OpenNorfolk — A Toolkit to Help Restaurants and Small Retail Businesses During COVID-19
Work Program Architects is leading an effort to OpenNorfolk, as cities and towns around the world try to imagine living with COVID-19.
Happy Birthday! MEGA CAKE
The MEGA CAKE’s journey to Burning Man is getting close to it’s fiery conclusion! Fresh off its successful test build at the Hermitage Museum and Gardens, the 50′ tall sculpture has just been listed in Forbes Magazine as on of the “Best of the Best” to watch for in 2019.
From the article: MEGA CAKE is a large scale interactive sculpture of a 4-tier birthday cake that will serve as both a singular piece of art and a place to explore and discover art within. According to the artists, “We are a diverse group of misfits who came together due to a shared love of teamwork and crazy ideas. Each of us has a different combination of reasons for traveling to the Black Rock desert to spend a week laboring to bring a 50-foot wooden cake to life, only to watch it burn shortly thereafter.”
Architect Thom White of Norfolk’s WPA has designed a 12-sided wooden structure resembling a 4-tiered birthday cake. Art glass embellishments representing the animals of the Chinese zodiac and the constellations of the western zodiac will catch the light of the sun and sparkle like sugar in the distance. Plywood panels line each faceted tier and have perforations which recall cake icing embellishments while letting wind pass through. Flexible LED light strips are draped along the top of each level, adding to the icing motif. A propane-fueled “poofer” on the top-most tier will provide flame effects that will fire off at least once per hour at night.
“Our mission has evolved since work began over a year ago. At first, the Cake was thought of primarily as a place to gather, play, and observe Burning Man’s Black Rock City. Then, as the work progressed and construction began, we realized the piece is a singular work of art with vast potential for embedded meaning. MEGA CAKE facilitates a journey through the distinct moments that people encounter along the arc of one’s lifetime.”
Installations: The Best of the Best
Forbes Magazine article Jul 13, 2019
SCULPTING WATER | LAUREL LUKASZEWSKI
SCULPTING WATER | LAUREL LUKASZEWSKI Opening: Friday, June 21 Showing: June 21-Sept 6, 2019
popblossom is pleased to present SCULPTING WATER, featuring the recent works of sculptor Laurel Lukaszewski, Opening Friday, June 21 and Showing June 21-Sept 6, 2019
Washington, DC based artist, Laurel Lukaszewski, has a lifelong fascination with water, enamored by the movement, patterns and rhythms as well as the life that inhabits it. In her new exhibition, SCULPTING WATER, it becomes readily apparent that the natural world and more specifically, water, plays a significant role in Lukaszewski’s creative endeavors. Her most recent works of ceramic sculptures and site specific installations are stunning interpretations of the visual rhythms and the incessant flux of water. According to Lukaszewski, her work aims to capture a snapshot where this constant movement is stilled if only for a moment in time. Her installation based works reflect this continual change, existing for the duration of the exhibition, and then changing if and when configured again.
Business of Architecture Podcast
Please join WPA at the AIA National Conference on Architecture 2019! In Support of the AIA Small Firm Exchange, we are organizing two workshops with guest presenters Enoch Sears (the Business of Architecture Podcast) and Scott Beebe (My Business on Purpose):
WE101 – The Business of Architecture: Tools for a Profitable Practice (B-School)
8AM-12PM
WE301 – The Marketing of Architecture: Tools for Winning Great Projects (B-School)
1PM-5PM
Click HERE for Podcast
The Hermitage Museum and Gardens “2030 Vision”
The planning process will continue with a series of Listening Sessions, which will ensure that the voices of key stakeholders, community members and supporters are heard as we plan for the Hermitage’s future. We would love for you to join us in a fast-paced discussion to identify the most vital aspects of the Museum & Gardens and to consider how they contribute to an aspirational vision for the near, middle, and long-term. Findings from the session will be incorporated into the “2030 Vision” document and a new Master Site Plan that will guide us for the next decade.
Join us on May 7th for the first community Listening Session
Two times are available; please come to the one that best suits your schedule:
9–10:30 am and 5:30–7:30 pm
There will be a tour of the grounds led by our Curator of Gardens and Grounds, Philip Riske, beginning 45 minutes before each session (8:15 am & 4:45 pm).
The agenda for the Listening Session will include a summary of the evolution of the Hermitage and an update on programming and current events. Staff from Work Program Architects will then lead the group in a discussion looking toward the future of the Museum and Grounds. Breakout groups will be formed to focus on key areas and site factors and to generate ideas for improvements, enhancements, and new opportunities – no idea will be too small or too large! The session will conclude with a discussion about next steps in the process and how you can remain involved.
If either session does not work with your schedule you can still contribute. We will have future sessions and you can always send a comment to info@thehermitagemuseum.org.
Hermitage Museum & Gardens | 7637 North Shore Rd. Norfolk, VA 23505
www.TheHermitageMuseum.org | 757.423.2052
Transformation
Opening April 12, 2019 6:30 – 9:30
Exhibition April 12- May 24, 2019
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Tidewater Burners, the local Burning Man Regional Community, in partnership with WPA Gallery presents Transformation, an exhibition in celebration of change. As the Virginia Burner group experiences its own form of growth and transformation, we want to recognize the transformation happening in the lives of those around us and in the communities to which we belong. Transformation is a juried group exhibition featuring artists from across the country that explore a wide range of topics related to change, with each artist contributing independent and unique ideas based on personal experience.
The artworks included in the show address physical and emotional change, as it relates to the life cycle including the undeniable impact of birth and death. They address changes in our environment, both through perception and reality. They capture society’s impact on personal growth and the effect of technology on human development. All of the works on view originate from a personal perspective yet are relatable on a much larger scale. They convey an understanding and acceptance that transformation is unavoidable. Exhibited together here, they have the potential to raise awareness and help us better understand ourselves, our relationship with others, and our relationship with our environment.
IPConfigure
IPConfigure, Inc. is a video surveillance and research and development software company based out of Norfolk, VA. When they came to us with the idea of restoring the old Dubin Metals Building on Bowdens Ferry Road we jumped at the opportunity. Here are a few images of the existing conditions and proposed future renovations. This is a historic tax credit project with the original building constructed around 1938 for acetylene gas manufacturing for World War Two! The subsequent additions yield a total building footprint of over 28,000 SF.
IPConfigure plans to utilize a portion of the building as their new headquarters, and they are looking for tenants to take advantage of the large outdoor space and help support their revitalization efforts in the area. This is a very exciting project in the Lambert’s Point area and we are proud to be a part of it!IPConfigure Interiors…the original loading dock canopy welcomes visitors into the building. Skylights and new light fixtures cast a warm glow on the reception area when filtered through new wood slats installed in the steel canopy. Adjustable height desks make it comfortable for employees to sit or stand while they work. A new steel staircase leads up to the original tower. What once was a testing ground for acetylene gas will soon be a conference room, break room, and rooftop terrace. It is really exciting for us that this property sits right on the @ertnorfolk
Call for Artists
You are invited to submit works for a juried exhibition at WPA Gallery
titled Transformation, April 12 – May 24, 2019.
