Graduate student Jessica Wilsey stood waiting for her professor at the Oct. 6 soft opening of Fortlandia, an annual exhibit from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. No children were playing with the fort the pair designed for six months. But the moment Bravo, Wilsey’s professor, arrived, 10 kids flocked to the exhibit, giggling as they explored the structure.
“The timing was excellent, it was almost tear-jerking,” Wilsey said. “It was sweet to hear because you could hear their comments and their laughs.”
The exhibit features a design by Bravo, assistant professor of interior design. Fortlandia is an interactive exhibit of various forts temporarily displayed at the Wildflower Center. Nine forts, including Bravo’s “Monkey Bar Fort,” are featured this year.
“The purpose of our exhibit is to reach out to our community outside of the University and the Wildflower Center to connect with artists and designers to create an exhibition that explores the themes of exploration, discovery and outdoor play,” exhibition coordinator Patrick Moran said.
Bravo originally submitted two fort drafts after her director turned her attention toward the exhibit. She said she gravitated toward the exhibit because she saw it as an exciting opportunity.
“This is pretty rare for a city to be able to support creatives and artists in this way and have this rotating exhibition,” Bravo said. “I just thought it was an interesting call and a fun challenge, honestly.”
When talking to her students about summer internships, Bravo asked Wilsey to be her assistant project manager for the fort. Wilsey said she experienced a great learning curve working alongside Bravo during the summer.
“It was really awesome to work with Bravo because she’s very smart and very driven,” Wilsey said. “There are some things that I didn’t quite understand that she was not only helping me (with) but also teaching me while I was there.”
The fort’s design includes a series of arches made of marine-grade plywood arranged in a U-shape. Bravo said this design is meant to encourage children to climb, swing and interact with it in many different ways. Students in Bravo’s Interior Fabrications seminar helped assemble the fort earlier this semester.
“I’m hoping that the hands-on experience helps (the students) gain more confidence in the realm of fabrication and construction,” Bravo said. “I think seeing that process can be beneficial for students that haven’t really had that kind of experience yet in design school.”
Bravo and Wilsey both said one of the most rewarding moments throughout the entire process was watching children interact with the fort during Fortlandia’s soft opening.
“It was such a nice opening day, and I remember turning the corner and seeing 10 kids on (the fort),” Bravo said. “I was just kind of speechless.”
Wilsey said Fortlandia is an important exhibit because it evokes strong emotions that only kids can show by interacting with the world around them.
“When there’s a (well)-designed restaurant, everyone’s kind of thinking the same thing, like, ‘This is beautiful,’ ‘this is amazing,’ but not exactly telling you how they feel,” Wilsey said. “Fortlandia came along, and you could hear the excitement. You could hear the laughs, and you could hear these childhood memories being made.”
