KEM STUDIO-VIRGINIA TECH: INTEGRATED DESIGN STUDIO

Thank you for your hospitality Virginia Tech.

After two fast-paced weeks the Integrated Design Studio came to a close this Monday with the presentation of the 4 final projects below.  We had a great time being Hokies for two weeks, and probably learned as much from the students as they did from us (hopefully they learned a little). 

 The premise of the project was to explore the possibilities and power of interdisciplinary collaboration… challenge the students think differently about design. All four teams should be proud of what they achieved. The quality of the work was high and there were many intangible moments throughout that equally validated the process. 

Jonathon, Brad and I left invigorated, and ready to try it again next year.

Saturday night at the studio.

Well armed with a seemingly endless supply of Red Bull (I’ve heard tales of a Red Bull dealer in one of the studios) everyone is steadily generating renderings and laser cutting model parts. With the finish line in sight, concepts coming together and a full moon outside the freakout level is low… but it’s early.

Today marks the beginning of the sprint to the finish.

All 4 groups seem to be working well together, have a clear(er) direction, and are making final refinements in preparation for the presentation on Monday afternoon at 3:00. A press release went out today on the front page of the university online news site inviting the public to the presentation… no turning back now!

To see the preliminary concepts from each group checkout the links on the sidebar to the left on this page under the heading “PROJECT INFO”.

This first studio has a been an adventure for everyone and we’re confident that the students will respond on Monday with presentations that will set a high bar for future studios (no pressure).

Below is some process work showing where the groups have been heading since they presented concepts Monday night. 

An interesting (and unscripted) part of this studio experiment has been doing portfolio reviews with several of the students. There are many seniors in the group actively thinking about and pursuing jobs after graduation, and juniors looking for internships.

With such a diverse group it has been revealing to see how the different disciplines approach communicating their work. We were speaking with an architecture faculty member this morning who commented that ID students tend to have a noticeable human/user focus to their presentations as compared to the architecture students… which we have found to be true as well.

That conversation made me think that it could be just as valuable for the students to take this rare opportunity to present their personal work to students of other disciplines as it is for them to present to us.

Shepard Fairey.

There has been more talk in the studio about how these projects can proactively connect with the community… think about how the proliferation of Shepard Fairey’s work and message relates to the themes we have been discussing.

P.S. – Rebecca gets the credit for the Fairey reference.

Everyone is starting to think about the details and execution of their spaces. Here is a sample of a screen wall designed and made by Egawa + Zbryk, artists from Kansas City. Take look at the work on their website as you start thinking about the idea of “craft”, and how craftsmanship influences your design.

http://www.egawazbryk.com

Gold star for the “Bike” team (aka team “Awesome Badness”).

 They waded back into their research and re-examined their core ideas based on the feedback from the presentation Monday night and a desk crit Tuesday. This is EXACTLY what all of the groups should be doing (hint, hint). They got their ideas up on the wall, evaluated them, and immediately started sketching…  good job.

You can even see the progress from the street at night.

FIRST watch this today and while your moving forward with your refinement remember to have FUN, MAKE IT FUN & THINK DIFFERENTLY!

As your working tonight on the project remember to THINK DIFFERENT… challenge opportunities… be BOLD

Watch this, be inspired and amaze us and yourselves…. 

Monday night was the presentation of initial group concepts and the culmination of a frenetic first week.

All four groups did a good job of communicating their ideas, their progress, and their unresolved questions. The group as whole also did a great job jumping in and giving meaningful feedback to each other about questions and opportunities.

But there is not time to rest. This second week will be a sprint to the finish to get a single concept refined.

Here are some overall thoughts to help focus the refinement phase:

WORD OF THE DAY

Distill: def – extract the essential meaning or most important aspects of.

THE IDEA – DON’T FORGET THE RESEARCH

Go back to the research framework established last week – use it as an organizing tool for your thoughts and reactions. The presentations last night forced all of the groups to synthesize their ideas – and in most cases realize that their ideas aren’t quite there yet. There were a lot of good comments and suggestions offered, more than enough material to launch the final concept phase. Now is the time to rigorously evaluate the questions, comments, opportunities and ideas that were stirred up at the presentation. Remember, the goal is to come up with a single CLEAR IDEA.

PROCESS IS IMPORTANT

This studio is as much about how you work as it is what you produce. Now that all of the groups are moving into the refinement phase it is critical to start adding detailed thoughts and ideas about the sensory aspects of the final solution. Everyone talked about interaction in general, but not many people talked about the experience… how would a seat feel? What is the impact of shade/light? How does material selection impact how long someone stays engaged (how long would you sit on a steel plate bench versus a cushion-backed seat)? How do sound and smell factor in?

HAVE FUN

This a unique opportunity to work with students you wouldn’t normally get a chance to collaborate with… make the most of it.