In the fall of 2002, three Lawrence neighborhood associations—the West Hills Homes Association, the Hillcrest Neighborhood Association, and the Westwood Homeowners Association—received grants from the City of Lawrence for projects intended to improve neighborhood safety. Since all three neighborhoods surround Hillcrest Elementary School, the associations combined their funds to purchase lighting for the Ryan Gray Playground for All Children. Designed to be accessible to children of all abilities, the playground was named in memory of Ryan Gray, a child who attended Hillcrest School.

The project used photovoltaic panels to power the lights, providing a learning opportunity for Studio 509 students, an educational resource for schoolchildren, and a demonstration of sustainability. The students were divided into six groups of three or four, with each group responsible for producing one light fixture. The design approach centered on the concept of “bundled sticks,” resulting in six distinct fixtures constructed from steel tubes and rods assembled in carefully considered arrangements.

Each fixture explored a different design expression:
1. An abstracted creature perched atop a pole.
2. A fixture inspired by vegetation.
3. A mechanistic composition of square tubes.
4. A fixture that emphasizes the spatial arrangement of its bundled members.
5. A curved “sail” designed to reflect light downward.
6. A fixture whose tubes express the flow of energy from the photovoltaic panel to the battery and then to the lamp.