Helene Renard
Participant Statement
Associate Professor Emerita Helene Renard taught in the Interior Design and Foundation Programs at Virginia Tech from 2008 - 2019. She is a Registered Architect and NCIDQ Certificate Holder who earned her B. Arch at The Cooper Union in 1991 and her M. Arch at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1999. Renard’s installation art and scholarship explore the space-shaping potential of wool felt. She has served her university community as a design educator through community-based design studio projects and community-based research.
Project Statement
Pattern recognition is a skill that came to the human species through evolution. It helped us understand our environment, and our place in it. Sketching allows the viewer to linger in the space of observation, to appreciate detail, proportion, texture, and color. In identifying patterns of place, I consider what aspects of the built and natural worlds in this region are connected to this specific locality. I venture out, observe through sketching, and seek out the backstory to the patterns I see.
This process has led me to spend time hiking and exploring the landscape along the Blue Ridge Parkway. A document published by the US Department of the Interior and the National Park Service called Visual Character of the Blue Ridge Parkway enumerates the principles that guided its designers. They sought to imbue the numerous man made landscape and building elements - fences, bridges, curbs, shelters - with a simple and informal character, integrating them with the natural surroundings and reflecting the regional culture. As an example, the fence types originally used along the Parkway were based on fence construction techniques used by farmers in the area.
The careful observer has the opportunity to appreciate patterns across scales, in both natural and human made environments. A practice of discovering patterns and their context allows the curious citizen to more completely understand and shape her connection to her surroundings.
