Alfred University Sponsors Workshop on Architectural Applications of Terra Cotta
Originally posted on Alfred.edu
7/19/18
Alfred University is a sponsor of a four-day workshop next month in Buffalo that will discuss terra cotta and its use in architectural design. Alfred University’s Anne Currier, sculptor and professor emerita of ceramic art, and William Carty, John F. McMahon Professor and Chair of Ceramic Engineering, are among those who will speak at the Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop, August 13-16, 2018.
Alfred University’s Anne Currier (left), sculptor and professor emerita of ceramic art, and William Carty (right), John F. McMahon Professor and Chair of Ceramic Engineering
BUFFALO, NY – The ACAWorkshop is presented by Boston Valley Terra Cotta, a manufacturer of architectural terra cotta in Orchard Park, NY, and the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning. John Krouse, a 1985 Alfred University graduate, is president and CEO of Boston Valley Terra Cotta.
The objective of the workshop is to introduce and consider the properties of terra cotta earlier in the architect’s design process and develop research and design models between the manufacturing and architectural industries. The four-day event combines models of academic research, artistic experimentation and industry expertise to explore the design of ceramic components for large-scale production.
This marks the third year the ACAWorkshop has been presented in Buffalo by Boston Valley Terra Cotta. Professionals from the architecture industry have been participating as members of teams, developing prototypes that explore the use of terra cotta in architecture, including in the design of a building’s envelope (outer shell). Expertise provided by artists and engineers trained in the development and design of ceramic materials will help architects in their mission, organizers say.
“Architects designing with industrially-produced ceramic components may have little material understanding of clay for large scale production, while most artists and designers trained in ceramics may have few opportunities to explore the medium at a scale beyond the individual object,” says International Sales Manager at Boston Valley Terra Cotta. He added, “At the ACA Workshop, architects, engineers, and educators collaborate with designers and manufacturers in order to deepen their understanding of designing with architectural terra cotta.”
Currier will present her lecture, with Krouse, at noon on Monday, Aug. 12, at the Armor Inn in Hamburg. Carty will give his lecture at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 14, at the University at Buffalo’s Hayes Hall.
Currier received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute, Chicago, and her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Virginia A. Groot Foundation and was honored with the American Crafts Council College of Fellows Career Achievement Award. Her sculptures are in numerous private and public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institutions in Washington, D.C.
Krouse earned a bachelor’s degree in ceramic engineering (ceramic art minor) in 1985. His engineering, artistic expertise, and 32 years of experience guides the manufacture of terra cotta products for several markets while consistently expanding the state of the art facility and equipment.
Carty, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ceramic engineering from University of Missouri-Rolla and a Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Washington, joined Alfred University’s faculty in 1993. He teaches extensively (engineering classes during the school year and “Ceramic Science for the Artist” workshops in the summer) and has researched all aspects of traditional ceramics production. He is a frequent contributor to the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA).
