Medina Triennial Hub
Objects Of Affection
Maintenance is an act of continuous care, where people
retain, preserve, and sustain. This is true for memories as much as for
buildings, infrastructure, the environment, or furniture – the historical
everyday places and objects that come into existence, interact with our lives,
and endure over time. As a manifestation of this philosophy, Objects of
Affection is a family of flexible furniture fabricated from locally-sourced,
recycled and sustainable materials designed for the Medina Triennial Hub in
Medina, New York for its inaugural Medina Triennial. Sited halfway between
Buffalo and Rochester, the Hub is part of a larger arts initiative to
revitalize rust-belt cities along the Erie Canal.
The project partnered Serweta Peck with the University at Buffalo undergraduate and graduate architecture students, faculty, and staff, the Medina Triennial curatorial team, New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the Canal Corporation to design and build furniture, as well as an approximately 2,000 SF cultural center. Located in the heart of Medina’s historic downtown and next to the canal, the contemporary arts festival, which will run from June to September 2026, will bring 35 artists and collectives from around the world to create site-responsive works of art and participate in public programs.
Through hands-on research, collaborative discussions, experimentation, prototyping, and fabrication, the project team created a family of flexible objects that can adapt to a wide variety of activities in the Hub for community gatherings, artist workshops, talks and screenings, as well as provide an anchor point for visitors, staff and artists-in-residence.
Most notably, NYPA donated seven 200-year-old pieces of salvaged oak lumber, each measuring 17 feet long and weighing 850 pounds, that were previously submerged as part of the construction of the Erie Canal lock system, sourced from a lock yard close to the site. All the salvaged lumber was processed by the project team at the university’s facilities using a saw-mill, planar machines, table saws, and various power tools. The wood’s natural knots and cracks were celebrated as details and minimally repaired using bio-resin and sawdust.
Using the color palette provided by the graphic designers, Serweta Peck’s design had the Hub’s floor and walls epoxy painted with a 15-inch teal-colored “flood line” (in reference to the “Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal” folk song) to evoke the rising waters of the nearby canal via its lock system, as well as reference the global effects of climate change. It also provided a unifying ground to tie together the diverse Objects.
Objects of Affection invites and encourages everyday citizens to take material steps to help maintain the spaces and things that we visit, inhabit and love.
The project partnered Serweta Peck with the University at Buffalo undergraduate and graduate architecture students, faculty, and staff, the Medina Triennial curatorial team, New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the Canal Corporation to design and build furniture, as well as an approximately 2,000 SF cultural center. Located in the heart of Medina’s historic downtown and next to the canal, the contemporary arts festival, which will run from June to September 2026, will bring 35 artists and collectives from around the world to create site-responsive works of art and participate in public programs.
Through hands-on research, collaborative discussions, experimentation, prototyping, and fabrication, the project team created a family of flexible objects that can adapt to a wide variety of activities in the Hub for community gatherings, artist workshops, talks and screenings, as well as provide an anchor point for visitors, staff and artists-in-residence.
Most notably, NYPA donated seven 200-year-old pieces of salvaged oak lumber, each measuring 17 feet long and weighing 850 pounds, that were previously submerged as part of the construction of the Erie Canal lock system, sourced from a lock yard close to the site. All the salvaged lumber was processed by the project team at the university’s facilities using a saw-mill, planar machines, table saws, and various power tools. The wood’s natural knots and cracks were celebrated as details and minimally repaired using bio-resin and sawdust.
Using the color palette provided by the graphic designers, Serweta Peck’s design had the Hub’s floor and walls epoxy painted with a 15-inch teal-colored “flood line” (in reference to the “Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal” folk song) to evoke the rising waters of the nearby canal via its lock system, as well as reference the global effects of climate change. It also provided a unifying ground to tie together the diverse Objects.
Objects of Affection invites and encourages everyday citizens to take material steps to help maintain the spaces and things that we visit, inhabit and love.
Location
Medina, NY
Date
Hub Opening: September 13, 2025
Triennial: June 6 - September 7, 2026
Client
Medina Triennial 2026 Team
Kari Conte (Co-Artistic Director)
Mary Fellios (Curatorial and Programs Manager)
Matthias Hollenback (Head Producer)
Karin Laansoo (Co-Artistic Director)
Federico Rosario (Community Engagement and Programs Coordinator)
Ekrem Serdar (Associate Curator)
Shirley Verrico (Operations Manager)
New York Power Authority (NYPA) Team
Angelyn Chandler (Vice President of Planning)
Joana Pacheco (Capital Planning Manager - Canals)
Sydney Gross Memorial Fund
Medina, NY
Date
Hub Opening: September 13, 2025
Triennial: June 6 - September 7, 2026
Client
Medina Triennial 2026 Team
Kari Conte (Co-Artistic Director)
Mary Fellios (Curatorial and Programs Manager)
Matthias Hollenback (Head Producer)
Karin Laansoo (Co-Artistic Director)
Federico Rosario (Community Engagement and Programs Coordinator)
Ekrem Serdar (Associate Curator)
Shirley Verrico (Operations Manager)
New York Power Authority (NYPA) Team
Angelyn Chandler (Vice President of Planning)
Joana Pacheco (Capital Planning Manager - Canals)
Sydney Gross Memorial Fund
Type
Civic, Cultural
Status
Complete (Design/Build, Interior Design)
Credits
Maia Peck, Gregory Serweta (Project Leads)
University at Buffalo, School of Architecture & Planning
Stephanie Cramer (Executive Director of the Fabrication Workshop)
Julia Hunt (Director of Digital Fabrication)
Wade Georgi (Manager)
Participating Students
John Dullaghan, Brian Eng, Andrew Hu, Hannah Ikawa, Zach Izzo,
Guerdina Jean-Claude, Janice Ng, Isabella Ponsa Garcia, Safayath Rafat, Austin Ruddle,
Sai Kaung Seng Pha, Bobby Zhao, Lingwei Zhu
Volunteers
Ursula Ramos Estrada, Ian Denshaw, Pradeep Kondayapalepu, Joyce Hwang, Bob Lin, Rebecca Liu,
Adam McCullough, Roya Novruzova, Utsav Patel, Dom Perraciny, Vaidehi Vagal, Tiffany Xu, Tao Zhong,
Trevor Gross
Graphic Design
Other Means
Press
Timothy A. Schuler, “The Long Comeback of the Erie Canal,” Bloomberg, October 7, 2025 (link)
David J. Hill, “A Labor of Love,” University at Buffalo News, September 9, 2025 (link)
Nando Alvarez-Perez, “Local Roots, Global Reach,” Cornelia Magazine, November 14, 2025 (link)
Civic, Cultural
Status
Complete (Design/Build, Interior Design)
Credits
Maia Peck, Gregory Serweta (Project Leads)
University at Buffalo, School of Architecture & Planning
Stephanie Cramer (Executive Director of the Fabrication Workshop)
Julia Hunt (Director of Digital Fabrication)
Wade Georgi (Manager)
Participating Students
John Dullaghan, Brian Eng, Andrew Hu, Hannah Ikawa, Zach Izzo,
Guerdina Jean-Claude, Janice Ng, Isabella Ponsa Garcia, Safayath Rafat, Austin Ruddle,
Sai Kaung Seng Pha, Bobby Zhao, Lingwei Zhu
Volunteers
Ursula Ramos Estrada, Ian Denshaw, Pradeep Kondayapalepu, Joyce Hwang, Bob Lin, Rebecca Liu,
Adam McCullough, Roya Novruzova, Utsav Patel, Dom Perraciny, Vaidehi Vagal, Tiffany Xu, Tao Zhong,
Trevor Gross
Graphic Design
Other Means
Press
Timothy A. Schuler, “The Long Comeback of the Erie Canal,” Bloomberg, October 7, 2025 (link)
David J. Hill, “A Labor of Love,” University at Buffalo News, September 9, 2025 (link)
Nando Alvarez-Perez, “Local Roots, Global Reach,” Cornelia Magazine, November 14, 2025 (link)