{ Analogies }

Materials used in Den-building

Pondering manufacturing terminology...list of words associated with "making"....discussion over known/unknown words

Final day: We installed the workshop into stevenson square in NQ and we had to attract interest by approaching nearby pedestrians. Plenty of people seemed to be interested and all the plants were eventually taken. I also helped with moving the installation to the Hulme Garden centre after the day had finished

Den intervention in enclosed areas of Benzie building 4th floor roof terrace with KS2 schoolchildren

DAY 4- Morning
Experimenting with gorilla modelling.

Me and james were given the task to create the plant pots which would be placed on the shelves and eventually be given away. These were made out of several different types of jars and bottles.

Exploring the big model of Manchester with the children of Friars Primary School

DAY 3- Afternoon
Spray painting our casts.

We've been showing the kids our university building and explaining them the materials it's made from and what we're doing in it.

Final Idea: A tripod shaped workshop which would have a stencil/infographic mural side, a d.i.y. plant shelf, and finally a ready made plant shelf.

Day3_
We looked at 6 different precedents in groups and analyse the site with different topics. The topic for our group is "sharing in space" which is about the enclosure and exposure of the site and the elements that make people feel safe to use the site. This exercise allowed us to think more about how architects can create cosy spaces for people.

Screen on 15.05, currently discussing the addition of 'clouds' and wether they are necessary- from straight on the screen appears 2D and flat- an attempt to bring the installation into the entire space was decided upon and planned for 16.05

Group Idea: Our idea we presented was a mechanical system which focused on promoting awareness of water waste. It would be an interactive system with elements which would be triggered by one another in a chain reaction. The final step would result in plants being watered by bottles

First section of the installation complete on 15/05/14. A system of reshapers/'plump'ers, passers and hangers works rather efficiently for a speedy process.

Presentation day: We went back to the Hulme community Garden centre to give presentations of our ideas to Helen. The final vote went to a tripod shaped workshop which would hold plant pots to give away and also a side which showed a stencil and infographics

Session 6
Due to the terrible weather we couldn't display our work on site instead we hld the Exhibition in Chatham!!
BTW Beautiful sketches!

Graffiti workshop: We were given lessons on how to spray paint and create stencils.

Fortification! small details added to the den making it what it is.... a den! the kids have personalised their den uniquely from the others and its the small details that make the big differences!

Day 1: We visited the Hulme garden centre and was briefed by Helen, one of the workers. She gave us some insight on the basics of plantation and also a brief summary of her line of work

Perfection. The final touches being made to the den! looks impressive and strong, very castle like!

The interior of a finished den.

The children were inventive and creative when making their dens using a variety of techniques to support them, some using frames and some supporting the structures using the surrounding walls.

animating initial sketch illustrations of naratives described

A hard days work! Kids settling into their new den.

Day 7: (Exhibition)
On the Final Day, we held a exhibition on the ground floor of Chatham (Courtyard), it was some what was a successful exhibition.

Children sitting in their finished den.

The sky's the limit! The kids being given a tour of the Chatham building.

Children sitting in their finished den having a picnic lunch.

animating initial sketches of narrative with colour

Children sitting in their finished den. They had a rule that you had to "take your shoes off before you can come in."

The children were given a disposable camera for each den group. Some of the children asked if they could use the students DSLRs, and did so with the help of the students.

Our own private space. Kids getting comfy in the den before its even finished! They must really love it!

Children decided to cover the structure with layers of fabric to protect the inside from external factors such as raining as well as to gain some privacy due to the fact that they had a 'public toilet' on the inside of the den.

Session 5
Finalising our proposal.

One boy wanted to be an alien, so used the materials to dress up! Here he is looking at himself in the reflection of the glass rooflight.

//GOODBYE
The event went well through out the day on site. After we finished our time on site we head back to Hulme Community Garden. We had given them our installation for a better use in the future instead of just throwing it away. Will come here soon to see how the installation looks like in the future. This was a success, goodbye.

A diagram which depicts the sections and the spacial organisation of our structure.

The children were obviously excited to build the dens, running around on the roof collecting as many materials as possible. They worked well together and with the students, collaborators and their teachers, using their imaginations to create some fantastic dens!

Day 6: We had our presentation on our proposal in Sale today with the person in charge in Sale community. Our proposal is about developing a space that can bring people together and invent an area where they can fully utilise their skills.

As part of the final output we all produced final drawings to aid to the presentation of the design. Here is my perspective.

Taking building a den personal to you very literally! The kids begin to build the den

I looked at precedent Fillmore Park in San Francisco, US and analysed the area in terms of sharing in space and how to interpret those elements into Sale.

An elevation of the final form of our structure. This shows the view from the train and the colour changes the passengers will view when travelling past our structure.

After combining again the event group refined the design and worked on producing the final output

Day 5: Today we met with a Landscape architecture in the morning and talked about our proposal on Sale. In the afternoon, we had a nice lecturer lecturing us on topic about place.

We brought some of the materials that would be used to build dens out to the roof terrace so the children could see what they would have to build with and play with the items.

Our group presentation of our final concept to be presented to the client.

Using chalk to draw on the roof.

Using chalk to draw on the roof.

After a formation of two separate groups and types of ideas we presented our designs to the heads of the Community Garden.

We started construction on day four. Our design fitted into a grid with 4 rows and 5 columns of 600mm by 900mm each of these pieces is scored to create our origami design. The sections were attached with staples and tape on the tabs.

visualisation of the final proposal

This photo portrays the second group presenting their initial concepts to the wider events group.

//HAPPY PEOPLE
Hi, meet Jody. One of the many passers by that has participate in this installation. She was really shocked that we were kind enough to be giving out free plants to the community. This event really had a great feed back from people who participated.

After lunch, the children used pens, paper and chalk to create their own drawings of dens, the aliens and what they had seen around the School of Art.

The final structure of the den that children built themselves was very strong and stood solid on the ground throughout the day as children went in and out of the den.

Model almost finished, depicting a section of frames which represent the pavilion

Day5_
We had a lecture with an architect about how to create spaces in people's needs. It was a really great lecture as he gave us an idea of the process of designing a space and he made it really simple to understand. I think it is very helpful and I will use these techniques for my studio projects.

Materials found, gathered and donated for the den building!

Chalk drawings covering the roof terrace.

out in the park asking pedestrian to test the shelter. a reason for a good laugh during exam period, seems like our shelter was the most sussessful at easy to set up. unfortunatly the shelter broke after a few trials.

My initial proposal as a concept perspective

We scanned in the children's drawings and turned them into short gif animations. While the children had been out on the roof, a student was photographing their work and the children pointed and said "look an alien!" calling it the popcorn alien, so this was turned into an animation.

Day4_
After a presentation of the analysis of Sale and precedents, we started to plan out what are we going to do with the area. We chose the site with a large empty green space near a primary school and our idea is to create a sport area for residents in order to gather people in this area.

//SHOW TIME
The plotted plants were arrange on top of the ready made shelf that we have incorporated in the design. The plants that were chosen was the nobella, nasturtium, and the french marigold. They were within our budget and they are also suitable for indoors.

Day 8: Presentation day. Some amazing work being displayed in front of Frank (one of the trustees restoring Elizabeth Gaskell's house.)

Erecting our shelter in All Saints Park. With the help of a passer by, we expanded our shelter over string between two trees.

Day2_
Site visit to Sale West. We had a quick tour around the area to feel the atmosphere around the society. It is a very peaceful area and there are lots of greens and gardening which I think they make the area very comfortable to live in.

Day1_
Site visit to Hulme Park. A practice of analysing a site about the relationship between the site and the residents and the opportunities in the site.

Children were enjoying the warm weather as they were using their imagination to illustrate everything that they have observed today starting from the experience in the Chatham building to aliens hinding in dens.

With an idea, it was down to designing

Using chalk to draw on the roof.

//ASSEMBLE
The installation is almost ready. The info graphics turned up really good and clear. The position of it attracts the people walking opposite the road on the Stevenson square.

The children were sent home from the day happy but covered in chalk dust!

Maybe not 10 minutes, but it's definitely a bench. Relieving your tension since 2014.

1:1 model finished, the bigger model actually fold better then the smaller model. looking forward to let people test it tomorrow

After introductions it was off to the site.

Before children built their dens, they were shown an animation of their drawings which they have completed on the first day of their visit.

Hydraulics up and working, better than IKEA.

After lunch, the children used pens, paper and chalk to create their own drawings of dens, the aliens and what they had seen around the School of Art.