Spring 2012 GSAPP Visual Study: Hacking the Urban Experience

Hacking the Urban Experience with John Locke was a fabrication studio where students designed urban installations taking advantage of already existing and (potentially underutilized) sites and moments in the city to formulate architecturally significant projects for public engagement. Our teams final installation (Booby Trap) was part piñata, part canopy, part deployable EDM festival, part fortune cookie but above all an opportunity to introduce whimsy and something beautiful to a not so beautiful element in the standard urban environment: the temporary construction scaffolding tunnel.

The project was designed, built and installed in one day and eventually ripped down after less than 12 hours, but it was well received even if short lived. The actual canopy was constructed of a nylon rope grid attached to existing points of connection along the interior of the scaffolding with zip ties. Once taut, the grid was populated with pre-inflated balloons, some filled with glow sticks for added spectacle and some filled with candy. A handful of the candy filled balloons were slip-knotted to tags designed to be pulled down to drop the gift balloon filled with sweets, with the idea that over time all the ballons would be removed for their prizes and the lattice would once again be exposed.

Special thanks to our teacher, John. Props to the rest of the amazing HUE team Farzin, Jared and Maryam as well as our helpers Carolina and Alicia.