Elementary students in Bradenton, Fla. participated in a “My Favorite Home” art contest sponsored by Neal Communities, taking an architectural approach to the contest. After Hurricanes Helene and Milton ripped through the region, the students have taken a step back to think about innovation that would help their favorite home better withstand storms.
Approximately 670 students from Gene Witt Elementary in Bradenton designed their own “My Favorite Home,” an annual art contest sponsored by Neal Communities, a private homebuilder in southwest Florida. Taking place for the 23rd time, the contest gives children in grades K-5 an opportunity to design their vision of an ideal home. The top two home designs will be featured on the Neal Communities and Neal Signature Homes holiday cards.
“The My Favorite Home Art Contest has been a tradition at Neal Communities for over 20 years – we have almost as much fun as the students! The ability to support the arts at each school we visit just underscores the philanthropic culture we all take to heart,” said Christine McKelvey, director of marketing for Neal Communities.
Art & Innovation
“Following the hurricanes, it was interesting to see how our thinking turned to innovation when we started to look at architecture in terms of challenges that prompted change like weather,” says visual arts teacher Kimberly Hoy. “We saw an ‘imaginary’ house example that was up on pylons, so water could flow through underneath. The kids immediately started talking about the storm surge and how this was the way many of the newer beach houses are built today. We identified this as an innovation in comparison to many older homes that were built at sea-level and destroyed by storm surge. I challenged the kids to think about a problem their favorite home might solve. This prompted some of the kids to revise and add changes to their designs.”
The students have taken varying approaches to the project as they have studied different architectural styles from history as well as imaginary examples, including Victorian homes, cabins, adobe houses of the Pueblo, Greek Revival style, colonial homes, tree houses, underwater hotels, houses made to look like candy, and more.
“I then asked the kids to think about the places and spaces they love and to dream,” Hoy added. “If they could have any kind of house they could imagine, what would it look like? Would it be traditional or nothing like anyone has ever seen? In either case, I asked our older students to focus on being innovative. We talked about how, at one time, the automobile was something that did not exist. In order to invent and innovate, we must first imagine.”
The students created a broad range of houses, according to Hoy. “It was so interesting to see their choices in creating a home design,” she said. “I was struck by how it helped them showcase their individuality. We have nature-based houses, mansions, historic styles, log cabins, beach houses, a train house, even an underground home. The project was so interesting for me in getting to know the kids even better – to see how their home-style choices reflected their personalities. I hadn’t really expected that.”
Giving Back to Go Forward
Neal Communities donated $5,000 to the school for its participation in the contest, including $1,500 for supplies to execute My Favorite Home. The remaining donation will go toward the creation of a Digital Art iPad Lab at Gene Witt Elementary.
“Through a variety of fundraising activities, along with the arts millage funding that is generously provided by our community, and now the generous donation of Neal Communities – I believe we will finally have the funds to purchase our lab,” Hoy said. “Digital art is really the way of the future for many young artists. I am so thankful for the generosity of our community and Neal Communities in bringing this opportunity to our kids. They are going to be ready to take that leap into the future of art creation and hopefully we will inspire many new ‘imagineers’ of the future.”
