As part of our architecture program, six students were given five days to construct and present on a city of their imagination. The team had several constraints: our city had to have a river running through it, and each team member had to design a building in the city based on an assigned object. Each person worked on their own building and square, and as a team we put everything together to build a cohesive city. We decided that our city would represent the disparity between poverty and opulence, with the river separating the luxurious core from the slum outskirts.

The everyday object I was assigned was ‘button.’ I designed a factory that modeled two buttons connected together, with a garden in between. My square contained the slums, so the factory was designated as where the inmates of the neighboring jail had to work. I drew the design both by hand and digitally on Rhino, and then designed my square, using foam and a wire cutter for the shacks in the slums. I collaborated with other members of my team to ensure that my project fit in smoothly with everyone else’s, for a cohesive look. I was also one of two presenters at the symposium.