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Student-Built Playhouse Raises Funds for Org Helping Abused Children

An O U student standing over a table.

Student-Built Playhouse Raises Funds for Org Helping Abused Children

Three Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture students spent part of their summer building a playhouse to be sold at the Dallas CASA Parade of Playhouses competition.

The competition raises funds for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving abused and neglected children in the area.

“The reason I enrolled in the CASA playhouse course is because it is for a good cause,” said Skye Reid, one of the students in the class. “Also, this was the perfect opportunity for something I really believe is helping me learn in a more hands on environment.”

In just a few weeks, the students designed and built the playhouse, entitled “The Tower of Shadows,” to capture a childlike perspective and sense of wonder. The playhouse uses stacking layers cut to create unique interior spaces.

“This course is a good experience for students who want to gain a better understanding of how things are built in real life,” said Reid.

“Most of our time in the studio is designing in a 3D program, but this class gives you the opportunity to work with different materials and connections to make something come into life at full scale.”

The project is offered as a course at the end of the spring semester, and was taught by Francesco Cianfarani and Garrett Stowe this year. The course name is ARCH 4970: CASA Playhouse Parade 2019 Design and Build Course.


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