A few images to remember the events of the day. We appreciate all the thought and hard work put into the design of the spaces. During this event we collected over $130 to donate to the American Red Cross to help with the Haiti Relief Effort.

Individual : Process

Edited image by Edgar Cabrera

With wrapping up the Makeshift Shelter assignment, we ask that you compose a well organized essay describing your individual process for this first project. Take some time to reflect on the process from beginning to end. Some questions to get you started:

What role did you play in the team?
What process is exhibited in your individual sketchbook?
What were your strengths and weaknesses?
How do you feel about the outcome of your project?
How will you remember this project?
How has this project affected your way of thinking?
How did your writing and sketching activities inform your design decisions?
What was an important design decision you made?

Begin this essay by making an outline of the main points you wish to discuss. The questions above are to get you thinking about the information you may want to provide and you SHOULD NOT form the outline around answering these questions in their current order.

The paper should be no more than two (2) pages in length, single spaced, with 12pt font. In the header place your name and the title “Makeshift Process”.

On Monday, you are to turn in your paper along with your outline.

getting the word out

poster by Hailey Allen

If you haven't already, be sure to put up your poster to publicize tomorrow's events!

think about it...

We began the semester by discussing the disaster in Haiti. In the time since, we've turned our attention inward, working on creating shelters centered around specific activities for display within the walls of our building. What, if any outward impact [dismissing any financial donations we might receive] does the work we do in studio have? What is the point of this project?

Please record your thoughts first in your design journal and, again, on your blog [no later than midnight tonight] with a carefully curated (and cited) image of your choosing.

a walk to remember

photo courtesy of the international civil rights center & museum

Next Monday our class will meet at the site of our new project in downtown Greensboro [more details to come]. Prior to doing so, however, Stephanie and I plan to participate in this event honoring our nation, our city and our school's past, present and future. Please join us if you can:

Dear HES students, faculty and staff,

On Monday, Feb. 1, members of the UNCG community will retrace the steps taken by at least two of the three white Woman’s College students who joined the Woolworth Sit-in demonstrations on Feb. 4, 1960. This walk will start on the UNCG campus and conclude in the downtown area.

In support of our UNCG African American Studies Department which is sponsoring this event, I would like to invite you to participate in this walk if your schedule permits. HES students, faculty and staff who are able to participate will meet in front of Stone Building at 11:15 and then proceed to the Guilford Dorm to join other UNCG community members. We will then complete the walk to the downtown area. A bus will be available for those wishing to participate who may not be able to walk the entire distance. HEAT buses will also be available to bring you back to campus.

Please consider joining us if your schedule allows you to do so.

Sincerely,

John

John C. Rife, Ph.D., ACSW
Associate Dean for Academic Administration
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
School of Human Environmental Sciences

Reading, Writing and Sketching

photo by elsewhere artists collaborative

In addition to refining your shelter ideas through models and sketches, for Wednesday please complete the following exercises:

1) Read the solo reflections of each of your group mates. Pay special attention to how each describes the interior environment. Quickly (spending no more than 15 minutes) sketch the interior of the space that they (as a collective) are describing. Use color.

2) Using your best hand-graphic skills, create a flier for distribution on campus that publicizes the makeshift shelter exhibition and the fundraising for Haiti. See this post for more details to include in your poster. Prior to distributing, you will hand your poster in during Wednesday's class to receive credit for your efforts.

Made With Love

Given Shane's suggestion on Friday of creating Haiti Relief Ribbons, I thought you would all be interested in seeing this at Design Sponge.

"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

A Reminder...

With the recent introduction of the first project, we have seen a great deal of excitement within the teams. We would like to offer a special thanks to the students who worked to divide up the lobby space and determine the areas where the shelters will be constructed. Please be reminded that for monday you are to have the two "solo reflections" posted in your blogs. Along with these writings, you should also have several process drawings that illustrate the concept and design of your makeshift shelter.

Post it...

In a creative narrative, we ask that you use your imagination to describe an experience that an occupant would have in the makeshift shelter you are going to construct. This assignment calls for creativity in the way you describe both the details of environment and the actions of the occupant. Some questions to ask before you begin:

What is an appropriate experience to describe?

What words could be used to convey the experience of the occupant to the reader?

How much detail is necessary?

From what point of view will you write this narrative?

This work is to be done individually and should not be completed with your group. The narrative should be between 150 to 200 words. This narrative should be posted on your blog before the start of class on Monday and should be posted under the tag "solo reflection". Include a copy of your narrative in your design journal that is either handwritten or printed from the computer for Monday as well.

Sketchbook pages to inspire...

drawing by Dhar Cedar

Throughout the semester, pages from sketchbooks will be posted on this blog in an effort to inspire your work and inspire the documentation of your process in this studio.

This page has been taken from a blog titled "Urbansketchers-Indonesia". This sketch was made in the afternoon and captures the scene of a Mayestik Market in South Jakarta. Follow this link for more information. Enjoy!

Post it...

With the intoduction of the spring studio, you should begin to organize and update your individual blogs. We ask that you make your first post on your individual blogs by introducing your group members and the activity you will be designing for in this first assignment. In this post, give a brief description of how your group plans to proceed with the project. This post would fall under the "solo reflections" tag.

MAKESHIFT SHELTER

drawing by edgar cabrera

In the wake of the devastating earthquake that recently hit Haiti, we cannot help but think how fortunate we are to have shelter that offers protection from outside elements and, equally important, affords us with a sense of security.

In this first project, we ask you to examine ways in which you can provide peace of mind within a public space using only found objects. The goal here isn’t merely to provide cover, but to explore the notion of how interiors shape experience. Over the next week and a half, working in teams, you will consider the notion of interiority, process solutions and outcomes, and design a shelter for a given activity. Your will then construct your design vision in the lobby of Gatewood Friday, January 29th.

For this exercise, you are to use only found objects, which are either scraps or repurposed objects. It is imperative that the objects you choose to include in your space be used for something other than their original purpose. In other words: no Snuggies as Snuggies.

As you begin the process of developing a shelter, discuss in your groups and explore in your design journals the following questions:

How do we define shelter? interiority?
Who will use this shelter?
Where should this shelter be built?
What is the minimum amount of space needed?
What activities will this shelter take on?

The shelter will, of course, be ephemeral but the memories will forever stay with the users. How would you want this shelter to be remembered?

Your ideas are to come to life in the form of a full-scale makeshift shelter constructed in the lobby of Gatewood Friday, January 29th. The shelter must be able to hold at least one person and remain standing over the weekend. Supporting your shelter, should be a thoughtful visual presentation of your teams’ process. Consider including at a minimum : a floor plan, reflected ceiling plan, exterior elevations, interior elevations and perspectives. These sketches should be free-handed and express the feeling of your design work.

1|20 . introduction of project
1|22 . group work day
1|25 . drawing review . collection of materials . write-up draft due
1|27 . group work day
1|29 . construct shelter. visual process presentation due . photo documentation
2|1 . review of project due on blog.folio