This semester the Department of Architecture at PennDesign launched a yearlong partnership with Manitoga, the House, Studio and 75-acre Woodland garden of famed mid-century American designer Russel Wright. Under the guidance of Associate Professor Andrew Saunders, 91 first-year students worked in 21 teams to construct full-scale prototypes for a new pavilion at Manitoga that could accommodate outdoor events, summertime dining and more. In mid-October, they presented their pavilions to a jury of faculty members and a delegation from Manitoga that included Executive Director Allison Cross, Board Member Dan Macey and Annie Wright, Russel Wright’s daughter, and former PennDesign faculty member Carol Franklin.
After hours of review and deliberation, Over/Cast by Ruo Ning Deng, Margaret Jones Gregg, Siyi Li, and Yuntao Xu (instructor: Andrew Saunders) was named the overall winner. The jury also recognized five additional teams:
Best name: Guide to Easy Loving by JooYoung Ham, Kat Engleman, Farre Nixon, and Nikita Jathan (Instructor: Abigail Coover Hume)
Best Process: Helleborne by Madelyn Moretta, Noah Medlinsky, Marianne Sanche, and CW Wesley Chiang (Instructor: Lasha Brown)
Innovative Use of Material: Whipped Cavern by Have-yun Kwon, Alex Bahr, Yiqun Chen, and Yuwei Sun (Instructor: Abigail Coover Hume)
Best Craft: Tetraheji by Andre Stiles, Constance Chang, Yoon Ji, Julie Pepitone, and Tian Ouang (Instructor: Andrew Saunders)
Visionary: Marsh Pods by Alyssa Appel, Kaj Marshall, Margarida Mota, Xiaoling Wang, and Huanan Ye (Instructor: Michael Loverich)
After the jurying, Manitoga’s Cross noted, “In his professional design career and at Manitoga, Wright explored the intersection of art, innovation, science and nature. The creative experimentation demonstrated by the student work in the PennDesign pavilion project is an inspiring tribute to him.”
Saunders introduced the pavilion project in the 501 Architecture Design Studio as a vehicle to examine the fundamental architectural problem of “part-to-whole,” which was central to Russel Wright’s practice. The studio began with students analyzing and reconstructing 3D models of iconic Wright designs, like his 1937 American Modern dinnerware collection. The students with the winning design were inspired by the Double Lug Boat, the Celery Dish, the Covered Pitcher and the Covered Sugar Bowl. They explain, “The structure is made up of hundreds of small individual parts that were aggregated to fill the given space in a logical and interesting matter that reflects the curves and profiles of Wright’s objects.”
In the spring, the winning design will be the subject of a design/build seminar taught by Mohamad Al Khayer, in which students explore lightweight construction materials through digital simulation and the testing of physical models in order to fabricate and assemble the pavilion’s components.
Located in upstate New York, Manitoga is one of the few 20th century modern homes open to the public in the State as well as a National Historic Landmark, an Affiliate Site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a World Monuments Watch Site.
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