Alexander Kitchin

Custom concrete work by Elbwrm

Elbwrm (pronounced "elbowroom") is a design studio inspired by the production of art, furniture and spaces. The studio focuses on tactile design and architecture and fabrication of concrete furnishings. The principal, Alexander Kitchin, returned to Charlottesville in 2002, after winning the prestigious Rome Prize in architecture and spending a year in Italy as a fellow at the American Academy in Rome. He translated his research and his graduate degree in architecture into designing and creating unique and tactical objects and spaces that address the intimate relationships between materials, spaces and people. As adjunct faculty at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, he teaches a design process that integrates the inherent qualities of materials.

The fabrication studio specializes in custom concrete furniture and surfaces. Working on a commission basis, the studio designs objects that are sensuous and seductive; the objects transform the raw material in an unexpected manner with the highest degree of craft. Concrete sinks, tables, benches, fireplaces, bathtubs and other furnishings are expressed as insightful sculptural pieces that combine the quality of the handmade with the precision of fine cabinetwork. Kitchin's studio is located in Chroma Projects Underground.