Coatings World - May 2012

brand’s White Linen as a base for colors she mixes in, and begins the sky with Williamsburg Blue, followed by Labrador Blue for mid-tones and then Providence Blue for a darker shade. What’s especially astonishing about McLaughlin’s work is that she rarely sketches scenes before starting and she often incorporates a client’s home and family members in the final artwork.

A retrospective book of McLaughlin’s work is due out this fall to coincide with her 90th birthday.

HUE Contract Interiors honorees Sharon and Peter Exley, of Architecture Is Fun, came dressed in purple to receive their award from Denis Abrams, president and CEO of Benjamin Moore.

The Competition Honorees

Interior designer Carl D’Aquino and architect Francine Monaco formed their namesake partnership in 1997, and since then they have built an impressive portfolio of work for a range of residential and commercial projects both nationally and internationally. A noteworthy feat accomplished within 10 years of its founding, Interior Design magazine named D’Aquino Monaco to its prestigious Hall of Fame. Now the partnership added a HUE for Residential Interiors to its trophy shelf.

The pair’s mastery of color selection and usage is apparent in nearly every space they design. In some, like an Upper East Side townhouse restoration they recently orchestrated, the palette registers with uninhibited boldness. In this space, they applied unexpected color and pattern contrasts that are visual treats from all corners. Yet, their color competency is equally evident in a Riverside Drive flat where the client requested an all-white décor that could have been cliché. But, D’Aquino Monaco delivered with a combination of nuanced tones on a white and gray scale that is remarkably complex and compelling.

Peter Exley, FAIA, and Sharon Exley, MAAE, head Chicago-based Architecture Is Fun, which earned the HUE for Contract Interiors. The husband and wife duo dedicate their practice to architecture for play and learning for children of all ages, with projects that include museums, public spaces, libraries, parks, playgrounds and healthcare facilities. Dynamic colors infuse their projects, engaging youngsters and their families.

For example, the couple relied on an eye-popping palette of hot red, deep blue, crayon purple and pulsating green to transform an abandoned car dealership into the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum in Saginaw. It is a vibrant space that has become a catalyst for community revitalization. The Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, utilizes a palette that helps children connect with nature. Two dominant shades of green are used to create a perennial springtime woodland environment that invigorates this public landmark.

Also youth-focused, Publicolor, founded in 1996 by Ruth Lande Shuman, was the recipient of the HUE Social Responsibility Award. The non-profit organization, which is one of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s favorite causes, helps inspire disaffected and at-risk teenage students by involving them in adding color to all the public spaces in their schools. Publicolor teaches the process of commercial painting to these youngsters who work together to improve their learning environment— empowering them to makeover their surroundings and experience a sense of success and accomplishment as they gain a marketable skill.

School painting projects are just the tip of the Publicolor iceberg. The organization also provides ongoing programming to help students plan and prepare for college and career. In doing so, it addresses two root causes of poverty—under-education and lack of job preparedness.

In an interview with catalystsdr.com last year, Shuman said, “I feel very strongly that by introducing design and color you can change attitudes and behavior as well as create visual order in environments where chaos reigns supreme.”