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Community Corner

Re-WireNXT Student Atelier: WASA/Studio A and Old Structures Engineering

Tuesday, July 15, Re-WireNXT Joel Barlow High School student principals invited three guests to the Student Atelier: historic preservation architects Rose Scott Long and Carl Rothbart of WASA/Studio A, NYC and New Canaan, and structural engineer Marie Ennis of Old Structures Engineering, NYC.  WASA and Old Structures are partnering to conduct the feasibility study of re-wire’s 2013 master planning for Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill’s historic core.

Ms. Long and Mr. Rothbart’s presentation to the Atelier included various examples of historic buildings that WASA has worked on, including the restoration of a train station in Chappaqua, NY. During preliminary research, it was discovered that WASA had originally designed the train station 100 years ago. Mr. Rothbart presented documentation on the recent restoration of the Guggenheim Museum, NYC, where they repaired cracking on the exterior of the iconic spiral building.  We learned that architect Frank Lloyd Wright had wanted the building to be Cherokee Red, his favorite color.  Ms. Long mentioned that research is her favorite part of the historic preservation process, while Mr. Rothbart commented on the exhilaration he feels when surveying a building or structure for the very first time.

In the afternoon, Ms. Ennis introduced the concept of the Structural Engineer as a Preservationist. When older buildings are threatened by new construction it is the task of structural engineers like Ms. Ennis to devise a plan, using techniques such as underpinning, to prevent serious structural harm to the pre-existing framework. Ms. Ennis also discussed her responsibility to evaluate conditions and repair older buildings when they become dangerous places for people to be in and around.  

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Both presentations included current on-site research at the Gilbert & Bennett wire mill.

On Wednesday, July 16, Re-WireNXT student principals gave presentations to the Student Atelier interns on selected architects and buildings recently visited by student principals: Philip Johnson’s Glass House, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water and Kentuck Knob, and Jørn Utzon's Sydney Opera House.  We also reviewed examples from London’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilions series, where leading architects are working at the intersection of contemporary art and architecture; http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitionsevents/current.   

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Together with the student principals, Atelier interns designed and produced their own model pavilions for the Wire Mill campus connecting concepts for new uses of the historic buildings to foster campus fluidity.

Each week of Re-WireNXT’s summer Student Atelier has a focus in which the middle and elementary school interns explore concepts related to the Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill site.  Cross-pollination of ideas is encouraged between each vertical:  Transportation, Ecology, Architecture, Environmental Remediation/Green Energies, Food/Hospitality/Farming, and Fashion/Art. By inviting field professionals, like Ms. Long, Mr. Rothbart, and Ms. Ennis, we intend to foster the same social enrichments envisioned in the proposed Gilbert & Bennett restoration project.

Every Friday, we welcome the community to our studio at the G&B Cultural Center in Wilton to view and discuss the vertical themed projects produced by Atelier interns and student principals. Please join us next Friday, July 25, for our social innovation and environmental remediation week – “Fix It” – exhibition.

Re-WireNXT Student Atelier is funded by the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, Redding Education Foundation, and Fairfield County Bank, and is sponsored by Artspire, a program of the New York Foundation for the Arts.

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