Warmth

My concept for my environment project basically came from just being around my house out in Tennessee. When I first moved here, I noticed that whoever lived here before had left a lot of materials around in my basement as well as under the porch. I’m pretty sure some of the materials I found on this land have been here for many years. I asked my land lady if the material was mine since I now lived here and she said she didn’t care what I did with it. So essentially, my design is a fire pit in my backyard. One of the main reasons I came up with this idea is that I really wanted to try and make this place I live feel more like home. We used to have bonfires nearly every weekend back where I’m from and so having a place behind my house that I can go out to and just relax either alone or with friends really appealed to me. Also, my house has no central heating so anything to do with heat appealed to me. I also wanted to create something that would leave my mark on this property. When I graduate in a year and a half, I will be moving to NYC and so, someone else will be living here and to leave them with something that makes this place feel a little warmer is something I wanted to do.

The fire pit is mostly made out of stone though the types I’m not completely sure of since all of it was around my yard, in my basement, and under my porch. I’m pretty sure it’s a combination of granite and slate. Also, I got some firebrick from my mother that came from my great grandfather’s barn when they cleaned it out. I wanted to really make sure it looked like a fire pit and not just a wall of stones so I went to the antique shop right down the road from my house and actually found the grid from the bottom of a stove to use in my pit. The process of building my design started simple. I first placed the grid from my grill on the ground and began stacking rocks in an oval around it. It basically just came up from there though I had to go back and move specific rocks around to get it to really fit the way I wanted it to.

The most important elements for this design was what would be essential to keeping a fire lit and going. I also wanted it to be circular so people could sit around it from all angles. The way the rocks sit on each other does create an interesting texture. As a whole, this design was based more from a conceptual standpoint than a formal one. In other words, the concept and function for this design is the most important part. I didn’t place a lot of emphasis on elements and principles. Still, as a whole, I think all the parts of the fire pit come together to create a sense of unity. The rocks and the grill in combination have a worn, earthy tone that work well together. This project was extremely economical and I think that also appealed to me. Our last project required me to spend quite a bit of money and so I wanted to use materials I already had for this one. All I paid for was a seven dollar piece of a grill so I definitely got the most for my money with this assignment.

Finally, I had my mother come down and we actually tried it out this past weekend and it worked amazingly and it really was the highlight of the weekend. It functions exactly in the way I want it to and gave me the feeling I was looking for. I believe it can do so for many other families that will move here after me; therefore, I think it was executed and built perfectly.