Industrial Design Project - Outdoor Classroom
Title: Outdoor Classroom Design
Size: 60.96 cm x 91.44 cm Medium: Digital Print on Foamcore Completion Date: April 19, 2023 Exhibition Text: My outdoor classroom design takes inspiration from Jim Kraimer and his forklift design. My main design consists of a pavilion design with a stage and a storage house with large windows to create a more open feel to the house if learning needs to occur inside due to weather. It also has dry erase board tables and rolling chairs for students to work on. I want to create an open space for students to be engaged in learning compared to the closed, caged environment of normal classrooms. |
Inspiration:
Artist in Focus: Jim Kraimer
I took some inspiration from Jim Kraimer who is the Director of Industrial Design for the company Crown Equipment Corporation. He often digs deep into research and leverages new technologies that reimagine how a consumer might be using the product itself. He has a certain style of designing with a "futuristic" kind of style. One thing he has made is the SC4000 Series Sit-Down Counterbalanced Electric Lift Truck. The reason I thought he would be a good inspiration is that his futuristic kind of style matched different styles seen in the Reagan school building or the new building additions being added. I could use this kind of look for the possible structures I would choose to build. |
Besides Jim Kraimer I also gained some inspiration from Reagan students. I would ask them some questions on what they thought of the classrooms at Reagan including what they do and do not like. I would ask those specific things about the classroom to help formulate some ideas as to what I might want to add into my outdoor classroom. I recorded their ideas down on papers we were given and eventually transferred them digitally for use on my poster. I found some things out about lighting in classes, chairs, space, and size overall. I also brainstormed some things with a friend of mine Aaron Kushlan specifically. While talking and making designs he came up with the idea of a whiteboard on a table that you can write and use with groups you might be in. I liked this idea and expanded on it and added it to my design of the outdoor classroom. On top of going to other students for their ideas I also just kept to myself and took inspiration from what I thought about classrooms in general. I sat down and asked myself what I thought about classrooms and used my ideas.
Planning:
After getting my inspiration all done and gathered from Jim Kraimer, my schoolmates, and myself, I started to put the words and ideas into action. I started with drawing out a mock up of the area we are able to use and were given for the outdoor classroom, and then doing a quick little sketch on what I wanted my area to look like for the classroom. I wanted to have some kind of gazebo type structure at least to cover everything up so I began with that. I also wanted to include some multicolored string lights as well as I and other students found them nice and calming in a certain Reagan teachers room. Then, I decided to expand it out a bit and add some sidewalk area around it and then started coming up with ideas for what would be on the “inside of the gazebo. I laid out the idea of having it cut into two main sections so that there is a section with just crowded tables and chairs, and a big open area with benches on the outside to create an open space. The benches would have some space underneath them to put items. We were then able to share our ideas with the entire class and after sharing and hearing other people’s designs I realized I should probably change mine up a bit.
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At this point I started talking to Aaron a bit and we came up with the whiteboard table and expanded it. I would use these as a table in my one half of the gazebo that is dedicated to all the classroom activities. It is basically a table that seats 4 on either side and its surface is that of a whiteboard so that you could use dry erase markers to draw on them to help create ideas for a variety of things. I then decided to work on making an actual chair design that would be comfortable after the call to attention to the chairs at Reagan by my fellow classmates. I thought of comfortable chairs I had used and remembered that the library chairs at Reagan actually aren’t that bad and have a nice design being able to roll around a bit and have arm rests. I decided to make a chair similar to the ones there and eventually came up with something.
It then occurred that I might want to create some kind of place where we could store the tables and chairs so that they aren’t damaged or stolen. I came with the idea that I could just have another building to use as storage space for the chairs and tables. So I designed a simple kind of building to use. I also had the thought that we could maybe even use it as a classroom there as well and decided to provide some fun kind of light there. I already had the string lights that were changeable so I decided to use some kind of bendable tall multi light lamp that you could also change the color of.
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After getting the basic storage building done I decided to turn my attention back towards the other side of the gazebo. I decided to scrap the bench and open space design and instead add a stage in place of it. The stage can be used in a better way than just that open space as we could use it for the IB Music showcase or just for clubs to use like student council if the president and their council need to get up in front of the group to talk. After getting that sorted out I put all of it together on a poster to then have it critiqued.
Process:
Now that I knew what I was looking to add for my outdoor classroom, I had to get drawings sketched out for all of these objects. I started designing the pavilion to look for the outdoor classroom. I wanted to make it long enough to fit in lots of space for tables and chairs and people so I made it into four parts and 2 halves. The first half would be where tables and chairs would be for students to work in the outdoor classroom. The other half would be an area for a stage that people could perform on whether for different music events we have or just speaking in a club or event environment. There would also be space for people to move the chairs over to then have a seat when watching the performances. The pavilion would also have string lights along the inside of it on the ceiling to give it a calm environment. I later upgraded the look of the pavilion to have solar panels on the roof to allow the string lights to have power.
I then designed the chairs and tables that would be placed in the pavilion. I knew that I wanted to make comfortable chairs as around the school there are many chairs that are very uncomfortable. There is a type of chair that is comfortable in my school's library so I took inspiration from that. I designed it very similar to the library chairs so that they have arm rests, padding on the seat and back, and wheels on the bottom. The wheels also help the movement of them around the outdoor classroom. The tables I wanted to make as whiteboards so that you could use a dry erase marker to do school work right there. The tables also had wheels so that they could move around if needed as well.
I then thought about having an area to keep storage of the chairs and tables so that people don’t show up and steal them. The storage building would have to be big enough to fit it all without being crowded so I made sure to make it decently sized. I also thought of making it so that people could also learn there in case it was raining or any other weather conditions. The building would have big windows so that they still had an outside connection. I decided to make a fun colored lamp with many lights that you could bend around in order to get light where you needed it to be.
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Experimentation:
For my experimentation of my outdoor classroom I learned more about orthographic drawing and drawing straighter lines. Drawing these straighter lines led us to drawing squares that I would then “multiply” to make more of the same sized box, or “divide” to make more boxes of smaller sizes. From there I learned to draw circles inscribed inside of the boxes.
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I then took those skills and used them to start drawing different objects around me. I drew a table, for this I had to take measurements of the table using a measuring tape and then scale it down evenly as best as I could with rounding some values in order to fit the drawing on a standard piece of paper. I then also drew a mug in an orthographic style where it showed a top, front and side view. I used exact measurements when drawing it by putting my pencil up to the mug and measuring how long parts were to make the drawing as accurate as possible. When doing these I had to worry about visual hierarchy in the drawing. I needed to make the outside, border lines dark and thick while making the other lines on the inside more thin and light.
Using all of these measuring skills and straight line drawing abilities, I then drew a layout of my room. I had to take measurements of the dimensions of my room but also some key objects in it such as my bed or shelves or desk. This was a more difficult task having to get everything right but it did work out and I drew a good layout of what it looks like.
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One of the final things I did was drawing a chair. Before actually getting to drawing it I practiced drawing a cube with an inscribed circle in an orthographic drawing to help get used to all the different drawings. When drawing these parts I had to be careful and make sure I was measuring out every single part of it and making sure it looked correct. The hardest part was having to draw the circle inside of it in the actual orthographic projection of it. I had to consider the angle that I was looking at the object and how that would make it look to me. When actually drawing the chair, I decided to use one of our old kitchen chairs that is now in our basement. This proved to be a bit of a challenge because of complicated curves and bends in the chair. The projection also, yet again, proved to be difficult but I managed to draw my chair orthographically.
Critique:
Similarities:
There are many similarities between my inspiration and final product. For one, in relation to Kraimer’s design, I used this style when making the different objects that are found within my outdoor classroom. I wanted to capture his more “modern” style and I think I captured it well in some of the designs I had made. Thinking about my inspiration of the feedback I had received from students and teachers and other people around me, it is similar to that as well. I created a more open space where they are closer to the outside and don’t have to worry about current classroom conditions such as blinding lights and boring walls.
Differences:
There are also some differences between my inspiration and my final design. Relating to Kraimer’s work, while it does capture the look, it still does look a bit different when looking at some of the objects I had designed. And since I had not added colors it does not look too similar to the futuristic style. If I had it would have helped out. When looking at the inspiration I had gotten from students there are some differences that can be seen. I added in some parts that students had not mentioned which could cause bad outcomes.
There are many similarities between my inspiration and final product. For one, in relation to Kraimer’s design, I used this style when making the different objects that are found within my outdoor classroom. I wanted to capture his more “modern” style and I think I captured it well in some of the designs I had made. Thinking about my inspiration of the feedback I had received from students and teachers and other people around me, it is similar to that as well. I created a more open space where they are closer to the outside and don’t have to worry about current classroom conditions such as blinding lights and boring walls.
Differences:
There are also some differences between my inspiration and my final design. Relating to Kraimer’s work, while it does capture the look, it still does look a bit different when looking at some of the objects I had designed. And since I had not added colors it does not look too similar to the futuristic style. If I had it would have helped out. When looking at the inspiration I had gotten from students there are some differences that can be seen. I added in some parts that students had not mentioned which could cause bad outcomes.
Reflection:
This project was overall new to me so having this experience was very nice. I had done orthographic drawings in the past but this very much heightened my skill. Being able to draw straighter lines now is a helpful skill as well. Learning more about layouts of areas and how to draw like this was very useful and helpful. I feel as though my inspiration does connect to an extent. It could have been more direct like other outdoor classrooms, however it was connected. I also feel as though I connected to my wants and needs for the classroom as well as creating a more open space. I think my biggest challenge was relearning some of the orthographic drawing skills and also designing a learning space. This connects to my previous projects by wanting to develop a more open classroom to have more of a connection to the world around a student. I wish that I could have changed the layout of the posters more to have bigger images and smaller text however it does still work. I hope others can view my work and also see the importance of an outdoor classroom
Connecting to the ACT:
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
There is a cause and effect relationship between my inspiration between my artwork and inspiration with the style in which I draw my actual outdoor classroom. There is also the inspiration of people I have asked about outdoor classrooms and that connects directly to what I made and why I did so.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The students and other people I asked about classrooms have described them being a negative learning environment in many ways which made me want to help that in specific ways relating to their complaints.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Generalizations and conclusions I have made is that the standard school classroom is very trapping for students and teachers alike with little to no ouside connections of a great size, not being very open.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The idea or theme around my research is relating to creeating a open classroom design for students to be able to experience the outside world while learning.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Inferences I made were that people were all experiencing these problems. This proved to be true as everyone I talked to mentioned those specific things.
There is a cause and effect relationship between my inspiration between my artwork and inspiration with the style in which I draw my actual outdoor classroom. There is also the inspiration of people I have asked about outdoor classrooms and that connects directly to what I made and why I did so.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The students and other people I asked about classrooms have described them being a negative learning environment in many ways which made me want to help that in specific ways relating to their complaints.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Generalizations and conclusions I have made is that the standard school classroom is very trapping for students and teachers alike with little to no ouside connections of a great size, not being very open.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The idea or theme around my research is relating to creeating a open classroom design for students to be able to experience the outside world while learning.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Inferences I made were that people were all experiencing these problems. This proved to be true as everyone I talked to mentioned those specific things.
Citations (MLA):
“SC Series Sit-down Counterbalance Forklift.” Sit-Down Forklift - 3-Wheel Counterbalance Forklift | SC | Crown Equipment, www.crown.com/en-us/forklifts/electric-counterbalance-forklifts/sc-sit-down-counterbalanced-truck.html. Accessed 11 May 2023.