Way back in early September, Syracuse University alumni, Maureen Baker, approached the interior design department looking for a group of students to work on a real-world design project. The project was to help design a Montessori style school for the New Jersey based organization From Houses to Homes (check out the school under the "education" link). The school, called Kemna'Oj, is currently being built in Santa Maria de Jesus, a rural village just outside of Antigua, Guatemala and is scheduled to be completed in April of 2013.
At the beginning of this project, I was excited to participate in a project that would actually be applied and built. As a design student, it's very rare that any project I design would ever be constructed. Now, with the project nearly at its end, my excitement stems from so much more. What I've come to realize over the past few months is just how much of an impact design can have on those who inhabit it. It's one of those ideas that, as a student, you're aware of, but really have no idea how true it is.
In Santa Maria de Jesus, the literacy rate is at a meager 69% and of the few children who attend school, many don't make it past second grade. What Kemna'Oj will do is allow students to attend the school completely free. With the nearest public school being about an hour away, this is a coveted opportunity for most children.
The Kemna'Oj Design Team from left to right:
Lex Struble, Erin McCarthy, Meghan Thomas, Me, Jessica Greenlaw, Emily Groemmer
Now for the part where we step in...
Starting off, we had ourselves a full program. We not only were tasked with designing the entire interior of the building, but also most of the furniture within it. After months of tirelessly putting ourselves into this project, we came up with a solid, cohesive design for the classrooms, cafeteria, and courtyard of the building which fueled the design decisions in the secondary spaces.
We took the idea of a huipil (traditional Mayan garb seen above) as well of the name of the school itself, which means "weaving minds, weaving knowledge," and created an overarching motif of weaving, diamonds, and thread. The diamond motif was first established in the courtyard and hallway railings. These elements referenced the diamond pattern seen on Santa Maria de Jesus's huipil. You'll also notice a sculptural string element located in the cafeteria as well as the entrance of each classroom. This element gives the school an identity as well as serving as the identification of each grade (the threads are different colors for each grade). Obviously, this was a very brief summary of our design intents and processes, but I'd rather you see the results than me describe them (:
Upper Level Classroom
Pre-K & Kindergarten Classroom
Courtyard Area
Cafeteria
I'm so proud of these renderings and all the effort that exists behind them. The team I worked with faced numerous challenges from language and measurement barriers, to changing deadlines and time shortages. What's even more thrilling is that we'll soon be able to see our designs come to life. With construction underway (the roof of the building went on just a few weeks ago!) we'll be seeing images of color and life coming into the building very soon.
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Most spectacularly, drumroll please...
...the six of us will be going to Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala in May to do a post-occupancy study. I still cannot wrap my head around just how truly blessed I am. Being able to design the school was enough of a blessing in the first place, but actually being able to see it is beyond what I could ask for. Not only that, but I'll be able to see just how much of an impact the school will have on the children who attend Kemna'Oj.
And on that note, I'll leave you with these amazing faces and a little video:
