Wicked Workshop Youth Architecture Program

First, because it's crazy fun! Whether it’s a home for a human, a secret hideout for a mythical creature or a shelter for a favorite pet, design inspirations are explored through the interactive process of character creation, storytelling, making and drawing.

But seriously, our maker-based program introduces kids to decision making strategies, complex problem solving and critical thinking opportunities that are recognized as vital 21st century skills necessary to succeed in work, life and citizenship. We do this through a project-based curriculum that introduces problem solving strategies through the materials and methods of construction and the process of idea making. Students achieve global awareness and civic literacy while practicing adaptability, self-direction, collaboration and leadership. 

We approach a wicked problem such as homelessness or environmental health by introducing a project, a client and a set of criteria. We learn about building structure, how different materials work, construction techniques,  culture, environment, geography and geometry with each project through drawing and making.  Students apply their knowledge to design and construct their own iteration (or several iterations) that will ultimately become part of a solution that addresses the wicked problem. This basic structure gives us ample opportunity to explore issues of citizenship and community while maintaining personalization and individual growth.

Wicked Workshop has the MOST amazing parents who not only "buy in" to the thinking and philosophy behind Wicked Workshop, but they also recognize the value of what we're doing and understand the long term impact it can have on their kids.  And that's BIG. While it’s always nice to see a finished piece of your child's work ready for display, Wicked Workshop projects stress process and thinking through cultural issues and design problems. Students may or may not finish each lesson with a show piece and that’s OK. One of the best gifts for your child is when a they think they have created an “epic fail” and we can show them through photography, feedback or conversation how awesome their creation really is.  "Success" is frequently a tiny, little snapshot here or there – and in our classes we talk about how that “small” accomplishment is really quite monumental because it will always generate the next new idea.

I've never seen [my son] as excited and confident as he is on "Architecture Days". He got into my car this week, after being at school for 9 hours, with the sweetest pep in his step. He gushed about his clay house! Thank you for what you are doing to encourage and excite him about architecture. Seeing my own son receive encouragement from a caring mentor in a discipline close to my heart is making it all come full-circle for me. Thank you again for what you do. You are appreciated!  - Rachel A.

My daughter absolutely loves Wicked Workshop and looks forward to each class. After each class, she can't wait to tell us about the project. As a parent, I am thrilled to see my daughter's excitement and the creativity that goes into each project. I am very happy with Wicked Workshop. Thanks! - Traci R.

I have never seen [my daughter] this excited about a class and she only had positive things to say about each project. - Revathi R.

[My son] has loved Wicked Workshop more than any other activity he has tried. - Lindsay H.                                                     

In the Fall of 2019, we designed a Toda hut, a brise soleil, a spider house and a beach perch. We explored Ghanaian mosques and toposa granaries of Southern Sudan, learned about Florence Knoll's furniture and textiles and Ben Nicholson’s Appliance House. We’ll also envisioned a book studio for Central Park and analyzed huts from Ethiopia that resemble the faces of elephants and become shorter each and every year.

Wicked Workshop kids had a blast playing with the idea of building a temple for sacred water buffalo milk as the Toda tribe does. Only the “Holy Milkman” is allowed to approach or enter the dairy temple. 

We explore the datum as a strategic organizer through drawing an experiential map. We talk about the experiential sequence and then the kids construct their maps in 3D. The goal was to achieve a “family resemblance” without making a direct copy. The point of the project is for the students to reconcile all the little the decisions that inevitably must be made in order to make the leap from drawing to making. The challenge is to visualize the same plan in both 2D and 3D convincingly.

We've had so much fun experimenting with "light" houses: houses designed to use light and color to define and enhance both the space and our experience in that space. The students really loved watching how the mood of the room changed with shifting light simulating the movement of the sun. 

This week our students faced blank sheets of paper, armed only with scissors and a little tape; tasked with creating a beautiful reading pavilion for Central Park, we saw many spatial solutions that would be a joy to inhabit. 

Wicked Workshop students explored the elephantine Dorze hut from Ethiopia that grows smaller each year due to termites chewing away at the bottom portion of the wall. Weaving a house is not easy and these kiddos nailed the construction technique while expressing amazing dimensional beauty. Well done! 

Extensive lava covers the surface of a newly colonized planet. It's out job to rethink how humans might thrive in an environment where flooding, air pollution and low water supply is common. When the floor is lava, you need a multifunctional habitat. Kids designed exploratory rovers and contraptions with purpose. From solar collectors to laser beam defense systems (...watching out for lava monsters...) these inventions must also stand up to the float test! 

Our kiddos had a blast in Squishies Camp. We made paper squishies based on the idea of Kindergarten which translates to the "children's garden" and how our very first schools were based on outdoor learning spaces and celebrated all that nature has to teach us. Then we learned more about the profession of architecture by exploring the client and their needs and how we can generate an idea when we have very little to start with. We made our own slow-rising memory foam squishy clients and started designing a school for them. 

We created furniture plans and talked about how to plan space for houses. The kids came up with so many creative ideas. We had precise hospital plans, a crazy boathouse restaurant, several dream houses and one amazing hotel idea! 

Wicked Workshop students designed houses for pigeons out of clay and learned a little about ancient Egyptian culture that isn't mentioned much in history books. The variety of solutions was impressive!