106 Academics Taking A Swing Interior architecture students compete in hammock building competition. Interior architecture students received the opportunity to get real-world experience through a design competition in their studio class, in which they worked together to plan and build a hammock stand. This project allowed the architecture students to apply what they learned in the classroom to a physical situation. Sophomore Becca Malie explained the beginnings of the process. “We started out individually designing a hammock stand, which was challenging because we needed an original idea,” Malie said. “Then, with each of those designs we went into pairs and combined the two designs. After that, we got into groups of six and combined the remaining three designs leading to the whole class having one final design.” The assignment required students to cultivate an original design, but they were allowed to use the internet for inspiration. Some students said this was the first step to their success. “The assignment was finding inspiration images of other hammock stands,” sophomore Elizabeth Bryant said. “That’s exactly where I started. I found several ideas of simple self standing hammock stands and decided that’s where I wanted to focus my ideas.” They were also able to collaborate with their peers and physical resource employees, which provided outside perspectives. “During the process, some of the campus workers came to class and gave us tips for the stand structurally to make sure it would be stable,” Malie said. Finding an efficient way to build their design was the important part. Each design had to be original. “I really wanted a very simplistic design, but I also wanted to focus on using the triangle,” Bryant said. “From there, it was figuring out how to place and join all the members in such a way that the forces would not cause it to collapse on itself.” The students received feedback on their designs and time to make the necessary changes. The feedback was provided during their studio class. “We had a critique during studio,” Bryant said. “My original design did not have anything keeping the bottom of the hammock an appropriate distance from each other. With the force added once a hammock was attached, the two members would spread away and cause it to collapse. This is why the wires were added across the open ends of the structure.” In addition to growing their architectural skills, the students’ teamwork skills also increased. “We were given partners to combine our ideas together,” sophomore Pasha Eoff said. “The main purpose was to expose us to teamwork and compromise, as that is a big aspect in our field.” After the architecture students were given time to work on their critiques, they worked together to build their hammocks for the competition. Eoff spoke about the criteria by which their designs were judged. “As a class, we voted on which hammock stand would be the most efficient, stable and suitable for the public to use,” Eoff said. “[After we voted,] all the students spent the weekend building the hammock stands from scratch to finally be placed in front of the Olen Hendrix building.” The students appreciated the opportunity to work together as a class through the hammock-building process. “My favorite part was definitely building the stand and getting to know my classmates better,” Malie said. “It was so great to be doing something where all our personalities really came out and where we could be relaxed and joke around some.” Written by Aubrey Hudkins
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