Crossville Sends Four UT Design Students to NeoCon

Crossville, TN, June 13, 2017-Crossville, Inc. is hosting four students from the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design to NeoCon 2017 in Chicago. These students earned the trip by creating winning, tile-focused projects as part of Crossville’s sponsorship of a semester-long Design Studio held in partnership with the university.

The studio provided the company a direct opportunity to educate the next generation of design professionals on the specification of tile products. As part of the studio experience, students completed projects in which tile is an essential design element.

“The studio exposed students to tile and challenged them to think and create differently with tile as a surfacing solution,” explains Robin Rhea, Crossville’s director of brand marketing. “It’s a great chance to educate future specifiers to tile’s technical and design benefits, and, likewise, we get a better understanding of their perspectives, questions, and needs.”

The academic semester began with an intensive, two-week design course that focused on innovative approaches to tile use. To round out their knowledge, students also took an in-depth tour of Crossville’s manufacturing facilities in Crossville, Tennessee.

Based on the teachings, students then were asked to create projects intended to expand the interior use of tile by devising the proper construction details for customizing standardized material tectonics. As part of the assignment, students had to develop multiple variations of new material formations that explored a range of permeability and texture through light, opacity, sound, temperature, humidity, or other sensorial parameters.

Taking the experience further, Crossville held a competition to select the four top projects created during the studio. Judges from Crossville’s corporate office chose honorees based on the merits of the projects they designed. The following student projects took top honors.

▪ Mary Morgan Smith-Young Mothers’ Sewing Center

▪ Andy Thompson-Sensory Gym

▪ Susan Stewart-Mappery Center for the Blind

▪ Polly Ann Blackwell-Reflection Center for Domestic Violence Facility