"Building With Dirt" Leads the Theme at RDG's 2024 Kankeo Camp
Students joined RDG designers to discover and expand their creative capacities through a series of iterative model-making exercises.
Each summer, The KANEKO and its professional partners host a series of week-long creative camps for young learners. These camps offer immersive sessions in architecture and design, cartooning, the art and science of scent, mindful crafting and STEAM, all aimed at showing how the creativity of art intersects with science, technology, engineering and mathematics to solve problems. During each camp, students discover and expand their creative capacities through various individual and team projects.
The camp’s 2024 theme was inspired by KANEKO’s upcoming John Clement exhibition in August, which explores the human relationship with nature. Campers learned about a technique called rammed earth, where dirt and clay are compacted to build walls and structures, as well as the eight basic design principles to create their own landscape sculpture park.
“Our participation in KANEKO's Creative Camps has always been about inspiring the next generation to see the world differently. This year, by introducing the concept of rammed earth, we aimed to connect students with sustainable building practices and the fundamental principles of design,” said RDG designer Adam Weise, who has helped lead the camp for the past several years. “It was incredible to watch these young minds explore how we can use natural materials to create meaningful structures that reflect our relationship with the environment.”
RDG has participated in KANEKO’s Creative Camps since 2013; the firm’s 2024 camp, geared at sixth- to ninth-grade learners, took place from June 17 to 21.