Eco-Cubby: footprint on the world

Kensington Primary School designing @ ArtPlay

Kensington Primary School grade 5/6 are using ArtPlay as the site for their design investigations. There are three classes of 5/6 and each class are visiting ArtPlay for design intensives with Architect Martin Musiatowicz and Curator Karen Fermo of KART. The children will be designing and developing their designs at ArtPlay and at school. Each class will produce a model of their design.

Session one - 27th July 2011

We started with some presentations looking at scale, mapping, drawing and modelling, as well as the role of architects. This was followed by an exercise exploring scale, where each person (including us and the teachers) built a scale version of themselves and placed it in the 1:20 model of ArtPlay. We lined everyone up from tallest to shortest to test if our
scaling had worked - they seemed to really enjoy this.

After this, we broke into groups of 3-4 and the students went outside to map the ArtPlay backyard (this was very funny as half of them just ran off and started rolling down the hill and playing on the swings!). Each group of selected a site for their cubby and presented their discoveries to the class.

Before beginning our design exercise, we discussed what the students' experiences of cubbies were, what they thought might be important consideration and requirements for the cubby. There was a lot of discussion about privacy, security and the need to select who might be included although some of the students thought that because the site was public, that it should be freely accessible to all. There was some concern that allowing younger children into the space might present problems with safety, so this would need to be considered in the design of the cubbies.

The final part of the day was a design exercise after which each group presented their concpet for a cubby in the ArtPlay surrounds - there were very diverse solutions which responded strongly to the selected site. Some groups were drawn by the steep embankment as it provided an opportunity to view, while other found sites hidden behind the playground. Many great ideas emerged from the process.

We are planning a follow up visit to the school in early September to see what Mr. Mills and the students have decided to pursue in the development of these ideas.

Books for kids

Onwards and upwards @ Gowrie Victoria

Here's the latest update from Gowrie Victoria:

The Kindergarten group at Gowrie Victoria had an amazing workshop session today (22/7/11) with architects Angela Woda and Yvonne Meng (a volunteer).

We broke up into teams of 3 or 4 children and one grown up and worked together to build models or 'sketches' out of a variety of recycled materials. We used clay, wood, wire, fabric, sticks and a creative mix of recycled bits and bobs. As each team worked together to build their 3D model, the children talked about the environmental aspects of their building, considering how to build to use sunlight and block it out, how to capture and conserve water, how the structure was ventilated, what space they needed for play and shading the building in summer.

Building these 'sketches' helped us to narrow down our design choices, as each team did a mini-presentation about their building for the group, and then the children voted on the 'best part' of each design. The children have now determined most of the main features of their final Eco-Cubby and are looking forward to the next building session. Onward and upward!