If Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys and LEGOs captured your child's imagination, perhaps your tween or teen is ready for the next level: Seattle Architecture Foundation offers a wonderful program for youth, ages 11 to 16, who are ready to put their building and design skills to the test.
The four-hour workshops present a particular challenge, provide information and background, then allow the kids to use their imaginations to come up with creative ideas and solutions.
The first 2014 workshop was held in January at the Bullitt Center, a green and practically self-sustaining office building on East Madison Street. This building represents the most current approaches to building green, which was the focus of the workshop.
The youth were given a brief history of the construction along with a slide show followed by a tour of the building and its greenest features. Armed with information on locally sourced materials, composting toilets, water filtration gardens, solar power and giant windows for lighting, the youth were set with the task of designing their own office buildings. Working in teams of three or four, they began sketching and building models of their own designs.
One table was filled with a variety of materials for building while another table provided a safe workspace for hot glue guns and X-Acto knives. Each group was provided a mentor or coach to help them flush out their ideas and answer questions.
At the end of the workshop, the groups presented their designs and models to their parents and Seattle Architecture Foundation staff. Interestingly, all of the groups included common gathering spaces outdoors, something that the Bullitt Center does not have.
Watching the kids work together was quite a privilege (I observed the workshop, although they are typically a youth-only experience). Having met only one hour beforehand, the groups bonded quickly and set right to work.
The Seattle Architecture Foundation staff does a great job of not only teaching concepts of construction and architecture, but also of how to be a good team member. Everyone was heard, and everyone had their ideas included. There was a lot going on here besides just good design. I saw eyes screwed tight in concentration, heads tilted in contemplation and query, and faces aglow with inspiration.
While these kids may not pursue a career in architecture, the experience of the workshop will undoubtedly stay with them. While my own tween had a conflict that day and could not attend, I borrowed one of his friends to attend the workshop with me. On the drive home, instead of the normal conversations about school and music, she was actively watching her surroundings, noting which houses had too many trees to make solar panels feasible, which houses had large enough windows to provide good lighting and which green features could be incorporated into her own home. The workshop had not just been something fun to do on a Saturday; it had changed the way she viewed the world. Now that's getting your money's worth!
There are three more youth workshops in 2014. Your kids may sign up for individual dates or all three. Because the workshops are designed to introduce teens and pre-teens how architecture and design can connect to social and civic issues, future topics include bringing green space to hospitals, a project based on public restrooms and designing micro housing in local neighborhoods. Workshops take place on the second Saturday of the month, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A light lunch is provided during the workshops, but extra snacks are not a bad idea as not a single crumb of the provided food was left at our workshop.
These events are just one of the types of kid-friendly programs offered by the Seattle Architecture Foundation. Family workshops are offered for parents and kids ages 7 to 12 to do together. A variety of tours, each with a unique theme, are offered April through December and can be fun for older kids as well. A special kid-focused "Eye Spy" tour is offered May through September on the first Saturday of each month as well.
