This is the first formal project we received in class that has the potential to be “a real thing”. The idea of an earthen bench is to recycle material, combing with soil, and construct an eco-friendly and low-cost bench. UMBC is interested in this project, and we were very fortunate to participate in the design process. As a class, we were all very excited for it.
We worked in three as a group, and we each came up with an idea. Then we worked together to extract the essence of each person’s design and created a better idea, which is this final product, Circle of Wisdom.
One of the artist who inspired us is Guy Laramée. His use of books as a medium gave us the idea that we can use books as bricks. Here is some examples of Laramée’s work:
We worked in three as a group, and we each came up with an idea. Then we worked together to extract the essence of each person’s design and created a better idea, which is this final product, Circle of Wisdom.
One of the artist who inspired us is Guy Laramée. His use of books as a medium gave us the idea that we can use books as bricks. Here is some examples of Laramée’s work:
After the idea of books was solidified, we started to think about the shape and the material for our earthen bench. We had ideas like bench that shaped like a retriever resting on the floor, circular bench with a tree in the center, and a crown with silhouette of people. Eventually we agreed on a simpler and a more constructable shape with a fire pit in the center.
For the actual construction, we used cardboards for the foundation and blocks of clay as the cover. There were many difficulties during the process. For example, we didn't have much knowledge of the use of clay, so the thickness of clay was hard to be determined. There were several times that we came back to class and found out that the surface had cracked. At the end of the project, we still couldn't solve this problem, and the weight of the clay had made our model undesirably heavy.
Although there were many issues that occurred throughout this project, it was definitely a valuable experience.
These are the pictures of our final product:
For the actual construction, we used cardboards for the foundation and blocks of clay as the cover. There were many difficulties during the process. For example, we didn't have much knowledge of the use of clay, so the thickness of clay was hard to be determined. There were several times that we came back to class and found out that the surface had cracked. At the end of the project, we still couldn't solve this problem, and the weight of the clay had made our model undesirably heavy.
Although there were many issues that occurred throughout this project, it was definitely a valuable experience.
These are the pictures of our final product: