This project was completed in the Spring of 2003 by a Third-year undergraduate design studio. Design was initiated with a one-week charrette under the guidance of Steve Badanes, a visiting critic, and construction took place over a seven week period. This project was awarded an Honorable Mention prize in the 2003 Monsters of Design Award Program sponsored by the Kansas City Young Architects Forum. 

 

Background
In the Fall of 2002, three Lawrence neighborhood associations (the West Hills Homes Association, the Hillcrest Neighborhood Association, and the Westwood Homeowners Association) each received $2500 in grant funding from the City of Lawrence for projects intended to promote safety in their neighborhoods. The associations—all flanking Hillcrest Elementary School—agreed to consolidate their funds to purchase lighting for the Ryan Gray Playground for All Children. The playground is designed for maximum accessibility for children of all abilities, and was named in memory of Ryan Gray, a child who once attended Hillcrest School.
The KU School of Architecture and Urban Design became involved, and a Third-year undergraduate design studio was selected to design and construct the lighting for the project.

 

Design Intentions and Process
The intention of the semester was to study ways to develop a language of construction; to develop tectonic strategies for the assembly of materials. To promote the collaborative nature of the project (one project for twenty students), early work was conducted in small groups, which constantly re-configured themselves, based on natural alliances and affinities emerging out of the work itself. This was critical, so that no one person could claim authorship over classmates. Design solutions were rejected or chosen using the principle of consensus, which indicates some significant majority, arrived at after each person was allowed to have a say in the discussion.
All design work was advanced from sketch, to model, to full-scale mockup prior to actual fabrication. Final decisions were based on the real feasibility of the mockups to avoid being seduced by representation. It was decided to use photovoltaic panels as the power source for the lights. This had several advantages: 1) as a learning experience for the students; 2) as a learning opportunity for the school children; 3) as a sustainability gesture.
 

Construction Process
It was decided to construct six light fixtures (based on budget). The students formed themselves into 6 groups of 3 or 4 students, and each group became responsible for the production of one fixture. Students also had individual responsibilities to the group: one person taking responsibility for ordering materials, one for tracking costs, one for public relations, etc.

 

Final Products
The tectonic strategy developed into one of “bundled sticks.” So six distinctly different fixtures were constructed out of steel tubes and rods, attached to each other in a critical way. The ideas for each of the lights are as follows:

 

1. A light with an abstracted creature hanging on top of the pole;
2. A light with vegetative expression;
3. A light with square tubes in a mechanistic expression;
4. A light with with its bundle members expressed in space;
5. A light with a curved “sail” reflecting light downward;
6. A light with its tubes expressing the flow of energy from panel, to battery, to lamp.