NEXT GENERATION OF BDT ATTENDS ARCHITECTURE CAMP AT OSU

July 14, 2017

What do high school kids love to do during their summer vacation? Attend architecture camp, of course! That’s exactly what fifteen-year-old Sam Dispenza, son of one of the principals here at BDT, has done this summer. Read Sam’s first-hand account of his experience at Ohio State’s High School Design Studio below.

Hi! My name is Sam Dispenza; my dad is Don Dispenza, Principal at BDT
Architects and Interior Designers.

My dad isn’t the only one in our family who is interested in
architecture!

I recently attended the 2017 High School Design Studio at the Ohio State University. This
camp was held in the Knowlton
School of Architecture. If you haven’t been inside this cool building
before, check out this slideshow on ArchDaily.

The High School Design Studio is organized by the Center for Architecture and
Design.  Over the course of two weeks, the kids in my studio
worked on labyrinths and abstraction. In the first week, we started by making
sketches of mazes based on famous works of art. We then made a model of our
final sketch. After that, we worked in two different groups to create a drawing
of a life-sized maze that we would build. We built our two mazes in the
auditorium of Knowlton. Once we had finished, both teams raced through each
maze.

In the second week, we were asked to create a series of abstract
drawings based on an animal that was chosen randomly. My animal was a hyena. We
made a series of sketches of our animals. The first drawing used only straight
lines, the second used only triangles, the third used only circles, etc. After
we finished these sketches, we made a 2D model using our two favorite sketches.
Then we made a 3D model that resembled the 2D model. Using the 3D model, we
traced the shadows of the model in sunlight and copied those images into Adobe
Illustrator, where we cleaned up the crooked lines. Finally, we made a 3D model
using the Illustrator drawing, and we put up all of our work in the auditorium
for everyone to see.

But we didn’t have to stay inside all week. We got to take a tour of Roto, a company in Columbus that makes exhibits for children’s museums, as well as a tour of the Columbus College of Art and Design.

Sam will be a sophomore at Athens High School in Athens, Ohio in the fall. He plays on the high school’s boys soccer team, plays guitar in a rock band, and enjoys Cyclocross and mountain biking. When he graduates, Sam hopes to attend the Ohio State University to study architecture.