OPAS anniversary exhibit bases designed, fabricated at college

Texas A&M College of Architecture students designed and fabricated display stands for a [Forsyth Galleries] (http://forsyth.tamu.edu) photo exhibit celebrating the [40th anniversary] (http://tamutimes.tamu.edu/2012/08/24/msc-opas-celebrates-its-40th-anniversary/) of MSC-OPAS by showcasing  images from four decades of performing arts venues the organization has shared with Brazos Valley residents.

The exhibit runs through April 19 at the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M campus.

The exhibit's display architecture was designed by Russell Reid, a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning and fabricated at the college’s Digital Fabrication Facility by a team of three students led by Aaron Kotwal, a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture major.

The project was funded by OPAS, the Texas A&M College of Architecture and its Institute for Applied Creativity, as part of the IAC initiative to partner with the community on art-related projects.

Reid reworked the initial design for the base of the exhibit displays, which, he said, "was too bulky and made of the wrong material.”

Using Reid’s enhanced design, Kotwal and his team, which included Abraham Obregon, a Master of Architecture student, and Brian Smith, a Master of Science in Visualization student, fabricated more than 40 bases from foam core to support the stands' brushed aluminum frames.

“The brushed aluminum with the black matte surface allows the color in the photos to really stand out,” said Reid. “The viewer’s focus is right where it should be.”

The exhibit photos were printed by [Jim Singleton] (http://one.arch.tamu.edu/news/2012/7/24/2012-outstanding-alumni/) Architects. An outstanding alumnus of the College of Architecture, Singleton earned bachelor’s degrees in architecture and architectural construction in 1968. His wife, Stephanie Sale, was the exhibit’s curator.