Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Legislative Update: Closer to success in protecting the welfare of the public!

A major success was handed to those fighting to protect Certification for Interior Designers in Virginia, and those working to ensure the safety and welfare of the public. Saturday (March 10th) the General Assembly agreed to conference amendments which either remove deregulation or maintain its absence from both the resolutions and bills introduced in this session. The issue now goes before the Governor for final approval. We hope that Governor McDonnell will agree with the sensible decisions put forth by the General Assembly and sign this legislation without ammendment.
Angie Bezik and Ann Flandermeyer Kirwin
of Principle Advantage, Ltd.

Many thanks for the leadership of the Council for Certified Virginia Interior Designers (CCVID) and our lobbying team of Principle Advantage. As well, we wish to thank all the hard work and effort of CID's across Virginia and the support of the Virginia chapters of ASID and IIDA.

Most importantly, we also extend our thanks to the legislators in the House and Senate who were willing to stand up to protect small business and the health, saftey, and welfare of the public.

HJ 49
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+HJ49

SJ66
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+SJ66

HB 1291
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+HB1291

SB 678
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sum+SJ66

Friday, March 2, 2012

Project Spotlight: Rappahannock Community College

"Learning happens everywhere"

Community colleges are the heart of the American higher education system, developing the knowledge, skills, and continuing education that puts Americans to work, invigorates job growth, and inspires entrepreneurs. As the need for community colleges grows, and the needs of today’s students change, the methods of instruction and the types of spaces for facilitating learning too have required change.


ALL PHOTOS © ERIC TAYLOR
In 2011 KSA Interiors teamed with NBJ Architecture in helping Rappahannock Community College address this need for change by envisioning the learning environment for two existing campus locations. Following the leadership and vision of school president Dr. Elizabeth Crowther, our team worked with her department heads to develop environments that are devoted to “students first” and adhere to the idea that learning happens everywhere. Gone are segmented spaces, narrow empty corridors, and rigid definitions of space that defined the original facilities. In their place was created a flowing and undulating learning environment inspired by the beauty of the costal river and middle peninsula. Organic shapes soften the delineation between spaces - ideal locations for casual collaborative interactions and inspired discussion areas. Wall graphics, design features, and color schemes reinforce this abstract concept and assist the deliberate space plan which moves students through the space at various paces, narrowing or widening to move students through some areas quickly, or encouraging them to stop and share interactions in collaborative “pools”.



ALL PHOTOS © ERIC TAYLOR
The design team was challenged to develop a single solution which could be universally applied to two nearly identical 70’s era educational facilities. Terrazzo floors and exposed block walls typical of the period were replaced and or revitalized with a warm and engaging palate of colors and materials. The most important aspect of the design solution, however, was to bring learning out of the classroom and into the many adjacent collaborative spaces. At the center of this idea that learning happens everywhere is the development of the “Egg”, a central collaborative area envisioned to allow students to collaborate, dine, engage, or simply hang out. Surrounded by half walls of varying height, shape and configuration, and defined by flexible furnishings also of varying heights and configurations, the delineation of the egg takes on a permeable or transparent perimeter engaging those both within and beyond the space.
   
ALL PHOTOS © ERIC TAYLOR


 
The flexible and engaging solution developed for Rappahannock Community College, led members of the Virginia Community College System to comment after visiting the space, that “this is what our colleges should look like”, and that this was “a space to be proud of”.

ALL PHOTOS © ERIC TAYLOR
KSA truly is proud to have had the opportunity to assist RCC in reimagining the learning environment, and to help promote learning outside of the traditional classroom.