Interstitial Zones 2015/16 Curriculum Book by iwbTO

THE REGIONAL ECOLOGIES PROJECT INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES YEAR 3: INTERSTITIAL ZONES 2015-2016 CURRICULUM HANDBOOK

Interdisciplinary Design Strategy at the Institute without Boundaries is a post-graduate program within the School of Design at George Brown College. www.institutewithoutboundaries.com | www.worldhouse.ca

DEAN, CENTRE OF ARTS, DESIGN & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND DIRECTOR INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES Luigi Ferrara 416-415-5000 Ext.: 2165 lferrara@georgebrown.ca

CHAIR, SCHOOL OF DESIGN

Bahar Mousavi Hejazi, (acting chair July to December 2015) 416-415-5000 Ext.: 3334 bmousavi@georgebrown.ca Elise Hodson (returning chair January 2016) 416-415-5000 Ext.: 3334 ehodson@georgebrown.ca

ACADEMIC LEAD

Christopher Pandolfi 647-960-3733 christopher.pandolfi@georgebrown.ca

STUDENT SERVICES & FINANCIAL AID: 200 King Street East, lower level

STU-VIEW ACCOUNT & HELP LINE:

ACADEMIC COORDINATOR

http://stuview.georgebrown.ca/ to re-set password: 416 415-2000, press 1 – 3 then 4

SPECIAL PROJECTS & LAB COORDINATOR

No part of this work may be produced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher–except for a brief quotation (not to exceed 200 words) in a review or professional work.

Heather Daam 416-415-5000 Ext.:2734 647-456-4497 heather.daam@georgebrown.ca

Lori Endes 416-415-5000 Ext.: 2029 lendes@georgebrown.ca

SECURITY

416 415-5000 ext 2773

STUDIO HOURS:

Weekdays: 7:30 am to midnight Weekends: 7:30 am to midnight Holidays: closed

MAILING ADDRESS:

Institute without Boundaries School of Design George Brown College P.O. Box 1015, Station B Toronto, Ontario Canada M5T 2T9

ADDRESS FOR VISITORS & COURIERS: Institute without Boundaries School of Design George Brown College Ground Floor, West entrance 230 Richmond Street East Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1P4

NOTE TO STUDENTS

Academic Departments at GBC will not retain historical copies of the program outlines. We urge you to retain this Program Outline for your future reference.

IMPORTANT DATES AND POLICIES

Visit http://www.georgebrown.ca/current_students/ for important policies, dates, services and tools for all students at George Brown College.

EQUITY STATEMENT

George Brown College values the talents and contributions of its students, staff and community partners and seeks to create a welcoming environment where equity, diversity and safety of all groups are fundamental. Language or activities which are inconsistent with this philosophy violate the College policy on the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment and will not be tolerated. The commitment and cooperation of all students and staff are required to maintain this environment. Information and assistance are available through your Director, Student Affairs, the Student Association or the Human Rights Advisor.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Students should obtain a copy of the Student Handbook and refer to it for additional information regarding the grading system, withdrawals, exemptions, class assignments, missed tests and exams, supplemental privileges, and academic dishonesty. Students are required to apply themselves diligently to the course of study, and to prepare class and homework assignments as given. Regular attendance is strongly advised. Past student performance shows a strong relationship between regular attendance and success.

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Design: a fundamental human capacity that enables us to share by externalizing the internal; making material the immaterial; generating reality by transforming resources for human purposes. Design Strategy: the bias or direction; the understanding of where you need to go next, and what you need to do to get there; the ways and means of reaching your destination, your goal. _ Luigi Ferrara, Dean, Centre of Arts, Design & Information Technology and Director Institute without Boundaries George Brown College

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Welcome PART 1: INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

PART 2: THE PROJECT

About the IwB

The Regional Ecologies Project

Vision, Mission, Values, and Objectives

Regional Ecologies, 5 Years, 5 Typologies

10 Challenges for Design

Gateway Cities Project 2013/2014

Educational Approach and Methodologies Educational Model Methodologies

What we learned from Gateway Cities Connecting Divided Places Project 2014-2015 What we learned from Connecting Divided Places Interstitial Zones Project 2015-2016 Partner: County Kerry Essay: IwB Research and the Regional Approach in Context

People

Class of 2015-16

PART 3: THE CURRICULUM

PART 4: APPENDICES

Curriculum Overview

General Information

Curriculum Structure

George Brown College Policies

2015/16 Calendar Overview

Grading & Evaluation

Important Dates

IwB Expectations Staff, Faculty & Students

Curriculum at a Glance: Fall Semester

IwB Studio Rules

Course Description: Fall Semester

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Curriculum at a Glance: Winter Semester Course Description: Winter Semester Program Outcomes Essential Employment Skills Reading List & IwB Resource Guide

WEL COME

We are glad to have you on board as a student of the Institute without Boundaries! This handbook is for you. It presents an overview of the IwB with a particular focus on the major project youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be undertaking during the 201516 academic year. We have also included information such as important dates and deadlines, the curriculum structure, background information about our current Regional Ecologies Project, a list of suggested reading and an overview of the methodologies and values that guide everything that thes IwB does. This handbook will act as a resource to get you started and as a guide for you to review throughout the year. As a student of the IwB you can expect to work long hours finishing projects; give numerous presentations to faculty and client representatives; engage in charrettes with students from other programs at George Brown College and from other College and University programs around the world, produce professional-quality exhibitions, proposals, books and videos. Most importantly you will learn an incredible amount about design, teamwork and yourself. It is going to be an incredible year and we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to see what you will accomplish!

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PART 1

INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES 2015/16

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THE INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

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The IwB is a place where creative minds come together and learn how to solve problems. _ Carmen Paz, Alumni from World House Project Year 1 Institute without Boundaries

Founded in 2003, the Institute without Boundaries (IwB) is a Toronto-based studio that works toward collaborative design practice with the objectives of social, ecological and economic innovation through design research and strategy. At the Institute, we see the designer as a problem solver with the ability to affect positive change for humanity. We are a place where students, teachers, industry and community experts come together not only as creators and designers, but also as ambassadors of hope. We imagine how to live, learn, work, and play together as a global community and seek alternative development patterns and a viable paths to a bright future. Central to the work of the IwB are real projects of public and global significance that are executed by students, faculty and industry experts either as part of the academic curriculum, research initiatives and/ or creative projects. The Institute has three divisions: an academic postgraduate certificate program called Interdisciplinary Design Strategy; a research division that supports special projects that further the IwBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s objectives, and a professional projects division that offers consulting services. The IwB offers a nine-month intensive post-graduate certificate in Interdisciplinary Design Strategy through the George Brown College School of Design. Students and faculty from diverse professional and academic backgrounds collaborate with a partner organization to understand and tackle a real-world challenge within an overarching research project that has been defined by the Institute. Guided by the demands of a partner project, and the selected research theme for the year, students learn skills, conduct research, create comprehensive proposals and present their work.

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2003 – 2005: MASSIVE CHANGE Massive Change: The Future of Global Design was the Institute’s first project, commissioned by the Vancouver Art Gallery, and led by Bruce Mau Design. In the IwB’s inaugural year, six students worked in the Bruce Mau Design Studio researching, writing and designing the Massive Change exhibition, website, radio show and book. These highly successful products sparked a discourse on the potential of design to leverage positive change for the future. In 2004, eight new students carried the project to fruition. Massive Change premiered at the Vancouver Art Gallery with a 20,000 square foot exhibition. The following year, Phaidon published the Massive Change book, and the student-designed Massive Change product line was launched by Umbra. In 2005, graduates of the Institute collaborated with the School of Design at George Brown College to build the Massive Change in Action website for the Virtual Museum of Canada. The Massive Change exhibit also travelled to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art.

2006 – 2009: WORLD HOUSE PROJECT In 2006, the Institute entered its second phase with a three-year initiative called the World House Project, which built upon the research and energy of Massive Change. The World House Project confronted the need for designing evolutionary housing system based on principles of sustainability, accessibility, technological responsiveness well-being and balance. In the first year of this project the IwB developed a “System Patterns in Housing” Timeline that identified twelve systems of housing (from construction to identity), and significant changes in housing trends throughout history. The team also examined the underlying philosophy, principles, and conceptual prototypes for autonomous accessory living units which could infill urban and suburban areas. Year 1 of the World House project lead to the World Housing Living Model, a prototype shelter that was constructed in Toronto, and which was evolved into the Canuhome, a demonstration house commissioned by the CMHC that travelled across the country and which was viewed by over 1,000,000 people.

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While researching the “World House”, The Institute also began a tradition of active participation in community innovation and socially responsible design through charrettes. For instance, the World House Interdesign conference and charrette brought together 154 participants from around the world to explore and develop solutions for challenges related to housing and water for clients such as Downsview Park, Waterfront Toronto, the Town of Port Perry, and the Mount Dennis community. By the end of the first year of the World House Project, an IwB student and native Costa Rican, Giorgiana Penon, uncovered an opportunity in her homeland. Giorgiana, who had previously worked for the government of Costa Rica, knew of a proposed grant that would allow poor, working families to secure funds to build homes. The government needed to identify what type of housing could be built for a grant of $7,500 USD that would also respond to the cultural and environmental climate of the region and its people. In the summer of 2007, the Director and faculty of the IwB travelled to Costa Rica to explore a possible partnership. This initiative became the second World House Project: a proposal for rural renewal in the developing Guanacaste region on behalf of the Costa Rican Ministries of Culture and Housing. The partners selected Matapalo, a typical town in western Guanacaste, for a case study. A former agricultural centre, the town was being overtaken by tourism development, driving living costs up and displacing locals. The results of the year were an outstanding design for a social housing prototype unit and a master planning strategy for regional development balancing local needs with global interests. In Year 3, the focus of the Institute shifted back to North America. IwB partnered with Habitat for Humanity Canada and Evergreen to “renovate” neighbourhoods in Toronto and to re-imagine sustainable suburbs that balance nature and people, income and access. The team researched, designed, and communicated a collaboration model for Habitat for Humanity and Evergreen that developed three ideals: greening, inclusivity and capacity building. The results of the year were a catalogue of ideas for 6 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

community engagement and citizen-led design activism to transform the suburbs into resilient, sustainable places that meet 21st century needs.

2009 – 2013: CITY SYSTEMS PROJECT From 2009 – 2013, the IwB applied its systems thinking approach to cities. The City Systems Project examined the city from the micro to the macro scale while proposing new ways to live and work in a sustainable and resilient manner. The City Systems Project looked at different scaled of the city from house to neighbourhood to city-wide services. In year 1 of City Systems, the IwB partnered with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation and examined the case study site of Flemingdon Park. Students examined how this large-scale social housing site, built during the fifties and sixties, could be rejuvenated. The result was a proposal titled “Universally Local” that combined a development prospectus on how to redevelop the Flemington Park neighbourhood. A manual was developed using systems thinking to map mechanisms on how large sections of the city could be redesigned.

In year 2 of City Systems, the Institute attempted to understand how to build more resilient cities. The team’s focus was on resolving the challenges facing Lota, a municipality in Chile. Lota was brought to the IwB’s attention by the Latin American Canadian Art Projects (LACAP), a Toronto arts organization, which partnered with the city after the February 2010 earthquake. The complex and difficult problems facing this municipality were an ideal case study for the IwB’s interdisciplinary approach to whole systems design and social innovation. The IwB proposed a revitalization plan for the community of Lota, titled “People Change Places” that responds to the planning and design challenges faced by the municipality highlighted that Lota’s most important asset is its human capital. These and other recommendations were based on the citizens’ vision as understood through field research conducted by the IwB and its affiliates in Lota.

In year 3 of City Systems, the City of Markham became a major project partner of the Institute. The IwB focused on the many challenges facing this car-centric suburban community at the edge of Toronto. The partnership lead to a project that proposed the building of a change lab called COLAB that would encourage community building and engagement in Markham. The lab would act as a collaborative innovation unit in a city that continues to experience rapid population growth and needs to control escalated municipal costs. COLAB proposed seven steps of collaboration: Research, ideation design development, system thinking, prototyping, communication and foresighting. In addition, the IwB students generated ideas for infrastructure and service design improvements citywide to promote public pride and engagement in Markham’s public spaces. They considered alternative uses for parking lots and green fields; proposed residential and commercial infill; created tools to empower small business; identified and celebrated community landmarks; and defined creative industry hubs, while restructuring Markham’s main streets by enhancing accessibility, and building new public infrastructure. In year 4 of City Systems, the IWB entered into a partnership with Dublin City Council (DCC), the municipal authority for the City of Dublin, and the city’s multidisciplinary innovation unit called The Studio. The IwB worked to address Dublin’s service delivery, in particular public engagement and the relationship between the municipal government and citizens. Among several projects, the partnership produced “Our Dublin”, a multiplatform system and a public communication program that reimagines public service delivery for cities now and in the future through the development of digital tools that engage citizens and city staff on mutually selected projects.

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The Dublin partnership moved the City Systems research to a higher level by looking at a complete city system with over a million residents. The exhibition, charrettes, and publications made during the IwB-DCC partnership serve as useful case studies for other cities that must reevaluate their service delivery and relationship with citizens. Proposals like Our Dublin are opening up staff and citizens’ minds to facilitate change in service provision. For DCC and The Studio, working with the IwB created more visibility for local projects, stirring organizational synergies and widening local debate. Immediately after the completion of the year, the IwB was brought in to organize “Start-up Dublin”, a charrette that was organized to re-imagine Dublin’s capacity for entrepreneurship and innovation using the open data offered by the City of Dublin.

2013 – 2018: REGIONAL ECOLOGIES Launched in the fall of 2013, the Regional Ecologies project, is a five-year research project about the complex networks and interconnected systems of infrastructure that define regions. Unlike cities, which tend to be well-defined entities with legal boundaries and a strong sense of place, city-regions are more nebulous, usually made up of a core city surrounded by suburbs, neighboring communities and hinterland. Year 1 (2013-2014) focused on Gateway Cities, examining Toronto, New York, and Chicago. IwB students created projects that re-imagined future development of these cities in order to foster prosperity, livability, accessibility and resiliency at a regional scale. During the Gateway Cities project the IwB worked with public, private and not for profit partners across these three cities, including the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), the Toronto Foundation, the City of Toronto, Metrolinx, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Arup, Cannon Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Parsons DESIS Lab. The Gateway Cities Project used these partnerships 8 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

to investigate and tackle region-scale issues in each city and between the cities, giving the IwB students, faculty, and staff crucial insight into future city-region development, resilience and competitiveness. The conceptual designs made by the students envisioned “Better ways of Living Regionally”, with projects such as: Airport City, a major collaboration between the IwB and the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA), Habi House a time-shared new housing model that encompasses choice and mobility and JoiRide, and ultra-compact electrical vehicle and cable system that addresses the lastmile challenge. These projects were included in a major publication called “The Atlas of One Delta”. Year 2 (2014-2015) focused on Connecting Divided Places, which looked at the social, economic, environmental, and cultural divisions in Chicago, Eastpointe (Detroit) and Toronto. The IwB students, staff, and faculty travelled to each city and worked with local stakeholders, including municipal officials, community leaders, and students to develop urban design solutions, housing, products, systems and services and designed conceptual tools to be applied in communities that address the issues of division. The resulting design propositions included: creating new social infrastructure that connect open spaces to activate community engagement and support participation; building cultural connections, knowledge and learning networks that use new technologies and develop new organizational structures for their application; pioneering innovative systems of transportation that connect disparate city infrastructures; identifying repurposed space that would support start-up enterprises that could generate new job opportunities; and exploring strategies for new social relationships and community interactions in order to build neighborhood identities and showcase the arts and cultural events.

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VISION, MISSION, VALUES & OBJECTIVES VISION

MISSION

VALUES Students, faculty, mentors and advisors share a commitment to collaborate, conceptualize, create, test and share. These are informed by the following values:

OBJECTIVES

Collaborative design practice for a better world.

• • • • • •

Innovation Respect Openness Compassion Diversity Curiosity

• • • • • •

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Collaboration Honesty Diligence Fairness Integrity Creativity

Fostering collaboration between disciplines to create innovative local solutions to 21st century global challenges.

•

Promote a design methodology based on co-creation.

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Promote design-based education and foster an understanding of design as a capacity-building tool.

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Develop leading-edge projects that can serve as curriculum challenges for students, faculty, industrymentors, and international groups.

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Conduct these projects with the Institute acting as a catalyst for the participation of schools and professionals from around the world.

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Create and exhibit design solutions in a provocative manner that engages the public.

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Support the evolution, growth and success of the students, alumni and mentors of the Institute to enhance their influence and visibility.

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Explore, in the long-term, the following 10 challenges for design.

10 CHALLENGES FOR DESIGN The following 10 challenges for design were identified by Luigi Ferrara for the International Design Alliance (IDA), made up of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) and International Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA).

01.

Respond to the needs of our worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aging population so that this group of people can continue to contribute to society and lead healthy, engaging and vital lives.

02.

Provide coordinated assistance and reconstruction in cases of emergency, natural disaster, severe weather and man-made disasters.

03.

Develop shelter for all people that balances the utilization of resources and the distribution of opportunity between the developed and developing world.

04.

Create a new means of sustainable transportation for goods and services, that is either physical or virtual and that does not damage the environment.

05.

Preserve and enhance diverse identities and cultures while maintaining social cohesion and allowing for global migration flows.

06.

Feed the planet equitably while maintaining and enhancing soil quality and respecting the dignity of all species.

07.

Bring access, knowledge and understanding to people everywhere so that there is powerful and positive communication between nations.

08.

Imagine and develop clothing that extends our life and health while providing beauty, identity and personal selfexpression.

09.

Design a world economic system that respects and rewards volunteer, social and community work.

10.

Create systems that regenerate, conserve and optimize the use of soil, water and air, thus maintaining the resources required to sustain life.

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EDUCATIONAL APPROACH & METHODOLOGIES EDUCATIONAL MODEL The Institute has pioneered a post graduate-level curriculum using a design-based educational model that fosters learning across disciplines, integrating specialized knowledge and breaking down geographic, cultural and social barriers. The Institute offers students the demands of a real project and the intellectual and creative rigour required to undertake it. At the IwB, students will learn through participation in every aspect of a project, assuming a variety of roles and actively engaging with the project partners. They will share these findings with the public in a meaningful way. Students will be mentored to follow best practices of professional design studio using design strategy, design briefs, design management and project management tools, and be encouraged to practice a think/make, research methodology and apply it to the design process.

METHODOLOGIES The IwB is continually refining its working processes, and developing tools and frameworks for thinking about and communicating design challenges. The following methodologies inform coursework and projects.

01: DESIGN RESEARCH

02: PARTNERED APPLIED LEARNING

03: DESIGN STRATEGY

04: ECOLOGY OF INNOVATION APPROACH

05: SYSTEMS THINKING

06: EVOLUTIONARY DESIGN PARADIGMS

07: CHARRETTING

08: STUDIO PRACTICE

09: INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS

10: DESIGN COMMUNICATION

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Methodology 01: Design Research Understanding the problem is the first step in any design process. The IwB uses design research to explore the context and establish baseline considerations and objectives for a successful design solution. Both primary and secondary research methods are employed: field research activities include photo documentation, interviewing stakeholders, sketching, mapping, collecting numerical data, observation, and note taking. Desk research activities include traditional methods like literature reviews, market scans, and collecting design precedents, but also extend to the creation of “day in the life” user scenarios, testing design concepts, and conducting community engagement sessions to analyze current patterns to co-create solutions and get feedback about them in the field. The design research process often uncovers key insights that lead directly to the most effective solutions—often these come from community members or stakeholders, but sometimes arise out of simple observation by “outsider eyes.”

Methodology 02: Partnered Applied Learning The IwB program centres on real projects and the curriculum encourages interaction with and feedback from partners, stakeholders, and community members. Students learn how to listen, gather information, identify user needs and respond appropriately. In the fall semester, students conduct background research by engaging with the community they will be designing for. They also work with representatives from industry and government to learn about the challenges of and opportunities associated with their specific project. In the spring, students propose and execute a design project, resulting in reports, schematic designs, budgets, and implementation plans. This gives students a more thorough understanding of the complexities, constraints and opportunities inherent in real projects with real budgets and deadlines.

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Methodology 03: Design Strategy The IwB focuses on integrating design strategy in all projects. The Institute sees design strategy as a coordinated approach using all design disciplines to create a viable path to achieving a client’s goals, letting the nature of each design strategy evolve to fit particular challenges. The goal is not only to design a solution for an immediate problem but also to propose flexible frameworks and systems that communities can adapt to solve problems in the future as there contexts change.

Methodology 04: Ecology of Innovation Approach IwB uses an ecology of innovation approach to understanding and solving problems. Studying the complexity and interconnectedness of political, social, design, technical, and business innovation reveals that innovation is multi-directional and multi-faceted. A constellation of factors must align to make true and lasting innovation possible. While social innovation may help us determine how we might want to live differently, technological innovation can build platforms that allow for these new possibilities to operate. Design innovation can contextualize those possibilities into formats we can understand and use, and business innovation can render the formats replicable and propagate them in society. Finally, political innovation can assist in institutionalizing innovation, creating a pervasive environment of innovation that becomes a background that guides and regulates how we live. As a conceptual method, an ecology of innovation is based on the proposition that all these forces interacting in synergy are required to make social change. The method promotes a culture and attitude of experimentation and considers innovation as inclusive of tools, strategies, and the development of key relationships, recognizing that it is the synergy of these factors that enables social change.

Methodology 05: Systems Thinking The IwB fosters systems thinking that aims to reveal patterns through observing, modeling and visualizing complex variables and interdependencies. Systems thinking makes tangible the multi-dimensional nature of today’s urban challenges. Students are encouraged to think holistically and to consider the many factors influencing a given challenge. To avoid tackling a problem from a single perspective, a systems “matrix” provides a checklist that helps students to ask new questions and contemplate the intersections of a variety of systems. The Institute has developed two such matrices that are consulted and adapted each year: 1)The World House 14 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

Matrix organizes the basic elements of housing into twelve systems, covering terrain, climate, economy, and culture. 2) The City Systems Matrix identifies seven characteristics that combine to create a healthy city: wellness, safety, accessibility, diversity, cohesion, identity, and sustainability. “Unexpectedly, the fruit flies that I studied in undergrad served as my first foray into design and systems thinking. As a biologist, my understanding of the world was shaped largely by a deep fascination for the complex, and usually invisible, connections between things—a system of patterns that connects everything around us. I saw these patterns in cells, organisms, and ecosystems, and most vividly, in the simple yet sophisticated embryo of a fruit fly. In working on the Housing Timeline at IwB, the importance of systems thinking in design began to reveal itself when we went beyond the physical and into the relational. The timeline was, by and large, an exercise in pattern recognition and systems thinking, in that we wanted to demonstrate how unique parts and their relationships can elegantly expose an integrated system and unexpected insights. Through this process, design became a way to understand, interpret, and propose patterns and generate solutions. Similar to biology, design is a tool and methodology that we use to explore and embrace the complexity of our world, while simultaneously making sense of it through the act of creation: design and systems thinking is a method to the madness.” – Kar Yan Cheung, IwB alumna (World House Year 1), designer, Bruce Mau Studio

Methodology 06: Evolutionary Design Paradigms IwB designs projects that evolve in response to the needs of different stakeholders and specific contexts. Rather than create solutions that are appropriate only to one challenge, location, time period or target audience, IwB generates tools, strategies and methodologies that are adaptable overtime and reflect and understanding of the evolving currents in our lives. Not only are IwB proposals intended to be relevant in other locations and for different audiences, but they are

also designed to be flexible, easy to adapt, and responsive to local needs. At the same time, by considering problems as broadly as possible, IwB looks for connections to others who face similar challenges around the globe, and works with others to generate ways of working that can be useful to many. By considering problems from the perspectives of a variety of stakeholders, IwB creates systems that encourage as many people as possible to participate and contribute to the design of both the system and the solution.

Methodology 07: Charretting A charrette is an intensive collaborative process that brings together students and professionals from different disciplines. Over a few short days of brainstorming, discussion, and expert consultation, interdisciplinary teams create a broad range of ideas around a central theme and eventually focus in on a single concept. The charrette is a design process used by architects, urban planners, and designers to connect community members, developers, and professionals to address complex projects like neighbourhood planning, urban development, and construction projects. Working side by side in a charrette, these groups are able to develop feasible solutions that meet everyone’s needs. During charrettes, IwB students are given leadership roles as team facilitators, making them responsible for ensuring that their team of students from different programs and schools collaborate and stay on track. The term charrette is drawn from the late 1800s, where proctors at the École Des Beaux-Arts in Paris would circulate a cart (charrette) to collect drawing submissions as students rushed frantically to finish their work. The IwB charrette process develops a similar momentum, which is key to the success of the event. Charrettes are used at various points throughout the school year. The size varies, ranging from IwB students exploring strategies for the major project, to events of over two hundred students visiting from foreign and local schools who help to design elements of the major project. IwB charrettes are characteristically interdisciplinary, co-creative, focused on stakeholder and user engagement and whole systems practices. Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 15

Methodology 09: Integrated Design Process

Methodology 08: Studio Practice Studio courses mimic professional design studio environments. Industry professionals guide students in three week-long studio projects that combine skill development in different design disciplines with focused individual and group deliverables that contribute to the major project. In Product Systems Services students go through the phases of design research, concept creation, and design development in the context of a case study problem. During the process they learn technical skills, such as sketching, mind mapping, model-making, material selection, manufacturing processes, and presentation techniques. In their Product Service studio students gain an understanding of the human-scale and of the daily lives of residents, while in the Environment Studio they look at how communities are organized at the level of architecture and urban planning. Finally, the Communication Design Studio looks at issues of branding and communication. At the end of the studio, as in all IwB projects, faculty and guests critique the final concepts.

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Integrated Design Process is a creative multi-disciplinary team whose aim is to develop design solutions by using collaborative methods that bring all factors, issues and people together into a process of iterative co-design. IDP combined with human-centred design and design thinking techniques, can result in innovative whole systems solutions and high-performance design propositions. Students receive training in all aspects of integrated design process and practice to acquire practical tools and tactics to be able to research, generate unique ideas, pitch a concept, engage in stakeholder consultation, complete design development and propose real-world implementation practices. They will learn aspects of triple-bottom line business models, that incorporate project management, resource management, and financial evaluation of social and economic returns. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Outcome-based education can provide significant training. However, it is via skills-based training rooted in real-world problems that students are equipped with tangible skills to become design leaders. The integrated design process at IwB, fortified by the multidisciplinarity of the students, is based on human-centred design thinking and community/ user participation. It is enhanced by project management theory, practice, and framed within a professional foundation in research methods, ethical discussions, and financial analysis. The students repeat the agile design process and apply it to many problems across small, medium, and large scales within an atelier classroom structure. At the same time, students engage in continuous design evaluation using a systemsthinking matrix analysis and triple bottom line methodology to balance social, environmental, and economic benefits in order to push their design beyond just strategy into tactical implementable solutions. It is via a codification of an integrated design process that design proposals can evolve to detailed prototypes and truly engage the student in integrated design thinking.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Monica Contreras, OAA, IwB faculty

Methodology 10: Design Communication Through a series of courses, students learn the basics of communication in print, digital, and physical media. At various points during the year, students design events, installations, and information pieces that communicate stages of the major project to stakeholders, peers, and the general public. This helps to solidify design ideas, gain feedback from new audiences, generate research, and spread the word about the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work.

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PART 2

THE REGIONAL ECOLOGIES PROJECT

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REGIONAL ECOLOGIES: 5 YEARS, 5 TYPOLOGIES A regional approach considers regions as a whole with the goal of obtaining new resiliency through greater cooperation, regional planning, and governance. The Regional Ecologies project will take into account a wide variety of stakeholders, from small towns to big cities, and the systems of nature, culture, industry, infrastructure, governance and finance that support and connect them locally and globally. This project will identify opportunities for sustainable economic, social and environmental growth through existing and potential new relationships and networks. A regional plan could lead to new efficiencies in sustainable transportation, improvements in border crossings and migration, energy grids that are more coordinated, supply chains that are extended and strengthened, trade and manufacturing that are more connected, cultural and social programs that better support specific regional needs and populations, a more strategic use of natural resources, and policies that leverage environmental leadership and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. YEARLY BREAKDOWN The Regional Ecologies Project will span over five years and will be broken down into five different city-region types, these are listed below. Importantly, these categories are not exclusive, they are research themes from which to build a greater understanding of city-regions.

2013-2014

Gateway Cities are at the heart of city-regions. They are leaders in economic, cultural, and political processes. ‘Global’ or ‘world’ gateway cities are beginning to bypass nation states as the key centres of global and regional socioeconomic power.

2014-2015

Divided Places are regions characterized by sharp and immediate differences in wealth, infrastructure, density, etc., where virtual and physical segmentation creates stark social, economic and political inequality.

2015-2016

Interstitial Zones can be regions that have lost their primacy to global cities due to changes in trade flows, declining industries or geographic shifts in production. They can also be gateways for large, thinly-populated natural regions and zones of low-growth with the potential to have a redefined role in a globalized economy.

20 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

2016-2017

Symbiotic Cities are independent cities that are economically codependent with a neighbouring city or region, usually separated by a natural or jurisdictional border. Their symbiotic relationship means that they are part of a bigger system that strongly binds the two cities and their regions.

2017-2018

Continuous Corridors are regions with large and contiguous cities connected by high-speed rail, frequent flights, free trade zones, etc., creating continuous corridors of connectivity. These city clusters operate closely on multiple levels allowing people to live and work across places and cultures.

THE REGIONAL APPROACH IN CONTEXT Most urban areas have more people living outside the citycore than in the city-core itself (e.g., more people live in the Toronto region’s 905 area code than in the City of Toronto’s 416 area code). The fifty largest city regions, on average, have twice as many people living outside the core city than in it. To fully understand and explore the challenges and opportunities of urbanisation we need to work within a regional context. Working at the regional level, however, adds layers of complexity. Large regions can have nation-sized economies that are made up of all scales (from local to global), they embody a large variety of land usages (from city-core to countryside) and have multi-jurisdictional, overlapping governance. Furthermore, regions are unconstrained by political borders, crossing provincial/state or even national borders, and their dynamic boundaries follow the growth of the region. Regional Ecologies focuses on the interaction of a region’s ecosystems (both natural and human-made) in order to design solutions that make those regions prosperous, liveable, sustainable and resilient. Ultimately, the challenge and opportunity lies in discerning the interconnectedness at all scales that bind a region and makes it a true entity.

An ecological or systems-approach avoids the practice of breaking problems down into neat boxes in isolation from the rest of the system. Solutions achieved through compartmentalised approaches ignore their effects on other systems and scales and can lead to today’s solutions becoming tomorrow’s problems (e.g., autodesigned land use and sprawl, carbon-energy and climate change). Compartmentalised approaches miss solutions to the problem that may reside in other systems or do not understand the linkages that restrict creating simple solutions to regional problems–leading to a region continually lurching from problem to solution to problem to... For example, a region that truly wishes to design a sustainable and diverse regional transportation network must understand the local, regional and global linkages and scales and the interconnectedness of transportation, housing, economy and land use. Fundamentally, the city-region form is neither the problem nor the solution, it is simply where the world lives. The complexity and diversity of the regional form are what makes them resilient. The Regional Ecologies project hopes to better understand this complexity and a region’s systems, networks and linkages in order to propose relevant designs that can make all regions more liveable and sustainable.

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 21

“”

In the new century of the metropolis most of us in the world will be urban and most of us can and must be planners, architects NY/CH/TO and designers. _ Tom Angotti, The New Century of the Metropolis

TORONTO

CHICAGO

22 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

NEW YORK

GATEWAY CITIES PROJECT 2013/14 OVERVIEW Year 1 of the Regional Ecologies project looked at Gateway Cities by studying Toronto, New York and Chicago as ‘gateways’ to their respective regions. Just as cities compete and cooperate globally, so do regions. What is good for New York may be good for Toronto or Chicago and vice versa - as economic or cultural activities that are attracted to one region can spill over to the other. Toronto, New York and Chicago are key territorial gateways in terms of borders, transportation, energy and agriculture and key network gateways in terms of finance, manufacturing and culture. These three cities are embedded in global networks and economies that are dependent upon markets that go beyond their local and national parameters.

PROJECT AIMS Census data and mapping by urban research centres are contributing to the understanding of Gateway Cities. However much is left to be learned about how these cities operate as gateways within their regional contexts and further how these three cities are connected. IN 20132014 the IwB students focused their research on the cityregion scale, and on research that develops and maps new relationships across established boundaries. The Gateway Cities 2013-2014 project aims were to: •

understand and define the layers of these regional systems in terms of energy, housing, transportation and public spaces

•

examine the networks between the three cities, mapping the connections from a regional perspective

•

propose an ecology of innovation for these regional systems

PROJECT DELIVERABLES The Gateway Cities Project investigated future developments, resilience and competitiveness within regions and between cities by delivering a model for a smart region. The final project deliverables depended on the work conducted by the students and the agreements reached with project partners, the deliverables of the Gateway Cities project included: •

network plans for multi-use greenways

•

alternative regional energy plans

•

connected regional transportation plans

•

regional identity and culture plans

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 23

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM GATEWAY CITIES The Gateway Cities Project looked at the conditions necessary for vital and prosperous city-regions. The IwB students and faculty developed a Regional Framework based on residents’ fundamental needs (image on the following page). The Regional Framework is composed of three categories— sustenance, protection, and stimulation—that are sub divided into nine Vital Elements recognised by the IwB students and faculty as the base units required for a high quality of life. The students and faculty also identified six Systems of Infrastructure that must work in balance to provide access to the Vital Elements (both featured in the Regional Framework, and below). With the aid of this framework, the IwB students developed “One Delta”, a proposal for a megaregion organisation between Toronto, New York City, and Chicago. One Delta is based on the premise that regional cooperation between these cities will not only have future benefits, but becomes a complete necessity in view of rising scarcity of natural resources and unsustainable production practices. The students concluded their research and project work in “The Atlas of One Delta”. This publication is the first in a series of five volumes in the Regional Ecologies project which includes comparative analysis, benchmarking, and data visualization of the 3 case study cities and summarizes and analyzes the findings from Gateway Cities. The Atlas argues that a new regionalism has emerged, built on global connectivity and rapid urbanization, rather than strictly on physical or political boundaries. It also suggests that the interconnectedness of this “mega-region” presents opportunities to manage systems at a regional level. During 2013-2014, the students conducted many projects, including a design of a Neighbourhood Integration Plan for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority that better integrates Toronto’s Pearson airport with the region.

Vital Elements 24 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

Systems of Infrastructure

Regional Framework Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 25

CONNECTING DIVIDED PLACES PROJECT 2014/15 OVERVIEW Year 2 of the Regional Ecologies Project looked at Connecting Divided Places by studying the social, economic, environmental, and cultural divisions in Chicago, Eastpointe (Detroit), and Toronto. The principal causes and effects of division in these city-regions were investigated – in particular, wealth disparity, racial and cultural divisions as well as lack of connectivity and continuity of the public realm. This initiative aimed to understand the complex networks and interconnected systems that define our cities and their surrounding regions, and to design intelligent and balanced solutions that foster prosperous, liveable, and resilient city-regions of the future. The Institute looked at how design methods and tools can develop solutions for divided places that stimulate new relationships, economies, and knowledge networks.

PROJECT AIMS Division in cities is a ‘wicked’ global problem. With our 2014-2015 educational, industry, and public partners, the IwB students looked at different scales and types of urban division in a North American context. Though all divided places share characteristics, North American cities have developed differently then other cities in the world because of the influence of car infrastructure and suburbanization. Though the suburbs are no longer the primary locus of wealthier residents, the impact of suburbanization and the ideology of the “American Dream” are specific to the North American context and have produced specific forms of social, economic, and spatial division. Our case study cities provided an opportunity to gauge the differences and similarities of divided North American cities. Chicago is a city deeply divided physically, racially, and economically. Eastpointe, a small municipality at the edge of Detroit, contains the well-known 8 Mile Road that divides the inner city from the suburbs. Toronto is a city where rapid gentrification is threatening social cohesion.

26 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

Working with partners in the three case study cities, the Connecting Divided Cities project aimed to explore how design can build connections that can overcome issues of division by: •

creating new social infrastructure that connects open space networks and activates community participation and engagement.

•

building cultural connections, knowledge and learning networks using new technologies, applications, and organizational structures.

•

pioneering innovative systems of transportation that connect disparate city infrastructure.

•

producing new economies and economic zones fostered by city-region connections that can provide new job opportunities and ameliorate wealth disparity.

•

exploring strategies and opportunities for new social relationships and community interaction.

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM CONNECTING DIVIDED PLACES During the Connecting Divided Places Project students examined the regions of Toronto, Detroit and Chicago in order to understand how tensions and connections occurring in nature, politics, economics, culture and technology affect life. They worked to; •

explore factors that make up division.

•

explain patterns, trends, and relationships that exist between people and places.

•

enable community leaders and designers to create the conditions for equal access to opportunity.

The students discovered that the issues faced in these three regions are inextricably linked to patterns around the globe, and manifest themselves in different ways on a regional scale. Hence, division is a universal matter that must be tackled through collective action at different scales. They argue that division is ultimately composed of three fundamental factors: power, access and boundary and when these factors fall out of balance they harm the health of a society. The students gained an understanding that working on a regional scale offers a manageable scale which leads to an understanding of global division and, in addition, how it can be manifested at a local level. By exploring the relationships between power, access and boundaries, the students began to see which problems design can have the largest impact on. With this in mind, they created what they called a “System Framework of Division”. The objective of the framework is to provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between the different elements, and help community leaders and designers to develop design solutions. This framework emerged after both theoretical and practical research and as a result of charrettes and project work completed throughout the year. The projects the students developed address the divisions and access between digital and physical spheres as well as the access to service delivery. Furthermore, the students identified social infrastructure as a key strategy for addressing division on a city level.

LEGEND Major Chicago events

Chicago Way

Mayoral election year

Facts related to Mayors

1931. Al Capone starts one of the first Soup Kitchen. His intentions are an effort to clean up his image. People tell the newspaper that Capone is doing more for the 1950. Race Riot poor than the entire US government

1966. Division Street Riot: Is is a community response to the shooting of a young Puerto Rican man by the Chicago Police 1968. Chicago Riots: Sparks by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1989. Chicago experiences new infusion of commercial and residencial investment

2006. US immigration reform protests draw over 400.000

2013. The largest school closure

1915 & 1927.W.H. Thompson becomes mayor

1920

1910-20. The Great Migration: Southern African-Americans migration 1919. Chicago Race Riot

1928. Al Capone’s support allowed Thompson to return to mayor’s office using such tactics as the “pineapple Primary”., so called because of the hand grenades thrown at polling places to disrupt voting

1940

1929. VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE: Eight mob associates of the North Side Irish gang led by Bugs Moran were murdered during the Prohibition Era. It resulted from the struggle between the Irish American gang and the South Side Italian gang led by Al Capone - to take control of organized crime in Chicago.

1925. A. Al Capone becomes Chicago Outfit boss

1955. R. J. Daley becomes mayor

1955. Mayor Richard J. Daley builds the once-mighty machine that doled out jobs and favours in exchange for support for Democrats on Election Day. He is never charged with criminal wrongdoing, but several of his high-ranking aides are send to prison for political patronage.

1989. The Hired Truck Program hires private truck companies to do city work but six-month investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that participating companies had American Mafia connections or were tied to city employees, or paid bribes to get into the program.

2012. A federal lawsuit is filled by 11 Chicago police officers alleging ther are removed from the mayoral security detail and replaced with officer who works on Emmanuel’s mayoral campaign, in violition of the 1983 Shakman Decree, which bars city officials from making political considerations in the hiring process

1960

1955. Daley bullies the airlines into paying for O’Hare International Airport and presses the suburbs around O’Hare to let Chicago annex the airport.

1980

1990

1989. R. M. Daley becomes mayor

1997. Barack Obama becomes a member of the Illinois state senate

2000

2010

2011. Emanuel comes under fire for going against his campaign promise to create “the most open, accountable, and transparent government that the City of Chicago has ever seen”

2011. R. Emanuel becomes mayor

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 27

INTERSTITIAL ZONES PROJECT 2015/16 OVERVIEW Year 3 of the Regional Ecologies Project will focus on Interstitial Zones by looking at the networks and systems that define our cities and their surrounding regions. Students will work to propose new designs and design methods for creating the intelligent and balanced solutions that foster prosperous, liveable and resilient city-regions of the future. Thinking regionally in this project allows the IwB to explore the intersection between the local and global. ‘Interstitial zones’ are commonly defined as rural sites, but they can also include ‘in-between’ areas that are made up of suburbs, agricultural zones, industrial hubs and smallscale craft production areas that are foundbeyond cities and are remote from urban centres. Global shifts in trade flows and industry have changed the capacity for influence and the prosperity of many interstitial zones, yet they are crucial to regional prosperity. PROJECT AIMS In 2015-2016, the objective of the Institute will be to ‘rethink the in-between’ by understanding and identifying different types of interstitial zones and proposing design solutions that stimulate these areas both culturally and economically. The goal will be to reimagine the spaces in-between as future areas of influence and vitality. The key project questions include: •

What are interstitial zones?

•

How do people live and work in interstitial areas?

•

How can sustainable economies in interstitial areas be created?

Together with students, educators, government, businesses and community groups, the IwB will develop design proposals that have the potential to stimulate growth, connect communities and foster innovation.

28 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

INTERSTITIAL ZONES 2014/15 PARTNER: COUNTY KERRY During the Interstitial Zones Project the IwB will partner with County Kerry in Ireland. This partnership will provide students with a research context. The partnership includes the Kerry County Council as well as many local stakeholders and residents. These different stakeholders will collaborate with the IwB students and faculty in a variety of ways, including: acting as an advisory committee, sharing information, providing feedback on proposals, making presentations, hosting events and working together on the various research and design projects. County Kerry is a small region in the southwest of Ireland. It is a rugged coastal area rich in history and wildlife, but similar to other interstitial areas, it faces depopulation and problems stimulating and maintaining economic activity. The IwB will zoom in on Kerry’s Iveragh Peninsula (Irish: Uíbh Ráthach). Recently included as part of the new “Wild Atlantic Way,” regional branding campaign, the area is striving to redefine itself by stimulating tourism, entrepreneurship, investment in science and technology, etc. Focusing in on the Iveragh Peninsula through the lens of an interstitial zone, the IwB will work closely with the Kerry County Council and other local stakeholders to work on creating sustainable economic developments that will provide new job creation in the region. Towards this goal, the IwB and its project partner, have chosen four project themes: •

County Kerry as a Destination – The notion of County Kerry as a ‘destination’ will be explored with a strong focus on lengthening the tourism season, creating an environment that entices young people to settle in the region and establish roots.

•

Science and Ecology in Kerry – There is a timely opportunity to create a systematic plan to make County Kerry a leader in research and knowledge in the field of science and ecology, and capitalise on this with eco-tourism.

•

Culture and Heritage in the Kingdom of Kerry – County Kerry is an important archaeological and historical area, as well as being partly a Gaeltacht Region. The cultural and heritage assets of the region can be used as a catalyst to make County Kerry an important site for the development and appreciation of Irish history and culture.

•

Innovation and New Industry in Kerry – There is an opportunity to explore the assets of the county and how they can be used to develop new types of industries in the areas of energy, farming, communication, technology, etc.

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 29

MEET YOUR CLASS OF 2015/16 RANA ABDEL JABER, GRAPHIC DESIGN & ADVERTISING, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY BEIRUT Rana is a graphic designer who comes to the Institute without Boundaries from Beirut, Lebanon. With a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, she has a strong background in illustration, art direction and advertising. Rana wants to excel in her design career. By continuing her education at George Brown College, Rana is looking to gain new skills to enhance her creativity level, analytical skills and art creation. JOHN ABILA, GRAPHIC DESIGN DIPL. SENECA COLLEGE John grew up in Scarborough, Ontario, and has been volunteering in community outreach projects and working with start-ups since graduation. In his spare time, John likes playing board games and basketball, drawing, photography and attending local art events. SHREY CHHATWA, BA DESIGN, RAFFLES DESIGN INSTITUTE (INDIA) Shrey was born and raised in India. There he studied Product Design at the Raffles Design Institute. During his studies he took part in various projects consisting of Transportation Design, Furniture Design, Lighting Design, Spatial Design and Sustainable Design. After graduation, Shrey interned for a leading automobile company called Mahindra & Mahindra, where he worked as an assistant designer. His design won the “SUV of the Year Award 2015.” After his internship, he worked in various segments of design from interiors to furniture and graphics. Apart from designing, Shrey loves traveling and photography. In his spare time, he likes going to different coffee shops or looking for a new place to explore different cuisine. MICHELLE CHEUNG, BA. POLITICAL SCIENCE, U OF CALGARY While studying at the University of Calgary, Michelle became actively involved in student advocacy and humanitarian aid issues, which led her to relocate to Toronto. She pursued a career in international development and human rights 30 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

by working as a fundraiser for several NGOs including: Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) and Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders (MSF). In her spare time, Michelle can often be found cooking/ baking up a storm, dancing wildly at concerts, people watching in parks, taking in new art exhibitions, or weaving tapestries. She loves to travel, James Turrell, wheel thrown ceramics, and vintage clothing. TALIA KALENDER, B.SC. PSYCHOLOGY & URBAN STUDIES, UOFT The world of design has been a part of Talia’s life from a young age. Born and raised in multicultural Toronto, Talia has made an effort to see all ideas, issues and conflicts through a cultural and design lens. Her love for architecture, cities, people and problem solving has led her to the Institute without Boundaries. With a strong interdisciplinary background in Psychology, Health and Urban Studies from the University of Toronto, she is excited to apply multiple perspectives to design strategy at the IwB. Talia hopes her passion for community outreach, design, awareness of social, economic, cultural and political issues, both locally and globally, have equipped her with the necessary tools to make a lasting impact on society through design. In her spare time, she loves to cook, travel the world, and is an accomplished Armenian Folk dancer. YUQI LIU, BA. ENGINEERING (INDUSTRIAL DESIGN) HUNAN, CHINA Previous to joining the IwB, Yuqi worked for a year as a product designer for a device manufacturer in China. He has also worked in many other design areas at the university level, such as interaction design and system design, where he completed many different projects in areas like the medical, civil and military sectors. Yuqi decided to move to Canada and found that he really likes life in Toronto. He is interested in music, culture and design.

AUDREY MCMANN, BA. ART HISTORY VISUAL CULTURE, UBC Audrey’s passport declares her as a Torontonian, but she grew up in the Ottawa Valley and has spent the last four years studying in the beautiful British Columbia. For her undergraduate degree, at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, she studied Art History and Visual Culture, but she has also previously studied psychology and fine arts. The experience of studying culture from a visual perspective, led her to consider design as a functional tool for everyday settings, especially in the interaction of living spaces. The root of her passion for design comes from her external experiences in the world. Audrey is always inspired to translate her experiences it into a tangible outcomes. Aside from Audrey’s love affair with design, art and all things to be imagined, she is typically found gallivanting on hiking or climbing adventures. AMANDA NASTURZIO BA. ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN, OCAD U Amanda is a recent graduate of the Environmental Design program at OCAD University, where she gained a strong base in design disciplines ranging from interior design, architecture and urban planning. For her thesis, she designed an Agricultural Community Centre converted from an abandoned oil factory. The purpose of the community centre was to repurpose abandoned resources and reconnect the residential Toronto neighbourhood to its roots, with an additional focus on green and sustainable design. Amanda also has experience in furniture, metalworking and filmmaking. Her other interests are writing, painting, travelling and photography. She is excited to join the IwB team and hopes the year will expand her horizons and theoretical knowledge as well as give her the opportunity to collaborate with others to make a positive change. VIRAJ PATHARE BA DESIGN, RAFFLES DESIGN INSTITUTE (INDIA) After destroying many toys to investigate how they were made, Viraj’s love for design led him to a degree in Product Design. After graduation, Viraj worked with an interior designer to pursue his love of lighting design, where he helped light-up many happy homes. Viraj loves engaging in projects that reuse recycled trash and considers this a

hobby. His motto is to “reuse stuff and yet again fit a light in them and make them look beautiful.” ANNA SKRYPNYCHENKO, BA. FINE ARTS, GUELPH UNIVERSITY Anuta is a visual artist currently based in Toronto. She was born and grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine. Anuta’s work has been exhibited at the Art Metropole, XPACE, Gallery 44, AGO, Cambridge Galleries, Toronto Urban Film Festival, Galerie Les Territoires and as a part of 2014 PhotoBiennale Greece at the Museum of Photography Thessaloniki. HASSAN ZAKI MA, GRAPHIC DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF PUNJAB, LAHORE Hassan has worked in many design and art disciplines including print and digital design, installation design, illustration and photography. He has completed projects that involved a combination of varied skills like architecture, 3d prototyping, displays and information design. In particular, Hassan is interested in the intersection of digital and exhibition design. He is always on the lookout for new and exciting ideas. JANE ZHANG B.SC. LIFE SCIENCES, MCMASTER UNIVERSITY Jane is interested in analyzing the world from several disciplines. She enjoys learning new systems and finds pleasure in forming connections between ideas, people, and disciplines. She studied Life Sciences with an Origins Research Specialization, which engages both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary streams. Through her academic and volunteer work, she discovered a passion for sustainability, specifically from a design perspective. She hopes to contribute her science expertise to the design world, specifically, to develop economies that are more circular and conform to the Brundtland’s definition of sustainability, namely, to ensure that the future generations’ needs are not compromised by the current generation.

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 31

32 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

PART 3

CURRICULUM

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 33

CURRICULUM

nt P

tio

Co m m un ic at

n io

6–

38 res Fina entatio l exh n II ibit

5–

t uc od Pr

Clie

ien

tat

ion

1–4

CURRICULUM STRUCTURE The nine-month IwB school year is based on three overlapping segments: project preparation, project development, and project communication. While the first semester introduces students to a variety of design disciplines, tactics, skills, and tools, it also serves to familiarise the students with the partners and context of the major project. By winter break, students have conducted site research, met with partners, and prepared a research document and proposal outline for the “major project.” In the second semester, the course schedule includes more studio time to develop the proposal. The spring involves more focused activities, such as charrettes (intense workshop periods to resolve a problem) that serve to create specific design elements of the larger project. By the end of the second semester, students switch modes to synthesise, package, and present their year’s work for the public and partner, often in the form of an exhibition, book, and presentation.

ice & Serv

Digifest

Intercession

MAY WK 31–35

Syst ems

how

nd S

E Year

NOV WK 8–11

Ireland field work & charrette

En vir on me nt

7–

rce ssi on Cha rret te T oro nto

y da ea Br k

RW MA

–1

site

ff ToDo O

FEB WK 20–22

34 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

3– 2

Int e

li Ho

2 WK

–1

2015-2016 CALENDAR OVERVIEW SPECIAL EVENTS Aug 31-Sep 3/ Orientation Oct 26-30/ Intercession Nov 1-8 / Field research, Ireland Nov 9-15/ Charrette, Ireland Dec 21–Jan 1/ Holiday Break Jan 18–22/ ToDo Offsite/IDS Jan 18-22/ Client Presentation I Feb 22–29/ Charrette Toronto Feb 30-Mar 4/ Intercession Apr 22-22/ Year End Show May 9-13/ Digifest Exhibit May 23-27/ Final IwB Exhibit May 30-Jun 3/ Client Presentation II DESIGN MODULES Mon/ Tues / Fri 9 AM – 12 Noon Week 1–3// Communication Week 4–6// Product Week 6–8// Systems & Service Week 11-14// Environment MAJOR PROJECT Mon/ Check In & Lecture 9 AM – 12 Noon Weds / Studio 2 PM – 4 PM Fri / Critique 9 AM – 12 Noon Week 1–35//

INTERGRATED DESIGN PROCESS Wed/ 9 AM – 12 Noon Week 2–30// DESIGN ISSUES, HISTORY & THEORY Thurs/ 9 AM – 12 Noon Week 1–14// MAJOR PROJECT/ THINK MAKE Mon/ Check In 9 AM – 11 AM Weds/ Studio 1 PM – 3 PM Fri/ Critique 9 AM – 11 AM Week 15–35// PLEASE NOTE: This schedule may change as resources and circumstances require.

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 35

COURSE OVERVIEW

CLASSES (SEMESTER 1)

MP DI COMM PROD | SYS | SER ENV IDP IRELAND!!!

TORONTO!!!

CHARRETTE

EVENTS

MEETING

CLIENT MEETINGS

EXHIBTION TODO PARTY

CLASSES (SEMESTER 2)

HOLIDAY

MPD MPC IDP WORK PL DI

PHASE 1 RESEARCH SEP

PHASE 2 SUMMARY

PHASE 3 PRESENT

RESEARCH + PROJECTS

36 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

OCT

NOV

DEC

JAN

FEB

O!!!

CLIENT MEETINGS CLIENT MEETINGS

YES

DIGIFEST DIGIFEST ARUP

PHASE 4 REFINE PHASE 4 REFINE MAR

PHASE 5 FINALIZE PHASE 5 FINALIZE

THINK + MAKE THINK + MAKE MAR

APR

ARUP

APR

MAY

JUN

JUN Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 37

IMPORTANT DATES Students are responsible to check the important dates for their program. Below are dates that relate to the IwB Curriculum. For the most current list of important dates and essential college information please visit: http://www.georgebrown.ca/registernow

FALL 2015

DESCRIPTION

July 20

First day to apply for a discounted student GO Transit pass for the Fall term (Log on to STU-VIEW and select GO Transit Student ID Card Request).

August 31 – September 3

IwB Orientation.

September 7

Labour Day - College closed.

September 8

IwB Fall semester starts.

September 21

Last day to withdraw from an entire program with a partial refund. You may withdraw from your program on-line via STU-VIEW.

October 1

Last day to opt out from the Student Health Insurance Plan for the Fall 2013 term.

October 12

Thanksgiving - College closed.

October 26 – 30

Intersession.

November 1 - 15

Ireland field research trip & charrette

November 6

Last day to apply for a discounted student GO Transit pass for the Fall term.

December 18

Last day of the Fall semester.

December 24 at noon - January 3

College closed for holiday break.

38 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

WINTER 2016

DESCRIPTION

January 4

IwB Winter semester starts.

February 15

Statutory Holiday - (Family Day) College Closed.

Feb. 22 - 29

Charette Toronto

February 30 – March 4

GBC Intercession. (note: IwB Charrette falls on intercession, we will adjust dates TBC)

March 21

First day to apply for a discounted student GO Transit pass for the Spring term.

March 25

Good Friday – College Closed.

May 23

Victoria Day – College Closed.

May 27

Deadline for students to RSVP to attend Convocation (in June 2015).

June 6-10

IwB Final exhibition & IwB Graduation (exact date TBC).

June 8 to 12

GBC Convocation Ceremonies (www.georgebrown.ca/convocation for more information).

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 39

CURRICULUM AT A GLANCE: FALL SEMESTER: The semester begins with a four-day orientation. From September to December, four intensive design projects take place, each lasting three or more weeks: Communications, Systems & Services, Product and Environment. Three semester-long courses run concurrently: Integrated Design Process; Major Project: Preparation; and Design Issues, History & Theory. In addition to study at the Toronto studio, students will travel to Ireland for field research and a charrette.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE// SEMEMSTER 1 Monday

Tuesday

Major Project// Modules

9:00 am 10:00 am 11:00 am

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Intergrated Design Process//

Design Issues//

Major Project// Critique

12:00 am 1:00 pm 2:00 pm 3:00 pm 4:00 pm 5:00 pm 6:00 pm

Major Project// Check In / Lecture Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

Studio Hours Monday to Friday 8 am to 9:30 pm Saturday 9 am to 5 pm Sunday 9 am to 3 pm

40 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

Major Project// Studio Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

Major Project// Modules Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS: FALL SEMESTER Orientation August 31 – September 3, 2015 Instructors: Christopher Pandolfi & Heather Daam Orientation introduces students to IwB methods, team building and collaborative work. Each day begins with a (guest) lecture about IwB philosophies and tools. An introduction of the year’s major project theme and partners will be given. The afternoons are mostly dedicated to a fun interactive project that builds communication skills, team collaboration and leadership. The orientation workshops are intertwined with opportunities for students, faculty and staff to get to know each other and learn about each team member’s educational and work backgrounds.

DESN 4010 Major Project: Preparation September 8 – December 18 Instructors: Susan Speigel, Paul DeFreitas, Christopher Pandolfi and Mark Gustlis Course Description: This course prepares and offers the student all the necessary skills to tackle the Major Project challenges as defined by the IwB in consultation with the project partner. Students will engage in a set of sequential projects that will start with an in-depth analysis of the challenge, a literature review and data collection exercises that will be used to develop a research dossier. The students will conclude their research report with an analysis and synthesis of the research using IwB tools such as: format categorization, mapping, timelining, modelling, temporal framework positioning, comparative analysis, and whole systems thinking while using human-centre design methodologies and case study development. Underpinning this process will be the students in constant communication with the project partner stakeholders for immediate feed-back and clarifications. Students will meet regularly with faculty, learn design

evaluation skills, engage in peer to peer critiques and develop presentation techniques. It is expected that by the end of the fall semester, the students will have created a draft publication that will consist of a synthesis of their research to date and the challenge faced by the project partner, a summary of the complementary projects from their other courses and a design strategy and corresponding design briefs for projects that will be further explored in the winter term’s Major Project Development and Major Project Communication courses.

DESN 4003 Design Project: Communication Design September 9 - September 25 Instructors: Lauren Wickware & Kristina Ljubanovic Course Description: This module provides an introduction to the basics of graphic communication and branding: research, development, design, critical evaluation, workflow and presentation. Students develop a campaign that serves the client and the required collateral material in various forms in print and digital formats. These proposals will be coordinated by an overarching design strategy that furthers the Major Project. Students are expected to communicate to the different parties involved throughout the design process (instructors, studio team and client). Deliverables are tailored to the abilities of each student, with built-in challenges to expand student understanding of producing a project from idea to final product.

DESN 4007 Design Issues, History and Theory September 10 – December 18 Instructor: Heather Daam Course Description: This course aims to increase awareness and critical discourse among students about contemporary design issues and theories. It will situate the mandate of the Institute without Boundaries within larger international and Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 41

historical contexts. To encourage interdisciplinary thinking, speakers from a variety of backgrounds will present on topics related to IwB philosophies and the Major Project. Students will participate in roundtable discussions and conduct research related to their personal interests within topics from the Major Project. Students will develop analytical skills to critically examine primary sources in varying media, and will employ research, writing and presentation skills. This course is coordinated with the Major Project to support the theoretical framework and writing for the year’s central themes.

DESN 4004 Product Design (continued with DESN 4006 Systems & Service Design) September 28 - October 12 Instructors: Miles Keller and Xavier Massé Course Description: This course will provide an introductory understanding of Product Design and the disciplines and techniques that influence the product development cycle. Students will research and develop a tangible product concept suitable for the goals of the Major Project. Past products have included: park benches, street garbage cans, and components of public recreational areas. The course will include in-class lectures, discussions, and learning exercises around design research, concept creation, design development, and design presentations. Technical skills such as sketching, mind-mapping, model-making, material selection, manufacturing processes, and design presentation techniques will be introduced and practiced as the student develops their product. A final presentation to faculty and guest professionals will provide students with a formal critique of their product concepts. Students will be expected to present and support their product concept in a professional manner.

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DESN 4006 Systems & Service Design (continued from DESN 4004 Product Design) October 13 - November 20 Instructors: Miles Keller & Xavier Massé Course Description: Students gain an introductory understanding of systems and service design and the disciplines and techniques that influence their design development cycle. Students will engage in research methodologies in order to develop a systems and service solution that is appropriate for the context of the Major Project. Students will gain technical skills such as user scenarios, personas, journey maps and an introductory understanding of systems and service design and the disciplines and techniques that influence their design development cycle. Students will complete a design presentation and project booklet.

DESN 4008 Integrated Design Process 1 September 16 – December 16 (intro lecture Sept 2) Instructor: Monica Contreras Course Description: Integrated Design Process 1 provides students with foundational and practical skills, including the current and contextual industry knowledge required to successfully complete the Regional Ecologies Main Project. The course follows “authentic learning principles” – it applies current multidisciplinary professional practice to solve wicked problems. Students are exposed and expected to participate in a fast-paced, studio-style practice by engaging in short assignments to develop individual and group skills, explore IwB tools, techniques for brainstorming, auditing, conceptualization, visualization and synthesis of design concepts. Topics covered have been coordinated with the Major Project course, from research methodologies, appropriate theoretical discourses, agile concept development, experience design, and evaluations of design explorations. Practical skills will be acquired in design thinking and leadership skills, team dynamics and discourse, agile design executions and evaluation methodologies of environmental, social and economic returns, financial analysis and project management skills from a designer’s perspective.

DESN 4009 CHARRETTE I November 9 - 13 County Kerry, Ireland Instructors: Luigi Ferrara, Christopher Pandolfi and Heather Daam Course Description: Students explore design issues and develop solutions in a team environment through the design charrette process-an intensive, collaborative process that brings together students from different disciplines to interact with design professionals and citizen stakeholders to develop innovative solutions for complex issues. Over a few short days of brainstorming, discussion and expert consultation, teams create a broad range of ideas around the central theme, and eventually focus on elaborating a single concept. Students take part in the design and planning of the charrette process, and act as team facilitators during it, collaboratively generating, refining and presenting ideas. This year the design charrette will take place in County Kerry. Students will work with a wide range of students, professionals and citizen stakeholders on the following four themes; • County Kerry as a Destination • Science and Ecology in Kerry • Culture and Heritage in the Kingdom of Kerry • Innovation and New Industry in Kerry

to develop design interventions which focus on extending the tourist season in the region. The project developed as a result of the Environment course will include a series of built-form solutions encompassing new designed experiences that integrate branding and communications, product, systems and services solutions developed in previous courses.

The work completed during the charrette will be key to the students understanding of the larger research questions undertaken in the Major Project.

DESN 4005 Design Project: Environment November 23 - December 11 Instructors: Kar Yan Cheung and Richard MacIntosh Course Description: The Environment Module is an intense 3-week studio intended to explore and apply design and urban theory, historical precedents, techniques, methodologies, sustainability principles, materiality, scale and relationships in order to develop strategic design solutions that explore what is a “tourist” as a purposeful visitor in the context of the Major Project. Students will work in teams to apply their research from Major Project Preparation (DESN 4010) Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 43

CURRICULUM AT A GLANCE: WINTER SEMESTER In the Winter Semester the students will work together on the major project for the entire semester. Due to the fluid and flexible nature of this program, the specific structure and project focus of the Spring will be finalised during the fall semester.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE// SEMEMSTER 2 Monday

Tuesday

Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

Major Project// Communication Lauren Kristina

Additional Think/Make support

Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

9:00 am 10:00 am 11:00 am 12:00 am 1:00 pm 2:00 pm 3:00 pm 4:00 pm 5:00 pm 6:00 pm

Studio Hours Monday to Friday 8 am to 9:30 pm Saturday 9 am to 5 pm Sunday 9 am to 3 pm

44 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

Major Project// Development Susan & Paul

Additional Think/Make support

Major Project// Critique

Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

Intergrated Design Process// Open Studio Support & Staff 9 - 6 pm

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS: WINTER SEMESTER DESN 4021 Major Project: Development January - June 2016 Instructors: Susan Speigel, Christopher Pandolfi, Paul DeFreitas and Mark Gustlis

accomplished by the students are disseminated broadly. The course asks students to find innovative, effective and efficient strategies for dissemination and marketing.

Course Description: A continuation of DESN 4010 Major Project Preparation, students work to answer their research hypotheses and further develop the design solutions envisioned from the first semester. Based on their research and analysis completed in the first semester, students will work as a team to develop and execute a series of projects that address the needs and challenges of the client. These projects will combine environmental, product, communication, systems and services design outcomes. The students will continue to be in constant communication with project partners and stakeholders for feedback and clarifications as their projects progress. Furthermore they will produce reports, schematic designs, system visualizations, budgets and implementation plans using a holistic, interdisciplinary and systems based approach. The final outcomes of the Major Project will be presented in a completed atlas publication.

DESN 4025 Integrated Design Process January - April 2016 Instructor: Monica Contreras

DESN 4022 Major Project: Communications January - June 2016 Instructors: Lauren Wickware & Kristina Ljubanovic

Course Description: Students explore design issues and develop solutions in a team environment through the design charrette process-an intensive, collaborative process that brings together students from different disciplines and design professionals to develop innovative solutions for complex issues. Over a few short days of brainstorming, discussion and expert consultation, teams create a broad range of ideas around the central theme, and eventually focus on a single concept which they believe best addresses client needs. DESN 4024 Charrette II requires students to show the experience they gained in planning and executing DESN 4009 Design Charrette I. Students take on the development of the design brief and the design and planning role prior to the charrette, and act as team facilitators for the charrette

Course Description: Students will collaborate to package and market their work from the DESN 4021 Major Project Development for public dissemination and distribution. Formats may include exhibitions, publications, web sites and/or conferences, as well as their final atlas publication. Under the direction of faculty, students will be responsible for compiling, editing, designing and producing materials that are appropriate for target audiences outside of the educational setting and in accordance with the needs of the project partners. In this way, the original research, tools and design work

Course Description: Integrated Design Practice II continues the curriculum objectives of DESN 4008 Integrated Design Practice I by working to perfect skills in developing design ideas, prototyping and evaluating them, resulting in strategic design solutions that can be implemented. Particular focus will be given to financial and value proposition design, exploring new design business models, business practices for implementation, community engagement and client management practices from ideas to adoption.

DESN 4024 Design Charrette II February (dates TBD), Toronto Instructor: Christopher Pandolfi and Heather Daam

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 45

leading teams to collaboratively generate, refine and present their ideas.

DESN 4026 Work Experience Placement January - June 2016 Instructors: TBD Course Description: As part of the Interdisciplinary Design Strategy postgraduate program, students complete a placement in a professional design studio with a minimum of 105 working hours. Students will receive a short series of preparation lectures from faculty and guest lecturers for their field placement, to support them in transitioning to working in a real studio. Students will be divided into two groups and placed in professional design studios where they will work on their own projects as well as take on tasks from the studio. This means the students will share their studio time between developing their own project, as well as contributing and giving support to the studioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing tasks, projects and research. Students will work in the smaller teams on one of the Major Project Development projects in order to bring it closer to completion through the guidance of a professional designer. Student evaluation is determined by the Lead Designer on the completion of tasks assigned to the students by their faculty, and their level of participation in the activities carried out at the design studio.

46 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

PROGRAM OUTCOMES Upon full attendance and completion of all classes and assignments, students should be able to demonstrate the following skills.

02.

Create a plan and manage the design, documentation, tendering, fabrication and delivery for a real-world project.

Design Planning

SKILLS PRACTISED • Design project management

01.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Plan and design a small exhibition or event • Create fabrication documents • Assist in the fabrication • Launch the event to the public

Understand and apply design research techniques to evolve a design’s effectiveness within its context and environment. SKILLS PRACTISED • Research and knowledge management • Research knowledge and synthesis • Design for context LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Develop a research plan based on the specific needs of the project, partners, clients and other stakeholders • Develop techniques for collecting, evaluating, and integrating information into a design project • Conduct thorough and effective explorations using qualitative, quantitative, primary and secondary research methods • Perform comparative analysis of leading international examples • Devise creative and logical mechanisms for analyzing and synthesizing information • Evaluate and contextualize research and present it in a visual format • Evolve designs based on new and emerging parameters and criteria • Prepare documentation of a design’s evolution

Design Strategy 03.

Understand the context of design evolution to generate and evaluate innovative design scenarios and concepts. SKILLS PRACTICED • Design theory and taxonomy LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Complete design review exercises • Stretch the limits of these exercises to result in design breakthroughs • Become familiar with the form and culture of community design • Develop an awareness of design trends and their ideological roots • Plan and evaluate scenarios for design • Apply evaluation methodology for designs • Investigate and absorb design history to identify paradigm shifts • Understand genotypes, phenotypes, visible and invisible designs and other forms of design taxonomy • Design solutions that operate at various taxonomic levels

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 47

04.

Develop design strategies that follow from identified vision, mission and objectives to position organizations and companies as design leaders. SKILLS PRACTICED • Design branding and positioning • Strategic design direction LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Apply analytical and conceptual thinking to generate a design strategy • Develop a flexible, renewable and interactive design system • Work to achieve consensus and integrate knowledge from an interdisciplinary team • Build a strategy that is cohesive in environmental, product and communication spheres • Draft a clear, concise, and accurate vision, mission, set of objectives and design brief

05.

Prepare design briefs, propositions and schematics for critique and development.

•

Discuss and critique various design propositions, referencing their effectiveness and qualities in relation to a design brief Generate multiple schematic designs for preliminary review and critique

06.

Apply branding, communication, positioning and presentation strategies to design options. SKILLS PRACTISED • Design research • Design strategy • Branding and communication LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Prepare maps of brand values • Author a communication strategy • Develop a positioning statement • Synthesize positioning and brand into a slogan • Prepare a communication plan including a set of campaigns • Launch and execute the deliverables of the communication plan

SKILLS PRACTICED • Design branding and positioning • Strategic design direction • Critique and evaluation

Design Development

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Sketch and visualize a design concept • Prepare a written design brief based on an ideological position • Describe a design proposition verbally, visually, and in written form • Generate various schematic designs that meet a design brief • Critique and redirect designs based on other possible ideological perspectives

Engage in a process of ideation and creation, leading to the establishment of a design framework (schematic design).

48 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

07.

SKILLS PRACTISED • Design ideation • Schematic design • Problem solving

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Generate iterations from basic designs into final design propositions • Evolve schematic designs into detailed resolutions using a range of methodologies • Prepare 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D visualizations of designs • Critique and synthesize designs into clear propositions • Describe the designs imaginatively and numerically • Visualize the design in space and time • Imagine a fabrication and construction scenario for the designs

08.

Engage in a systematic review and evaluation in order to refine the schematic design and move to design development. SKILLS PRACTICED • Critique and evaluation • Critical reflection • Responsiveness LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Learn how to receive, respond and synthesize critique into the creative development of a project • Use a set of established criteria • Present design project to external reviewers for feedback • Receive, absorb, and reiterate the critique • Revise the design based on analysis of critique

09.

Understand and apply the interactive systems that underpin the World House and City Systems Matrices and develop best practices in system building using creativity, innovation, initiative, resourcefulness, diligence and foresight. SKILLS PRACTICED • Understanding and application of systems thinking and holistic design • Application and analysis of the World House Matrix and City Systems Matrix

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Develop best practices for each of the systems • Integrate the systems into a holistic design • Ensure the interaction of systems in the whole

10.

Develop and evaluate methodological tools for the design of systems. SKILLS PRACTICED • Critique and evaluation • Benchmarking • Systems thinking LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Create qualitative and quantitative mechanisms for evaluating systems integration within a design • Apply systems thinking to design projects

11.

Understand and apply IwB values of sustainable, universal, balanced, intelligent and resilient design. SKILLS PRACTICED • Design theory • Design strategy • Problem solving • Critique and evaluation • Responsible citizenship • Environmental stewardship LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Understand the five values and how they can be applied across design disciplines • Evaluate design projects and processes from the perspectives of the five values • Incorporate the five values in all design decisionmaking • Develop new strategies and criteria for evaluation for the five values

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 49

Visualization 12.

Become proficient at sketching, communicating, transforming and visualizing invisible and visible design concepts and data. SKILLS PRACTICED • Visual communication • Sketching • Technical drawing (plan, elevation, section, perspective, axonometric) • Transferring and incorporating data and infomatics LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Identify the underlying principles governing and generating final designs • Write system rules for the design • Map potential outcomes of the system • Construct diagrams exposing visible manifestations of invisible designs • Visualize design possibilities for the system through storyboarding • Categorize and develop a taxonomy of the system interactions • Reproduce a variety of scenario outcomes of the design in action • Transform and communicate empirical data as a visual message

13.

Read, plan and oversee the creation of digital and physical models of designs using 2, 3 and 4-D media. SKILLS PRACTICED • Model building and prototyping (to scale) • Digital animation • Interactive design LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Create technical drawings including sections, elevations, axonometric and perspective views 50 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

• •

Create digital and physical models to scale Create an animation of the construction process

Communication 14.

Learn to communicate, present, and demonstrate design results to external reviewers, client groups, the public and the international design community. SKILLS PRACTISED • Written communication • Oral communication • Visual communication • Digital literacy LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Present skillfully to the public, design professionals and other students from around the world • Present the Regional Ecologies project in public forums including exhibitions and websites • Use alternative formats to convey design projects such as video and digital media • Successfully plan and stage an exhibit in a public forum, selecting and utilizing the appropriate media to communicate the essence of the design • Compile a publication that describes the design, the system that generates it and the potential of the system to be used internationally • Receive, review and absorb critique of the project

Professionalism & Entrepreneurship 15.

Understand and manage an Integrated Design Process in a professional design studio SKILLS PRACTICED • Financial management

• • •

Project management Business modelling Leadership and effective performance in teams

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Ensure coordination of all consultants’ knowledge into a unified design • Submit final designs within a set time period • Manage and monitor a flow of information and knowledge between team members in a professional and organized manner • Maintain a professional work environment

16.

Understand and manage a collaborative and productive relationship with external partners, clients and stakeholders. SKILLS PRACTICED • Design research • Client consultation • Proposal development • Presentation LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Communicate with partners in a professional, respectful and effective manner, verbally, visually and in writing • Research partner needs and ensure that projects respond to partner goals • Deliver on partner expectations in a timely manner • Present effective design proposals to partners • Listen and respond to partner feedback • Maintain confidentiality of partner information as necessary

• • •

Ethical decision-making and conduct Responsible, effective citizenship and environmental stewardship Responsiveness

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Conceive and generate operating principles for new city and regional systems • Develop plans, elevations, sections and 3-D modeling for the system • Demonstrate evolutionary modifications implicit in the system • Demonstrate coordination of all systems in a functioning design • Meet presentation deadlines • Ensure the project is clean, organized, and professional at all levels of presentation

18.

Understand the planning, approval and development process for small, real projects. SKILLS PRACTICED • Business planning • Municipal development process LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Develop a business plan • Research approvals process • Present pro-forma to industry experts • Investigate code considerations • Investigate authorities having jurisdiction for the project • Create a schedule, budget template, work plan and human resource plan for the project

17.

Work effectively in a collaborative, interdisciplinary team to realize innovative design projects. SKILLS PRACTISED • Team collaboration • Independent thinking • Leadership Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 51

ESSENTIAL EMPLOYMENT SKILLS SKILL CATEGORY

Communication

Numeracy

DEFINING SKILLS

ESSENTIAL EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS OUTCOMES

Skill areas to be demonstrated by the graduates:

Graduates will reliably demonstrate the ability to:

• • • • • •

Reading Writing Speaking Listening Presenting Visual Literacy

•

Understanding and applying • mathematical concepts and reasoning Analysing and using numerical data Conceptualizing

execute mathematical operations accurately

Analysing Synthesizing Evaluating Decision-making Creative, innovative and entrepreneurial thinking Design Development and Strategy

•

apply a systematic, design thinking approach to solve problems use a variety of thinking skills to anticipate and solve problems use design processes, tools and methods to develop design proposals and strategies

Conducting research Gathering and managing information Selecting and using appropriate tools and technology for a task or a project Computer literacy Internet skills

•

• • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

• • • • • •

Information Management

• • •

• •

52 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

•

• •

•

communicate clearly, concisely, and correctly in the written, spoken, and visual form that fulfils the purpose and meets the needs of the audience respond to written, spoken, or visual messages in a manner that ensures effective communication

locate, select, organize, and document information using appropriate technology and information systems analyse, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources

SKILL CATEGORY

Interpersonal

DEFINING SKILLS

ESSENTIAL EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS OUTCOMES

Skill areas to be demonstrated by the graduates:

Graduates will reliably demonstrate the ability to:

• • • • • •

•

Team work Relationship management Conflict resolution Leadership Networking Project management

•

• •

Personal

• • • •

Managing self Managing change and being flexible and adaptable Engaging in reflective practices Demonstrating personal responsibility

• • •

show respect for the diverse opinions, values, belief systems, and contributions of others interact with others in groups or teams in ways that contribute to effective working relationships and the achievement of goals lead teams of people to meet deadlines and generate solutions in situations where there are many competing views and limited time and resources know when it is appropriate to follow the direction of others and show respect for others’ leadership develop project management strategies and allocate work and resources in order to complete projects and meet deadlines manage the use of time and other resources to complete projects take responsibility for one’s own actions, decisions, and consequences make decisions and conduct oneself in an ethical manner

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READING LIST & IWB RESOURCE GUIDE Core Readings •

•

Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. Print. Gido, Jack, and James P. Clements. Successful Project Management. 6 edition. Stamford, CT, USA: South-Western College Pub, 2014. Print. Koskinen, Ilpo et al. Design Research Through Practice: From the Lab, Field, and Showroom by Ilpo Koskinen (29-Sep-2011) Paperback. Morgan Kaufmann, 2011. Print. Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City. MIT Press, 1960. Print.