JP
Dialogue Children’s Museum Exhibit 3rd Year Undergraduate - Spring 2013 In partnership with Jing Li (Graduate)
The Children’s Museum project was a group project during the Spring 2013 semester at the Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research and Urban Studies. The project was done in three stages. The first two stages of the project were research. First, each group was assigned a piazza to research in the city of Genoa. After this research, each group was assigned a topic to research during our trip to Reggio Emilia, the founding city of the Reggio Emilia approach to education. We used the research gathered to inspire ideas for a children’s exhibit to be design-built in conjunction with Clemson’s Charleston study abroad program and exhibited in the Fall of 2013 in one of seven sites as part of the 100th year anniversary of Clemson Architecture. Many of the sketches were done by my partner, Jing Li, while many of the models were done by myself. Altogether I think that the group worked very well together as we were able to negotiate on any issues that we had and come to an agreeable conclusion. “Dialogue” was chosen to represent the Genoa-Charleston collaboration at both the 25th Anniversary party of the CAC.C as well as the 100th Anniversary party of the AIA in South Carolina.
Initial Modeling and Sketching Using the Silhouette Studio paper cutting software, we were able to make quick models out of cardstock. Shown are some of our group’s initial study models that were created. We sketched our ideas first, then transferred those sketches to AutoCAD and then to the Silhouette software to make those sketches three dimensional. We then took the ideas from our study models to influence the parti of our final design. A central public space with multiple entrances and experiences, similar to that of an Italian piazza. The four wings of the parti also reflect the idea of the four teachers of the Reggio Emilia approach to education: the teacher, the parent, the community, and the environment.
Jing’s initial model
Jon’s initial model
Parti Sketches
Determining a Structure We took the idea of the multiple entrances and applied the parti of the twist to it. To further the twist idea, we decided to make the structure in four pieces, each with a cantilevered element over the next wall in the series. The wall structure quickly took the form of a waffle structure in which the children would be able to place colored pieces of paper to add shear and create colorful images. Eventually a twist would be applied to the walls to aid in support of the cantilevered elements. To make the structure appear more streamlined from the top, we flipped the entire structure over, making the horizontal pieces become parallel with the angle of the top of the structure, rather than the ground. While the main form of the exhibit stayed the same throughout the whole process, the wall structure changed drastically. There were many iterations that were studied. One of the main problems was how to make the cantilevers, as they would not be able to fit on a sheet of 4’x8’ coroplast, the final material.
The Take-Away
As part of the design, we were asked to create an element that the children would be able to take home with them. At first, we decided to use blocks of paper that the children could use to create images in the wall and provide shear. When the wall became angled, it seemed to support itself and we were able to redesign the take-away piece. We decided to use a cone, giving us the overall idea of “Dialogue” that became the central idea of our project. The cone became a symbol of communication, enhancing the senses of speech, listening, and sight. These cones would be colored to allow the children to create dialogue in the form of architectural graffiti, and communicate between the wall.
Unfolded and Folded Cones
Connection Detail
Speak, Listen, Look: The Actions of Dialogue
Architectural GrafďŹ ti
Final Model Images