Client: Mintz DC

Overview

Transforming work environments with biodiversity, Claudy Jongstra creates large-scale artworks that infuse spaces with aesthetic, acoustic and tactile benefits, directly rooted in her sustainable, artisanal practice in the Dutch countryside. Gensler partnered with Jongstra to bring these qualities to Mintz’s new legal office in Washington D.C with a handmade, 40-foot art installation. Composed of wool from Jongstra’s own flock of indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep and pigmented with natural dye plants grown on her biodynamic farm, the artwork embodies a deep-seated commitment to responsible material sourcing based on ecological revitalization and maintenance. The regenerative processes behind the creation of the artwork minimize waste and facilitate collaboration across communities and ecosystems. In this way, the quality of life of the sheep and the vitality of the soil become key architectural considerations, contributing health-beneficial qualities such as air-purification, insulation and acoustic performance to the built environment. The colorful, organic composition exhibits Jongstra’s signature innovations in the ancient techniques of wool felting and plant-based dyeing, while contributing to the creation of a healthy and inspiring workplace that reflects the natural world.

Goals

The concept of diverse perspectives and expanding views informed the planning of the space as well as the integration of artwork. Art was an important consideration for the space, and Mintz and the design team embraced the creative process wholeheartedly. Working with Jack Devine, Principal at Artists Circle Fine Art, the team made selections that highlighted female artists with a diversity of backgrounds. One particularly notable selection transformed a lengthy but otherwise blank wall; Mintz wanted to use this centrally-located space to inspire interaction and evoke a sense of pride. Based on her phenomenal story and ethical, sustainable methods, the design team worked with Netherlands-based artist Claudy Jongstra to create a 40-foot installation of beautifully curated and patterned felt, all hand-crafted and dyed. The piece is installed with a lit backdrop, amplifying the effect in this light-filled space.

This welcoming and refreshingly modern atmosphere and beautiful art piece sets the perfect tone for Mintz's bright next chapter in Washington, D.C.

Process

Art plays a prominent role in adding character to Mintz’s new legal office. The Gensler team embraced the creative process wholeheartedly, working with Artists Circle Fine Art to select artwork that highlights female artists with a diversity of backgrounds. The design team partnered with Netherlands-based artist Claudy Jongstra — inspired by her phenomenal story and ethical, sustainable methods — to create a 40-foot installation of beautifully curated and patterned felt, all hand-crafted and dyed.

For more than 20 years, Claudy Jongstra has developed innovations in the ancient technique of wool felting and contributed to the advancement of natural dye traditions and technology through historical reconstruction research, exhibited internationally. Conducting collaborative research with biodynamic farmers, scientists, museums, universities, local communities and diverse, international researchers and scholars, Claudy Jongstra’s studio has reconstructed historic colors by re-establishing networks of production from indigenous sheep to cloth, and dye plant to color. The layers of plant-based color in this artwork are derived from historic dye plants—including madder, indigo, cochineal, and weld—as well as common edible and medicinal plants such as calendula, chamomile, nettle, onio

Additional Information

The artwork is inspired by honoring the ancient wisdom of ‘companion planting.’ Growing diverse plants side by side, their unique characteristics support each other and work together to create a more healthy and sustainable ecosystem than any one plant could alone. The Three Sisters—corn, beans and squash—are the oldest example of companion planting in the Western Hemisphere, domesticated over millennia by Native American communities across North America. The Three Sisters exemplify the vital role of diversity for both ecology and humanity. The symbiotic relationship among the Three Sisters creates a healthy, diverse ecosystem in which the unique character of each plant plays a vital role in their collective growth.