College design students working on ‘Charmed” playhouses

By Tim Kalinowski on March 3, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge College design students will be teaming up with Charmed Playhouses to create a unique and fantastical holiday experience for families this summer in the Crowsnest Pass.
Charmed Playhouses has commissioned Lethbridge College students to design and virtually animate five fantasy themed cabins which will be built and rented out for families seeking an interesting “glamping” (glamorous camping) experience.
Students in both the Interior Design Technology and Architectural Animation Technology programs have teamed up to complete this work for their year-end practicums this spring.
“We are really excited to have this partnership,” says program instructor Naama Tuckett. “Our students take a class at the college which is a practicum class where they get experience working one on one with the industry. Charmed Playhouses is taking a tonne of our students this year, and it has just been a fantastic experience to actually get to come in and work with the designers.”
The most exciting aspect of the project for many of her students, confirms Tuckett, is the fact they will have an opportunity to see what they create through computer drafting and virtual reality (VR) programming physically built in the real world.
“When we are in school all our projects tend to be very hypothetical,” she says. “You do a project and you 3D model it, but you don’t get to see it built. And so the opportunity to actually see one of your designs get built is pretty special.”
It will also help them advance their careers in the design world, says Tuckett.
“They can include this in their resume,” she explains. “They can include it in their portfolio. It is a unique experience with using building materials.
“It is probably something we wouldn’t normally teach in the program, because it is unique to this particular company; so they would have an edge up knowing about the construction and how they can push their designs to that next level for their career.”
The cabins will be based on fairy tales stories and myths, allowing those renting them to have a fantasy travelling experience right here in southwest Alberta.
It’s a dream project for many of her students, Tuckett confirms.
“The students can draft it and animate it, and so we can see what that design will look like (first),” she says. “We can walk through it in VR before it is being built. Industry is finding that very beneficial so you can work out the kinks, maybe change the materials here and there, before it is built.”
For more information on the Charmed Playhouses resort cabin project visit https://charmedfamilyresorts.com.

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