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News from Michael Ross Kersting Architecture
Posted: 07-21-2010
It's official, Mark is licenced!
S. Mark Wilson, AIA has completed his exam requirements to become a licenced architect in the state of North Carolina by NCARB, the national organization which oversees the licencing and registration of Architects. In related news, he will now be spending his evening and weekends doing something other than studying.
Posted: 07-15-2010
Toby Joins Humanatarian Trip to Nicaragua
Toby R. Keeton, Intern Architect at Kersting Architecture joined the relief organization Save A Generation (www.saveageneration.com) on a trip to rural Nicaragua. While there, the team distributed over 1,000 pairs of shoes, clothing, food, and medical supplies. Toby also collected information to assist the organization in the design of renovations of existing facilities, as well as prepare plans for new buildings and infrastructure. This work has potential to include water collection and purification systems, clinics, orphanage and senior centers. Toby and his fiance, Audrey, have also began a program to develop a modular housing program to develop much needed homes that will be pre-manufactured in Nicaragua using local labor and materials. You can find more information on this project at www.tobykeeton.com/phh.html. Kersting Architecture will be providing time and material support free of charge in order to help realize the goal of providing basic shelter and services to these remote and under served areas.
The Save A Generation team is currently raising funds for the construction and operation of clinic, orphanage, feeding, and housing projects. In addition to monetary support, they also accept donations of clothing, toys, shoes, school and medical supplies. These can be dropped off to Toby at our office and he will see them to Save A Generations collection center in Carolina Beach. For more information, please contact Toby or Ken Coffer of Save A Generation at Ken@saveageneration.com. Thank you!
Posted: 03-01-2010
Architectural Folly Designed by Toby Installed at Cameron Art MUseum
Toby R. Keeton, employee of Kersting Architecture, has completed the construction of an architectural folly at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC. The museum released a call for entries in November, and the selection jury chose Toby?s design as well as two others to be constructed on the grounds. The folly is titled ?SwitchTower 4022.?
Architectural follies are small structures or pavilions which are often elaborately embellished to reflect aesthetic, rather than functional, preoccupations. However, as Toby learned through research into follies of the past, these objects are often built to vaguely resemble a useful structure, but usually promote aesthetic and philosophical concerns to the detriment of ultimate functionality. It is this idea that he used to render his design, using the industrial site of Kersting Architecture (called ?The Switchyard?) and its adjacent rail lines as inspiration. SwitchTower 4022 is a play on a foregone building type: the railroad switch tower. These structures once provided a vantage point for railmen charged with switching the tracks to direct train traffic before the advent of GPS track systems. Switchtower 4022 is ill suited for this duty, as it cannot be climbed. In this way, it is a monumental sculpture to an obsolete industrial structure. The folly was built using many reclaimed and repurposed industrial materials such as charred cedar planks, fiberglass wall panels, disassembled wood palettes, and construction waste and scraps. The piece was largely prefabricated at the Kersting Architecture studio and delivered to the museum for assemblage. Michael and Mark of Kersting Architecture assisted Toby with working out the details of his design and helped carry out the construction. For more information see the project?s blog at www.switchtower4022.blogspot.com which will be updated throughout the duration of the installation. The folly will stand for six months at the Cameron, and will then be disassembled and brought back to The Switchyard.
Posted: 07-30-2009
Kersting Architecture Has Moved!
Michael Ross Kersting Architecture has opened a new office in Wilmington, NC. Our studio is now located at the Switchyard Workshops at 4022 Market St. The move marks the near end of the year-long rehabilitation of a unique industrial property located in the heart of Wilmington. This hands-on undertaking, along with our on-site partners Fitzgerald Wood Products, Thibodeau Woodworking Inc., and Kingpost Design & Construction converted the long established Wetsig boat facility into extraordinary and environmentally friendly office, warehouse, and shop space. The goal of the Switchyard is to promote a campus of artisans who design and craft highly customized work of the utmost quality. Phase one of this development has only one 1600 SF lease space remaining, please contact Maurice Malfatti of Southcoast Commercial at 910.790.3996 if interested.
Kersting Architecture would like to invite all of its clients and associates to visit us to see our exciting new space. A map with directions can be found in the ?Contact? area of our website.
Posted: 06-18-2009
Toby Wins Dwell Innovate It! Design Competition
Toby R. Keeton, an employee of Micheal Ross Kersting Architecture, was awarded fist prize in the Innovate It! Design Competition, sponsored by Dwell Magazine & the Volkswagen CC. The winning entries of the two-phase competition were announced on June 17, 2009. The first phase of the competition called for readers of the magazine to submit three everyday objects which they would like to see designers improve upon. The resulting problems were: a clothes hanger, an ironing board, and a coffee mug.
Toby chose to tackle the problem of ?coffee rings? left when excess liquid spills over the side of mugs. His proposal called for a mug accessory called the ?Efuso.? The Efuso is designed with an eye towards sustainability; it is planned to supplement existing mugs (instead of throwing them away) and is constructed using plies of recycled tire rubber. The winning design consists of a sleeve which fits snugly over existing mugs. The recycled rubber plies of the object are shaped and adhered together in such a way that a series of canals & reservoirs is created on the inside face which direct and store any liquid running down the mug. This network of channels takes inspiration from nature: it utilizes the cohesive properties of water much like a xylem in plants.
Toby?s winning design was published on Dwell?s website:
http://www.dwell.com/articles/dwells-innovate-it-winners-announced.html
He has been awarded a cash prize & VIP tickets to Dwell on Design, a design symposium in Los Angeles.
Posted: 04-27-2009
The Dragonfly House Featured as April Home of the Month in Raleigh News & Observer
Kersting Architecture's design for the Dragonfly house was featured in the Lifestyle section of the Raleigh News and Observer on Saturday, April 25th. The home was selected by an "expert panel to highlight the benefits of good home design and represent the diversity of homes and home renovations designed by North Carolina architects." The article can also be found online at:
http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/home_garden/story/1499412.html
Posted: 12-17-2008
Dragonfly will be a 2009 Home of the Month
We are proud to announce that the recently completed house called Dragonfly has been selected as one of the top residential designs in the state of North Carolina. The house will be featured in the News & Observer as part of a monthly series beginning in January 2009.
The selected projects emerged from a strong pool of residential designs submitted by architects from across the state. A distinguished panel selected the outstanding houses. Mark Larson is co-founder of Rehkamp Larson Architects of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Nigel Maynard is a senior editor for Residential Architect Magazine. Eric Naslund is design principal and partner at Studio E Architects in San Diego, California.
Each month, one of the selected homes will be the subject of a feature article. NC State School of Architecture faculty members, graduate students, and alumni will share their expertise in articles highlighting important design issues and strengths in each ?Home of the Month.?
See http://www.newsobserver.com/371/story/1388673.html for an article announcing the winning entries, and monitor the News & Observer for the upcoming publication of the Dragonfly House.
Posted: 09-30-2008
Dragonfly House Published In Wrightsville Beach Magazine
The Dragonfly House (see our project archive) in Wilmington has been featured in the September issue of Wrightsville Beach Magazine.
For the plain text version of the article see:
http://www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/article.asp?aid=408&iid=57&sud=27
For an interactive version of the actual magazine spread, see page 86 of:
http://www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/flash/2008-9 On March 1, 2008, Michael Ross Kersting Architecture, P.A. sold ownership of their Boone office to former associate Hunter Coffey. The office will now operate under new ownership and is called Hunter Paul Coffey Architecture, PLLC. Principal Hunter Coffey previously established the Boone Office for Kersting Architecture in September 2006. The transfer of ownership is amicable and both parties will continue to collaborate on various projects and ventures. Michael Ross Kersting Architecture, P.A. has been selected to display their work in the annual Design Expo Raleigh '07. This year's event will be held at North Hills (near Vivace Restaurant) from Oct 19 - Nov 4. Michael Ross Kersting Architecture, P.A. is proud to announce that the design award winning Medac 3 building designed by the firm has been selected to appear on the cover of the North Carolina ARCHITECTURE 2007-2008 Directory. AIA North Carolina is the largest statewide AIA chapter in the U.S. with 2,200 members. MRKa is honored to have been selected by industry peers for the cover of this year?s directory. The office of Michael Ross Kersting Architecture, P.A. has recently announced that they will open a second architectural office in the Boone, Banner Elk, Blowing Rock region of North Carolina. Hunter P. Coffey, will head up the western branch of Kersting Architecture. Citing the strong residential and commercial development market in the North Carolina Appalachian region, and a desire to achieve a greater architecture presence throughout the state, Kersting and Coffey said the move was a ?logical? choice for the firm. 2006 AIA NC Design and Chapter Awards and Honors were presented at the Design Awards Banquet on July 15, 2006, at the North Carolina School of the Arts (Watson Hall) in Winston-Salem. Honors included: "MEDAC 3" by Michael Ross Kersting Architecture, PA. Jury Comments: This scheme breaks up the traditional box with interesting detailing of the fa?ade. There appears to be a great deal of sensitivity not only to the users of the building, but also to the placement of the building on the site. Organic references read through by the use of the copper and masonry material selections, as well as the ?tree trunk references? both in the articulation of the vertical glass elements and the entrance canopy columns. The North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects is the recognized advocate for the architectural profession in this state. With a membership of 2,200, AIA North Carolina includes nearly 80 percent of the state's resident architects. Posted: 03-05-2008
Kersting Architecture Sells Boone OfficePosted: 10-15-2007
Design Expo Raleigh '07
Posted: 09-20-2007
North Carolina ARCHITECTURE 2007-2008 Directory Cover
Posted: 09-01-2006
Kersting Architecture to Open Western NC OfficePosted: 07-17-2006
2006 AIA NC Design and Chapter Awards and Honors
