Friday, February 12, 2010

Makeshift Shelter Reflections

When we began the makeshift shelter project, I was interested to see how we would use individual processes combined with group work to create a space for sketching. When we were given the project I immediately began thinking “what constitutes shelter?” and trying to understand what elements would be important to the space. Upon receiving our group assignments I was excited to see how all of our many thoughts would come together into one cohesive idea. When we began discussing the project as a group, I realized that many people thought of shelter as a structure with a roof over it; but we needed this space to be much more than that. It was necessary for the space to evoke inspiration and wonderment for a person in the space. After coming to a conclusion about what we wanted our space to feel like, we began working in our sketchbooks. Personally, mine is filled with many different shapes, as I was exploring how to create this space. After many drawings and notes we talked about how we would complete the tasks ahead. As a group we pointed out the strengths of each member and what part of the project would be their main focus. I chose to be responsible for the construction and final presentation of the project because my week points are definitely drawing and rendering!
After some discussion we decided to go out and find materials. We rode around Greensboro with Chris Fay, who took us to several junkyards piling all kinds of materials on his truck. After we got back to the studio, we began using the materials to aid us in building models and drawing more realistic sketches. We also began tearing apart wood pallets to construct our walls.
After many long days and nights of trying to create a cohesive shelter we finally took some materials down to the lobby and did a mock construction. This finally got us on the right track. After so much work, the final installation was a breeze, including my twenty-four foot process poster. Overall I was very pleased with the outcome of our shelter.

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