Five weeks of inspiration, ideation, and implementation of creative ideas all came together in the campers' final prototypes this Wednesday. Parents, professionals, community members and reporters gathered in Mount Vernon Park neighborhood to see the campers present their original designs, which the campers and counselors installed in two of the formerly empty lots in the neighborhood Wednesday morning. 

Around 30 people total showed up, and the campers were excited to see themselves in the newspaper the next day (check out articles from the Journal Gazette and News Sentinel!). Community members were able to walk around and experience the campers' design prototypes for themselves. These designs were the results of the site analyses that the campers conducted back in Week 1--identifying the needs and the assets of Mount Vernon Park neighborhood, and then designing creative solutions to those needs, or building on assets. The Tired-a-Lot crew wanted to build spaces that preserved the lovely nature of the neighborhood, but created a place where people of all ages could gather together. So, they designed and built interactive murals, planter boxes doubling as benches, and a clubhouse to be placed in two empty lots in Mount Vernon Park neighborhood. 

After all the excitement and work of the first few days of this week, it was time for a day of relaxation. The campers enjoyed a pontoon boat ride down the river with "Dan, Dan the River Man," who spoke to them about preserving Fort Wayne's rivers. After a delicious lunch, we had the opportunity to tour Concordia Lutheran Seminary, a strikingly beautiful campus for its architecture. 

Tomorrow: Chicago! 

We are down to the last few days of camp here at the Tired-a-Lot Summer Studio 2018, and things are picking up. Today and tomorrow, the campers will be working on implementing their designs by building actual prototypes. Wednesday will be the final presentation of these designs, and everyone is working hard to bring the fruit of the campers' inspiration and ideation to life. 

Check out the video below to see what a few of our campers are up to right now. 

In addition to painting their murals, with the assistance and guidance of the counselors, campers are also building the structural components of their designs as well, which has included measuring, sanding, and drilling. All for the big presentation on Wednesday! 

IMPLEMENTATION was the phase we focused on this week-- taking all of our ideas from the inspiration and ideation phases and bringing them to fruition in specific models that will become prototypes the last week of camp.

The campers brought their individual designs together into two main models, incorporating as many details from the individual designs as they could. Together, the two groups presented these models to each other and to the Zoning Board of Appeals, receiving feedback and tweaking their designs. ​

We took a field trip to Menards to acquire the building materials necessary to begin building these prototypes (and made it back with all the lumber and 0 decapitations in transit, a true accomplishment). Today (Friday) an artist named Josh came all the way from Chicago to teach and guide us through the mural-painting process, as both groups have mural components to their designs. ​

Even in the midst of building, inspiration and imagination needs to flow. The campers did an activity in which they used lumber, ratchet straps and tires to make benches and sculptures. 

Week 4 has brought us into the "Implementation" phase of the design process, and with that has come practice with power tools, sanding, staining, refining models and designs... and, you guessed it, a meeting with the City of Fort Wayne Board of Zoning Appeals. One of our campers, Larresha, brings you the story below. 

Update: Our meeting with the Zoning Board of Appeals went well, with the campers presenting their ideas to the Board and the Board offering logistical feedback. The campers were also introduced to the world of Zoning-- what all it entails, and how it impacts the design process. 

Another step closer to the final design! 

Meet the awesome campers who have been learning and implementing their ideas in the design process these 5 weeks.