The inspirational and moving film about what Adaptive Design does using such a simple material is truly a must see! It merges human ingenuity with community and service, by designing innovative and clever furniture and adaptations for children and adults with special needs and physical disabilities. It's also sustainable and eco-friendly for our environment!
On Wednesday we visited Ms. Amanda and Ms. Leron and the PYP 1 and 2 students. We interviewed them asking what they needed and wanted for chairs. The chairs they have currently are comfortable but too heavy for the students to move them. They have 2 smaller wooden chairs which they like, but wished there were more curved edges. Our Design Students took measurements, asked a lot of good questions and are currently designing a chair for their clients. When construction is finished, PYP 1 and 2 students will paint them!
MYP 3 has just finished making their innovative and new instruments from found materials. Students created a tribal identity and composed songs in Music class to tell their stories of oppression. (They studied the music of oppressed and minority groups).
To finish off their performance, they will be creating costumes and producing a music video to tell their stories through sound, music and dynamic visuals. We will be looking at tribal costumes and rituals from around the world with a focus on the New Zealand Haka. The Maori perform the historical Haka, a rhythmic and traditional dance. It is often considered a war dance for it's intimidating components, and today it is performed at rugby games for their opponents, but it is historically rich and truly a party of the Maori cultural identity. To learn more about the Haka, visit this wonderful and interactive website: http://www.newzealand.com/travel/app_templates/haka/index_content.html
Other inspiration comes from around the world from Asia to South America.
We looked at African tribes who use natural elements to adorn and create costumes for ritual performances.
Finally we watched two videos by Empire of the Sun, an Australian electronic rock band who created some very fantastical videos, good music and beautiful and creative costumes! Check them out -
MYP 2 has begun to create their Sustainable City, named "Serenia". There are so many great ideas out there already, but we could use more. So far students have come up with some revolutionary and innovative ideas for their city in terms of the technology implemented as well as green architecture design, and very importantly the planning and location of components within the city.
For inspiration in architecture and city planning we watched a few videos on green roofs, sustainable buildings and interesting concept ideas for cities. Check them out below, and check back for photos and information on our new city. Construction begins this week!
The Venus Project: Very cool urban plan & theory for a new sustainable city! Some interesting ideas...What do you think? "The Venus Project is an organization that proposes a feasible plan of action for social change, one that works towards a peaceful and sustainable global civilization. It outlines an alternative to strive toward where human rights are no longer paper proclamations but a way of life."
So you've finished your fabulous 3D model. Now, you want to show off your hard work in a presentation. How can you do that effectively? How can you show your model to someone who doesn't have Google Sketch Up?
Not to fear!! There are many options to presenting your work from Google Sketch Up. Ever seen those incredibly professional looking animations of a 3D model? (like this one)
Well we can do that!
You can:
- Export Screenshots of your model into image files. You can place those image files into a Power Point presentation, Word document or any other software which allows Image files.
- Export a movie animation of your model. This is a great way to show a professional, interactive walk through of your model. You do this using the Scene and Animation options (which I will show you in class today).
To train yourself or review, please watch the following video on Scenes orclick here.
For more videos or if you need help understanding how to use a specific tool search the SketchUp YouTube channel to see if one of their 96 video tutorials cover it, or turn on your "Instructor" (Window>Instructor) to get help while you work in Google SketchUp.
To see some great examples of how animating a 3D model enhances your impression and understanding of it and makes it easier for a client to see, check out the following videos of architectural animation:
One of my friends, Nathan Fried Lipski, is a talented photographer who has documented people and places far and wide. Recently he took a trip to the community slum of Dharavi in Mumbai, India. I thought these photos were poignant and striking. Especially interesting for my MYP 4 students who are designing innovative urban solutions for informal cities. Thank you Nathan for sharing your view with us and the world!
All photos and text below by Nathan Fried Lipski (Copyright). See more on his blog.
A girl walks along a water pipeline in Dharavi.
One of the largest issues facing the people of India is the lack of clean water.
In many areas running water is not available to the people on a regular basis and water delivery trucks provide clean water once each week.
I witnessed people illegally selling small bags of water to those who missed the delivery.
Water delivery in Baigan Wadi.
We photographed for a short while at a place called Dhobi Ghats near Mahalaxmi train station. A dhobi is traditionally a laundryman and the ghats are the places where laundry is washed.
If you know the brands Ecko Unlimited and French Connection,
you might be surprised to find that they are being made not by machines, but by the hands of many real people who work tireless hours for little wage.
We found that riding the rails in Mumbai takes a special quickness since most trains never actually come to a complete stop. There are cars for men and cars for women. The women will not hesitate pushing you out if accidentally hop in their car. Getting out is even more challenging than getting in and you must prepare many stops ahead and begin making a move. Its a special sort of dance that I am not sure of I could handle on a daily basis.
A men's train during rush hour
Check out more of Nathan's work on his website or blog. You won't be disappointed!!
For your architectural & urban planning solution product models, you will be creating a color model in 3D using Google Sketch Up. You need training!! Once you gain an understanding of this amazing software you'll be able to create models like the ones below:
After getting the basic (see the blog entry from February), try the following recommended tutorials to develop more advanced skills and understanding of Google Sketch Up.
Peepoople...what a great name. This is the name of an organization that deals with innovative sanitation solutions for developing and disaster areas. Now THIS is a great example of an innovative but simple design solution for a very necessary, life-threatening problem. (visit their website)
What is the Problem?
"In the world today, more than 2.6 billion people have no access to basic sanitation. That means that 40 out of every 100 people lack even the most simple latrine to perform their needs. The lack of toilets affects both society and the individual through the contamination of fresh water and ground water. Human faeces contain viruses, bacteria, worms and parasites which kill and infect people. One child in the world dies every 15 seconds due to contaminated water." (to read & learn more click here)
About Peepoople...
"Peepoople AB was created to develop, produce and distribute the Peepoo (pat.pend) sanitation solution. The mission of Peepoople is to provide universal access to dignified and hygienic sanitation.
The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Research has been conducted in co-operation with the Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU) and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)."
About the solution, PeePoo...the product
"The Peepoo is in the form of a slim elongated bag measuring 14 x 38 centimeters.
Within the bag there is a thin gauze layer measuring 26 x 24 cm. The inside of the Peepoo is coated with a thin film of urea. Without sacrificing ergonomic function, the bag’s design is adapted in every way so that it might be manufactured at as low a price as possible and sold to groups with the weakest purchasing power in the world.
The Peepoo is easy to carry and easy to use. It doesn't need any supporting structure, but, for convenience, a cut PET-bottle can help a lot." (to read & learn more click here)
MYP 2 have become urban planners and are doing an incredible job planning cities. Over the last few weeks students have worked in teams and created 3 different urban plans.
Using Lego pieces, string and cards on a 16 x 16 inch grid, students designed cities incorporating all of the requirement components (residential housing, commercial businesses, municipalities, public transport, industry and energy).
The 3 different requests for plans were -
1. Design a city which maximizes the amount of personal space each citizen will have.
2. Design a city which maximizes the amount of public space citizens will have
3. Design a city which maximizes the positive aspects of city life, minimizing the negative aspects of city life.
The plans were really thoughtful and I think we have some potential and influential future urban planners and thinkers in our class!
Our aim is to design a sustainable city. What is a sustainable city? What are important elements of a sustainable city? Starting this week students will begin to finalize their plans and will begin to build an actual 3d model of their ideal sustainable city. We will be working with recycled materials and creating our city to scale. Students will justify all their design choices and reasoning. I'm really excited to see how this materializes! And hope that some of our students go on to challenge the way things have been done and introduce innovative ideas to improve our communities!
There are cities around the world that have taken steps and made great efforts to improve the quality of life for residents. Some are designed and implemented by the government, others through organizations. Changes include: recycling/waste management projects, increase in green space and parks, change in city layout, enhancement of public works such as schools, in addition to alternative energy and industry.
Assign each person in your group to research a different city. In your process journals answer the questions below on that city and its projects.
What projects have been implemented in this city to make it more sustainable? (Identify what the project is: Transportation, Green Space, Waste Management, etc.)
What are the long-term affects that each of these changes will have on the quality of life in that city?
What ideas can you take from these real-life examples and incorporate into your plan?
What do you think could be improved? Do you have ideas that you think could work better?
MYP 4 Design students are designing original toys for a client of their choice under the age of 14. Toys must be mechanical or kinetic in some way and educational. Students have already interviewed their clients to find out more about their interests. Looking forward to seeing what kind of Some helpful links to help you get started.
Flying Pigs?
Automata - wooden kinetic toys. Below is a link to teach you the simple mechanisms to make them.
Process Journal Responses:
1. What did you learn about Alexander Calder?
2. What are your impressions, thoughts about his circus toys?
3. What makes them kinetic?
4. What toy in particular strikes you? How does it move?
1. First - For videos 1-4 write down notes in your process journal listing at least3 things you learned from the video. Be specific. You can explain a tool, an action, or how to make an object. I will be checking this off as an in-class activity.
2. Second - Try what you learned in Google Sketch Up! Open up Google Sketch Up and make an object using your newly learned skills. Save onto your data key.
Design students this term are researching and will be designing and creating their own games. We will be looking at ancient games to board games to computer games. Check out student blogs (James, Chad, Joe) for interesting information on some very ancient games.
Today we watched the movie Tsunami: The Aftermath, which tells us about the devastating destruction the massive 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami wreaked upon the humanity and infrastructure of communities effected by the disaster. Students are discovering that it takes understanding and knowledge to have empathy, an important element of humanitarian work. Next week students will begin investigating circumstances caused by a specific historical natural disaster, identify problems and start their process to design, plan and create a solution for the community using architecture and structural design .
STUDENTS: For Tuesday, February 9th, you will...
Choose a natural disaster to investigate. You will spend the next couple of weeks of the term researching the disaster, the aftermath, the local culture and society and identifying a problem affecting the humanity of that community. Remember that you will spend all term designing and creating a solution to a problem that you have identified, so make sure you are engaged enough in the topic and can find enough resources. It's your choice!
1. Choose a natural disaster which you will study. Start with the list below and then choose a specific historical disaster for your project (location, date).
Reflection: What is a humanitarian architect? (Hint: Watch Cameron Sinclair speak again on TED, and refer to the articles about the 1906 San Fransisco earthquake and 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami).
A link to a Cameron Sinclair project that you find innovative or inspiring. List 3 points that explain what about it and why you find it interesting. (Visit his organization's website "Architecture for Humanity" and click on "Projects" to see what has been done, or what is being worked on.)
Identify a specific natural disaster you have chosen to examine for the term. Explain the "what", "where", "when", "how" giving a basic background in your summary.
List and link at least 5 internet resources that provide information on the natural disaster event, the location, the aftermath. If you have trouble finding information, choose another event.
Include 1 image (embedded) of the AFTERMATH of the disaster you have chosen.
Next week you will share your choices, begin your investigation and write your design brief. You will receive Design Folders outlining the project from start to finish, where you will maintain all of your documentation and work related to this project and a resource to allow you to be clear on what you need to do at each stage of the Design Cycle - so you can work at your own pace and outside of class.
You will be for this term...humanitarians, designers and innovative architects!
MYP 4 students are currently exploring the culture and environments of slums, informal cities, squatter communities, around the world in unison with Humanities in order to gain a deeper understanding of how and why 2 billion people live in these conditions. In this term's unit, "Urban Planning and Design for Small and Shrinking Spaces", students will be researching and designing innovative solutions to answer this question:
How are designs and plans being adapted to
accommodate the loss of space in dense urban areas?
Homework for Thursday:
1) Students, please research your chosen city slum (see me if you forgot). In your process journal complete the table listing the following (applied to your city):
Necessities of City Problems Facing My City Slum
List what a city needsWhat problems do you face
(look at notes, lists & as a citizen of your informal
think about discussions in class.city?
2) Write a narrative answering the following questions in the first person as if you are a citizen of the informal city you have been assigned. Be creative using actual facts you have found in your research. Remember you are trying to look through the eyes of a person your age living in that city community. If you have trouble, please reflect upon the life you lead, remember the videos we watched and think about how life could be different.
What does my neighborhood look like? What is my culture? Where is it located? (Country, culture, geography, language, location, neighborhood description and views).
What are my living conditions like? My home? Who do I live with?
What is my typical day like?
What do I love about this place? What is special? What is beautiful?
What problems do I face? What challenges do I have in my daily life? (Think compared to your own)
What do I wish I had access to? If I could change 5 things in my community, what would they be and why?
*You may add images to your blog post that you have found.
*Add links to the bottom of your blog post that share where you got your research from.
Some links to help you in your research, though you may use your own.
Before I say anything, thank you Mara Di Venanza for speaking to us on Wednesday and sharing her expertise in Kitchen Design! I don't know about you, but I learned a LOT. What a fun job that would be!
You are just beginning the work with your client. While you continue to gather information about their needs and the space, you should start learning about and thinking about styles. There are many "styles" found in Interior Design.
Some examples are: Contemporary, Asian, Country/Rustic, Minimalistic, Mediterranean, English and Romantic to name a few. Some designers specialize in a few specific styles, others are more adventurous and mix and match according to their tastes and their clients' personality.
Before you can communicate your vision, you need to actually discover what your options are. So, using the worksheet handed to you in class, you will be researching styles this week and building an "Inspiration Sample Board".
First:
Look through magazines. What are you drawn to? Look at furniture, spaces, shapes, textures, colors. Tear them out, collect and spread them out in front of you. Do you see a trend? Are you drawn to particular things?
Second:
Using poster board provided by Ms. Filiz, use glue to create a collage of all of your "inspiration". You may decide to do more than one. Overlap, create patterns...be creative with your inspiration board! Remember this is something that you would want to hang in your "office" and look at when you need an idea boost!
Third:
Study your collage. What would you call the styles in your inspiration board? Think about your client and their space. What would work well?
Fourth:
Move to the Design Style & Inspiration Board Handout to complete this phase of the project. You will investigate and learn about the different styles that interior designers often use! This will help you narrow down your vision for the space!
This should be enough to get you started. Feel free to Google and explore the web for ideas on your own. We'll spend a lot of time in the computer lab the next few weeks!
P.S. Homework to complete this week!
Have you...
Finished taking photos of the room? Remember to put them on your data key.
Finished measuring all parts of the room?
Completed the 5 diagrams of the room? 1- Floor plan showing all structural walls and components (doors, windows). 4- Vertical wall views showing measurement. All diagrams must be finalized in pencil on graph paper (provided...ask for more!) and be to scale. Include a scale key on your diagram so we know what the scale actually is! (Ex: 1 square = 12" inches or 1' foot) This is where the Math from Mr. Joe comes in!
Process Journal entry: List & explain 5 things you learned from Ms. Mara's presentation on Wednesday.
Complete questions 1-3 in your Design Folder.
Whew! That's a lot. But you must keep up. See me for extra help.
Hello MYP 5 students...future architects for humanity. In this unit "Architecture For Humanity" we are exploring a few questions.
Can architects be humanitarians?
How can architecture protect people & communities while being socially responsible?
Is design a luxury or a necessity?
For Tuesday, please read the article I gave you on the San Fransisco earthquake (or view it here), and watch Cameron Sinclair speak again on TED (link below). Visit his organization website, Architecture for Humanity (below), and look through his completed/in progress/proposed projects. Choose one that interests you.
Write a blog entry which explains what you think a humanitarian architect does, who they help, and why they are important. Add a link to one of the projects you chose from Cameron Sinclair's organization website.
See you Tuesday!!
Cameron Sinclair - An open source, humanitarian architect.
2006 TED Prize winner Cameron Sinclair is co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that seeks architecture solutions to global crises -- and acts as a conduit between the design community and the world's humanitarian needs.
Polls, or surveys, are an effective way to collect information from other people. They are used in many forms and for different purposes, by governments, businesses, and academics, in addition to collecting personal opinions on social matters. Chances are that you have participated in a poll or survey.
To finish up our unit on Public Service Announcements, you will each be creating a survey of your own. It must have at least 5 questions but no more than 10. We will be using www.surveymonkey.com but there are dozens of other online options that you can use in the future. It is a great tool to gain feedback on your work and with the internet, you have the capability of collecting information from people far and wide!
The assignment:
1. Create a survey on www.surveymonkey.com. You will need to create an account (which requires only an email address). Click on "create a survey".
2. Create at least 5 questions. At least 2 must be open ended (meaning that you leave the answer up to the audience). Think about what kind of feedback would be helpful to you. Remember the whole purpose of the PSA was to communicate a message. You each chose a topic that meant something to you and decided on a method of storytelling to most effectively communicate your purpose. You also had a target audience. Ask yourself: What are you trying to say? What are you hoping the audience will walk away with? How can you improve?
3. For examples and ideas you can look at my survey.
Also check out the Examples that Survey Monkey gives you on its websites of the different kinds of questions you can ask. The phrasing of your question is important. You want to make sure you get the information you are looking for. Sometimes being specific is important. Other times leaving the question open-ended invites helpful feedback you may not have otherwise received.
4. Finished? Click on "collect responses". It will generate a link that you can copy and paste into an email and websites. It will look like the text below. For this class you are required to post it on your blog but may email people if you choose to.
The simplest and fastest way to collect responses. We generate a link for your survey that you can just copy and paste.
5. Create a blog entry and explain a little about your PSA. Include the title. Include the link to your survey and ask visitors to kindly take your survey after watching your PSA. Publish your video below your text.
6. Log back in to Survey Monkey to "analyze results". It's very interesting and exciting to get feedback this way on your work.
Read through your results and hand in your typed self evaluation latest by Tuesday, January 19th.
** As a reminder, your self evaluation must be done AFTER the survey responses are collected. Hand in a copy of your survey questions along with the answers to the following questions TYPED:
1. What is the message from your finished PSA? Is it different from your original intention?
2. Who is your target audience? From your survey results, did you reach your target audience? Did they understand your message?
3. What were some challenges you ran into during this project? Think about the following stages of the Design Cycle:
Investigate (research, choosing an issue, writing design brief)
Plan (writing script, storyboard, casting, props, setting)
Create (filming, timing, sources, music, editing)
4. If you had more time, what would you add, or change?
I am an educator, visual artist and designer. I have taught Art, Design, Computer and Information/Communication Technology to students of all ages, most recently the Middle Years Programme (IB) in Barbados. My approach to teaching is inquiry based and student-driven. I am passionate about being creative, am curious and love to learn alongside my students!
"MYP technology aspires to develop creative problem solvers who are caring and responsible individuals, able to respond critically and resourcefully to the demands of the increasingly technological society and to appreciate the importance of technology for life, society and the environment."
