Architecture and Interior Design work by 3north, as well as work by the firm’s graphic designer, Christopher Hibben, are featured in the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’ current exhibition “Time for Design.” The exhibition, curated by design professors at Virginia Commonwealth University in conjunction with the Center’s curator, is intended to raise consciousness of creative design work in Richmond, and to educate about the public about the challenges and processes of design and its potential as a catalyst for social change. The exhibition continues through December 10, 2006.

The Corrugated Box community extends a warm welcome to Tireflys, a fun new product development and design company. Tireflys, which started out manufacturing valve stem lights for automobile wheels, moved on to blaze a new path of innovation in lights and accessories for bicycles, skateboards and almost anything that moves. Visit their website www.tireflys.com for more information.

3north has received two awards in recognition of their work from AIA Richmond. The firm’s designs for the renovation of the Corrugated Box Building and for a classroom addition to the Richmond Montessori School were awarded the chapter’s 2006 Award for Excellence in Design. 3north and their work were recognized at a reception at the Virginia Center for Architecture, located in the Branch House on Monument Avenue, on July 20, 2006.

Two denizens of Corrugated Box are showing their designs at Hot Diggities, an exhibition of dog houses at Quirk Gallery, 311 West Broad Street.

To see dog houses by Morgan Pierce of Grace Street Home Additions and Sandy Bond of 3north, go to quirkgallery.com, then click Exhibitions, then Artists’ Profile for a listing of participants.

Take a break to view the fascinating and sundry 1st year student projects from VCU’s graduate program in sculpture still on exhibit in the big space on the ground floor of the ‘Box. The show will remain installed until about May 12, 2006.

Kudos to 3north, whose work on Berry Hill Plantation Resort is featured in “Prize Destination,” an article on South Boston in the April 2006 edition of Virginia Living. The firm’s artwork program and their designs for the resort’s new Blackberry Spa are featured in the article’s montage of photographs, and their work in the historic resort’s Registration Room, Plantation Lodging, and Darby’s Tavern is described as ensuring that guests “meet the plantation history head-on,” which was precisely 3north’s intention.

The Box’s vast ground floor space hosted a creative feeding frenzy of sorts as VCU arts students forged animalistic design at Anteeksi’s LIVING THINGS SAFARI on March 10, 2006.

Anteeksi, possibly an artists’ collective (it’s not entirely clear) from Helsinki, Finland, hosted a workshop for six teams, consisting of VCU Interior Design, Fashion, and Graphic Design, and Communication students, to conceptualize, fabricate, and present their living things’ creations. The students—all “Zookeepers” in this milieu—used the vacant ground floor to stage a fashion show, replete with catwalk, of course, and to show off their animalist tendencies in creatively constructed cages.

When the circus was over, everyone sought the local watering hole, and ended up cooling off at Legends down the street. To see fun pics of the Anteeksi experience at 3north, go to www.anteeksi.org. You’ll wish you had been there.

3north bids a fond farewell to Eric Gordon, the firm’s Graphic Designer extraordinaire, who is leaving the firm to accept a position with Burris, a Greensboro, North Carolina-based advertising agency. We’re all envious of Eric because he gets to be at home, wearing his favorite penguin pajamas, as he cyber commutes. continued…

Congratulations to Pearl Langhorne, who has served as Corrugated Box’s receptionist for the past year (skillfully juggling clients, guests, calls, mail, and a broad assortment of odd and sundry requests for four busy offices). Pearl has moved over and up from her position at the building’s front desk to assume the role of 3north’s Office Manager. She will continue to be involved with the entire Corrugated community, not only because she has made lots of friends in the building, but also because she will head up the process of selecting and training a new receptionist for the ‘Box.

Susan Hogg, co-founder and managing partner of Circle S Studio, was featured in a Richmond Times-Dispatch article on Sunday, January 15, 2006, as the driving force behind a new web site for Richmond’s New Community School, which specializes in teaching children with dyslexia. The site, www.tncs.org, produced through the joint, pro bono efforts of Circle S Studio and ByteJam, a web design company, was designed with an organizational structure, navigation system, and font type that can easily be used by people with dyslexia. Bob Rayner’s interesting article, the children’s inspirational success stories, and Susan’s involvement in the website project all serve as a timely reminder for us to be mindful of opportunities to lend our collective good fortune and design skills to worthy causes and organizations. To read the entire article, click here.

Congratulations to not one, but two firms at Corrugated Box, 3north and Circle S Studio, for their esteemed recognition as Rising 25 stars, qualifying as two of the fastest growing, privately held companies in the Richmond metropolitan area.

The Rising 25 honor, sponsored by The Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and KPMG, is bestowed upon firms that are privately held, headquartered in the Richmond community, and which have maintained an impressive, qualifying percentage growth over a five-year period beginning in 2000. A complete list of honorees appeared in the January 9th edition of the Times-Dispatch’s “Metro Business,” section, and Circle S Studio and 3north partners will join their peers on January 26th to be honored at the 16th Annual Rising 25 celebration.

Accolades go out to Circle S Studio and 3north for adding yet another dimension to the success of their design firms by distinguishing themselves as part of the Rising 25 in a highly competitive business community.

Morgan Pierce, the design director for Grace Street Home Additions, is observing his 40th birthday. If you see him around, please stop by and offer your condolences. Note: you may not recognize Morgan, as he’s sporting some new growth on his face. He denies that this new beard is part of his impending mid-life crisis.

The ‘Box was ablaze with candlelight, music, and masses of orange roses at the end of the workday on Wednesday, November 16, when the Corrugated Partners hosted a cocktail party and kick-off meeting for MINT, the Manchester Industrial Neighborhood Team. MINT, whose mission is “to promote the economic development of the Old Manchester area as it is developed into a mixed use community” ¦ while retaining the historic character of the area, and facilitating safety, enjoyment, and increasing property values’ is made up largely of owners, residents, and developers in the district, but certainly open to all interested parties. continued…

The Corrugated Box Community bids a fond and bittersweet farewell to Amos Willis and Erin Rensink, the hip, pleasant, and productive architectural interns who came to 3north in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We hate to say goodbye, but we can appreciate what it means to be able to go home to New Orleans again. continued…

Grace Street Home Additions will implement its patented foundation system the week of November 7th on Somerset Road in Richmond. This system is the first component of Grace Street’s unique approach to shortening the duration for “delivering” residential additions. It preempts the need for excavation, forming, and pouring of conventional concrete and brick foundations, and can be installed regardless of weather conditions. The foundation will resemble a traditional one, but will be installed in a fraction of the time while matching existing finishes and offering superior performance. Immediately following will be the installation of the panelized wall framing system resulting in a structure going from ground to roof in a matter of hours instead of days or weeks.

Guy Crittenden will be adding his name to the Corrugated Box directory this November. Crittenden Studio offers a wide range of creative services, including commercial photography, digital imaging, illustration, fine art, and large format printing. Featuring a new age gallery, Crittenden Studio will host monthly exhibits of works by local and national artists and will provide event space for personal and company gatherings. With more than 1500 square feet of photography studio and a large digital studio with high-end workstations, the company provides clients with a unique production experience in an inspiring, cutting edge environment.

While already home to several creative businesses, Corrugated Box still has some excellent spaces available to lease. If you’re looking for an interesting place to set up shop, or a new location to revitalize your business, check out the details. Interested parties should call Scott Ukrop at 804.232.0120×207.