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Designing & Building the Architecture of Play

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

 
 
Planning for Oaxaca 2012 is well under way.  Just today, we received an email from our friends in Oaxaca asking about materials we’ll need in March.  “We need a rough estimate of the bamboo that you will need. Diameter?, length?, quantity?” they asked. 
 
Bamboo? That sounds interesting, but for what? you might wonder.  Following several months of discussions with the San Pablo Etla community about ongoing goals for the site, the availability of resources, and the individual benefits of different projects, the decision to design and build an eco-playground was made.  While there were a number of good projects to choose from, in the end, the playground was chosen for three reasons:
  • It allows for a high degree of creative liberty. (that’s good for us)
  • It fills a need for recreation & play spaces for kids.  (that’s good for them)
  • And, it can be accomplished within our short – 1 week! – workshop timeframe. (that’s good for everyone)
A couple of things I've noticed about kids and architecture make me especially excited about designing and building a playground for kids.  The first is the honesty by which kids experience architecture. While adults have filters for what they “should” think, kids are unencumbered by social norms and respond openly to their environment. Kids know what they like and are refreshingly honest in their response. The second is that kids are drawn to discover and when it comes to architecture, the best spaces are those that lend themselves to discovery over time.  Whether a tree, hay loft or urban back alley, the limitless variation of surface, form and structure offers a rich environment for kids' developing minds. (I'll have more thoughts on that in the coming months.) In the meantime, I'm thrilled to partner once again with the community of San Pablo Etla, in the foothills of the Sierra Norte mountains, and anxious to lead a group of young architecture students as we design and build the architecture of play. 
 
- Paul
Category: Architecture, DesignBuild, Nature, RAW | Tags: ,
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Closing in!

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011


Corrugated metal is hard to cut. We also found out that we didn’t build in enough reveals. To take away the glare and age the metal, we painted the steel with Muriatic Acid, which ate right through the sponges. It made me wonder what my gloves were made of, since they were not phased.

It was an exciting moment when the kitchen island was completed (with 8 people hauling the concrete table top to the wooden frame). We then snacked in celebration and felt the goodness of 16 people easily crowding around the table and sitting on the rock wall.

We also had rain today for the first time. We saw the clouds coming, and the lightning foreshadowed the rain. It was a nice feeling to be sheltered by our roof from something other than the sun. Shelter with a view, none-the-less. The wide overhangs bring you closer to the edge of the rain. Afterwards, the rain cooled the air by at least 10 degrees. Within 15 minutes the sky was clear and cheery, as if nothing happened. We’re so lucky we haven’t had to deal with mud during this project!

The end of the day was frustrating; we had much problem solving on the fly, but it will all work out, and I think it will be even stronger in the end. There has been so much to learn! I’m continually thankful for all these little challenges, though. Things can’t be too easy! After all, there’d be no good stories to tell!

Not believing we’ll be soon be completing this adventure,

Keihly

I am in a dual Masters program in Architecture and Urban Design at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. I am participating in the RAW Dakota 2011 workshop in Custer, SD July 13-27, 2011 and blogging about the experience. Any thoughts you'd like to add? Thanks for reading! – Keihly Moore

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Balloons and roofs

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Hot air balloons. A night at the Abode let me awake early (5.20am) to scramble to the top of the rocks to catch the first glimpse of the sun over the ponderosas. You know when you can see the outline of the land on a high hill, and the trees poke up in a lighter filigree? This is the back-lit vision of the hills at this moment. I love it.

After yoga surrounded by rocky crags, around 6.30am the hot air balloons drifted skyward into our view. I could hear the hot air being shot into the top. I wonder what it would be like to be drifting…

Today at the site Adam and I conquer the roof. All day. Adam and I calculated and recalculated. Figured and refigured. It’s a delicate balance to figure the right proportion of the beam to the purlin to the edging of the steel corrugation. At the end of the day we were satisfied with our final numbers.(See the sketchbook drawing.)

-keihly

I am in a dual Masters program in Architecture and Urban Design at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. I am participating in the RAW Dakota 2011 workshop in Custer, SD July 13-27, 2011 and blogging about the experience. Thanks for reading! – Keihly Moore

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Treehouse Magic

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

As architects, no doubt many of us have pleasant childhood memories of spending the day perched in a tree, nailing board after board into a makeshift platform and happily calling it home for the night.  Our treehouse creations were important experiences that carry strong associations of nature, materials, tools, and comradery, into adulthood.  

Some architects have returned to those early childhood days, building elaborate, sometimes multi-story, treehouses for both personal and public use. There’s a quaint treehouse resort on St. John that has been providing an alternative experience to visitors for over twenty years.  Another one in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico offers a modern interpretation of treehouse design.  Architects Terunobu Fujimori in Japan and Peter Bahouth in Atlanta have built treehouses in their own backyards.  Pete Nelson in Seattle, has made a career of treehouse design and construction, including writing several books on the topic.

What is it about treehouses that holds our imagination?  It could be the satisfaction we felt as a child with our first finished project that we built with our own hands.  Or it might be the experience of a refuge, suspended high among the branches, away from everything but the sound of the birds and the wind.  Whatever it is, there's an indelible allure that's immensely gratifying.

Maybe that's why I can't wait for our workshop this spring in Oaxaca, Mexico, where we will be designing and building a treehouse in the foothills of the Sierra Norte mountains outside of Oaxaca City. Working alongside the community, we'll create a new facility to support their eco-tourism goals and give adventure-seeking visitors to Oaxaca yet another reason to come and explore this beautiful area. 

- Paul

Category: Architecture, DesignBuild, Nature | Tags: ,
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