dreamArchitecture 2015: Draw Your Dream Factory!

The 2015 dreamArchitecture Awards Ceremony, held on May 7 at the Saw Works Studio of Architecture Works, honored the “dream factories” of 35 elementary school children in the Birmingham area. DreamArchitecture, a community outreach program sponsored by the Birmingham chapter of the American Institute of Architects and funded by the Alabama Center for Architecture, is in its 19th year of encouraging children to think about the built environment. This year’s contest, with the theme “Draw Your Dream Factory,” had more than 650 entries from 14 Birmingham area schools: Advent Episcopal School, Brookville Elementary, Calera Elementary and Intermediate, Charles A. Brown Elementary, Cornerstone School of Alabama, Meadow View Elementary, N. E. Miles Jewish Day School, Oak Mountain Intermediate, Robinson Elementary, Rocky Ridge Elementary, St. Rose Academy, Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights, Vestavia Hills Elementary Central and W. J. Christian School.

To enter the contest, students submitted an 8” by 11” drawing and a brief dream statement describing their ideal factory that made whatever they wanted. Winning artwork and dream statements were displayed at Saw Works Studio for the children’s friends and families to enjoy. Winners received prize packages that included art supplies and architecture-inspired toys, such as building blocks.

Following the ceremony, the artwork was displayed at the Alabama Center for Architecture until June 5. Winning dream statements are below.

To see all photos, click here for the art and click here for the ceremony.

DreamArchitecture Winners 2015

HONORABLE MENTION

Kindergarten
Harper Breitenfeld
Advent Episcopal
Grace Long
“My factory makes cute and cudly teddy bears.”

Kindergarten
Emily Long
Rocky Ridge Elementary
Emily Nelson
“My factory makes cakes for people who don’t have money for sweets. It makes whatever dessert you want. There is a robot that gives me ingredients.”

First Grade
Anne Milbray Smith
Advent Episcopal
Karen Anderson
“My dream factory. It was a dall factory. I liked dallis because I like to play with thim.”

First Grade
Dereck Walker
Cornerstone Schools of Alabama
Paige Larson
“This is a lollipop factory. These will help people to be happy when they want candy.”

Second Grade
Tyra Tran
Rocky Ridge Elementary
Emily Nelson
“My factory make cupcake.”

Second Grade
Kasiya Williams
Cornerstone Schools of Alabama
Paige Larson
“I have a book factory because the book go an the basket and people come and get the basket and pit it an the truck and take the basket an deliver the book to people that don’t have books.”

Third Grade
Brooklyn Kelley
Calera Intermediate
Meg Boyett Cunningham
“My factory is in London. I have the people who work for me dress like dolls. The way my factory works is we make the clothes, then package them, then label them, then send. My factory makes doll dresses and there are different colors.”

Third Grade
Kate Lowe
Advent Episcopal School
Lee Stayer
“My factory produces ice cream. Workers eat all the ice cream they want. Every month has a new ice cream flavor. To get down, workers slide down the St. Louis Archway. To get up, they climb skyscrapers.”

Fourth Grade
Lucy Craig
Advent Episcopal School
Mary Clyde Prichard
“The cat factory is a place for you and your cat can hang out or get another cat. The cat factory is a wonderful place complete with a litter box and food court.”

Fourth Grade
Jaydan Ballard
Robinson Elementary
Rebecca Gibb
“My factory is about dog treats. I have bowls, dog food, water, cars and colorful art! That’s it!”

Fifth Grade
Jayveon Fleming
Charles A. Brown Elementary
Pam Asher
“I chose Footlocker because I like to run.”

Fifth Grade
Zoe Pennell
Cornerstone Schools of Alabama
Paige Larson
“My factory is a place where homeless people come to get a house with free clothes, water, light and they can live in it until they get a home of their own. So, the people or robots who build the house will help the homeless people find a job. So, when they get enough money they can live on their own. I want to make my dream come true.”

THIRD PLACE

Kindergarten
Abigail White
N.E. Miles Jewish Day School
Marsha Henderson
“My dream factory makes backpacks with a hood. It is in America. It has 9 floors in it. The workers inside it like to do their work.”

First Grade
Lia Duvdevani
N.E. Miles Jewish Day School
Marsha Henderson
“We make paper at my factory. It’s called The Paper Factory. It is in New York. We’re having a party because we finished making all of the paper for the season.”

Second Grade
Ethan Rather
St. Rose Academy
Deby Alfano
“1. My factory makes paint. 2. The paint is made from a special tree and the paint is safe for the environment.”

Third Grade
Madison Forman
Rocky Ridge Elementary
Emily Nelson
“At my factory, we are determined to make any color the eye can see. Not just red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Any color. ANY. It can be a normal everyday color or a color that isn’t even known; without a name! The smoke from my factory only has some of the colors I make in it. That is because I need only those colors (red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple!) to make all the other amazing colors in my factory. I can use red pink and black to make ‘dirty pink.” Or black, blue, and white to make “midnight blue.” As you can see, my factory is so amazing. I can create any color in the UNIVERSE! Think it, and I can make it!”

Fourth Grade
Lauren Starr
Rocky Ridge Elementary
Emily Nelson
“Rainbow factories is all about color. If we didn’t have color, the world would be black and white, not red, yellow, purple, orange, pink and more. So that is why I made a rainbow factory.”

Fifth Grade
Nicholas Johnson
St. Rose Academy
Annette Taylor
“The factory was designed by me because today, we don’t use resources wisely. The factory will allow everyone to create natural energy because the price is low. I really hope the dream will become a reality.”

SECOND PLACE

Kindergarten
Michael Johnson
Cornerstone Schools of Alabama
Paige Larson
“This is candle factory. This will give light to people who don’t have power for free.”

First Grade
Jamieson Morrow
W. J. Christian
Jennifer Jones
“I love my factory. It has colors and it is tall. It has wings and can make trampolines on the playgrounds. It can make food prats. It has steele on it. It has black, brown, red, pink, gray, purple, green and yellow. I see a lot of kids like the playground. My factory is big and a little small and it makes big and small playgrounds. And I like that is has orange.”

Second Grade
Jack Hebert
Advent Episcopal
Beverly Crawford
“My factory makes energy and sends it to earth with its energy canon. The energy gives stuff wat needs batory to have (infinite) battery.”

Third Grade
Lili Allen
Rocky Ridge Elementary
Emily Nelson
“My factory is featuring dreams because my Mom can’t dream and I like to make dreams come true.”

Fourth Grade
Riley Acton
Oak Mountain Intermediate School
Leigh Walker
“This is a bird’s eye point of view of Riley’s wood chop shop!”

Fifth Grade
Callan Elkins
Vestavia Hills Elementary Central
Susie Caffey
“My dream factory is called Space Stuff. Robots and aleins work in my factory. It is on the moon. It is the first EVER factory out of earth.”

FIRST PLACE

Kindergarten
Ethan Escario
Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights
“It is a factory that makes ART!! It is fun & it is for kids. Kids come to this factory & learn to make art so they can grow up to be artists!”

First Grade
Sadie Weart
Rocky Ridge Elementary
Emily Nelson
“My factory is made with lots of beldings together. We make cake in are factory.”

Second Grade
Hannah Gorelick
N.E. Miles Jewish Day School
Marsha Henderson
“My dream factory makes ice cream. My factory is in a boat on the ocean. The boat is made out of a lot of ice cream cones.”

Third Grade
Lauren McDuffie
Brookville Elementary
Lindsay Mouyal
“I drew this because I love animals and stuf for animals. My factory is for all animals because I love them all. Well evry thang except for big foot, he will eat me and no stuf is his sise. In the first window thers a person making colers and the secent window is a person making treats for pets.”

Fourth Grade
Catherine Carver
Vestavia Hills Elementary Central
Susie Caffey
“This factory is called “The Doggy Outfitters!” It lets dogs design clothes for other dogs. We use dogs (not robots), so we know what dogs will really like.”

Fifth Grade
Taylor Straate
Rocky Ridge Elementary
Emily Nelson
“I like to be different! I like snow white, that’s why her dwarfs work there! I love nature, and think of things in a creative way. Where do you think plants get their color?”

SPECIAL AWARD

FOR COLLABORATION
Chloe Koger and Ian Underwood
Meadow View Elementary
Jesse Cunningham
“This is Chloe’s and Ian’s dream factory. This is also Santa’s factory and home. We made Santa and his elves getting ready for Christmas.”

OVERALL WINNERS

3RD OVERALL
Davis Brown, Second Grade
Calera Elementary
Meg Boyett Cunningham
“My factory makes dino and dragon and animals. My factory is at an island.”

2ND OVERALL
Maya Herman, Kindergarten
N.E. Miles Jewish Day School
Marsha Henderson
“My factory is outside in Birmingham. It makes a machine that makes things louder if you can’t hear well.”

1ST OVERALL
Caitlyn Byrley, Third Grade
Calera Intermediate
Meg Boyett Cunningham
“My factory is on a cloud. My factory makes fish and fish food and fish bowls. My factory works by a lot of machines. Nobody works at my factory.”