer of shadows adding an additional visual element to environment. 

 

 

 

Designers: Alison Boliek, Nicole Hinkle, Carolina Uechi

Materials: Wire Mesh, Zip-Ties, Paint

 

“Blossoms” aimed to reinvigorate and enliven the vacant flowerbeds located in the Plaza’s corners and remind everyone of their potential for growth.

 

As spring approached, the surreal forms served as a cheerful reminder of the coming season. The work was inspired by plant and flower forms from around the globe. Visual interest was added by incorporating bright colors in the form of abstracted flowers and plants.   

 

The sculptures awakened people’s curiosity and drew them towards the library from the street, enticing them to come closer and explore. Visible from below, “Blossoms” also highlighted the library entrance at the lower grade.

 

 

 

Designers: Joe Largess, Ava Lowe, Rachel Mihaly, Molly Seligman

Materials: Steel Rods, Mesh, Zip Ties, Film, Sound

 

In this  homage to the shuttered Flower Theatre and the entertainment it provided to the community, “Movie Cave’s” organic form and cinematic sound collage invited the viewer to enter the fantastical world of the cinema once again.

 

“Movie Cave” appeared to  emerge from the old ticket booth, a strange form that called attention to itself. This multi-media work referenced old movies, by using film as its main surface material and rewarded the brave viewer who dared to enter with wonderful 

audio recordings clipped from old movies.  

 

 

 

Designer: Ava Lowe

Materials: Wood, Paint, Line, Metal Bowls, Plexiglass

 

Inspired by the author, Jose Luis Borges’, Library of Babel, this work took the form of the complex, geometric hive of shelves and information, the image of the archetypal library of old, and then stripped it down and opened it up in order to respond to the open environment, scenery and intimacy of the Long Branch Community Library. 

 

“Reflection” celebrates the moments when one glances up from the page or screen and looks out through the reading room’s window to contemplate the world beyond the form. At the same time, it catches us in this act as we view our own reflection floating in the work.

 

 

 

Designers: Nicole Hinkle, Koray Aysin, Stephen Neuhauser, Eric Zeldis

Materials: Bamboo, Aluminum, Mallets, Cable

 

After observing that people preferred to park and walk closer to the businesses along Flower Avenue rather than further up where there were fewer buildings, this group came up with an idea to enhance the pedestrian experience. “Soundplay” transformed the street into a musical instrument, inviting neighbors and visitors to come together and play the chimes that were hung from a series of trees along the block.

 

In addition to providing an auditory experience for residents and visitors to Long Branch, the chimes were meant to make the environment along Flower Avenue more hospitable. From car noise to the comings and goings of local shoppers, the site is filled with the sounds of constant bustle. The chimes became a more gentle mediator between the dynamic nature of the site’s acoustics.

 

 

 

Designers: Alison Boliek, Kristen Fox, Kristen Yeung, Reynard Edwards, II

Materials: Recycled Bottles, Zip-Ties, Re-bar, Aluminum Rods, Wire

 

This fanciful addition to Long Branch’s playground drew attention to the vast amount of waste we produce, the importance of Long Branch Creek to the community, and the potential for something unified and beautiful to grow out of the unexpected.

Long Branch is greatly affected by water, from the creek that provides a green-way through the neighborhood, to the storm water management issues resulting from the large paved parking areas. The community is also plagued with litter--plastic bottles are one of the biggest offenders. By choosing to create an inhabitable sculpture out of discarded plastic bottles, the designers brought attention to the relationship between our actions and the environment while simultaneously creating a delightful play-structure. Threaded together with wire, the bottles were connected to form a translucent pavilion shaped around 3 trees that pierced through the structure’s roof. To avoid damage to the trees, the work was self supporting. All bottles were recycled once the work was dismantled, reinforcing the design ideal of “treading lightly” when working in the environment.

 

 

 

Designers: Renard Edwards II, Eric Zeldis

Materials: Wire Mesh, Fabric, Grommets, Zip-Ties

 

Inspired by the rich cultural traditions of marking entry to a public space in a festive and commemorative manner, “Totems” created a colorful and visible gateway that celebrated the plaza, library and Long Branch Super Block festival.

 

Rather than offering a welcoming entry to the Library’s Plaza, the existing concrete bollards created a mixed message. The vehicular languages of the bollards  blended in with the suburban character of the neighborhood rather than identifying a public space. The project sought to rectify this situation by adding a series of colorful vertical elements to create a colorful gateway and a marker for the library.  

 

“Totems” referenced the wooded area around the building while celebrating the library’s uniqueness through color and pattern. This artistic intervention shifted how people understood this underused space and helped us all re-imagine it’s potential as a social place.

 

 

 

Designers: Stephen Neuheuser, Matthew Miller, Kristen Yeung

Materials: Construction String, Wood, Dog Stakes

 

Spanning from the upper plaza to the lower reading garden, this work employs a tangible material -- string, to infer the intangible – light, adding color and dynamism to this outdoor space.

 

This intervention aimed to activate the lower library courtyard which at the time appeared to be marginalized and underutilized, and yet held great potential. The work drew visual attention to this space both from within the library and without and encouraged people to explore the area. 

 

Composed of colored string tied to the upper courtyard railings, this work converged at different points in the lower courtyard, creating colorful triangular planes that interacted and intersected with one another and introduced a new geometry in contrast to the rigid, orthogonal geometry of the site. The work offered a shifting material density and ever-expanding visual spatial overlap that was in playful contrast to the space’s uniform perimeter and in sympathy with the literal transparency of the surrounding window walls.