This semester, Assistant Professor of Art Elijah Huge’s Architecture II class is trying something new. Not only is the class researching and designing a project for an outside client, but the students are also building this project.
“We have so much to deal with,” said class member Angus McCullough ’10. “But I think we are going to make it happen. We know of one other undergrad architecture program that is designing something of this scope…designing it all the way down to the nuts and bolts.”
Over the course of the semester, the students of Architecture II have been working on a project for the Mattabeseck Audobon Society, to be built in the Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn.
Huge recalls coming up with the idea for the project last spring and he reasoned that it could be feasible provided it was of small scale and reasonable budget. He decided that a bird sanctuary observation tower would be an interesting project and, on a recommendation from Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Suzanne O’Connell, was put in touch with the Mattabeseck Audobon Society.
The client recently approved the class’s final design of an observation platform, and, as of April 24, building is underway.
The project began, however, with a great deal of research. Students were split up into four groups, each group researching a different critical aspect of the project.
“One group was researching possible materials, while another group researched the way that they can be applied, the technology, et cetera,” McCullough explained. “And then one team was looking at the site itself, trying to figure out what that was about, and looking into the history of the site. The fourth team researched precedents. At that point we didn’t know what we were building, so we were looking for anything of relative size that had to do with wetlands development or landscape architecture.”
After this research was completed and the class had produced site strategies, the client came in and picked two possible locations for the project. The class was then split into two teams, each to create a site-specific design and a model of what they were interested in building. The teams then switched designs and revamped the other team’s model, to keep the project an inclusive and collaborative class effort.
With no real prior experience, the students in the class found the work very demanding—not to mention the added stress of working for the approval of an outside client, rather than a professor.
In addition, it seems that time constraints have been affecting the sleeping patterns of Architecture II students, as they have been spending many late nights together in the architecture studio.
“After the first models were built, we decided to put our efforts into creating just one model,” explained Megan Nash ’09, another member of the class. “We had a week to do all that. We made the first model in two days, and then the revised model in the same week. We had design review on Thursday and then the following Tuesday we had a client review.”
Students acknowledged the high demands of the class, but were reluctant to complain.
“It’s certainly the most time-consuming class I’ve ever taken,” said Hunter Craighill ’09. “But, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Either way, the hard work has been paying off. The resulting design is a two-tier platform for observing wildlife within the sanctuary. The Mattabeseck Audobon Society has approved the final design and students note that the client appears excited to see the finished product.
“I think the client would have been happy with a pretty standard design, such as a single level wooden boardwalk,” said Derek Silverman ’09. “But I think we surprised them with something they didn’t expect, something that was innovative as well as functional. They were excited.”
Students are also excited to go through the building process and to see their designs come to fruition.
“I think it’s exciting to be part of Wesleyan’s first ’research, design, build’ project,” said Rebecca Parad ’09. “There are a lot of kinks to be worked out but it’s going to be very rewarding to see our designs realized.”
As of now, the project is set to be finished during reading week, at which point there will be a reception open to the public on site at the Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary. The designs and models will also be on display at the upcoming event “Feet to the Fire” on May 10 in the Veteran’s Memorial Park in Middletown.
Huge praised his students and their dedication to the course.
“This semester has required a huge amount of commitment, and the project has benefited greatly from both the students and teaching assistant Zac Bruner [’08],” he said.
Although the design-build project was a successful learning experience for all involved, it remains uncertain if this will be a one-time project or a continuing program for University Architecture students.
“We would really like to continue it,” Huge said. “But it’s been a really intense semester and I think things would have to be really well-aligned to take on such a project next year.”
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