Prompt
Being able to observe and understand the spaces around us is an important skill for designers-in-training (like yourselves) to improve. Every place has unique features and histories that impact how people relate to them. Consider some of the physical aspects of your community that make it unique.
In this activity, you'll explore your school campus and look for places to make small playful installations using Lego bricks. This is a great warm-up activity for the studio and will kick-start your ability to consider specific details about your school campus (this will be helpful later in the studio!).
Instructions
Inspiration: Explore the work of Jan Vormann in the slideshow above. In this activity, his work will serve as inspiration for your own.
Site walk: Take a short walk around the campus and identify three locations where you can add a small playful Lego installation. Make a quick sketch of your selected sites and add possible ideas of what could go in (or around) your site choice. For example, is your location perfect for a tiny house, a rocket ship, or a rainbow? Use specifics about the location's shape/size/details to help you decide what kind of installation would be the most fun to create.
Design Challenge: In small groups, share your Lego project ideas. Team up with a classmate to work together on an installation idea. Using LEGO blocks, create your playful installation on a chosen site. Remember: your design should be inspired by your specific site (i.e., the size, the shape, the particular context of the place).
Share out: As a class, look at the Lego installations (either in a tour of the installations or by looking at photographs of them). Discuss what was successful, challenging, and surprising about creating these quick installations.
Deliverables
Add a post to the Responses tab with the following:
- Your sketches
- A final Lego installation picture
- At least three sentences of reflection about this activity. In particular, how did you make your Lego installation specific to your chosen location? And how did people respond to your installation?
Estimated Time: ~2 hours