SPRINT BRIEF

Image (project example)

؜Imagine a city where every building tells a story— filled with tales from different cultures. In this sprint, students will design and build a piece of a collective cardboard city. Each structure will represent a unique cultural narrative, using patterns, shapes, and details to bring the story to life. Together, these individual creations will form a vibrant cityscape that celebrates diversity and shows how our stories shape a shared world.

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

a series of built models of designs for an imagined cityscape

those new built pieces will collectively create a cultural themed world

Final Project Expectations

Your process will include sketches or a mood board to explore and communicate your cultural inspirations before building.

؜Your prototype will include interactive or moving parts (like doors, windows, or features that can open, rotate, or shift) to bring your building to life.

Your design will use cultural elements such as patterns, symbols, colors, and architectural styles inspired by a specific city or country.

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Studio Skills

Collaboration

Concept Development

Lo-Fi & Hi-Fi Prototyping

Positive Impact

Researching & Media Analysis

Engagement and Persistence

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The design process will include 5 steps:

SPRINT STEPS

Draw a mental map of the city you're in

؜Mental Maps

Get inspiration and research about the city's cultural Identity

Cultural Research

Imagine how your piece will look like!

؜Sketching

A good example of signals are "the launch of chatGPT" or "the fall of the iconic tunnel tree redwood" and good examples of drivers would be "artificial intelligence" or "climate change"

Then, identify signals (glimpses of the future we already see today) and drivers (what made the signal possible)



1

2

3

4

؜10 min

20 min

~ 30 mins

~ 4hrs

Model Making

؜You will build your projects

5

؜1 hr

Documentation

؜As a class you will put each piece next to each other to assemble you themed city!

Week 3

Week 5-7

Week 8

Week 4

SPRINT MATERIALS

Cutting Mat

Cardboard

Colored Acetate

Bristol Papers (180g)

Straws

Metal Ruler

Pencil

Markers

Cutting Blade

Masking Tape

Hot Glue Gun

String

Brads

Popsicles and wooden skewers

Vocabulary

Architect

a professional who designs buildings and plans and supervises their construction.

Urban Planner

a professional who directs the development of cities, towns, and neighborhoods

Architects have the opportunity to imagine what the world could be like, then use their skills to make that imagination a reality.

In movies and video games, we experience the imagined worlds from the minds of directors, writers, and creators.

Who can name where each image is from?

1st

You are going to draw something we call a "Mental Map". It is a map you draw from your memory. It’s how you see the city in your mind! It doesn’t have to be perfect or realistic—just show the places you remember and the roads you know.

1. Start with your house and draw it in the middle of your map.
2. Add other places around it—places you go to often/places you’ve seen.
3. Connect the places with roads!
4. Try to write the names of the roads and places
5. Draw that path and tell us the story of your day through the city!

2.1

Research Cultural Identity

Pick a city that inspires you. It could be your home country, a place you’ve visited, or somewhere you’re curious about (e.g., Riyadh, Paris, Tokyo, Italy..).

2.1

Research Cultural Identity

Look for cultural elements that define your city:

1. Architecture: styles, materials, famous buildings (e.g., domes, arches, columns, modern skyscrapers). Are there unique roof styles, windows, or decorative details?
2. Colors & Patterns: traditional colors, mosaics, textiles, geometric or floral designs.
3. Symbols: flags, cultural icons, landmarks, natural features (e.g., palm trees for Saudi, Eiffel Tower for France).
4. Lifestyle: marketplaces, public spaces, homes, religious or cultural spaces.

2.2

Create a mood board

You will create a mood board that captures the essence of the place you selected

You will choose your medium:

1. Canva
2. Google Slides
3. Your phone's photo editor (many let you create collages directly)
4. Figma

2.2

Create a mood board

Start with Shapes

1. Geometric shapes that represent the structure of your site (rectangles for buildings, arches for doors, circles for open areas).

Choose a Color Palette

1. Sandy and warm? Metallic and shiny? Natural and soft? You can eyedrop colors from a photos

Add Patterns

1. Use simple shapes (lines, dots, zigzags)

Layer in Textures

1. Use cross-hatching, scribbles, or smudging to suggest surfaces like stone, fabric, glass, etc.

Add a Title or Small Caption

1. You can include a short word or phrase that reflects the mood or meaning .

3rd

؜Now, choose one type of building you’d like to reimagine as part of the new cultural city we are building together.

Remember, the theme of our city is cultural diversity! So think creatively.

For example: What would a school look like if it reflected the culture, traditions, and architectural style of the city you picked. Write down some ideas!

BUILDINGS

TOWERS

MUSEUMS

HOUSES

MALL

HOSPITALS

SCHOOLS

AMUSEMENT PARK

TELECOMMUNICATION STATION

BUSINESS

RESTAURENTS

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3rd

Great! Now it’s time to start sketching your imagined building.

Think about:

1. What is the purpose of this building in the cultural city?
2. How can it reflect the traditions, patterns, and architecture of a specific culture?
3. What symbols, colors, or decorative elements could inspire your building’s design?
4. Think of the shape: Is your building tall like a minaret? Rounded like a yurt? Layered like a pagoda?

4.1

Check the "Prototyping" and "Mechanism" resources in the Toolbox tab. Learn the basics of cardboard building techniques! Try out different joinery methods and experiment with simple mechanisms.

Go over the prototyping presentations

Flanges

Brace

Hinge

Slots

Butt Joint

4.2

Cut out a 15 by 15 piece of cardboard. This is your land in the big collective city.

We will then add our name on each piece, and as class start to arrange them to make the city layout.

3 mm Thick Cardboard

15cm

15cm

4.3

Start to build your imagined design on the base site platform. Begin by sketching the pieces needed to construct your model. Then assemble the materials needed and create a prototype in cardboard that fits on the cardboard base. You could create cut-outs for windows (use tracing paper to represent transparency), create patterns through paper cut-outs, and finally make sure to use colors wisely (Do not color over cardboard). Discuss with your teacher on what could be improved.

Make sure to include patterns by cutting out papers

Make sure to include movement !

4.4

؜Head to the Toolbox to learn about CAD drawing and turn your design into digital drawing for Laser cutting! Optional: Draw your building in 3D on Tinkercad (Resources in the Toolbox)

4.4

Examples

4.5

؜Feel free to add lights to your design if you’d like! Check the toolbox for instructions on how to build a simple LED circuit using a coin cell battery — look for the guide in the 'Electronics' folder.

5th

You will now bring all your pieces together to create your city!

END OF CHALLENGE