EXPLODED AXON!
Living architecture, biology, design and the natural world.
Fridays 10am-3pm | Ages 10 - 15 | April - June 2014
What is architecture? Does it go beyond the buildings around us? Can the word “architecture” be applied to our bodies? Through art-making, inquiry and investigation, this workshop will blend art, architecture and natural sciences, inviting young people to make connections between structures, big and small, and the spaces in between.
Microbes are microscopic organisms that can’t be seen by the naked eye, but they’re everywhere: they’re in the air we breathe, the ground we walk on, the food we eat, and they’re part of the invisible architecture of our bodies. Are there other invisible architectures around us? Do buildings and our bodies have any commonalities? How about the skin?
Over the course of ten weeks, we’ll design and construct living structures and sculptures that encourage happy, healthy microbial environments. We might build a living wall at River City Garden, design a home out of organic waste, or build a sculptural intervention for humans, bees, and bacteria.
Hexagons, fractals, nature’s geometry, biology and microbes: oh my!
Themes and vocabulary: architecture, design, biomimicry, biomorphology, living architecture, bioethics, microbes/cells, skin (as it relates to the body and in architecture), biosphere /ecosphere/ ecology, fractals, land art.
A workshop by Nicole LoBue and Tara Lisa Foley.