Woodbury University offered its High School Academy Intensive again this summer to all high school students entering 11th and 12th grade. Under the motto “Keep Playing”, students created their own puzzle through an iterative process in this year’s Architecture Design Lab.
Starting with technical drawing, students drew their own 2D puzzle with different hatching patterns by hand. They then shuffled the pieces around to generate various ideas. After multiple mock-ups and studies, a configuration was selected and turned into a 2.5D puzzle. The goal was to study the characteristics of a module and learn how to document them in the digital world.
With the help of laser cutter, the high school students quickly developed a 3D puzzle. It was made of 50 pieces varying in size from small, medium, and large. Lastly, students learned how to model three-dimensionally in Rhino and create volumetric modules. Operational and aggregation strategies were considered, and features and characteristics from their previous puzzles were applied to the volumetric puzzle.
“We learned about architecture through playing with the concept of a puzzle in the duration of 5 weeks,” said instructor Carmelia Chiang. “At the end of the course, students understood the importance of part and components, modulations and connecting details in the architectural world.”
To see the work of the Architecture Design Lab 2016 participants, visit their tumblr site.