My Place - the Courtyard

Organizer: studioBASAR
Tutors: Andrei Pripasu, Alin Voitescu, Alex Axinte, Cristi Borcan.
Participants: children from the Foster Home Sinaia.
Volunteers: Costică, Gabi, Ilie.
Organizer of the inauguration event: Cecilia Frâncu.
Special guests at the event: the architect Dan Manea, pupils from the School „Principesa Maria” and high school „Mihail Cantacuzino”.
Location: the courtyard of the Foster Home, Sinaia.
Period: 11-19 iunie 2016

‚My Different Place 2016′ is an applied education project coordinated by studioBASAR together with Cecilia Frâncu (Association Prahova Excelsior) in partnership with the Foster Home Sinaia. The 2016 edition of the project ‘My Different Place’ was financed by Romanian Order of Architects from the architecture stamp, within the financing session 2016 for cultural projects initiated by NGOs and was realized in partnership with Prahova county branch of the Romanian Order of Architects.

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Through a series of participative workshops, the project aimed to transform the uses of the Foster Home’s courtyard by constructing several temporary structures together with the children living in the Home.

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Seen through the children’s eyes, the courtyard was colored in tones of Cool or Grose, after the everyday user’s canons, but also through the potential intuited by the ones that are using it. Divided in teams, the children formulated proposals for different areas of the courtyard, which they debated, presented, voted and in the end detailed in working models.

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After we evaluated the sites and prepared the intervention, we set aside the scissors, the cardboard and the glue and we grab the screwdrivers, the planks and the rope. During almost 3 days, the courtyard became a construction site with several working points opened.

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Up, near the generator, 15 logs set the base for a platform-stage that was completed with a giant armchair and a flopping yellow canopy stretched over the whole composition. Down, near the playground, 3 hammocks hanged in between several tree clusters, becoming playing or relaxing places. In the back, several painted flower boxes were laid over less fertile ground, joined by benches and tables, opening up a less used place. Before the inauguration festivity, the title of the project written by the children letter by letter was hooked up on the fence, and several painted benches were prepared for the guests.

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After weeks of debate and work, we all gathered around the stage were the workshop’s participants and their guests singed, recite and acted. The music, the fruit salad and the cake prepared by the children concluded a special day, when the courtyard become a live place, transformed, following the ideas and effort of the ones who use it, into “a cool place!”.

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