Students compete in hearse design charrette
March 20, 2008Contact Information:
Dr. Marie Gentry, School of Human Environmental Sciences, 479-575-4307. gmgentry@uark.edu.
Peter Chapman, Federal Coach, Fort Smith, 479-646-6800.
By Howell Medders, Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas System, 479-575-5647, hmedders@uark.edu
First Place -- The first place team in a hearse design contest at the University of Arkansas included, from left, Brittany Taylor, Taylor Lovelady, Laura Houser, Lindley Summers and, not pictured, Alison Davis.
Second Place -- Placing second in a hearse design contest at the University of Arkansas were, from left, Tricia Quinn, Lauren Baker, Chika Sugihara and Amanda Giles.
Third Place -- The third place team in a hearse design contest at the University of Arkansas included, from left, Nicole Allison, Bruce Imhoff and Megan Milawski.
New Ideas -- Interior design students take measurements and photos of a hearse for a design charrette. Their assignment was to come up with new ideas for a vehicle that has looked about the same, inside and out, since it was pulled by horses. Federal Coach of Fort Smith put up prize money for the contest.
Tight Space -- Abigail Freeman, left, and Elizabeth Truxaw take measurements in a hearse for a design charrette at the University of Arkansas.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- A hearse parked on Maple Street recently at the University of Arkansas was the object of a design contest for interior design students in the School of Human Environmental Sciences.
The competition -- sponsored by Federal Coach in Fort Smith, a leading manufacturer of limousines, buses and hearses -- was in the form of a charrette, which is an intensive collaborative session by a group of designers. Student charrette teams competed for first, second and third prizes of $500, $300 and $200.
Students spent all day on the project and presented their designs in the evening to Federal Coach executives Peter Chapman, Jennifer Pogue and Mike Whitten.
"There were aspects of all the designs that we may use in our products going forward," Chapman said. "I was very excited to see the creativity and effort they put into it."
Versatility was a priority for the first place team of Brittany Taylor of Hot Springs, Taylor Lovelady and Alison Davis of Little Rock, and Laura Houser and Lindley Summers, both of Fayetteville.
The winning team provided choices of material for interchangeable interior panels from which clients could select. They also felt a sense of luxury, enhance by accent lighting and burl wood flooring, would be important.
The second place team included Amanda Giles of Farmington, Lauren Baker of Little Rock, Tricia Quinn of Fayetteville and Chika Sugihara of Shimanne, Japan.
Placing third were Megan Milawski of Mountain Home, Nicole Allison and Bruce Imhoff, both of Fayetteville.