Monday 8 November 2010
Monday 25 October 2010
Building Geodesic Domes
After a successful workshop day at the school last Thursday, we have been researching methods of construction for the geodesic dome form. The two websites shown below give step-by-step guides, showing how to efficiently build a triangular cardboard structure.
http://www.fetchaphrase.com/dome/c-woodtriangs.html
http://www.byexample.com/projects/current/dome_construction
A busy week lies ahead.......
Friday 22 October 2010
Workshop 2:: Peer Mediator Workshop
After some intense testing of cardboard construction techniques and ways of creating continuously changeable shapes, we then felt confident enough to take this to the school and test it with Peer Mediators.
Workshop 2 ran for a whole day, including an 'interesting' school dinner.... the children seemed to thoroughly enjoy their day. The morning session involved painting triangles with their interpretations of the school's core value system. The afternoon session involved working with the children (who invited their parents along to help) to develop structures out of the triangles, getting them to understand how space is formed. It was a very useful session talking to parents with their children, giving an insight into life outside the school gates.
Click on the photo for a link to more images of the day.
Thursday 21 October 2010
Testing Cardboard in Studio
Following the great work of the children at workshop 1, we then returned to the studio to collate what we'd learnt from the experience. It was agreed to continue down the route of using paper folding techniques to develop something for the 'Peer Mediators'. The issue now is scaling it up to card to develop meaningful structures for a second workshop.......
Have a look at our trials and errors in studio by clicking on the photo.
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Workshop 1:: Origami
As part of the same workshop, another activity more closely related to the paper aeroplane exercise was carried out - origami. Here we got the children to fold paper and make objects using this technique. There were some interesting ideas for seating and shelters, particularly from a group of pupils called 'Peer Mediators'. As part of a lunch and break time initiative, they mediate disputes between fellow pupils.
However, they highlighted a need for a space in order to do this - currently mediation is carried out by walls in the playground. This provides us with an interesting avenue to pursue....... Click on the photo to see a few more images.
Workshop 1:: Spatial Exploration
After a successful home-time workshop, we then took our new found confidence in communicating with children and parents into the school environment. Here we ran 3 activities to get the children involved in making, film and spatial exploration.This image provides a link to an album of the spatial exploration activity. It was a very useful resource in getting the children to talk about their favourite places around the school - providing us with ideas for where an architectural intervention could be made.
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Workshop 1:: Paper Aeroplanes
As part of our continuing work with Arbourthorne School, we ran a workshop one evening at home-time that involved making paper aeroplanes. This allowed us to have a visible presence at the school, especially with parents... they even made some planes which probably took them back to their youth! It was a successful workshop and will tie in well with our future work with the school.The image shown provides a link to an album of the event.
Sunday 17 October 2010
Wednesday 13 October 2010
Big Yellow Storage
Morning Gang,Big Yellow Storage have kindly offered to supply us with cardboard and other useful materials. To make this a two way venture, we will need to promote them as much as we can!!
Any thoughts....
Sunday 10 October 2010
Arbourthorne Discussion [1 of 3]
Arbourthorne Discussion [1 of 3].... Below is the post 'praise pod' discussion which took place at Arbourthorne School on the 30th September 2010.
Saturday 9 October 2010
School meeting 07.10.2010
The meeting held on thursday 07 with the school October proved to be very useful in discussing the direction of the project, and the groups broad goals of the project were well received. The ideas generated prior to the meeting addressed the potential for the group to develop a design for a physical structure to address the schools lack of a space for the Year 6 mentors, and a potential 'outdoor classroom'. As such precedents were collated before the meeting.
The group felt enthusiastic about the idea of creating a number of animations/films to both document the success of the Praise Pod in the Arbourthorne school, and further to this suggest the potential outreach programmes which could be developed to take the scheme to the wider community and city centre. As such, an emphasis on integration and development was key to the groups current intervention strategy.
Dan H and Tom worked on the production of a short film to explore the idea, which was presented in the meeting, and really helped to engage with teachers who attended the meeting.
Attached is an extract from the film:
Posted by Dan H
Thursday 7 October 2010
Sam Goes To Praise Pod!!!
Samuel Brown is the first of the team members to make it into the praise pod! Apparently Sam has been a very good boy and has lead the team very well! I am sure his Mother will be very proud!
Here is the clip in full!!!
Freecycling...
I think we might be OK trying to get hold of materials through Freecycle....
"Hi Everyone,
Below is the current list of items that are NOT allowed to be posted onto Sheffield City Freecycle. PLEASE DO NOT attempt to post these items, as your post WILL be rejected:-
Anything that is not free, legal, and appropriate for all ages
- Animals
- Copied CDs, DVD's and Videos.
- Asbestos - contact the Council for safe ways to dispose of this.
- Lighters and/or Lighter Fuel.
- Weapons.
- Knives of any sort.
- Creosote.
- Chemicals of any description.
- Virgin, Telewest Cable Boxes, Sky cards
- Non transferable Train, Bus, Coach Tickets
- Fireworks
- Alcohol
- Computer Software Keys, Codes
Many Thanks,
Sheffield City Freecycle Group Team"
Blog Update
Comments on the latest blog update please!
Video to follow re: 'Richard Crook Presentation'
E
Wednesday 6 October 2010
Potential street furniture, form and function
http://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/timeline/2004 The British Pavilion, originally built in 1887 and remodelled in 1909, saw its own metamorphosis as London designer Morag Myerscough wrapped the entire building in, as Cook says, “a new frock and some bright jewellery.”
The IX Venice Biennale of Architecture was under the general directorship of Swiss curator Kurt W. Forster and had as its theme ‘Metamorphosis’.
CJ Lim at the British Pavilion. Potential interest in the form of small street like furniture potentially used to showcase/house a film aimed at drawing in the public, and creating a dialogue with 'passers-by' and the Arbourthorne school.
How we should design...?
"The director is not a creator, but a midwife. his task is to help the actor give birth to a child, that she has not realised having carried inside her" - Jean Renoir
The Thinking Hand - Juhani Pallasmaa
Inhabitable Furniture
http://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/timeline/2010/image/945 - Furniture that inhabits / transforms another space, and after its design life is distributed amongst its users...
The Stadium of Close Looking - MUF
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Tag Clouds for Client Analysis...
Below are some Tag Clouds produced as an experiment in client analysis. They should enable us to see at a glance a weighted view of our current perception of stakeholders in the project. Smaller fonts represent less important observations, and larger texts add emphasis to key characteristics and motivating factors...
Sam
Council Management Structure...
Some useful stuff about the council management structure can be found at...
S
Monday 4 October 2010
The Forest School Idea
The Forest School is a very potent concept around a theory that whatever children can do inside they can also do outside. Ecclesall Woods, the ancient woodland in the city boundary has an old sawmill site. The site has exciting new plans for developing a centre for innovative use of timber and has a number of small businesses and enterprises already on the site. At the moment the Forest School site has an outdoor play space and a teepee. They would like to develop a 'structure' to allow for some additional facilities - to be decided but most likly an outside classroom and the aim is to build the project [click image for link]
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