Seventy-seven architecture sophomores in their second architectural design studio at Iowa State University spent the first month of spring semester developing an installation intended to redefine the College of Design atrium as a public space.

"Our interest was to challenge the conventional uses of the space, introduce new activities, etc. The only conceptual constraints were that the project must be practical, it must remain accessible to the public and the existing uses must somehow be preserved within the new design," said Assistant Professor Nick Senske, coordinator of the Department of Architecture's second-year studios.

Constructed almost entirely of 2x2 lumber and deck screws, the 25-foot-by-20-foot "TwoXTwo" project has transformed the college atrium by offering new opportunities for group interaction and individual activity. Throughout the three-week installation (Feb. 17-March 11), students are documenting via photos and video how people actually use the new elements within the space and are surveying occupants to determine how successful their designs are.

"This design-build project is really about synthesis, bringing together skills students have learned as freshmen in the Core Design Program and in their first architecture studio and digital representation course last fall," Senske said.

"It's also about being leaders and being part of a team, organizing, planning, compromising, resolving conflicts—learning to work together effectively to realize something in the end. While we relied upon SHoP Architects' Dunescape project as a precedent to establish parameters, the students absolutely made this project their own," he said.