Students Help Construct “A Good Wall” for the Medina Triennial
On the front lawn of the historic Medina High School stands artist James Beckett’s largest North American project to date—a collaboration with the UB School of Architecture and Planning titled A Good Wall. It was conceived as part of the inaugural , a site-responsive contemporary art exhibition that seeks to activate the landscapes and histories of Medina, NY, and the surrounding Western New York region.
Beckett is a research-based artist who explores overlooked histories concerned with industrial development and the built environment. His installations, works for public space, and other artworks have been exhibited at the 2015 Venice Biennale, MCAD Manila, The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; MAAT Lisbon; and Centre Pompidou, Paris, among others.
A Good Wall is constructed from salvaged Medina sandstone—a material quarried extensively in the 19th century and still visible in buildings throughout Western New York and beyond. The wall’s design sandwiches the sandstone between two layers of limestone—an intentional choice by Beckett. Over time, natural acids released by the limestone will gradually weaken the sandstone, eventually causing the wall to collapse.
The collaboration began when Joyce Hwang, professor in the Department of Architecture and Medina Triennial board member, introduced Beckett to Nicholas Bruscia, assistant professor in the Department of Architecture. With a developing body of research combining natural materials with advanced visualization technologies, Bruscia was a natural partner to help realize Beckett’s vision.
To support the work, Bruscia dedicated a Spring 2026 ARC 404 studio to the effort, calling it “Digitizing and Designing Towards Spolia.” The term spolia refers to the reuse of stone materials from older structures—in this case, sandstone salvaged from demolished buildings, roads, and ashlar block walls. Some of the sandstone pieces even still contained evidence of their past use, like cornice fragments and windowsills. Fifteen senior students took part in the studio, co-led by Adjunct Instructor Timothy Noble.
The team of Beckett, Bruscia, and Noble not only created a thoughtful, well-crafted installation for the Medina Triennial, but they also delivered a meaningful hands-on learning experience for the students. Beckett met with them virtually almost weekly, inspiring the students to think differently, stretching their comfort zones, and making sure their voices were heard.
The studio offered those students a rare, immersive learning experience, exploring first-hand what it takes to see a project from concept to completion. They worked through every stage: building a foundation, drawing details for a permit set, collaborating with engineers, and ensuring the stability of a structure. Along the way, they also navigated the realities of working within an evolving design process, adapting to uncertainty and change—the type of environment they will likely experience in professional practice.
Ultimately, A Good Wall stands not only as a powerful installation, but also as a testament to collaboration, experimentation, and the power of design to connect past and future.