Kate Baker University of Portsmouth, School of Architecture, Portsmouth, UK 211
- To explore space and its boundaries through gesture and mark
- To explore a series of connected spaces and narrative strategies
- To explore the possibilities of working constructively in peer groups
- To explore architectural and interior design as process
Process
The project took place over two weeks, with three structured days containing a series
of workshops, lectures and demonstrations. It culminated in a performance that took
place over the entire building and the exterior courtyards. With the guidance of the
artists, students were asked to creatively explore their own environment. The purpose
was to increase their understanding how our bodies and space interconnect, how this
connection can be explored through the performative nature of drawing, and how
this exercise can be a precursor to Architectural and Interior Design. Working with
disabled artists provided the opportunity for students to re-assess their attitudes
toward sensory perception. Their insights were key to the project, for example, one
of the dancers is profoundly deaf, has a highly developed sense of space using senses
other than hearing. All students kept a sketchbook. This would be a record of the
development of the project including their progress within the group, and their own
research into disability and experimentation with drawing and recording.
Organisation
To manage the numbers, students were broken down into 4 groups. Each group
had a designated ‘journey’ to investigate, set in and around the School of Architec-
ture. Each journey varied, but had 3 characteristics in common: a large static space
to start in with freedom to move around in,
followed by a narrower elongated connecting
space, and finally, our large atrium. Each group
was also allocated an artist and musician. The
group was also allocated a ‘sense’ to research:
sight, sound, touch and smell. This provided a
‘theme’ to their exploration, and allowed dis-
cussion over a range of disabilities.
Day 1
Main aim of the day: To introduce students
to the scope of project: disability awareness,
working collaboratively as a group with the art-
ist, new techniques of working such as dance
and movement, drawing as mark-making.
Participants: 2 dancers, 2 musicians, 1 sound
artist, 3 visual artists, 1 co-ordinator, 8 tutors,
130 students.
Fig 1
Start of Project