Final Deliverable
Porch Bar, Bingo Risers, and Floating Bar
Over the course of six intensive studio days, students constructed a porch bar, bingo risers, and a floating bar for Gala Weekend. The project components were designed as replacements for some of the functions previously housed inside the WIA clubhouse.
Gala Weekend, which attracts both former and current residents as well as hundreds of guests and Island visitors alike, proved an excellent opportunity for the students to showcase their talent and community engagement.
Porch Bar
On the porch of the little clubhouse, students designed and built modules that stack and interlock in various configurations. The bar top features one of the elm slabs that was planed, sanded, and finished in the Daniels workshop. To ensure structural stability while also allowing for easy removal, students incorporated mortise and tenon joints on the underside of the slab. Quick reconfiguration of the modules, creates a project that can be repurposed into benches or shelves.
The stackable modules allow for design flexibility.
The underside of the porch bar slab has blocks to attach on to the modules.
Bingo Riser
Students built versatile bingo risers with a tiered, A-frame design. The end pieces support thin, live edge slabs spanning across. For stability, the shelves feature tabs that slot into the tops of the A-frames, similar to the technique used for the porch bar. While primarily designed to display bingo prizes during the Gala events, these risers also adapt. Each A-frame tier is constructed at specific heights, allowing them to support bench, table, or bar tops too. The design ensures the risers remain a flexible addition to the community after Gala concludes.
The A-frame tiers stack onto each other for easy storage.
Each tier has top plates that allow the slabs to slot into place.
Tashneel Ahmed covers the finalized bingo risers with a plastic tarp in preparation for the Gala Weekend.
Floating Bar
A floating bar was constructed entirely from the lumber provided by Tyler Ganton. Using templates from the bingo riser design, the largest A-frames, measuring 42 inches in height, were adapted to support the bar top. Additional horizontal supports were added along the bottom of the A-frames and horizontal rails were incorporated along the underside. This design prioritized stability over the collapsible features of the other pieces.
The A-frame template used for the bingo riser design was incorporated into the floating bar design.
Students gathered around a mock-up to discuss the best method for attaching a heavy slab to vertical supports. Using the A-frames from the bingo risers as a reference allowed students to visualize their final design.
Vineel Sharma and Bashar Menhem assemble the floating bar.
Mohamad Sinjab and Bashar Menhem discuss the support system for the bar.