Collaborative Design and Build – Day 1
Architect and designer James Sale from Collaborative Design and Build joined us for two days of large scale making, where we learnt about the principles of architecture and design.
Back in February, I had visited James in his vibrant East London studio/workshop where the plans for this holiday course were borne.
We began the morning by thinking about what architecture meant to us and making some drawings.
James spoke to the children about their ideas, then we warmed up by making structures with our bodies.
First we worked in twos and threes … then in larger groups … and finally as a whole group.
We spent some time looking closely at the materials we had gathered – I have made friends with all my local tradespeople now!
We explored what they could do.
James set us the challenge to build in groups the tallest structure we could with limited materials:
Boxes
Foam tubes
Sticks
Cardboard tubing
Carpet
Cardboard
Corex
We worked very hard, using tape, string and staples to build as high as we could. One group made it to the very top!
James measured each structure to find a winner! It was very close!
After lunch, we did some more drawings to adapt and change what we had already made to construct buildings we could get inside.
James also showed us some handy joining techniques to help us step away from the tape!
And off we went! Our ideas kept us busy most of the afternoon.
We worked well in our teams, or sometimes on our own, if we wanted.
We worked on the exterior and interior of our structures, adding flooring and even gardens.
We took a few small breaks to survey our plans and have a drink and snack in our new dens!
A strange kind of city began to emerge and the feel of the room changed dramatically. I think you will agree the children were very inventive.
Once the main structures were complete we began to decorate and add some luxurious features:
Wallpaper
Clocks and TV screens
Pictures on the walls
Soft furnishings
Fixtures and fittings
Kitchen and even food
Names and numbers were added, as slowly the city changed and grew.
We took a tour of all the structures and thought about what we could improve or change.
We were learning from each other.
Tomorrow we will start to connect these structures together and develop our new city.
