Cavernous Landscape is an art-play piece that allows children of all ages to engage in risky play. This type of play helps kids develop spatial awareness, problem-solving, and risk management skills in a controlled environment. Typical playground design aims to restrict danger and creativity while the Danehy project seeks to break away from design norms to give children an exciting playscape. Cavernous Landscape gives children a space to adventure and traverse within the best of their abilities.

Cavernous landscape consists of two grand arches protruding from a hill. The arches are constructed using lamination to create three-dimensional shapes the children can climb on. The larger arch is more open, whereas the smaller arch is more enclosed. There is also netting-in a cone shape- that leads children down after they climb up on the wall of the larger arch. Caregivers can watch children climb from a path through the inside of the netting.  Cavernous Landscape is unique and distinguishable in the landscape of Danehy Park, and is a space for children to dive into and explore.

Room Reoriented is a play sculpture intended to challenge children’s perceptions of space. By using rooms as the basis for the project there is already an established expectation of space that can be inverted. The resulting feeling of disorientation can be fascinating and whimsical. The idea of emerging in a new, warped, location and having to reorient oneself in the play space can insight curiosity and play. The project will allow children to be more spatially aware and improve their gross motor skills.

The structure consists of two rooms, one of which is the warped and flipped version of the other. The rooms are connected by a net tunnel through the roof to allow kids to climb through and experience a sense of disorientation and challenge as they navigate through the space. The structure was made with the idea of universal design in mind to allow all age groups and people with disabilities to be able to interact with the structure in some way. There are landforms in place to ensure that the main ‘rooms’ of the structure are wheelchair accessible. The areas designed to cause disorientation have large and visible exits so that, in case of sensory overload, there is no fear of getting trapped, and also all the hanging furniture is cushioned to increase the tolerance for error if they are bumped into.

In our future, a new predator will develop that hunts humans. Our dwelling is based on a community area where people live, defend themselves, and study the predator. This specific dwelling, TreeVu, is an outpost where two people can look for the predators.
We used the computer program Rhino to design and cut pieces of plywood into walls and a floor that interlock. Our prototypes were made with laser-cut cardboard, and our final mock-up is made with CNC milled plywood.

Sunrise, Sunsit incorporates the pleasure of watching a sunset or sunrise, sitting down while also providing an intricate aspect of shade. This permits park guests to enjoy the beautiful environment of LakeBonnet, mesmerized by the ecosystems and the kinetic machine that we replicated. The simple mechanism only requires a rotation of the bottom (large) gears, connected to the top (small) gears by a rope chain, revolving the dowel that withholds the panels.