GREENING the VALLEY:
THE GREEN LOUNGE @ UMASS UNIVERSITY GALLERY

Concept & Design
Concept and design for exhibition of green materials as part of “Greening the Valley” exhibition, Winter 2010.
See similar projects at bottom of page.

When the University Gallery at UMASS/Amherst started planning for a major exhibition entitled “Greening the Valley: Sustainable Architecture in the Pioneer Valley,” we volunteered to take on the design of a space called the Green Lounge.  Originally conceived as simply a space to exhibit green materials, we worked with curator Meg Vickery, exhibition designer Joseph Krupczynski, and the gallery staff to develop a multi-purpose room within the exhibition space dedicated to product display, information resources, conferencing, computer research and repose.  We were also determined that the furnishings used in the space would exhibit some of the key developments in the greening of the furnishings industry.
The result was a separate gallery that exhibited green building materials and included furniture selected for its green attributes (all furniture was donated for the exhibition).  The furniture in the Green Lounge demonstrated some of the progress being made toward the greening of the furniture industry including the greening of manufacturing processes (e.g. energy management, transportation practices and recycling efforts); the use of recycled, sustainable and/or natural materials; the incorporation of materials that can be recycled; locally made products; and the refurbishment and reuse of existing furniture.

Lorin Starr, partner, Lukas Design
photos: Peter Petegorski, Ned Gray