Purdue Industrial Design Team Wins SOFA CONNECT Student Design Competition

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A team from Purdue University is the winner of the 2017 Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design CONNECT student design competition.

This year’s competition was held as part of the SOFA Fair from November 2-5 at Navy Pier in Chicago. This is the fifth year of the CONNECT competition and the second consecutive victory for Purdue.

The SOFA fair is an annual exhibition of three-dimensional art and design presented in a gallery. Each year, around 35,000 people attend. In the CONNECT competition, students design environments with seating and lighting that allow SOFA participants to relax.

The Purdue team consisted of undergraduate and graduate students. McKayla Barber, Hannah Ferrill, Zachary Hellman, Marshall Ma, David Marchese and Andrew Hu worked with educational advisors TJ Kim, Steve Visser and Laura Drake on their project “Nature or Nurture: A 3D Printed Space”. Industrial design is part of the Art and Design program, which is hosted at the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts.

The Purdue team created a structure of connected branches and twigs with 3D printed joints. The structure was displayed and used at the SOFA show in Chicago. (Photo provided Download image

The Purdue team designed a space consisting of a trellis made up of branches and twigs connected by 3D printed joints. The space also included benches and lamps to create a welcoming atmosphere. Evan Brown, Alison Burkett, Gabrielle Bennett, Brennan Hunt and Sam Bucciferro created the benches. The lamps were designed by Max Cao, Keith Williams and Daniel Madrinan Chiquito. The basic structure of the space was created before the start of the exhibition. However, additional branches were also available so that exhibition attendees had the opportunity to participate and expand the structure. The CONNECT competition is by invitation only. The other university finalists were Columbus College of Art & Design, Metropolitan State University of Denver, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of California Davis, and Herron School of Art & Design at IUPUI.

The Purdue team received $ 3,000 from Chubb Personal Risk Services.

The CONNECT competition highlights innovative design programs at universities across the country. Students have the opportunity to present their design concepts while working collaboratively and creatively.

The Purdue team was funded by the College of Liberal Arts.

Writer: Kelsey Schnieders, kschnied@purdue.edu

Source: Steve Visser, professor of industrial design, svisser@purdue.edu