Bradley Corp. announces its collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) to launch a Sponsored Studio featuring the company's products during the Fall semester. While UWM SARUP is considered one of the top 20 architecture schools in the U.S., Bradley is known for its industry leadership in designing and manufacturing innovative commercial plumbing fixtures, washroom accessories and partitions, emergency fixtures and solid plastic lockers for the past 90 years.
The topic of the Bradley Studio is "Intelligent Skins for Intelligent Buildings," which utilizes students' design, research and analysis to influence the appearance and performance of a structure's "skin" to create an intelligent building of the future. The studio is taught by Gregory D. Thomson, assistant professor and co-director of the Institute for Ecological Design at UWM.
The Bradley Studio will incorporate the use of the company's commercial restroom products, ranging from lavatory systems made with sustainable materials to capacitive faucets to restroom partitions made with pre- and post-consumer recycled materials. Throughout the Studio, Bradley employees will collaborate with students, giving hands-on instruction on the company's products and technologies.
Thomson says the students will begin the Studio by dissecting the elements of building design - from the tangible aspects of a building to the intangible realities of the human interface with buildings. These will be a basis for analysis and inspiration for developing a wide range of applications to apply in a real-life building design." Buildings are not static configurations, so we're challenging students to adapt these products and technologies to discover new and alternative ways to create intelligent building systems," Thomson says." The intelligent skin of a building of the future will require not just smart building components, but intelligent ones that can forecast energy demand and production, and make complex calculations of human interaction with the built environment."
Kris Alderson, Senior Marketing Manager, Bradley Corp., says the Studio's goal of exploring new design possibilities for intelligent buildings aligns well with the manufacturer's objectives." Our company's core mission has always been to bring innovative solutions and added value to our customers," Alderson says." As Bradley celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, being part of this Sponsored Studio is a way to honor that heritage, yet give a positive nod to the future of building design."
A review of the students' final work will be presented after the semester ends in December.