It’s Hammer Time!

We’ve been working with Far Brook School in Short Hills, New Jersey to design new buildings to house their arts and science programs. It’s a special place; clapboard-sided, mission-driven. Students there get to learn by making things with their hands. One of the buildings is fitted with a full wood shop featuring wheeled workbenches, hand tools, a short-throw projector, and ample space for kids to hammer, saw, drill, sand, rasp and shape.

One of our finishing touches will be a sign above the shop’s front door, tucked into a gable. But it’s not just any sign, it’s a half-moon shape adorned with eight claw hammers. Four facing left, four facing right. Designed by Centerbrook and custom fabricated in steel by a local company, Asterisk, it will be a whimsical reminder to all who enter that the tools of learning need not be high tech but still require skill and patience to use effectively. Pre-distressed using an eco-friendly, chemically-induced weathering process, its rustic patina fits the honest character of Far Brook School.

Thanks to Mary Lynn Radych for the computer model, and to Patrick McCauley, our craftsman extraordinaire, for giving endless advice and building the mockup. I’ll be installing the sign very soon.