All Posts

The final crunch! Following feedback from the previous week we were able to fine tune our work, making sure that we could clearly define the purpose of each of our final deliverables and their content. Time was spent proof reading, referencing and ensuring all information was presented to the best of our ability. Leading up the submission we worked to ensure that formatting, diagramming and wording of all our work was as clear as possible. It was essential that our final prod

Group Work & Solo Feasibility Review Working towards our final review of Semester 1, we tried hard to ensure that our ideas and thread of thinking were communicated as effectively as possible. We refined the group presentation with the addition of the 'Master Diagram' pin-up, detailing the breakdown of themes like AI, healthcare, land management etc. into each individual project. We received some very encouraging, constructive feedback which pushed us to continue refining and

Refining the group strategy and shared foundation This week we focused on understanding the direction each member of the group was taking forward from the group strategy. This both informed how we would curate our group 'Master Diagram', and helped us to build a deeper understanding of how each individual's thinking and ideas are linked together. This had several benefits as it provided us with the opportunity to share specific ideas, precedents and information between those

Individual Work During this period we split our attention again between further developing our individual theses and continuing with the group work. For our own projects we began selecting sites to work with alongside curating our briefs.

Groupwork Exhibition In the week after our trip to Porto we had our interim exhibition review. Despite our earlier considerations to the accessibility and interactivity of our work, the review revealed that our work was not communicating our ideas as effectively as intended. Though the website was accessible it was not easily presented in person. Upon reflection, we decided that a physical piece of work was required to show our thinking process alongside the digital website.

Porto, Portugal Our first aim for this week was to explore the architecture and urban fabric of Porto and develop an understanding of the systems which define the city. We studied some of the major architectural sites within the city, including works by Alvaro Siza and Rem Koolhaus. The second aim was to find potential opportunities within the urban fabric, key areas where our research could focus on to improve the quality of life of the locals in the area. Lastly, for those

The 'Fishbowl' strategy This week, alongside our group work, we dedicated some time to the development of our own personal abstracts. We looked at how we would curate the group work and distil selected elements into our individual work, ensuring cohesive thinking between individual and group work. The website also went through several iterations as we explored different wayfinding techniques, as we tried to figure out the optimal way of showcasing our research. We were struck

Communicating our research This week, our team focused on shaping the direction of our group project and how we would present our findings as a concise, professional, yet playful body of work. To present the main body and research of our work we decided on a website: our research topics are current with many of them in a daily state of flux. The website format allows us to keep information constantly up-to-date, as well as allowing us to present our work in a more interactiv

Continuing our research... In line with our healthcare branch of investigations, we visited the Design HOPES: From Hope to Health exhibition on at the Dundee V &A. The machine above calculates the carbon emissions of a ward and displays them for patients and staff to see in real time. This visualisation of waste could make help the people of the ward to make everyday choices that are hugely impactful to the environment and the hospital's economy. It's currently being used a

Getting started On the first day as a group we defined the overarching primary themes that our unit was going to investigate. We pinned several A1's to the wall and split them into the following topics: Healthcare, Education, Governance, Portugal, Scotland, Rural, Urban, Centralised, Decentralised and Artificial Intelligence. We used this exercise to firstly establish and discuss what our initial thoughts, interests and assumptions were. From here we investigated topics in a