Furniture fit for a president

What's six feet tall, steel, and shaped like a lotus?

The answer, of course, is the president's new coat rack. Designed by Brett Carlyle for a senior-level furniture design course, the piece was combined with several other student-designed furniture pieces for the office of University of Alberta President Dr. Indira Samarasekera.

For Carlyle, the Design 576 project last fall was his first opportunity to work for a client of such stature. As with any design project, the goal was to combine art and function in an innovative way, while meeting the client's needs.

"We wanted to be innovative and show our individuality, but still design objects that would work in the office," said Carlyle, who recently graduated from the U of A's industrial design program.

Carlyle said he worked with a contemporary aesthetic in mind but also drew from what he knew about the president.

"I did a lot of research to find out where she came from, her background," said the budding designer. "I came across something that said she'd always had a love for the arts...and I found out she was from Sri Lanka, and the lotus flower is a pretty important cultural icon there."

With this in mind, Carlyle created a slender, metal coat rack inspired by the beauty of the flower.

The pieces that appear in Samarasekera's office were chosen by a jury, said course instructor Tim Antoniuk. "It wasn't as simple as a student coming up with something they think is neat," he said.

While not all of the pieces were used, Antoniuk emphasized that all students benefited from the process of designing a project with a particular client's needs in mind, since all designers must learn how to work with clients.

"It's always a challenge in academia to integrate theory with real-world settings and clients," he said.

For Samarasekera, the furniture is not only aesthetically pleasing but is also a source of pride.

"It is great fun for me to discuss the genesis of our lobby furniture with my guests," she said. "Invariably, guests will comment on the unique design of the furniture and I proudly reply that it was designed by our talented students."