Disir
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In college, Michael Ford, Assoc. AIA was introduced to a quote by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Architecture is frozen music.” Years later, the self-proclaimed Hip Hop Architect would put his own spin to those words when he launched the Hip Hop Architecture Camp (HHAC), an intensive weeklong program that aims to introduce middle schoolers to the profession and ultimately shows participants how to do just that—freeze music through architecture.
Aimed in part at increasing diversity among architects, the HHAC travels around the country to teach students about the built environment through popular hip-hop and rap songs. The five-day program, often timed with the local schools' break or summer vacation, is currently sponsored by Autodeskand free for the students.
Last week was Washington, D.C.'s turn to experience the movement when Ford hosted 10 middle-school students from the local region at the District Architecture Center. During the Feb. 18-22 event, sponsored by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), students learned how to analyze popular rap and hip hop lyrics that discuss the impact of the built environment, construct city models inspired by certain verses, and eventually write their own raps to highlight disparities in the profession.
On Monday, the first day of camp, each student selected or was assigned a verse by artists such as Nas, Lupe Fiasco, or Cardi B. Using bars of staples, the students translated words from the verses into individual "structures" of varying heights based on the complexity of the lyrics. (Ford notes the double meaning of bars, which can also refer to bars of a rap.) Long words resulted in tall buildings, while shorter words led to low- and mid-rise structures.
Ford also asked students to base the orientation of each “building” on rhyme schemes—if two consecutive words rhyme, their corresponding buildings should be oriented the same direction, if not, they should be perpendicular to each other. With each word diagrammed as a building, students then assembled a cityscape based on their assigned verse. Finally, though Ford reports that he is not a fan of “bling culture,” the students spray-paint the models in gold and silver, giving them a “museum or gallery quality.” The result was a city model derived directly from a verse, allowing the students to “to hold music in their hands,” Ford says.
https://www.architectmagazine.com/p...ecture-camp-is-about-more-than-architecture_o
I don't care what anyone says. This is cool! I posted about this camp last year or year before last but this is a real look at it.
Aimed in part at increasing diversity among architects, the HHAC travels around the country to teach students about the built environment through popular hip-hop and rap songs. The five-day program, often timed with the local schools' break or summer vacation, is currently sponsored by Autodeskand free for the students.
Last week was Washington, D.C.'s turn to experience the movement when Ford hosted 10 middle-school students from the local region at the District Architecture Center. During the Feb. 18-22 event, sponsored by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), students learned how to analyze popular rap and hip hop lyrics that discuss the impact of the built environment, construct city models inspired by certain verses, and eventually write their own raps to highlight disparities in the profession.
On Monday, the first day of camp, each student selected or was assigned a verse by artists such as Nas, Lupe Fiasco, or Cardi B. Using bars of staples, the students translated words from the verses into individual "structures" of varying heights based on the complexity of the lyrics. (Ford notes the double meaning of bars, which can also refer to bars of a rap.) Long words resulted in tall buildings, while shorter words led to low- and mid-rise structures.
Ford also asked students to base the orientation of each “building” on rhyme schemes—if two consecutive words rhyme, their corresponding buildings should be oriented the same direction, if not, they should be perpendicular to each other. With each word diagrammed as a building, students then assembled a cityscape based on their assigned verse. Finally, though Ford reports that he is not a fan of “bling culture,” the students spray-paint the models in gold and silver, giving them a “museum or gallery quality.” The result was a city model derived directly from a verse, allowing the students to “to hold music in their hands,” Ford says.
https://www.architectmagazine.com/p...ecture-camp-is-about-more-than-architecture_o
I don't care what anyone says. This is cool! I posted about this camp last year or year before last but this is a real look at it.
