115 0194 from Sam Gould on Vimeo.

One feature of the current iteration of A/AA that is an exciting difference from our previous construction is the circular campus model that we’re developing. Modeled as part village, part circus big top and part college campus, we are attempting to create a constellation of smaller structures that encircle a center hearth. The desire to construct something along these lines predated our first day of building but when we asked folks to sit down and vision the school we would make, it seemed like there were others thinking the same thing.

Daniel (in the video above) and his friend designed a school house that would be a 5 pointed star shape with a yin/yang symbol in the center.  We’ve gone ahead and used this as a basic blueprint for what we’re constructing, creating a series of hard structures that surround the hearth and which are connected through soft materials such as banners, rope and perhaps more.

Facing Forward

Facing Inward

The circle is a simple example of how shape determines function. It is a natural challenge to hierarchy and creates a container that encourages dialogue, witnessing, and interconnection. As I was traveling to Minneapolis I finally got a copy of John G. Neihardt’s BLACK ELK SPEAKS. The book is an interpretation of a story of personal history, visions and the tragic genocide of Indigenous Americans that has occurred over centuries as told by a Sioux medicine man to Neihardt himself. At one point in the book Neihardt relates Black Elk’s understanding of the purpose of the sacred Hoop, of the circle shape and its relation to all of creation…

Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our tepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop.

There is a lot of truth in Black Elk’s words. Whether we take his view for granted, or accept the findings of modern science, or trust our own intuition, we don’t need to look far for confirmation that there is something innate to all of creation within a circle. I’m looking forward to seeing how the shape of the circle changes our relationship to the space we’re building. I’m excited to learn more about circles, because it’s my belief that the circle is one of the single most powerful tools we have to change our relationship  to each other, not just in education, but in all of society.

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As the main body of A/AA grew and took its shape, we all began to experience the pleasure of creating the finer details that would define the form and function of A/AA. The reading bench with its adjacent window; to the library shelving that faced; the hand stained “A/AA” mural on the hardwood pallet scrap floor; the skylights; the hinged walls with projection screens; the wood-burning stove; the keyhole; and so on… It’s with great pride that we offer this slideshow of some of the finer detail work that has been done on our Schoolhouse thus far.

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Red 76′s month long residency at CCAD as part of their Surplus Seminar reached its conclusion on October 7th. As the end approached, an urgency to realize as much of A/AA as we possibly could took hold. Even though we trusted that the Schoolhouse would continue on without us, we wanted to enjoy the fruits of our labors (not to mention our labor) as much as was possible. With some fresh recruits, decent weather and a few extra work hours we managed to get an incredible amount done.

A/AA went from a pile of pallets…

to this…

There’s still much more to do, but for now we can look at a good week’s work and feel proud.

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Red76′s role as on-site facilitators for A/AA came to a close on October 7th. There’s plenty more to be discussed on this topic. The workers who found their engagement with A/AA beneficial have taken on the task on finding the schoolhouse its new home. We are so excited and can’t wait to see what the future of A/AA might be.

In the waning days of our time in Columbus we were extremely excited to have Dylan Gauthier of Brooklyn’s very own FreeSeas join us to create one floating academy, the S.(o).S. Temporary, and another one on the way in the form of a pontoon.

Here’s a short filmic overview of the S.(o).S. Temporary’s construction and launch. Enjoy.

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Nicholas Hoffman isn’t out building because it’s his Job. Though actually it is. Nic works for the Bureau for Open Culture as a preparator, which means that every day he’s the first one to open the store room door, grab the tools and get the lot ready for work. He’s also the last one to leave, making sure everything is put away for the night. Yet if he weren’t being paid, he’d still be here. He’s put in weekends and night-builds, he’s helping organize the Stewards Crew who are going to take on A/AA after Red 76 leaves and he’s flat out stated that this is what he’d rather be doing than going to class or working another job.

Nicholas is a painter, video artists and provocateur. Infamous for a self-portrait involving intimacy with a unicorn and a video of his production of a casting of vomit, Nic hasn’t always been embraced by the more conservative elements of the School. Lucky for him, and us, the A/AA is more than a fine match – it literally wouldn’t exist without him.

In this video Nicholas talks about formative educational experiences, comic books and human relationships.

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Everyday we build the A/AA Schoolhouse begins to take a real form, clarifying and amplifying its latent potential. While we may not be up for any architecture awards anytime soon, it’s hard not to love the lines cut by the frame, the collisions of disparate colors and shapes of wood on our floors and walls.

Now that we have a roof, a floor, a bench and a space we are happily making use of it. We had our first A/AA builders meeting on Weds. and yesterday we had our first class discussion inside of the Schoolhouse. Julie A. brought her design class to talk about creating “order from chaos” as a design method, but soon conversation drifted into concerns of horizontal education, self-empowerment, surplus materials and our own personal histories of building spaces to suit our needs.

I’m excited to see future engagements take place in and around our schoolhouse.

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As we build and consider the possible futures of A/AA, one thought often comes to mind… Shelter. In a time when so many people have lost their homes, and while building on a site only 3 blocks from a mission that serves food to the poor, hungry and homeless on a nightly basis, it is hard not to think of how what we build could be a home to someone who needs it. Now, certainly it is open to debate whether this is a good or even legal use for the structure, but the sad fact remains that people sleep out doors every night in Columbus, even in Winter.

What then if someone decides to take up residence in our space, be they a squatter, a person without a home, or even one of our builders? As a contingency should we be designing to prevent that from occurring, or should we work towards making that use more possible? Is it immoral to build a structure such as this that can’t serve this purpose?

Before coming to Columbus I watched Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” – a glorious comedy that is beautiful and profound in so many ways. It takes place during the depression and with irony and a surrealist’s sense of the absurd the film takes Capitalism, the Authorities and the whole notion of Labor for a roller-coaster ride. The film was the product of Chaplin’s genuine concern for the daily plight of the hungry, the unemployed and the oppressed who he witnessed struggling all over the world. Though a Socialist who developed his own Economic theory inspired by Marx, Ghandi and others, his character of The Tramp plays the part of an anarchist, unconcerned with politics and accumulation. His only need is food and some form of shelter, until he falls in love and learns to walk outside of societies bounds with a partner. Of course it’s never that simple, as he is always at odds with the forces of the Law and Societal Order. Through acts of sabotage, theft, accident and love they duke it out with a world in which they don’t belong.

At one point, the Tramp loses his job as a night watchman of a Department store and ends up in jail. When he is released, his partner surprises him with a shanty she has discovered on the edge of the city. As he steps in he declares “It’s paradise.” In his eyes the beauty of the structure is not in the materials or the status they bestow, only the fact that it is Theirs. It is a home where he belongs in a world where he is rejected.

The shanty of the film is almost a Platonic form, reflected not only in the shanty towns and hoovervilles of his own time but in the tent cities and squats of our own. The shame of seeing people without shelter and at the same time a city with miles of empty and abandoned home may be mitigated by the potential that lays dormant in all that vacant space. Given the opportunity, people may discover “paradise” where once there was only dust and ghosts.

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An amazing array of students, teachers and other interested folks have come by A/AA and lent their labor, ideas and good will. No contribution has been too small and all have been appreciated. That said, there have been a handful of students who have come to nearly every build and who have formed a special bond with this project. After hours of working side by side we’ve gotten to know each other a bit better. In our conversations we share stories and expand on ideas and along the way the Schoolhouse serves its purpose of being a site of co-created education.

We’ve begun doing short interviews about education and individual places of learning with some of our regular building crew. The first in the batch is James Manning.

James is a student at CCAD. He’s an amazing potter who’s working towards becoming a teacher. James is a jack-of-most trades who knows the right way to slam wood together… most of the time.. and who’s as game as anyone to try something he’s never done. He’s a self-described “conservative” who speaks his mind and who’ll hear most anyone out so long as there’s mutual respect. Four tours of duty in the Army, 3 of which were in Iraq, have left him with a lot of amazing (and sometimes stupid) stories and the ability to get shit done.

It’s been great working with James… no doubt about it, we’re lucky to have him.

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We had a great week of building. Walls kept coming up. Doors and jams. Roofs were raised, designed to eventually become small herb gardens. Tons of amazing ideas were shared. New people came by and picked up hammers and saws. Folks who have been here every day just kept coming. A few times we actually roped in some CCAD teachers and got them in on the build. All the while we’ve been getting to know each other better, attending other events together, expanding our conversations every day, and occasionally sharing pitchers and pizza at Slammers, the queer sports bar next door to the Office of Collective Play.
A huge thanks goes out to all the folks who have shown such intense dedication and determination to see this project through.

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Right now representatives from 20 of the world’s largest economies are converging in Pittsburgh, PA, only a short (4 hour) drive down the road from Columbus, OH and A/AA. The meeting is being held to supposedly create economic stability and recovery, yet one can’t help but wonder for whom and at what cost to the environment and human rights.

There are thousands who are gathering in Pittsburgh to raise these and many other issues relating to poverty, war, food security, health care and on. Unfortunately, protest, free speech and independent media has been systematically repressed, harassed and rebuffed by law enforcement and government officials. Inspite of the effort to limit, if not outlaw, free expression of dissent, many students, activists and artists have found creative and celebratory ways to make their voices heard.

One group who’s work feels truly akin to the spirit of A/AA is the Question G20 ArtSpace. A group of Carnegie Mellon University students have constructed a “shantytown” on school grounds to act as a site for gathering, teaching, conviviality and sharing during the duration of the G20 summit.

In their own words:

The CMU G20 ARTSPACE is an improvised space for creative inquiry, and the construction of creative dialogue surrounding the G20.
From September 13th, we’ve been evolving the structure at the fence as our needs for a safe place in which to question the G20 evolve.
As the week wears on, we will host events, performances, and artbuilds that will serve to give the collective unheard a voice.
Students have volunteered their time to create this space and we make it available to those who wish to have an open discourse. In juxtaposition to the G20 meetings taking place in Pittsburgh we encourage others to participate as our art evolves with our discussion.

We over at A/AA salute a great project and wish them and everyone in Pittsburgh the best of luck.

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