Stories by Paige Jessop

Model Making in Progress

After the Knoxville Way finding project is introduced to the group we are given instructions to split up and form teams. Each team was to have at least one University of Tennessee student and the remaining partners were the Graphic Communication design students from Beijing. I was assigned Team 2 along with Hayden, a fellow Architecture student at UT.

Our five teammates from Beijing Institute of Graphic Design were; Shang Wuji, Samantha (Zhao Zhao), G, Marujang, and Danielle. They proved to be competent in all aspects, patient, and creative. The first real day of our charette Hayden and I were debriefed by our team on what we realized was an on-going three week project underway. They had already considered major design aspects such as the concept, historical background of Knoxville, and the site context of World's Fair Park area downtown. The major design contributor, G, came up with multiple signage schematics for us to discuss. Hayden and I felt that this was a project they had put a lot of creative thought into, therefore we felt unworthy of much input, regardless of continuous encouragement to give feedback. We took up with one design and began to produce. Hayden focused on watercolor and photography and I assumed the position of model maker.

I helped to create several mock up study models of street signs, benches and interactive public art pieces to be installed at our site. They were comprised of simple materials on hand such as armature wire, laminated chip board bases, Strathmore scale figures, and sponge-shaved texture. I realized the major difference in our design background instantly as we began to collaborate on the models. As an architecture student, I sought after certain aspects such as scale, precise cuts and incisions created with a straight edge, conservative use of color, and uniformity throughout the set of models (to name a few). My partners, on the other hand, cared little of uniformity and clean edges. They pushed the creative envelope, designing conceptual models of different scale and importance. Zhao Zhao even created an abstract scale figure of a swaddling baby made of a ball of wire and a piece of candy for a head. Once, while I was gone, Wuij finished up drawing the scales on the chipboard bases to the rest of the models with no concept of what the numbers meant below the ticks. I almost had a conniption. All the scales reflected a 1" : 1' ratio, including the conceptual topographic model of the greater area of Knoxville. Needless to say, one night I re-cut and formatted appropriate bases for our four models.
The point of the matter is, though I was able to contribute to the project consistently, our friends from Beijing proved time and time again to have a rapid and creative design style difficult to keep up with. They were almost too proficient at their task; it was like trying to help my mother with gardening. She is fully capable of finishing alone, only that she wants me to feel useful to her, she allows me to continue in my endeavor.

Post-Presentation Adventures

Presentation began around 2 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon. There was a full panel of critics and even a few friends from the college showed up. I was fascinated by every team's project and the amount of work presented given the timeframe. Some of the observations our friends from Beijing expressed about Knoxville and the University made my heart melt. Chris, from another team, said during presentation that he 'fell in love with Knoxville from the sky,' meaning that even before landing, Knoxville had made an impression on him looking down from miles above. The presentations were particularly touching because these observations reinforced the meaning behind way finding, uncovering the beauty and opportunity a city one adventure at a time.

After the presentation, students were splitting up by destination. Many went to the local oriental market to collect supplies for the celebration dinner. I stayed with the remainder of the group, Chris and Ga Ga, who opted for one last adventure Knoxville had to offer; UT Gardens and The Farmer's market. Professor Robinson gave us a lift to the Agriculture Campus from the Architecture building, and for that we were very thankful. Once there, we walked from booth to booth in the late afternoon sun. I explained the small community operative to them. We talked with many interesting characters emphatically selling goods at their booth. It caused Chris to say that all the people around here had the same kindness in conversation. I tried explaining to him the concept of "Southern Hospitality" but it was more difficult than I anticipated for fear of profiling.

Everything I explained was considered to be true and factual and taken very literally. For example, before leaving for the gardens I stated that I better go ahead and buy the citronella bar I had been eyeing. Ga Ga asked, "From the Soap Guy?" I realized then that my explanation, even my vernacular, had a direct effect on their perception and understanding of the given situation. I chuckled to myself thinking what I'd do if either of them approached the vendors with the names I was giving them. I could just imagine Ga Ga walking up to a booth and referring to the nice woman selling vegetables as "Tomato Lady."