Teams create green-friendly light fixtures
By the light of 17 fixtures built from objects like hangers, trash bags and packing peanuts, judges paced the stage with clipboards as they chose the winners in the Caine College of the Arts Design Star competition, Design Star, Monday night.
Four winning teams went home with trophies topped by a golden light bulb and prize packages, some including Jazz tickets.
Teams ranging from one to three people were given one hour to put together hanging lamp fixtures out of recyclable materials and a light. Kylee Groskreutz, president of USU’s chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, said recyclable materials were the theme because it was cost effective and would push creativity.
After coming up with design plans for their light, the 17 teams crowded the area where boxes and tables were piled high with everyday materials such as plastic office trays, cardboard tubes, duct tape, clothing hangers and beer cans.
“On your mark, get set, design, go!” Groskreutz said.
And they were off. Having not a second to lose, the competitors made a mad dash to the tables and boxes, some carrying away armfuls of hangers and cans, and set to work on their masterpieces.
The team Baczuk, Buynak and Graves, who won the people’s choice award, was wrapping the light cord in wire and building an orb-like structure wrapped in clear plastic garbage bags to put around it.
“We’re calling it Industrial Sophistication,” said Ryan Lee, a sophomore in mechanical engineering.
Even the judges, ASUSU President Tyler Tolson and arts senator Alan Dangerfield decided to try their hand at making a light fixture.
Dangerfield said he actually was going to sign up to compete, and then he was asked to be a judge, so he was excited for the opportunity to be involved.
“Alan, I think we should use this,” Tolson said, pointing at the tablecloth with the leftover materials.
Proving that interior design is not just for interior design majors, people from different majors competed.
“We just wanted everyone to come together and have fun,” said Trevor Keith Call, who teamed up with American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) from the U.S. Green Building Council to plan the event.
Freshman and English major Lauren Tuttle, of the team Edison Fuse, hammered plastic hangers into little pieces to hang suspended around her light.
“I took an interior design class last semester, and I like it,” Tuttle said.
Date night turned into success for husband-wife team Andrea and Jay Casto, who took the grand prize for their square-shaped light made of plastic office trays.
“I liked having to think on the go about how to use things that you typically wouldn’t use for that,” Jay, a junior in business, said.
Andrea, an interior design freshman, said it sounded like fun to compete, especially when she found out the event was open to more than interior design students.
Two other prizes were for runners-up, which went to the team Marty’s Boyz, and most innovative use of materials, to Sean Arnold for his use of balloons.
Though not everyone took home a prize package or a trophy, the competitors proudly showed off what they created. Sophomores in interior design Emily Williams and Dani Stoddard giggled over their creation of wire hangers hung with white garbage bags and embellished with red, white, and blue shoe laces.
“We’ve been laughing the whole time, and that’s all that matters,” Williams said.
Call and Groskreutz said they hope this will be an annual event for the Caine College of the Arts, and the lights will be displayed on campus in the near future.
– la.stewart@aggiemail.usu.edu