Day 4

Day 4: Today we did another fun workshop that took up most of the day today. After receiving a really cool packet about green design, we played a game called “What Green Material Am I?” Familiar materials were placed in number plastic bags. They included sunflower seeds, wood scraps, bamboo, and more. We then had to match the raw materials to the finished product, and the outcome was often very surprising. For example, sunflower seed hulls can be turned into BIOFIBER used to build cabinets and other furniture. We also learned about how the stuff we take for granted can be maximized for usage. Old tires can be made into rubber flooring, making it 100% recyclable. In addition, old jeans can be used as insulation, reducing the common wasting of old denim. The really cool thing about this exercise was being able to see and touch both the raw materials and finished products instead of simply looking at a generic Google image. Next, we matched up “What” and “Why” cards based on pictures and descriptions. For example, a why card would describe a thorough paragraph about an item that can save on both heating and cooling costs, and it was our job to match that to a card containing the picture of a ceiling fan. Our packet also contained mini-exercise such as “I Spy Something Green”. We identified green elements on pictures of homes such as fluorescent lighting, bamboo flooring, and low-flow showerheads. After learning so much we were finally ready to begin our green dollhouses. Each group of four was assigned a group and a room. My card read “House B, family room.” We then flipped through books of floorplans and eventually sketched our own after identifying which green aspects we would attempt to incorporate. My group came up with a contemporary three-floor design for our house including plenty of windows, skylights, a spiral staircase, and multiple green features. After sketching out where I wanted furniture and lighting, I used the provided supplies to put down a “bamboo floor”, “organic curtains”, and “LCD lighting.” The goal of our group was to obtain the coveted Platinum sticker for a “Techbridge Award in Green Design”, to simulate a LEED certification in green construction. I found this project to be particularly interesting because I have been interested in architecture for a while. Tonight we have been hearing from another group to learn about the challenging world of robotics.

-Alyssa