Long day = Long Blog Post

As the last blog update mentioned, Wednesday was a debrief of Monday. Each group did a mini informal presentation and highlighted the pros and cons of from our individual reviews. After seeing all of the notes on the dry erase board, we collectively made a list of “things we know.” For example, our structure will match the angled orientation of the existing Enston Home structures in order to respect the historical grid layout.  Additionally we will incorporate mini gardens and rain water collection to align with our clients’ mission on education and sustainability.

Around 3:15 each small group broke off for a quick redesign charrette. Fast forward 45 minutes and we were pinning up trace-paper sketches on the wall. Although each group had different designs, there were threads of commonality woven throughout each sketch. Hooray! From my personal experience, there is no correct answer with design although one can definitely tell good design from bad design. Therefore, after this exercise and seeing some similarities, I’d say we are headed to designing something great!

The last few minutes of studio were dedicated to items each person should research separately – precedents of expanded space via roof or other such design elements, different ways to depict or elude to arches, and architects that use simple materials. At 5:10, we ended studio early…

…so that we could go visit one of our clients! Green Heart has a “Crop Mob” every Wednesday at Mitchell Elementary and had invited us to come at the review on Monday. Four of us biked/drove to the school right after studio to check out their site and get our hands dirty. My favorite moment happened when a little girl approached a Green Heart staff member and asked if she could help trim back the bushes. Seeing the two of them interact was not only adorable but also humbling. Although this design build studio is a wonderful learning opportunity for my classmates and I, it’s really about the kids and the long term skills and virtues they will acquire from working with Green Heart.

After an hour and a half of weeding and swatting bugs (I don’t know how they deal with those little monsters) we helped clean up and put away the tools. We were able to see just how many tools and supplies they had as well as their current space and circulation limitations. I’d say it was a very successful day for Studio V!