Summer Academic Enrichment Eligible Programs

Goals

WAM Teen Architecture Workshop is an exciting week-long summer workshop for high school students held at the Weisman Art Museum. Student participants have the opportunity to work with professional architects and designers from the community and the University of Minnesota in a professional setting, exploring, designing, and building creative solutions to a posed architectural project. This workshop exposes students to the design process and helps them develop an appreciation of the role that architecture and design has in shaping their environments while developing skills in presentation, drawing, and model making. Students gain awareness of the physical and social contexts for buildings and learn to appreciate how architecture impacts the environments in which we live. Workshop goals and objectives follow the Generic Learning Outcomes as defined by the Museums, Libraries, and Archives Council, including knowledge and understanding, skill development, enjoyment, inspiration, and creativity. This program fills a need for this type of experience as few high schools offer coursework in architecture and design or an opportunity for teens to experience firsthand the process involved in designing our built environment. Through the study of the Weisman Art Museum and its architect, Frank Gehry, this workshop also offers participants greater information about architecture as a future career choice.

Activities

Graduate and Undergraduate students from the University of Minnesota College of Design work with the teen participants as team mentors for the week. Each team is given a design challenge and the tools to design their solution. Students are brought through the design process and are asked to make site inspections, draft designs in drawings and small rip and tear models, and create a larger scale model of their site and final design. Through the technical process of the workshop they creatively problem solve in a real world setting. They learn to communicate effectively through team building activities and final presentations of their design concept. Students apply the design process to real world situations; make links and relationships between real life and design; and are provided with one-on-one feedback from university student mentors. Participants learn to locate and critically evaluate information through design exercises; site analysis exercises; concept development activities; professional consultations; question and answer; and model making. Students experience the processes of architectural planning and various approaches to building design in a fun and unique environment. Focusing on the work of Frank Gehry and WAM, along with other buildings in the Twin Cities community, students develop skills and understanding in basic architectural elements and approaches for viewing, responding to, and forming judgments about architecture. They integrate learning from mathematics, social studies, and urban planning with the hands-on study of architecture. Mentors, teachers, and guest speakers from the professional world help students learn more about professions in architecture and design, opening doors and future opportunities for student participants. Industry professionals from the community are brought in at each stage to discuss what they do and mentor students on their design solutions. At the end of the week, each team presents their design to a jury of WAM s

Program Dates

August 4,- August 8, 2014 one week session

Can students reside on campus? No

Can students commute to campus? Yes

Can students take online classes?