Photographing students, no matter what level, is always interesting. Likewise, working with The American Institute of Architects and the Center for Architecture and Design is always a blast. So when the two organizations teamed up with the School District of Philadelphia for a cool partnership — and they asked us to document the whole thing — it was a true match made in heaven.
A Little Background
I’ve had the pleasure of working with AIA and CFAD before. Each time, their programs inspire me (and kind of make me want to switch careers!). This time was no different. For a few days, working professionals visited local schools for a round of in-classroom engineering and design workshops. We tagged along to the William D. Kelley School and Rhawnhurst School portions to capture what was going on. The program is part of CFAD’s program to ‘expand access to design education for K-12 students in Philadelphia’.
First up were the students at Rhawnhurst! Students here turned desktop document holders into usable storage bins. They drew up designs for attaching the holders to the back of their chairs using zip ties. The session encouraged problem solving, innovation, and independent thinking in the young students.
At Kelley, students worked with a group of visiting architects. Similarly, they built something from scratch. But for their project they came up with a whole new design concept. They designed a blue print for a new space, which they did spectacularly. Some made an affordable beauty salon that included free childcare while others created clothing studios and animal care facilities.
The End Result
Watching the students work and hearing the ideas they came up with was fascinating. The architects and aides were all wonderful as well. Another successful time photographing students and being inspired by the brilliant minds at AIA and CFAD.
