Fall 2025 First Year Studio

Gliding Machines

Denver Curtis, Adjunct Professor

A GLIDING MACHINE is a device or a mechanism that deploys a physical system that uses power toapply forces and control movement to perform an aerodynamic function. The GLIDING MACHINE mechanizes naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. However, the project can take advantage of its formal or performative aspects of flight and challenge the new definition of aerodynamics.

Elizabeth Bridges

Dandelion Seed Machine

The analysis and speculation of flight project originated as a dandelion seed. After research and study models, the main focus became the opening and closing motion of the pappus, which is the top section of the seed that is made of bristles. After taking pieces that focused on the triangular shape of the seed, the models began to be abstract arrangements of these pieces. Each model started incorporating an open and close mechanism, differing each time to experiment with what would work best. The models consistently held different orientations of triangle framework with varying surfaces. Over time, color and silk were introduced to improve aesthetics. The final models focused on a hinge mechanism that opened an array of pieces when hitting the dowel in the center. The model glides down the zipline and should flare open when it hits the bottom.

Savanna Jones

Gliding Machine

This project focuses on designing a gliding model derived from an already existing object. Using the Draco lizard’s expanding wing structure, the project resulted in an abstract model that interprets its movement. This model transitions from a closed to an open position, using a sliding truss mechanism that facilitates its elongation and retraction, with Velcro serving as an attachment point.

First Year Undergraduate Design Studio

Beau Bock, Adjunct Professor

First Year Undergraduate Fall Design Studio is rooted in representational techniques and fundamentals of design education. The notion of invention and inventive exploration are adopted as the ethos of the studio. Invention is a novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept.

Ashley Cedeno

Gliding Machine

The parachute, man-made, shows aerodynamic rules like flight, drag, thrust, wright, control, shape, and surface, are why I chose the paraglider as my flying object of study. This typical style of parachute / paraglider is called a Ram-air / Parafoil parachute which has a rectangular like wing shape and multiple cells that inflate air like an airplane wing. The design has inspired architectural buildings like tensile structures, lightweight fabric roofs, and light weight innovations in building materials. The nature of its light and minimal material usage yet strong and complex structures inspired my early model studies and designs. Further speculation of the air movement and forces that can affect the flight of the parachute and the control with which the pilot must maintain to stay in flight inspired further deviations of my gliding machine. The abstraction of the wind and air movement across the parafoil became what drove the form of the final prototype. The varying densities and scale of structure along with lightweight materials looked to establish multiple tectonic patterns, likening it to the strong yet complex makeup of the original object of study.

First Year Design Studio

Mika Ito, Adjunct Professor

Richard Garcia

Flying Pavilion

Evan Jarzembak

Flying Pavilion

The project investigates how movement can be expressed through curvilinear geometry and the controlled shaping of voids. Built from lightweight, bending elements, the model explores principles of circulation and directionality through a continuous flow of lines that stretch, converge, and release.

The elongated forms and tensioned strands create an aerodynamic posture, suggesting lift and forward momentum. interior voids carve out channels that guide the eye and imply pathways of air, motion, or inhabitation. Through its dynamic layering and fluid structural logic, the piece embodies the relationship between form and force, demonstrating how spatial flow can emerge from a system of simple yet expressive curves.

This work reflects my interest in translating movement into architectural language—where circulation, orientation, and energy generate the identity of a form.

Paige Shumate

Flying Pavilion

First Year Design Studio

Thom Stauffer, Professor

Chloe Beavers

Plinth + Crystal + Cloud

The design is defined by a sweeping, fluid geometry that combines lightness, movement, and structural clarity. Its form emerges from a continuous, curving spine that branches outward into layered surfaces resembling aerodynamic wings or sails. These surfaces flare, fold, and taper in a way that gives the structure a dynamic, forward-flowing energy, as if shaped by wind or motion.

A key feature of the design is the interplay between smooth exterior shells and the exposed internal rib structure. The ribs act as both support and ornament, revealing the internal logic that holds the expansive curves in place. This structural pattern introduces a sense of rhythm beneath the surfaces, emphasizing tension, lift, and the way the form transitions from anchored to elevated.

The spaces created beneath the curving canopy feel open yet protected, defined by the natural arches formed where the surfaces weep downward. The geometry encourages circulation and emphasizes directional movement, guiding the eye along its elongated, tapering profile. Overall, the design expresses a balance between sculptural elegance and architectural precision light, aerodynamic, and cohesive, with every curve contributing to a unified sense of flow and structural intention.