And . . . we’re officially open, as Sarah Blackstone and Jim Dunsdon cut the ribbon on Arts Place
Tasty things come to those who wait, as we all found out when Arts Place officially opened this year. Although in operation since last fall, we had to wait for the final design tweaks before officially kicking it off, which Dean Sarah Blackstone and Associate VP Student Affairs Jim Dunsdon did when they cut the ribbon on Arts Place back in February.
While Arts Place has unquestionably proved popular with Fine Arts staff and students, it’s also been successful in its mission to give the faculty a place to meet and mingle. Thanks go out to all those who made it happen, notably Cathie Patrick, Raubyn Rothschild and Rebecca Simmons in Facilities Management, Dan Lissowski and Craig Jenkins of the Carpentry Shop, the whole team in Food Services, plus architects Brian Lord and Tony James of the Warner James firm.
The Wood Works! trophy . . . made from BC wood, of course
And in case you missed it in the most recent issue of the Fine Arts faculty newsletter, architect Tony James recently took home the Interior Beauty Design award for his work on Arts Place at the annual Wood Works! BC 2012 Wood Design Awards. A national industry-led initiative of the Canadian Wood Council, the annual Wood Design Awards honours excellence in wood-based projects and recognizes the people and organizations pioneering and achieving this objective. When it came to Arts Place, the jury praised James for using wood to solve the project’s design challenges—including designing the cafe as a free-standing sculptural object,as well as creating a transparency effect to allow daylight to continue to shine into the lobby and give it an after-hours lantern-like glow. (If you’re curious, Arts Place’s distinctive look comes from a mix of Western birch, birch plywood and custom millwork to give it a contrast in warmth, colour and texture.)