Danielle Bokor wins Benjamin Moore’s HUE Award
Color is being celebrated along with the 125th anniversary of Benjamin Moore – a long time. I thought paint was “hand made” back then. This year‚Äôs honorees include Danielle Bokor, from Woodmere, NY, for Residential Interiors; STUDIOS Architecture, San Francisco, for Contract Interiors; and, Donald Lococo Architects, Washington, DC, for Residential Exteriors. They competed in a field of nearly 100 entries and each receive a HUE sculpture plus $5,000 cash prize. I think I’ll enter next year.
Danielle Bokor
I thought I’d focus a little bit on the work of residential winner, Danielle Bokor – a designer who’s fearless in her use of color. She has an affinity for strong, intense hues, particularly purples and magentas, and is highly artful in using unexpected yet expressive combinations. Basically, she’s my kind of girl. (And, like me, she doesn’t have her portfolio on line. Now I don’t feel so lazy.)
Via a variety of materials and furnishings, she introduces color into an environment, from flooring and textiles to tiles and paint. For instance, with the daring interjection of a neon orange leather easy chair and footstool in a space with a vibrant kiwi green wall she created an irresistible visual dynamic that thrives on the tension of the contrasting colors.
In another of her projects she demonstrated her color virtuosity by designing a calming bathroom shared by three pre-teen sisters. A wonderful mix of soft, watery greens and blues created the desired serene ambience. The perfect thing to counterbalance all the chaos pre-teens can create – especially in a bathroom.
In another project, she applied color to add whimsy and humor, personally painting a mural on the walls, doors and nearly every available vertical space of a child’s bath, skillfully depicting Dr. Seuss cartoon characters in shower and bathing settings. I wish my painting skills were that good.
Bokor graduated, in 1994, from The Cooper Union School of Architecture. She now owns her own firm in New York where she does both commercial and residential work. Raised in a family of interior and fashion designers, Bokor is an architect who believes that use of color and material is integral to interior architecture, and she tries not to leave any space ‚Äúnude.‚Äù I couldn’t agree more.
So my question to you is: When you design a room, is color a starting point, or the after thought?
Virginia Tech at the Satellite
The Satellite show isn‚Äôt limited to young designers trying to make their mark on the design world. Design and architecture schools from around the world are also represented. So, I was very happy to see Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture represented there. My sister and brother-in-law both work there. My sister has a master‚Äôs degree in engineering from Va Tech (a genius – brag brag).
The students were great. We sang the Hokie Fight Song. Anyway, their exhibit was interesting. Not all hits. But they had some nice work, with an interesting concept.
They were showing what they termed industrialized furniture, which students designed using “emerging digital and technical processes, particularly computer controlled systems.”
Go Hokies!
