Design Student Places in Competition
A Fairmont State student who is a member of the campus chapter of the American Society
of Interior Designers was on a team that placed second in a recent competition to
design a prototype disaster relief shelter that could be transported to Louisiana
and Mississippi to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Student Karen Archer was on the team that placed second in the "Design Charette"
competition, which was organized by the Pennsylvania West Professional chapter of
the American Society of Designers and held at Chatham College in Pittsburgh. Archer
received $25 for the second place win.
Students competed to design a shelter that would provide fundamental care including
minor physical treatments and a temporary haven where people could receive spiritual
comfort, counseling and support. The shelter had to be sized to fit on a tractor trailer.
Teams were judged based on creativity, craftsmanship, level of research, evidence
of research and a presentation. Each of the five teams had five hours to design their
shelter. Students from each of the chapters competing were assigned to one of the
teams.
Fairmont State chapter students Destiny Fisher, Amanda Schneider and Jennifer Miller
also participated in the Design Charette, but they competed on different teams.