Students in the School of Architecture are drawing upon their design and research skills to create a Halloween tent party for the whole campus that captures the spirit of the Bauhaus movement of the 1920s and 1930s.
The Architecture Student Council is organizing the annual event, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 31, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday on the Givens Hall parking lot. This year, the students also are opening up the tent to trick-or-treaters from 6 to 7 p.m. Saturday, so members of the community can experience the ambiance of the 120-foot by 60-foot tent. The students are delivering letters door to door to invite youngsters for treats at 6 p.m. and keep neighbors fully informed of the event.
"We do everything from investigating tent sound-proofing and heading up a community relations campaign to researching and implementing the design and construction ideas from the Bauhaus movement in architecture," said Lucia Wittman, co-president of the Architecture Student Council and a senior in the School of Architecture. "In keeping with the industrial theme of the Bauhaus movement, the two-dimensional and three-dimensional design schemes will maintain the traditional colors of black, white and silver. We also will be using scaffolding and different levels for the dance floor."
Additionally, partygoers deck themselves out in Bauhaus color schemes in tribute to the revolutionary architectural school that was founded by German architect Walter Gropius in 1919. Gropius believed that all forms of art and craft should combine to work with industry, technology and economic principles. The goal was to create inexpensive, everyday living items as part of an architecture of functional design that would improve the human condition.
Teams of architecture students have different responsibilities for the Bauhaus event, ranging from lighting to tent design to a wide variety of musical selections offered by three deejays. The sophomore class is planning a surprise theme upon which they are basing much of the party's design scheme.
A major challenge this year has been to control more effectively the sound emanating from the tent. For the past few weeks, students have been working with experts in structures and acoustical engineering, including R. Phillip Shinn, a structural engineer and affiliate assistant professor of architecture, to create the most feasible soundproofing plan.
"This is a unique event because a school of about 200 students is throwing a party for about 3,000, all on a relatively small budget," said architecture senior Mara Baum, co-president of the Architecture Student Council. "We put in a huge amount of work to ensure that this student-run event is a success."
