On the Edge: November 2009

Monday, 30 November 2009

Holidays are coming. Holidays are coming.

The festive season is upon us, the Christmas lights have been switched on, Christmas music is played in almost every shop and already the faint sound of Santa's sleigh bells are getting children very hyper.

However what good is going to come from Christmas this year? Are parents going to over indulge their children with presents and are the elderly going to be warm enough? Even in the current economic climate there doesn't seem to be too much of a dip in sales, mind you, this is just the start of Advent. Normally December sales are colossal but it appears that a lot of people have already bought and even wrapped all if not most of their presents. Mince pies, truffles and other goodies are all being bought in preparation for the big day, but retailers fear this could be one of the quietest Decembers ever. Many will turn to starting their January sales a week or so before Christmas just to get people in to buy.

Does this really help the economy?

I guess in some ways it does, by starting sales early retailers are sure to bring in money and keep the debt collectors from darkening their door...for a couple of months at least People will only spend money if the have money to spend but at sales time people can sometimes go over the top often ending up in masses amounts of debt. So maybe January sales keep stores open and people in jobs but they can also cripple the money belts of those people desperate for last seasons cast offs.

So before you go and buy all of your presents, please think about when to spend, where to spend and why you are spending. After all " 'tis the season to be jolly" not worried about debt, unemployment and financial ruin.

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

8 in a bed

Studio Project Semester 1, Year

The project brief was to in groups, design an exhibition space that somehow explores the theme of "Juteopolis". The space is to be interactive and also must be transportable as it may be used as a travelling exhibition. Oh and as much as possible sustainable.

This was to be no mean feat.

Juteopolis for those of you who don't know was the name often used when referring to Dundee. Dundee was for a period of time the Jute capital of the world as it would import the raw materials from India and put through a carefully designed process to end up with the finished product. From cleaning to, thinning, spinning on to bobbins, weaving, then making sacks, carpet backing, road underlay Jute was Dundee. Everything was somehow connected to the industry.

It was this idea of connections that my group decided to pursue further. We looked at various different elements that the industry in the town related to such as health, education, communication, social and living conditions. As we looked into these ideas we never really felt that one element was more important than the other, all we really knew was we wanted to include all of these things into our design. We developed a design based on living in Dundee, at the time it was common for as many as eight people to be living in one house of then sharing a bedroom. We came up with eight squares all of varying sizes occupying the one space, this came to be fondly known as 8 in a bed. It was decided that the eight squares in there own way would show a different part of the industry but at the same time all be connected to each other. One cube would play a back projection of a workers hands showing how they would communicate with each other (this was a type of sign language developed in the mills) another would show the ratio of men to women, one man to three women. The idea of the exhibition space was to give the viewer the opportunity to experience what they want to experience.

The cubes themselves were to be made out of cardboard in such a way that it could be taken apart and reassembled easily, this both covered our transportable and sustainable material part of the brief.

Overall we wanted to look on the Jute industry as something positive in Dundee, not, as so often happens, a shrine to the past and the doom and gloom of life. We wanted to celebrate what the workers had and what the community and town meant.

I really enjoyed working as a group for this project and learnt a great deal from working with my peers. It was interesting to get to understand how others work and also to pass on skills and knowledge to each other. It really does help when your group is on the same wavelength and I feel my group really connected.

Isn't it bizarre how most things work better when connected?

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

TWIG

TWIG, Two Witty Intelligent Girls.

TWIG are a collaboration of two former Interior and Environmental Design Students and DOJ and are currently still working as a collaborative. Louise Forbes and Susan Younger design and make furniture that can at times have quite a risque theme behind it, recently they have completed their first commission since leaving DOJ and I am sure there is more to come.

I am currently doing a collaborative furniture project and I have been locking at the stools and tables and I find the works to be very elegant and sophisticated. Even if the theme is not your thing, you can not take it form them, both Louise and Susan certainly know how to make beautiful pieces of furniture.

Check out TWIG at htttp://www.twigdesign.co.uk/

Annotated Bibliography

Department of Education, 1992. Designing for Pupils with Special Educational Needs: Special Schools, London: HSMO

In this building Bulletin the Department for Education gives guidance on teaching and acceptable classroom spaces to be achieved in special schools to support the appropriate curricular and other needs of the individual pupils concerned. The publication intends to assist local Education Authorities and Architects in preparation for new designs and buildings or adapting existing special and ordinary schools for pupils with special educational needs.

Department for Education and Skills, 2003. Furniture for the Future: New Ideas for Tomorrow’s Classroom, London: Design Council

In this book the Design Council in collaboration with the Departments for education and skills challenge Britain’s design and manufacturing industries and introduce innovative products into the classroom to improve outcomes in learning. Environments in schools can have a large effect on learning outcomes and this publication gives examples of how classroom environments worldwide differ from that of here in the UK.

Department for Education and Skills, 2002.Schools for the Future: Designing for Learning Communities, London: TSO

This publication provides guidance on the needs for education in the 21st Century. It considers: Increased use of ICT, Schools for the Community, Sustainability and Design Quality. Design Issues for Schools from Entrance areas to Eating Halls, Staff Areas to Furniture are all considered and advice given.

Matson, J L. Gonzalez, M. Wilkins, J, 2008, Validity Study of the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Diagnostic for Children (ASD-DC)

This Journal analysis’s and validates the research done into diagnosing children and adolescents with Autism from 2 to 16 years old. Studies designed to evaluate the validity and the measure of autism can be divided into different categories.

Montgomery, T, 2008, Space matters: Experiences of managing static formal learning spaces, SAGE

The journal analysis the use of space in education in particular a small seminar room. Spatial management and movement can effect the context of meaning within education but also the learning environment

Sorrel, F. Sorrell, J., 2005. Joined Up Design for Schools, Hugh Merrell

This publication details the results of a collaboration of ideas between school pupils, designers and architects. The pupils working as clients along with designers and architects such as Richard Rogers, Paul Smith, Kevin McCloud etc aimed to create inspired learning and social spaces at school. The project also enabled the school children to gain and use a host of new skills, such as problem solving, teamwork, communication and self belief.

Veck, W, 2009. From an exclusionary to an inclusive understanding of educational difficulties and educational space: implications for the Learnining Support Assistant's Role, Routledge, Pg 41-56.

The Journal argues that important attention must be given to research into the ways educational space and difficulties are perceived within an educational environments. It is important that these issues are addressed before Learning Support Assistants can really make a contribution to the educational system.

Useful websites to keep up to date with whats happening in the Design world and also in general news:

Design -

Society of British Interior Designers

http://www.sbid.org/

WIRED Magazine

http://www.wired.com/

Dezeen Architecture and Design

http://www.dezeen.com/

ICON Magazine Online

http://www.iconeye.com/

BD Online- The Architect's Website

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/