Sofa, Designed by Bruno Architecture; Artisan Geoffrey Warner
Blas M. Bruno & Elizabeth Wastler Bruno, A.I.A.
Bruno Architecture
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| Designed by Bruno Architecture | Pair of Sofas | Original Napkin Sketch |
Blas M. Bruno
Blas began his study of fine arts at the Haystack Mountain School, taking courses in ceramics and blacksmithing. He then majored in sculpture and drawing at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. An apprenticeship with sculptor Lothar Kestembaum in Guanajuato, Mexico, taught him figurative sculpture, stone carving and bronze casting. Blas received his professional Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University in 1987. At Cornell Blas
received the Edwin Seippe Memorial Prize, and one of his projects was published in "The Bay Book" by Val Warke. In 1984 he attended Cornell's "Paris-Veneto" summer program and studied architecture in France and Italy.
After graduating, Blas worked with Graham Gund Architects in Cambridge, Elkus Manfredi Architects in Boston and Ricardo Bofill-Taller USA in New York. He has worked on the design of residential, institutional and commercial projects including work on the Westminster Theatre Arts Building, the Waterville Valley Condominiums, and the National Gypsum headquarters’ skyscraper at 77 Wacker Drive.
All of these projects have been published in "Architectural Record" magazine. In addition, Blas worked in New York with Jed Johnson. Examples of his work on the Punsch Restaurant and a West Side Apartment appear in "House and Garden" magazine. His interest in the arts has continued as co-curator with Elizabeth for “From Architect’s Process to Artist’s Perception” at the Danforth Gallery in Portland, Maine.
Elizabeth Wastler Bruno, A.I.A.
Elizabeth received her Bachelor of Arts in Art & Art History in 1985 and her professional Bachelor of Architecture in 1988 from Rice University. While at Rice she received awards for her design & academic achievements including the National AIA/AIAF Scholarship, the AIA School Medal, the Jesse Jones Scholarship in Architecture, and the Jameson Fellowship in American Decorative Arts.
Prior to winning the fellowship she interned at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, cataloging and researching American Presentation Silver. Her research was published as part of "Marks of Achievement" by the Museum in 1987. Elizabeth
spent one year studying at the Bayou Bend Collection in Houston and was sent to the Winterthur Museum to study the collection and research museum pieces. After her fellowship in American Decorative Arts she studied European Twentieth Century Decorative Arts at Sotheby's in London. Since graduating she has worked for Amsler Hagenah MacLean Architects in Boston and Fox & Fowle Architects in New York designing residential, commercial and institutional projects, including work for the Harvard University School of Business Administration, the Boston Aquarium, Paul Stuart Inc., the Wareham Free Library, the Berkeley-Carroll School and the Dalton School.
She received her National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) accreditation in 1996.
Geoffrey Warner
Geoff Warner Studios
Stonington, Maine
Having passed through many design phases and completing hundreds of pieces, I have mastered a high level of skill in conceptualizing and solving design problems. My early work drew from arts and crafts, Japanese, Danish and Art Nouveau influences. Today I look at my work as functional sculpture, where nature can be a strong influence. Interplay between curved and straight lines and negative and positive spaces are frequently incorporated. I like to engage people's senses while they interact with my furniture. The inside of a jewelry cabinet may be built with Spanish cedar for its wonderful aroma, the edge of a table top, or the surface of a pull carved to engage the sense of touch. Exposed dovetails or wedged tenons can be applied to create rhythm and to educate one on how a piece of furniture is constructed. A beautiful highly figured or colorful board can be enough to carry success into a commission, which, having been designed with simplicity, allows the reverence of the wood to speak on its own without distraction.