SCAD wins ICFF Editors Award for Best Design School

Furniture World Magazine

The Savannah College of Art and Design announced that it has won the 2008 ICFF Editors Award for Best Design School for their presentation, “Designed Conversation,” at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, May 17-20, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The 2008 ICFF Editors Awards were bestowed on best-of-show products in a total of 16 categories. The ICFF Editors Awards Ceremony took place during the 20th annual ICFF May 18 at the ICFF Exhibitors Reception. This year's ICFF Editors Awards Committee includes the most in-the-know editors of U.S. and international design publications: Anniina Koivu of Abitare, Catherine Osborne of Azure, Stefano Casciani of Domus, Sam Grawe of Dwell, Julie Lasky of I.D., Karen D. Singh of Interior Design, Gilda Bojardi of Interni, Chantal Hamaide of Intramuros, Susan S. Szenasy of Metropolis, Arlene Hirst of Metropolitan Home, and Benjamin Kempton of Wallpaper*. “Designed Conversation” represents a dynamic dialogue between SCAD fibers and furniture students and clients of Growing Hope of Union Mission in Savannah, Ga. The goal was to create sustainable bedding solutions for people in non-traditional living situations by addressing the needs of three specific demographics within Union Mission: those sleeping on the street, those sleeping in a shelter, and those living in transitional housing. Students created a Safe Bed that gives people who are temporarily living on the streets a transitional bedding solution and a Shelter Screen that provides directions for an easy and inexpensive storage and privacy solution for men and women living in homeless shelters. Students proposed simple shelving units to hang from the bunks; sturdier rolling storage units to fit under the beds, serve as seating, and roll for easy transport; a Web site to allow aid agencies to communicate with each other and the public their needs and resources; products to recycle excess clothing donations into a soft step for the bunk or a pad for the thin mattress; and many variations of all of these ideas that addressed the core need for storage, privacy and comfort. A fundraiser was held in February, where a collaborative quilt made by students in the SCAD fibers department was auctioned off. It was on display at shopSCAD, 342 Bull St., until the event and tickets were sold for $1 or donated art supplies, which was given to Union Mission’s Growing Hope Artisan’s Cooperative. The goal of the Growing Hope initiative is to support and enhance the transition from homelessness and poverty to self-sufficiency. Participants express themselves through arts and crafts with the potential to supplement their income. SCAD offers Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in fibers. Fibers professionals combine historic textile processes and traditions with the newest concepts and technologies in art and design to create everything from carpet and wallpaper to apparel and home furnishings. About SCAD: Named one of Kaplan’s “25 cutting-edge schools with an eye toward the future,” the Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga., and in Lacoste, France. Undergraduate and graduate degree programs also are offered online through SCAD-eLearning. The college offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Architecture, Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Fine Arts, and Master of Urban Design degrees. For more information about the college, visit www.scad.edu, e-mail admission@scad.edu, call 800.869.7223 or 912.525.5100 in Savannah, or call 877.722.3285 or 404.253.2700 in Atlanta.