The Elizabeth River Project is taking up position on the frontlines of the international quest to combat impacts of sea level rise on urban waterfront communities. WPA is proud to be designing the first facility on the East Coast intentionally to be constructed as a resilience model in the urban flood plain.
Work Program Architects is leading an effort to OpenNorfolk, as cities and towns around the world try to imagine living with COVID-19.
AIA Virginia’s Inform Magazine is back in action and WPA’s Thom White was interviewed for this issue’s Designer Q&A.
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 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.
Venue
Slover Library
235 E Plume Street
Community Engagement Room: 6th Floor
Norfolk, VA 23510
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REGISTER NOW: The Future of Development According to the New Norfolk Commercial & Mixed-Use Pattern Book
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).
Thank you to all of the artists and guest for a fantastic opening of TRANSFORMATION.
The exhibition will be on display until May 24th at the WPA Gallery. The gallery is located in the historic Monticello Arcade at 208 E Plume Street, Norfolk, VA.
#transformation
#burningman
#tidewaterburners
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.
We could not be more excited to announce that we are joining our longtime friends and collaborators @thisisgrow and @madebysway and our new friends @flagshipvisuals in @assemblynfk. Assembly is designed to connect — people, creative companies, our community and the region. Assembly will be packed full of shared amenities and collision spaces that will push each of our companies to grow and succeed faster as we learn from and collaborate with each other. WPA is proud to be designing Assembly for friends who we admire and who have been pushing each other to do our best for Norfolk/VB and the region for over a decade!
Introducing Assembly – Grow – Medium
