PHILADELPHIA (November 20, 2008) – Jesse Gerard and Matt Braun, Industrial Design juniors at The University of the Arts, took the top two spots, respectively, in the 16th annual Collab Student Design Competition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The competition, which asked students to consider the way famed architect and designer Frank Gehry experiments with forms and materials as part of his creative process, was held in conjunction with the museum’s Gehry exhibition, “Design Process and the Lewis House.” Gehry was the Collab’s 2008 Design Excellence Award recipient.

Students were challenged to design a bench for a space Gehry could have or did design, taking take into account Gehry’s own design process and the way the bench functions within a specific architectural context. University of the Arts co-instructors Daniel Michalik and Rob Melville made the competition the focus of this semester’s Junior Projects Studio course.

Utilizing a computerized wood router, Gerard designed a material-efficient – each piece is cut from the interior of the other – glass-topped, laminated birch Lewis Bench using a layered plywood technique widely associated with Gehry. Gehry created the original bench during a decade-long residential commission for Peter Lewis in Lyndhurst, Ohio, a unique opportunity to experiment, and in the process, achieve the formal and technological breakthroughs that have made him one of the world’s most influential architects.

Braun created the first in a series of glass benches inspired by the one Gehry proposed for the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The glass form speaks to the water in that surrounding environment. Using the glass slumping processes pioneered by Gehry for the Conde Nast Cafeteria in New York, each one-inch thick bench provides a strong contour line and sense of confidence. Each bench in the series could have variations giving it unique identity.

Collab is a collaboration of design professionals supporting the modern and contemporary design collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A volunteer committee founded in 1970, Collab is dedicated to enriching the Museum’s collections with outstanding examples of mass-produced and unique designs, and to making the collections accessible to the general public, students, and the design community. Now among the most important in the country, the design collections of more than 1,000 objects range from appliances and furniture to ceramics, glass, posters, wallpapers, and lighting.

The Collab Student Design Competition is held annually in conjunction with the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The competition brief is always linked thematically to that year's Collab Design Excellence Award recipient. For the past 15 years, the event has served as an opportunity for students to experience the rigors of competition and have industry leaders from around the world judge their work. In addition, students interact with colleagues from other universities and institutions, exposing them to an array of design approaches.

The University of the Arts is the nation’s first and only university dedicated to the visual, performing and communication arts. Its 2,300 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs on its campus in the heart of Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. The institution’s roots as a leader in educating creative individuals date back to 1868.

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