impact

After four years of designing hypothetical spaces for hypothetical clients, the designbuild was an opportunity to progress through a project in real time, for a real client. Not only was this client real, they were incredibly unique. The 6th grade students at Lowell Elementary School brought such thoughtful input to the discussion on community, and the installation would not be what it was without them. The opportunity to showcase our final structure at the Mesa Prototyping Festival and the WELL Conference pushed us to expand our concept of the end user, something that had not been considered to the same extent in previous projects.

As students we have learned Revit, we have learned Sketchup, we have learned the phases of a design project, we have learned how to draw details, we have learned the levels of drywall finish, and so much more. But one skill that this project exceeded in teaching us was empathy. Empathy is the belt that holds all the tools in place and keeps them functioning well. Without it, the tools would stand alone, with no purpose beyond task-oriented design. This project was the best possible transition into our careers as designers, and will serve to strengthen our existing skills long beyond the end of the semester.

Gabby Klein

Our team is so diverse and international that this topic allowed us to dig deep on what community meant for each and every one of us and share those ideas with the amazing children at Lowell Elementary. As the future global citizens, to realize that no matter where we’re from, what differences we have, we all breathe the same air and are part of a global community. Where, for a community to stand upright, each person plays a vital role in it, just like our model, in our project each piece, from pocket screw to PVC elbow, each connection symbolizes what constitutes an important role in a community, no matter how small or big. All are parts of a whole that come together to make it function. To allow different community activities to take place, to share, gather and connect with one another.

I really look forward to graduating and taking all that I have learned at the ASU Design school to go on and create functional, well-designed communities, wherever they may be.

Hammam Alabdulla

Studio 2020 has been a maniacal journey, to say the least. It is one that will trump all of the other challenges that I’ve faced in my years of education. When there was a call for order, there was nothing but disorder causing chaos and confusion yet, my team found a way to meld and transition to overcome the challenges. I want to thank the children we had the privilege to get to know throughout this process because they’ve inspired me most of all. Although they’re unable to fully experience the project we created for them, I hope they’ll be able to see the impact they made on our design.

This experience has given me a greater understanding of timing, teamwork, and communication. As unique individuals with different talents and expectations, we were able to collaborate across different countries, timezones, and working platforms to accomplish our goal. The good news is – we made it happen!

Claire Batalona Reflecting on my last semester of Installation Studio 2020, the building blocks project has transferred from physical to online. Through the processes, I was not expecting the process went though like this. From the beginning of this project, although we have some trouble, we appreciate everything we have reached so far. Thanks everyone in my team! We all learn from each other, getting to know each other better, like we said from the beginning, we are so different and unique, it’s a great experience for me to work with a team like this, I bet there is no second chance like this!

Based on the COVID19 everything has changed so far, and I must end my U.S college life earlier than usual. It was very unfortunate that we cannot show our creation through the semester, but I believe everything happens for a reason, this might be another way for us to learn and to express.

Weilong Wu

They say the unexpected happens to the strongest because they can cope with it!

Reflecting on my journey at Installation Studio 2020 from introducing the building blocks project to transitioning online I learned many things. When we were assigned the project I did not expect it to be such a great experience and found it to be irrelevant with Interior Design. Now, at the end, I realized how much I have learned during the process and the importance of it. Collaborating with the kids and my team taught me the importance of listening and being empathetic. While designing and fabricating the installation taught me that all details matter and the value of teamwork.

Collaborating with other students and Installation design has been a transforming project in my school journey. It was very unfortunate with COVID19 we could not share what we have created in real life however with all the challenges this experience helped me thrive and learn how to think out of the box.

Nasraa Al Busaidi