Architecture
& Design: Pop-Up-Play
Author:
Chad Kennedy, Landscape Architect
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Most
autumn Saturday mornings at the downtown library
in Modesto, California are decorated with
shoppers and families enjoying artisan organic
foods and searching for hidden gems and trinkets
at a seasonal farmer’s market along a closed-off
section of 16th Street. There is always plenty
of music, food, and social dialogue, and
everyone enjoys themselves. Once a year,
however, this same location is overtaken with
laughter, giggles, and smiles as hundreds of
families and children swarm the area,
overshadowing the events of the farmer’s market,
to participate in an annual pop-up play event
meant to raise awareness within the community
about the design industries.
This
pop-up play family event was developed by
members of the local ASLA and AIA chapters as a
way to involve children and families in the
wildly popular Modesto Architecture Festival, a
week-long festival celebrating local
architecture and design (now branded as
MAD Week
).
The hope was that over time, more of the
community would become familiar with the design
professions and enjoy what they have to
offer. The pop-up play family event is
consistently held on the third Saturday of
September, and this past year was the 8th
consecutive year it was held. For months
prior to the event, a team of landscape
architects, engineers, library staff,
architects, and volunteers coordinate and
determine how to bring their skills and passions
together to best showcase how fun design can be.
Those same professionals donate their time and
resources as they gather on the day of the event
to mentor, guide, and help families learn, play,
and enjoy their time together.
Over
the years, children and families have been
introduced to a variety of activities that
encourage them to expand their minds, develop
their creativity, and get their hands dirty. A
few highlights over the years are shown below as
examples of what activities have been
enjoyed.
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Children
learned about sustainability as they built a dog
house from insulated foam building panels and
installed a live green roof with functional
irrigation. The green house was then
auctioned off and proceeds went to a local
charity who was building the City’s first dog
park.
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Children
used left-over paper tubes, rope, and other
materials to design chairs, cabins, and other
cool things.
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Children
used rolled up tubes made from left-over
magazines and tape to create engineered trusses
that formed stable arches and domes.
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Children
worked with structural engineers to build
structures out of household materials (like
spaghetti noodles, straws, and marshmallows) and
then tested them for seismic stability on an
earthquake table to see how they would stand up
to lateral movements.
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Children
were challenged to think in three dimensions as
they were provided with 3D puzzles of
architectural landmarks, insects, planes, and
other items. Puzzles ranged in difficulty from
simple (only ten or so pieces) to difficult
(hundreds of pieces).
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Children
got their hands dirty as they learned about
plants, how to pot them, and the importance of
soil and water.
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Children
participated in a Cardboard Challenge
competition during which they had all the
cardboard, doohickeys, markers, crafts, and tape
they could ever want. They were given no
rules governing what to build or design, or how
to develop their ideas, just free reign of loose
materials and access to adult guides if they
needed them. First, second, and third
prizes were awarded for the most creative use of
the materials on hand. Winners created a
guitar, a moving scroll video game, and a
3-dimensional dragon.
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Children
typically have free play options as well such as
drawing, coloring, and Lego blocks. Many of the
children who participated were exposed for the
first time to Lego and other fun crafts.
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Other
activities children have engaged in during the
event have included: architecture themed reading
times in the library, architecture exhibits in
the children’s department of the
library, architecture drawing competitions,
spatial planning games, life-size Jenga builds,
loose play corners, AutoCAD and SketchUp
learning stations, and much more.
This
past year the ASLA California Sierra Chapter
also utilized its Park-in-a-Pod concept to make
the event more comfortable, playful, and
engaging through the addition of color, shade,
and seating that is otherwise unavailable on the
grounds of the library.
This
event is now under the umbrella of a larger
effort known as the
Modesto
Design Collective
that hopes to expand on what amazing things have
happened in the community and looks forward to
exploring more ways to introduce the community
to the amazing world of design.
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About the
Author
Chad
Kennedy is a Vice President at O'Dell
Engineering and Principal of the Landscape
Architecture Division. He is a licensed
landscape architect, a Certified Playground
Safety Inspector, and advocate for inclusive
play and interactive public process.
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Media
Update -
Fresno Cultural Arts District Park
|
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Funding Opportunity - Due 3/10/19
Kinder
Morgan: KM Foundation Education Grants
|
The
Kinder Morgan Foundation believes that today's
youth are tomorrow's leaders, and their mission
is to provide them with opportunities to learn
and grow. Their goal is to help today's science,
math, and music students become the engineers,
educators, and musicians who will support our
diverse communities for many years to come. To
accomplish this goal, they fund programs that
promote the academic and artistic interests of
young people in the many cities and towns across
North America where Kinder Morgan operates.
For more information on this and other upcoming
grant opportunities, see our
Resource Center.
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Project
Update -
Kaiser Permanente Modesto Survivorship
Garden
|
Doctors
at Kaiser Permanente's Modesto Medical Center
wanted to find a way to celebrate cancer
survivors. With this goal in mind, Kaiser
commissioned O'Dell Engineering to develop a
plan to renovate an underutilized open space
near the medical center's main entrance. The
design includes shaded seating, a calming
garden, and a purple ribbon motif. Thanks to
advances in cancer prevention, early detection,
treatment, and follow-up care, a surge and
subsequent “wave” of cancer survivors has
developed. In the United States alone, more than
15.5 million people are alive today having
overcome a cancer diagnosis. O'Dell Engineering
is pleased to partner with Kaiser Permanente to
develop this space in celebration of all who
fight cancer, and to celebrate the survivors.
The Survivorship Garden plan is currently
awaiting final approvals and funding
allocations.
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