Now Open! Villa Maria College's new Art Shop facility Pinto Construction Services, Inc. and Parco Building Systems served as contractors for the 2,400 square foot project. The art shop facility will play an integral role in Villa’s B.F.A. Interior Design courses including its Furniture Design 303 course. The course was piloted in 2005-06 at the East Aurora, New York workshop of Thomas Pafk, Roycroft cabinet maker and Villa Maria College instructor. Because the Villa Maria shop facility will not be limited to woodworking, students also have the opportunity to incorporate metalworking as an aspect of furniture design and construction. Offering this course in the new facility will make it an accessible, working space which can be utilized for college art students in relation to three-dimensional and modeling projects. Students in interior design are required to take a foundation course in visual communication techniques employed by designers. Students in this course will benefit from using the equipment in the shop facility. This course teaches skills in architectural modeling techniques using a variety of materials and media for various stages of the design process from conceptual design through final presentation. The skills taught in this class will be taken to a higher level of professionalism by the use of industry standard equipment in the shop. Students taking Three Dimensional Design will also utilize shop facility equipment. The tools and equipment will allow students to use metal and/or wood materials for three dimensional sculptures in representational and abstract forms. Student will be able to expand their conceptual exploration and a broader range of technical skills. For more information on Thomas Pafk, please visit his website: http://www.thomaspafkdesign.com