The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

The Mall at Robinson & The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Celebrate Earth Day April 19

Students transform thousands of recycled water bottles into public works of art

On Wednesday, April 16 at 2:30 p.m. at The Mall at Robinson, Art Institute students and faculty will be installing public art projects at The Mall at Robinson

On Saturday: April 19 at 11 a.m. at The Mall at Robinson, an unveiling ceremony will take place in the Food Court on the Upper Level. Sustainable Pittsburgh will recognize student achievement as kick off to The Mall at Robinson’s Be Eco Chic signature Earth Day event.

PITTSBURGH – A talking sea turtle, cherry blossom tree, and a Terrible Towel are among the fifteen sustainable sculptures created from more than 10,000 recycled plastic water bottles that will be unveiled at shopping centers around the country in celebration of Earth Day.

Led by the Pittsburgh-based partnership of The Mall at Robinson and The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, students at The Art Institutes nationwide created a sculpture to celebrate the city in which it was created --- made from 836 empty plastic water bottles, the average number that a family of four will go through in one year*.

“Our sea turtle was created using recycled materials and it is our hope to demonstrate the importance of making responsible choices with products once they reach the end of their useful life,” said Spencer Geraci, an industrial design student who is heading the sea turtle project with The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. “By showing the sheer volume of space these items engulf, we want viewers to be shocked and to take a moment to realize that simple changes in their daily habits make the difference. As a future industrial designer, I am committed to making environmentally responsible decisions in my profession.”

These massive sculptures (up to 10 ft. high) will be unveiled on April 19 at fifteen Forest City retail centers from Chicagoland to Atlanta to Denver and Las Vegas, turning a regular Saturday shopping day into a day of planet preservation.

Shoppers will also be entertained and educated with everything from eco-fashion shows, green cooking demonstrations, sustainable stories at children’s story time and crafting from reusable materials.

Environmental groups and local organizations will also be on hand to offer tips in their fields at their green booths.

“The Eco-Chic celebration is a fun and educational way for us to practice a company core value – sustainability – and extend it to the communities we serve,” said Jon Ratner, vice president of sustainability initiatives, Forest City, owner of all 15 participating retail centers. “Preserving our planet for future generations is everyone’s job. This is our effort to keep the focus on how each of us can help,” he added.

In addition to entertainment, there will be special giveaways and promotions at each center, including:

The first 700 guests to bring 10 plastic water bottles for recycling will receive a stylish, black, fold-up, reusable canvas tote bag that says, “I am Eco Chic.” Shoppers who reuse these bags can help keep as many as 1,000 disposable bags out of landfills over the next five years*.

The first 200 guests who “Pledge to Make the Switch” from incandescent light bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) will receive a free CFL bulb which can last up to 10 times longer than an incandescent, saving up to $44 in energy costs*.

Each retail center will donate five percent of gift card sales for the day to The Sierra Club.

Participating centers are: Antelope Valley Mall, Palmdale, California; Ballston Common Mall, Arlington, Va.; The Promenade Bolingbrook, Bolingbrook Ill.; Boulevard Mall, Amherst, New York; Charleston Town Center Mall, Charleston, W. Va.; The Shops at Northfield Stapleton, Denver, Colorado; The Mall at Robinson, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Short Pump Town Center, Richmond, Va.; Simi Valley Town Center, Simi Valley, California; South Bay Galleria, Redondo Beach, California; Mall at Stonecrest, Lithonia, Ga.; Galleria at Sunset, Henderson, Nevada; The Promenade in Temecula, Temecula, California; Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga, California and The Orchard Town Center, Westminster, Colorado

Forest City Commercial Development is a unit of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. a $10 billion NYSE-listed national real estate company. The Company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate and land throughout the United States.

The Art Institute (www.artinstitutes.edu) is a system of over 40 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.

Sustainable Water Bottle Sculptures created by students nationwide at The Art Institutes. Each sculpture was created using 836 plastic water bottles, the average amount that a family of four will go through in one year.

The Mall at Robinson & The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Sculpture: Robotic, Talking Sea Turtle

Industrial Design students at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh drew their inspiration for the robotic Sea Turtle from various sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation centers and intend to utilize their sculpture to illustrate the impact that responsible recycling has on wildlife protection. The Sea Turtle will greet mall visitors with a motion-activated character voice, delivering a message about the responsibility each of us has in protecting our planet’s wildlife.

Sculpture: Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel

In response to the recent loss of Pittsburgh’s beloved Myron Cope, longtime announcer for The Pittsburgh Steelers and creator of the Terrible Towel, students decided to utilize their sculpture as a tribute to a local legend.

Fashion & Retail Management: Marilyn Monroe Recycled
Fashion & Retail Management students Angela Tedone and Ellen Kroepil have created a replica of the infamous white Marilyn Monroe dress using recycled paper. Under the direction of faculty member Rikki Hommel, students wanted to recreate an iconic dress and recreate it using recycled student art projects, cigar tubes and cardboard boxes.

Interior Design: Recycled Furniture
Under the direction of Interior Design faculty member Lisa Whitney, Interior Design students have designed and fabricated a furniture collection utilizing cardboard tubes and other reclaimed objects. The focal point of the team’s efforts is a coffee table made with salvaged office furniture and recycled CD cases and chairs woven with cardboard tubes, accompanied by an area rug woven with shredded shirts. The student team is offering visitors a step-by-step “how to” guide for guests to use to make their own recycled furniture.

The Art Institute and Penn State University – A Global Partnership
Dr. Warren K. Wake of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh and Gillian Speers of Penn State University will showcase design possibilities and explore using recycled materials to bring about social change. Ms. Speers original handbag designs are made using recycled clothing and she and Dr. Wake are cultivating fair trade opportunities with residents of villages in rural Peru and other countries to help produce the bags as a sustainable and eco-friendly industry that helps to raise villagers out of poverty. Ms. Speers is currently a student in the Integrative Arts program at Penn State and Dr. Wake is the author of Design Paradigms: A Sourcebook for Creative Visualization and the Academic Department Director for both Game Art & Design as well as Web Design & Interactive Media at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

South Bay Galleria & California Design College
Redondo Beach, California
Sculpture: The Sandcastle

Students ask: What will our great-grandchildren’s sandcastles look like if they are no longer made from sand? The team’s creative approach is to remind the community of the importance of responsible recycling and ask viewers to recall their own sandcastle-building experiences when making decisions in the future.

Ballston Commons Mall & The Art Institute of Washington
Arlington, Virginia
Sculpture: The Cherry Blossom Tree

Students at The Art Institute of Washington are creating a signature Cherry Blossom Tree.

Short Pump Town Center & The Art Institute of Washington
Richmond, Virginia
Sculpture: The Fabergé Egg

Students at The Art Institute of Washington drew their inspiration to create a water bottle replica of a Fabergé Egg from The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Pratt collection, which is the largest public collection of Fabergé imperial Easter eggs outside of Russia.

The Promenade Bolingbrook & The Illinois Institute of Art - Schaumburg
Bolingbrook, Illinois
Sculpture: The Living Tree

Students at The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg are creating a Living Tree. Plans include using water bottles to serve as planters, conveying a message of working with the elements of nature, not against them.

The Shops at Northfield Stapleton & The Art Institute of Colorado
Denver, Colorado
Sculpture: The Tornado

Students involved in the student chapter of the Industrial Design Society of America will create a visually engaging sculpture that illustrates the impact and scale of bottle use and the importance of recycling. Recycled water bottles have been tinted black and blue, representing water and oil, taking the shape of a tornado cascading into a large garbage can. The structure is 10-feet in height.

The Mall at Stonecrest & The Art Institute of Atlanta
Atlanta, Ga.
Sculpture: The Butterfly Effect

Based on the concept that one flap of a butterfly's wing can change the weather miles away, 3D Design students at The Art Institute of Atlanta are creating a sculpture of Earth with a butterfly underneath the sun and moon.

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