projects and articles by members
From here to there – one to one scale labyrinth
In the beginning of school year 2005 groups of architecture of Pori Art School for Children and Youth took part to the children’s culture week in their hometown Pori. The purpose was to build a huge installation/ scenery for ceremony in a local Youth Culture House. The participants were secondary grammar school students aged 13-14 years. The others had studied architecture one year, and for the others the project was first one.
The interest in the project was space in reality: how does it feel and how is it possible to create the sense of space with forms, lights and even sounds – encourage the young people to see themselves as agents of change.
It was possible to take any room which we wanted for to do anything. The timetable was tight - three times (each 2,25 hour) to build scale models in groups and to do finally decision-making between 15 persons. The conclusion was to do the labyrinth with three different kind of spaces which could offer surprises. Also this could help working to dividing students into three parts. We had 7,5 hour to realise the plans. Beforehand the walls were painted according to plan. The other materials used in project were mainly recycled. We got a lot of help with the structures from employed boys in Culture House and also from retired lighting-master for lights.
The labyrinth was one of the attraction for kids in the gala ceremony. In the third floor of Culture House kids found our space installation. The first “oriental” and sunny space welcame with belly dance music. Walking forward you got to the sewer: the dark place with junk, knocking music and black light (get your teeth and eyeball to shine). The third and latest space was the Heaven with white and softly walls and ground and lovely music.
The project was productive for all participants. For youth the best of all was building - there wasn’t so much limits. The role of teacher was to inspire and encourage the youth realise possibilities which their could’t see. The result was succesfull. The young set designers were happy about what did they succeed to do. Also there were a lot of interested users: during the day of ceremony approximately three hundred kids walk throuht the labyrinth about 3-4 times.
