If you’ve been following along as the semester kicks off, you will know that we have spent the first week or so repairing the previous semester’s projects. This process has given us many opportunities including seeing the past projects, learning more about our classmates, and putting our problem solving skills to the test. We encountered a wide range of challenges throughout this week from fixing machinery, touching up paint, locating and/or buying hardware, and moving plantation mix around from the truck to the ground at Corrine Jones Park, a past project.
The original project was a seat wall and shade structure that overlooked a playground. The design also included an additional path that connected to Peachtree street that improved circulation throughout the site. The path consisted of concrete pavers and was originally in-filled with a mix that consisted of pieces of small, recycled glass that reflected light and created a unique ambiance. While this mix was a show stopper, it failed for two reasons. The first and more practical reason was that glass doesn’t compact well which didn’t allow a consistent distribution and compaction. This led to the mix dissimulating which also made the path not ADA compliant. The second reason is that because it looked so cool, kids were picking up handfuls of this mix, putting it in their pockets, and running around continuing to play on the playground.
This was not “mother approved.”
On Friday, January 17th 2020, Studio V worked to refill the space between the pavers with a sandy substance called plantation mix. The old mix was dug out and put in wheelbarrows while the new mix, which was much heavier in the yard buckets than we all thought it would be, was installed. The students worked hard to realign the landscape edging and backfill the mix to recreate the original design. After many shovel loads full of dirt and gravel was moved, the same amount of plantation mix was filled, leveled, and tamped down. At the same time, students in Studio V rotated in and out of Corrine Jones park to tackle other tasks both at previous projects and within Corrine Jones park.
The project was successful. Immediately after completion, local park users were able to use the path as originally intended, and 4 kids rode their bikes across our work with only one wipeout! Don’t worry, it was not because our work wasn’t good, his shoelace got caught in his bike chain. With the help of Mohammad, him and his buddies were off again in no time!
