Seating Aggregation Landscape (SAL)
In this studio, students developed a seating and shade structure to enhance a proposed soccer field for Nahed Chapman New American Academy, which serves recent immigrants in kindergarten through tenth grade. Working with local professionals, the team took safety and social considerations into account, and then used digital tools to design and fabricate an iconic piece. Led by assistant professor Chandler Ahrens, juniors and seniors used digital tools and manual fabrication techniques to design and fabricate an iconic seating and shade structure for the Nahed Chapman New American Academy, part of the St. Louis Public Schools District. NCNAA provides students with a supportive environment to transition to St. Louis, including English language support and academic services, for two years before moving on to a standard public school. The diverse student body hails from 24 countries.
This project was part of a larger effort to renovate the asphalt playfield on the NCNAA campus into an artificial turf field, complete with bleachers and goals. It was originally inspired by local architect Peter Tao, who connected with NCNAA principal Donnie Harris around soccer as a unifying force for new immigrants. Tao rallied a team of construction firms and collaborators undertake the project.
The WashU design-build studio developed a proposal for the edge that separates the play area from a parking lot. The students began the semester by meeting with stakeholders and visiting the site, and then working in small teams to propose 3 concepts. With feedback from stakeholders and students, the WashU students synthesized their concepts to create a proposal that considered safety, materials, and fabrication.
The final concept, Seating Aggregation Landscape (SAL), creates a series of spaces for interaction: reclining, hiding, chatting, and more. Students gave careful consideration to selecting materials for durability and comfort. The entire structure was designed to be disassembled, allowing it to be fabricated at WashU and later installed at NCNAA.
When asked about what they learned from this studio experience, students pointed to understanding the complex needs of stakeholders, and how to translate those needs into design. They also emphasized learning to work as a group, and to communicate with their fellow team members and stakeholders.
Images and Plans
Technical Description
The final concept, Seating Aggregation Landscape (SAL), was designed with consideration for safety, maintenance, and fabrication. The full structure is 21 feet long, 12 feet wide, and the shade section rises 7 feet in the air, which is considered a reasonable distance for children to climb up to. SAL was installed over a rubber playground pad to prevent injury during falls.
MATERIALS
Students gave careful consideration to selecting materials designed for durability and comfort. White, high-density polyethylene sheets, typically used to make cutting boards, were used for the planar surfaces in order to prevent damage. Steel tubes were carefully cut and welded with smooth ends to make the installation stronger and safer. Materials were selected to tolerate summer and winter conditions in St. Louis.
FABRICATION
SAL was manually fabricated by a team of students on the WashU campus. The structure was designed to be easily disassembled with the correct tools, allowing it to be moved to NCNAA when the field construction was complete. Fabrication had to consider the available tools and knowledge of the students, several of whom learned welding and metalwork techniques during the fabrication of the project.