Hundreds of Columbus Signature Academy — Lincoln campus students dug in to assist the creation of an Exhibit Columbus installation, with full permission to get really dirty in their assigned tasks from their parents and teachers. About 371 students, which is the entire study body, along with 25 parent chaperones, visited the site of the Miller Prize untitled installation by Frida Escobedo Studio at the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library Plaza to work in shifts all day Wednesday. The students and parent volunteers were helping plant more than 3,000 plants, representing 33 species all native to Indiana, for the installation, which is transforming the library’s plaza into an elevated garden terrace “designed for exploration, improvisation, and play,” according to an Exhibit Columbus description. “Using the rigid geometries of (I.M.) Pei’s design as a formal point of departure, interlocking metal curves form an organic puzzle-piece-like landscape that encourages conversation and relaxation. As native grasses and wildflowers change over time, the public too will adapt and discover new ways to experience this installation,” according to Exhibit Columbus’ description of the installation. For the students, their new way to experience the installation was to haul mulch and plants, following a grid planting system set up by the studio designers as to where the plants were to be placed. “They’re filthy,” laughed Principal Brett Findley as he watched the students dive into the project. And he was among those who got pretty dirty, too, while filling buckets of mulch for the students to carry to volunteers setting the plants in place. “But, oh, they had a blast,” he said. The students were working alongside the Frida Escobedo Studio staff and were excited to also be working with Randy Royer on the project. Royer, a senior principal at Hitchcock Design Group, lives in Columbus, serving on the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives Board, the Purdue Agriculture Alumni Association Board and as past president of the Columbus Area Visitor’s Center. But for the students, Royer is best known as the designer of the school’s new playground, created as part of the Linden Project, which was modeled off an original concept for a playground at the school in 1966 that never materialized. The new play area features new equipment, including a multi-swing set that allows students to socialize with one another. It also features outdoor classroom spaces, sculptural benches and more. Each year, Lincoln students choose a cause to volunteer for — last year was Lincoln Central Neighborhood Center, Findley said. This year, the students chose to help with Exhibit Columbus and work directly with Royer on the installation. “He’s right in there working with the kids,” Findley said of Royer’s contribution. Describing the scene with the students diving into the mulch and planting as “organized chaos,” Findley said the students are learning that projects such as Exhibit Columbus are about taking pride in their community, and learning that they can make a difference as kids in their own city. “We want them to know they can play a role in making their community a better place,” he said.
Hundreds of Columbus Signature Academy — Lincoln campus students dug in to assist the creation of an Exhibit Columbus installation, with full permission to get really dirty in their assigned tasks from their parents and teachers.
About 371 students, which is the entire study body, along with 25 parent chaperones, visited the site of the Miller Prize untitled installation by Frida Escobedo Studio at the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library Plaza to work in shifts all day Wednesday.
The students and parent volunteers were helping plant more than 3,000 plants, representing 33 species all native to Indiana, for the installation, which is transforming the library’s plaza into an elevated garden terrace “designed for exploration, improvisation, and play,” according to an Exhibit Columbus description.
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“Using the rigid geometries of (I.M.) Pei’s design as a formal point of departure, interlocking metal curves form an organic puzzle-piece-like landscape that encourages conversation and relaxation. As native grasses and wildflowers change over time, the public too will adapt and discover new ways to experience this installation,” according to Exhibit Columbus’ description of the installation.
For the students, their new way to experience the installation was to haul mulch and plants, following a grid planting system set up by the studio designers as to where the plants were to be placed.
“They’re filthy,” laughed Principal Brett Findley as he watched the students dive into the project. And he was among those who got pretty dirty, too, while filling buckets of mulch for the students to carry to volunteers setting the plants in place.
“But, oh, they had a blast,” he said.
The students were working alongside the Frida Escobedo Studio staff and were excited to also be working with Randy Royer on the project. Royer, a senior principal at Hitchcock Design Group, lives in Columbus, serving on the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives Board, the Purdue Agriculture Alumni Association Board and as past president of the Columbus Area Visitor’s Center.
But for the students, Royer is best known as the designer of the school’s new playground, created as part of the Linden Project, which was modeled off an original concept for a playground at the school in 1966 that never materialized. The new play area features new equipment, including a multi-swing set that allows students to socialize with one another. It also features outdoor classroom spaces, sculptural benches and more.
Each year, Lincoln students choose a cause to volunteer for — last year was Lincoln Central Neighborhood Center, Findley said. This year, the students chose to help with Exhibit Columbus and work directly with Royer on the installation.
“He’s right in there working with the kids,” Findley said of Royer’s contribution.
Describing the scene with the students diving into the mulch and planting as “organized chaos,” Findley said the students are learning that projects such as Exhibit Columbus are about taking pride in their community, and learning that they can make a difference as kids in their own city.
“We want them to know they can play a role in making their community a better place,” he said.
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The Exhibit Columbus exhibition is a once-every-two-years display of a wide variety of temporary architectural installations meant to highlight or somehow connect to nearby, permanent structures and buildings in Columbus.
The exhibition is set to begin Friday and Saturday and run through Dec. 1 and is an exploration of art, architecture and design.
Exhibit Columbus seeks to celebrate Columbus’ heritage while making it relevant in new and modern ways, according to organizers. It is the signature project of Landmark Columbus, which was created in 2015 to care for the design heritage of Columbus, and is under the umbrella of The Heritage Fund — the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.
To learn more, visit: exhibitcolumbus.org.
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