What does audience mean to a design? In this assignment, students will be given three different types of people and design a modern dwelling for each type of person. These types include: a farmer, a person who uses a wheelchair, and a person who travels as part of their job.
Skills Built
- Craft
- Execution of a built 3-d model from a drawn diagram
Deliverables
- 3 Drawn diagrams of dwellings for each audience
- 1 Small scale model of one of their three dwellings
Materials
- Paper and drafting materials: pens, pencils, markers
- Chipboard
- Wood Glue
- Toothpicks
- Mixed building materials: popsicle sticks, paint, etc…
The key word in this assignment is dwelling. Students should not immediately be led to design houses for their audience, but rather, somewhere that provides that person with their basic needs. The class, together, can decide what their basic needs are and how those needs differ from audience to audience. By thinking of the word dwelling, students can focus more on the needs of the person rather than what a cool house will look like, and really tailor their design to the person.
In order to prepare for this assignment, teachers can have students present on architects who have created unique dwellings that play to the needs of their users.
Examples:
- Underground homes provide natural insulation to lower both heating and cooling costs.
- Andrew Maynard Architects created a potential design called “Airdrop House” that would provide emergency shelter after a natural disaster such as a tsunami or hurricane. The idea is that the home would be air-dropped (as the name suggests) into disaster areas.
A great source for inspiration for students might be magazines such as Dwell or Metropolis.
Students will first draw large 11″x17″ diagrams of their dwellings. When creating, students should consider different aspects such as:
- Sustainability
- Structure
- and lifestyle of that person (sedentary or nomadic)
Once students have created their diagrams, they will build a three-dimensional model of their most inventive dwelling of the three using chipboard, wood glue, toothpicks, and other mixed materials.