Recent News
- Strada Artists Featured in Gallery Exhibition
PITTSBURGH, PA – Michael Stern and Mason Radkoff of Strada were selected as two of 16 Pittsburgh designers to be featured in By Design, a new exhibition at 937 Liberty Avenue. By Design aims to provide insight into how designers make connections, interpret content, express meaning through visual form, and observe the world. The design process is usually far from transparent—the product often appears to have generated itself, showing little trace of the thought and effort that went into it. The show opens with a reception Friday, November 4, 2005 from 5:30 –9 pm and runs through Friday, January 13, 2006. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday 12-5pm. For the exhibit, the designers were asked to choose an image or object not of their own making that has special relevance for them (the subject must be something one can observe, not an idea), then create an installation that investigates, extends, deconstructs, celebrates, or plays with the object. Michael Stern’s project responds to the mountain in a way that is, in turn, inspired by the approach used in traditional Japanese garden design—miniaturization. One of the things that particularly intrigued Michael is the issue of scale and its relation to the human body. Michael explains, “Mountains overwhelm humans with their imposing and inaccessible size. That is a major reason why they are such a source of sublime and transcendent awe. Here the mountain is an object that is close in size to a person, yet perhaps still has something imposing about it.” Mason Radkoff’s inspiration for his installation is a late-1960s-era Florence Henderson sort of refrigerator. A ubiquitous object that appears in so many disparate lives, the refrigerator intrigued Mason by how it could have meant different things to (and sparked different reactions from) many different people. “In pondering this kind of appliance—solid, unchanging and, frankly, somewhat boring - I’ve written a series of vignettes, each of which came to me suddenly. The text that the viewer reads is as close to my immediate reactions and response to my object as I can present,” states Mason. Michael Stern is a principal at Strada where he has been involved in many of Pittsburgh’s major urban design and planning efforts. He served as the project director and urban designer for the Department of City Planning on the Pittsburgh Downtown Plan, the first comprehensive master plan for the greater Downtown area in 35 years. Other recent projects include the Pittsburgh Regional Parks Master Plan, the Downtown Bedford Revitalization Plan, a downtown revitalization plan for Washington, PA, and the plan for the revitalization of Pittsburgh’s Fifth and Forbes retail district. Michael has lectured widely and published and edited numerous articles and journals on urban design and landscape design theory. He is also a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and Congress for New Urbanism (CNU). Mason Radkoff has worked for 25 years in various disciplines of construction and related design. His work has included historic restoration, cabinet-making, architectural millwork fabrication and general construction. He likes to introduce new work into old buildings and has renovated both commercial and residential spaces. In 2003, Radkoff joined Strada where he provides construction administration duties for numerous projects, including Equitable Resources, Barco Law Library at the University of Pittsburgh, and Cupples Stadium on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The Three Rivers Arts Festival, a 46-year-old tradition, bridges artistic style and expression, mixing the contemporary visual arts with live music, theater and dance performances contributing to their year-round cultural commitment in Pittsburgh. For more information please call 412.281.8723 or visit www.artsfestival.net . Strada, an architecture, interior design, landscape, and urban design firm, is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Strada embraces projects that create places for people including academic buildings, master plans, mixed-use urban developments, corporate offices, and retail spaces.
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