Making Our Own Space, the CUDC's design/build program for middle and high school students, continues on a limited basis this summer. Adapting MOOS for physical distancing has been a challenge, but the students at this season's first MOOS workshops in Shaker Heights rose to the occasion.Students did online design research and discussed ideas for build projects, graphics, and color schemes during remote workshop sessions. Discussions centered on the idea of how to create safe space, and how our designs can send messages to our neighbors in ways both literal and emotive. Ten students generated ideas together in a virtual setting and then split into two groups for smaller in-person workshops.
The two groups added to each other's work and built two pieces during the in-person sessions, including a 6’ long seating/signage/hand sanitizer station combo to encourage good social distancing practices, with two seats facing opposite ways on either side of the sign face and a cubby to hold a hand sanitizer bottle. Students spent lots of time developing the graphic pattern and color scheme for the side panels, but still couldn’t decide on a message for the large sign face. We will likely revisit this in August.
The other project was a free-standing sign on which that the students chose to paint a simple message of ‘HOPE.’. The students' socially distant seating piece is at the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights for the rest of the summer.
In other MOOS news, the MOOS tree house at Saint Luke's Point is complete! Two years in the making, this is one of the most ambitious and permanent MOOS projects ever constructed. Thanks to the Saint Luke's MOOS crew for your hard work and perseverance. We look forward to a MOOS tree house celebration when the pandemic has subsided and in-person events can happen again.
