The Spring 2016 ACE architecture studio at Woodbury University completed two civic engagement projects.
Woodbury University architecture students who participated in the Agency for Civic Engagement (ACE) Spring design studio designed and built a site-specific outdoor classroom on the John Muir Middle School campus. The outdoor classroom will be used by teachers and students at Woodbury’s Burbank neighbor. The animated design gives form to a leftover site on the campus. Students used plastic wood in innovative ways to create a low maintenance/ high impact project.
Across town, adjacent to the L.A. River, two additional groups of students created long-term temporary projects at the Bowtie site. This 19-acre site is managed by California State Parks, and its cultural activities are curated by the arts organization, Clockshop. A pavilion called Tunnel Vision creates a focal seating area; and dynamic architecturally-scaled furnishings line the edge of the river.
Students interacted on a regular basis with both sets of clients who gave them feedback as they developed their designs. The second half of the semester was devoted to fabrication and installation.
Jeanine Centuori, director of the Agency for Civic Engagement, said that “These projects crystallize the merits of design for a public that becomes tangible and meaningful. Students see their designs become alive in the world. This is what architecture is all about.”
Project generously sponsored by NBBJ.