“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working Together is success.” –Henry Ford
Studio V took a major step today in working as a group compared to working as individuals. On the docket for today were individual presentations and a group assessment of these projects. Over the past week the studio has been divided up as each member worked towards creating and developing his or her own personal ideas and theories needed to generate a aviable design for the area. Members of the Studio presented their design for the Bluesphere information kiosk in Marion Park, each expressing their unique design styles and functional ideas. The sheer variety in these designs created a pleasant foundation for a studio charette.
The majority of the projects focused on sustainability and the use of repurposed materials. Shade canopies and/or a distinct overhead plane were included in a good number of projects as well. Some of the key design goals discussed included: interaction with the public, the ability to draw interest from the neighboring streets, and the ability to make park patrons actually use and/or view the structure.
My design for the kiosk was an interactive space that used easily accessible materials that could be cleaned up to make a bright and lively space in Marion Square.
Another interesting proposal was by Caitlin Ranson. Her project involved using the arcs that comprise the Bluesphere logo to locate her seating and information displays. She also included a wall and seating comprised of carboard tubes that was very well thought out and unique.
These individual plans led to the formation of four cumulative designs. Each design will be a cumulative work that illustrates portions from various projects that were presented. These designs will be presented before the Charleston Design Review Board. The four ideas that will be pursued are as follows:
Tensile Structures– A structure created of wood beams that would be tensioned in to place and held bent with repurposed bicycle tubes and other materials.
Portable Doors– A group of doors that could be placed in various locations downtown to bring interest from all over to the multiple Bluesphere events across the city.
Vertical Structures– The vertical structure would be composed of recycled lumber and have steel support brackets and cables, One feature to this plan is that the natural materials are encased by the supports to reflect on their importance.
Use of the Water Feature– The last design that will be approached is a plan to use that water feature at the corner as an aspect in the design. One idea is to suspend a spherical globe above the feature that will seem like it is floating on the water.
The individual designs will be crucial to the development to this project. They will create a fluid base for the establishment of the kiosk in Marion Square. They also served to highlight the various strengths and creative gifts of each student. Because of the hard work and varied nature of the designs that came from each member of Studio V, the four designs pursued and brought before the city will be comprehensive and thorough. Referring back to the previous quote by Henry Ford, our studio designs will only be stronger because of our combined thoughts and pursuits. Working as a body, and not as a group of individuals, will allow the plan for the kiosk to be a successful reflection of Bluesphere and an interactive feature for Marion Square.