Winning Design for UB Hayes Hall Mailboxes are in Production at Boston Valley
A mock-up of the winning design, Bibelot, showcasing the etched words on the interior of the mailbox unit.
The student and faculty designed mailboxes for Hayes Hall, home to the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, are currently in production at Boston Valley Terra Cotta.
The design titled “Bibelot”, beat out the proposals of nine other teams comprised of faculty and students. Developed by student Nicholas Traverse (MArch ’16), Erkin Özay, assistant professor of architecture, and Gregory Delaney, clinical assistant professor of architecture, the mailboxes are comprised of a grid of terra cotta “L”-shaped masonry units etched with terms of inspiration.
In a reference to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Larkin Administration Building, each mailbox is etched with a different word of inspiration related to design and planning.
A terra cotta panel etched with “Aspiration” is ready to be glazed in a high gloss.
The glazed masonry units will extend through a glass wall into the corridor, activating the space with a “floating ribbon of color.”
While the words may not be legible when viewed from the corridor, a rhythm of texture plays across the face of the units.
