OPUS INSTITUTE by Ross McIntosh

OPUS INSTITUTE of Everyday Living

PROSPECTUS THE SCHOOL OF â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;25 Type: Duration: Core Staff: Group Members:

Introduction

Individual within a Group 5 weeks (non-sequential) Kirsty Ross & Mil Stricevic Alexandra Steenbeek Lucy Geraghty Peter Swanton Laurence Prior Ross McIntosh

This project presents an opportunity to design a proposal for an innovative school for the near future. Working within a group to develop a proposition that builds upon prevailing social, economic, political and technological trends to envisage a prevailing school for 2025. The outcome for this project will be presented in the form of an open day to exhibit the school through experience prototypes. The open day will be designed to illustrate the concept and values of our school through a proposition that can be both understood and experienced in a real context.

Education Exploration 1 Initial Concept 3 Identify User-Group 5 Research Analysis 7 Establishment Values 9 Curriculum Cloud 11 Prototyping Workshop 13 Develop Deliverables 16 My Deliverables 26 Open Day 33 Assessment 36 Reflection 38

Education Exploration

For this project, we had been asked to design a school based on ideas not yet seen in the traditional education system. To begin, we split into our groups to brainstorm the theme of the brief, designing the school of 2025. In our group, we began to discuss ideas following the briefing presentation; reflecting back on my own educational experiences, I resonated strongly with the method of failure as a valuable form of pedagogy and educational experience - by drawing inspiration from my dissertation topic of ‘posthumanism’ as a potential stimulus for a school of the future - teaching ‘human’ values will be imperative for our development and progress approaching the future. However, the group were reluctant to explore this area, instead rejecting forward thinking ideas by focusing on existing models of schools to reveal a design direction to move forward with. Solar Storm?

Loss of Electricity?

Failing Fast & Forward?

Impending Apocalypse?

Success through Failure?

School of Survival? World War 3?

School of Failure?

AI Invasion?

Nuclear Warfare?

Entrepreneurial Spirit?

Pride in our Failure?

My Brainstorm

Realising our Human Values?

Humanity vs. Robots?

The Human School?

School of Cyborgs? How to be Transhuman? Upgrading to cyborg?

What does it mean to be Human? Virtual Learning? End of Natural Selection?

The future role of Humanity?

Group Brainstorm Comprehensive vs. Private Montessori Privileged vs. Poor

Higher Education University

Theory vs. Practical Driving Education

Indoor vs. Outdoor

Voluntary

Natural vs. Artificial

Mandatory vs. Voluntary

Conservatoire

Art School

The OPEN University

Further Education

MOOC’s Colleges

Extra-Curricular

Educational Field Trips

Full Time vs. Part Time

Night School

Finishing School Apprenticeships

Online

Social Sports

Online Training Videos YouTube ‘How To’ Videos

Peer Learning Work Related Qualifications Vocational Training

Guides

Regional Education

Games

Religious

East vs. West Method

Whilst I believe my approach to brainstorming was met with enthusiasm and curiosity; I felt the group were hesitant to explore the wider ideas and possibility that the brief offered, concerning more about choosing a simple stimulus. However, I thought this decision complicated the situation more. Overall, I believed this project presented an opportunity to be very adventurous and innovative of how we depict the near future but the group consensus was rather conservative in contrast as we sought stimulus from current educational practise rather than speculating the future of learning.

Initial Concept

Although the brief presented an opportunity to be very creative and imaginative of how we speculate the near future, the cohort were more drawn to the “School of the Everyday.” This concept arose from the nonchalant phrase of “How not to be a d**k” to which was unanimously found to be a more interesting area of exploration; an idea derived from everyday frustrations and annoying daily etiquette discussed as a group. Expanding on this initial idea, we agreed that our schools purpose and philosophy was to teach its students everyday life skills and lessons that we believe are not taught through conventional school education. Everyday Skills School Skills

Honesty

Behavioural Morality

Responsibility

Apologising

Expressing Empathy

Cooking

Healthy Eating

Bills

Maintenance

Utilities

Clothing

Everyday Life Skills Cleaning

Ironing Sewing

Bathing

Grooming

Appropriateness

Styling/Image

Laundry

Budgeting Handling Money

Simplifying

Goal Setting

Organisation

Comfort

Self Care

Symptoms Bank Account Prioritising

Diagnosis Savings

Scheduling

Navigation

Routine

Personal Healthcare

First Aid Illnesses

Driving

Public Transport

Asking for Help

Medication

Prioritising

Time Management

Clearing

Hygiene Brushing

Accessorising

Identifying

Arranging

Domestic

Storage

Friendships

Relationships

Manners

Analytical

Decision Making

Recreational

Social

Etiquette

Shopping

Electric/Gas

Negotiation

Persuading

Respect

Family

Dining

Variety

Explaining

Problem Solving

Body Language

Communication

Informing

Kitchen Utilities Diet

Coping with Emotions

Consciousness

Taxi/Uber

Safety Insurance

999

Emergency Procedures

While I thought this idea presented much opportunity, I was still to be convinced that this was the strongest stimulus as the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Everydayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; covered a very wide context which ranged from the very mundane to complex life skills, therefore I felt further definition was needed going forward. Albeit, the group consensus was to focus on how this school could be applied to life. As a group we could have spent more time exploring this proposal through further research; sketching and even auto-ethnography to decipher what opportunities and value this concept school could generate.

Identify User-Group

EVERYDAY CAPABILITY

As a group, we agreed that our school’s theme of the ‘Everyday’ presented a very wide demographic of student that the institution could cater for; as it can involve anyone and everyone. Therefore, we considered various age groups for the school and tried break up our target user-group by demarcating an education spectrum; evaluating when education is most valuable in an average users lifetime? We then identified 5 separate periods outside the working population for when a typical user may require the extra-curricular education that our school could offer.

2-7

8-11 12-16 17-21

65+

PROSPECTIVE STUDENT AGE Afterwards, we each created a persona and mood board to help contextualise our demographic, pitching each persona as the target user for our school. As the theme of the ‘Everyday’ was so broad, it was difficult to select anyone of the identified demographic to choose from. However, following our education spectrum, we decided to explore a young and old generation framework for the school, where young students would use the school to complement their existing education structure whilst the older generation would use our school for keeping up to speed with the rapid acceleration of the future. Although this structure gave us a direction to focus on, I believe our approach could have been more refined by selecting a user-group going forward as the concept was still too open and required further research to qualify the benefits of co-generational learning.

Samantha, Persona: Samantha, 18 18 Samantha (or(or just Sam as as sheshe is commonly known) Samantha just Sam is commonly known) is is 1818 years old,old, lives at home withwith herher single Father, years lives at home single Father, Ronald, in Ruchill. mother Leanne tragically Ronald, 59,59, in Ruchill. HerHer mother Leanne tragically died from breast cancer when she was 9 years died from breast cancer when she was 9 years old.old. She year at Cleveden Secondary School She is is in in herher 6th6th year at Cleveden Secondary School studying 5 Highers after achieving A grades during studying 5 Highers after achieving A grades during herher Intermediate 2 exams. is unsure about future Intermediate 2 exams. SheShe is unsure about herher future after finishing school. after finishing school. After her sister Rachael, moved away to look After her sister Rachael, 22,22, moved away to look after after her- to baby helpends make ends home, her baby help- to make meet at meet home,atshe works shetime works partBakery time inatthe Bakery at at weekends Morrisons to part in the Morrisons at weekends support her Dad wholast suffered a support her Dadtowho suffered a stroke year, since last supported year, sinceby heEmployment has been supported by hestroke has been and Support Employment and Allowance to get by.Support Allowance to get by. She has always dreamed of becoming actress She has always dreamed of becoming an an actress butbut very introverted and shy due esteem is is very introverted and shy due to to lowlow selfself esteem andand bullying from school peers due allergies. bullying from school peers due to to allergies. SheShe hashas potential but would need encouragement and finanical potential but would need encouragement and financial support bursary achieve ambitions. support oror bursary toto achieve herher ambitions. Her pastorial care teacher, Miss Stewart, noticed Her pastoral care teacher, Miss Stewart, hashas noticed this potential and thought apply her behalf this potential and thought toto apply onon her behalf to to Virtu throughitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wideningparticipation participationprogramme programmetoto Virtu through widening ensure she can ensure she can bebe all all sheshe cancan be.be.

Research Analysis

Collectively we decided to make STEEP cards to help collate our desktop research conducted. In order to analyse our research effectively, we divided the task by designating a category to each member in the group to research and construct STEEP cards; I choose to analyse the Technological research insights related to our school. Although I generated lots of technological design drivers, when we collated all of our insights, it was difficult to cluster and combine our research as we all observed opportunities from distant perspectives and contrasting lenses. Although we created many STEEP cards as a research bank, finding clear and useful links between any of our individual research was challenging, with the outcome being very scattered. Perhaps it might have been more constructive to have defined a distinct focus before embarking on this research to ensure compatibility and clear insights throughout.

g at n Livin Childre nger Lo Home

et mic is s ily dyna ildren are m fa e h h T c ge with with to chan ger than ever n use o lo h g g in in v li is rents. R f suitable a p ir e th ko and lac ing in built prices al hous g adults to ti n e id res rcin s are fo rents. up area their pa h it w live

Longer Living Expectancy Average life expectancies for both males and females are continuously rising each decade. This is going to further change the family dynamic as parents and grand parents will need to find ways of being kept occupied for longer.

A New Ro Grandp le for arents

Grandp arents are mo commo re nly tak in of pare nts or c g the role hild-min This is du de care co e to rising ch rs. ild sts as w ell as th changin e g Grandp family dynam arents ic. as a re are tak sult ing care o grandc hildren f their more.

Nevertheless, as a group we managed to extract the necessary insights and societal indicators to qualify our co-generational school concept. With this in mind we decided as a group to focus on the two extremes of our age ranges; children between the ages of 2-7 and adults over the age of 65+. Although I was pleased that we condensed down our STEEP card research, as a group we could have delved deeper into the insights selected as their were many more indicators we could have considered such as the slowing birth rate and the rising percentage of teenage pregnancy which could have holistically evaluated the viability of our concept in the near future.

Social

Technological

Environmental

Economical

Political

Our STEEP card research bank was plentiful but we should have worked closer as a group to ensure we could effectively cluster our insights

Establishment Values

Appropriate

Holistic

Ad a

pti ve

After collating our research and established that the co-generational experiential learning would be a key value for our school moving forward and a catalyst for the school’s curriculum, we thought to define our school values in order to establish the fundamental basis of our institution and structure to move forward. As a group, we discussed potential brand values, and manifesto to communicate the essence of our proposal. Our ethos at the School of the Everyday was to enrich our students through expanding their learning outside conventional education by helping them navigate everyday life and new experiences moving forward into the 21st century. From this we defined our school slogan to be “The Art of Appropriate Living”, which inspired our choice of brand pillars:

However, the values chosen were consistent with that of many schools in existence today. Hence, we decided to chronologically place the school within the present to allow the institution to become established in the near future. This idea was central to the adaptability of the school and how the courses evolve to meet the challenges that the future will present to our students. Although I was pleased that as a group had decided on these core values, it might have been more effective if we had focused on the bigger picture by sketching and prototyping the intended values before deciding our school values as our choices require further definition through the manifesto to fully comprehend the schools advantages and benefits.

Manifesto The school of the everyday was created to educate and inform our pupils about contemporary life skills that were being neglected by conventional education. At the school of the everyday we have moved away from a traditional school setting, in favour of a modular environmental learning. We believe the skills in the school of the everyday are socially, culturally and technologically appropriate for today. Our identity focuses on teaching appropriate skills in an adaptive, informal environment with a strong focus on people. We understand the value and delight of the everyday, and strive to ensure our students learn life skills to navigate daily life, creating well-rounded human beings. Our school takes an experiential approach to learning, encouraging our students to learn through doing. Our school is specifically for 2 - 7 year oldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and those 65+. We teach in a co-generational environment, bringing the young and old of society collectively to learn together.

Curriculum Cloud

Responding to the feedback we received, we sought to brainstorm the classes our school could offer for its co-generational learners. Before we started to identify potential courses for our school, we thought to break up key themes into modules to individually explore. I choose to delve into ‘Self Care’ which will be an emerging need given the current strain on the NHS resources and increasing human population. Within this area, I identified several possible course suggestions which could be taught at the School of the Everyday. However, this area was vast and showed promise in many courses; i.e.. ‘What help is available?’, but lots of courses were available now; like ‘First Aid’ or ‘Mindfulness’. Nevertheless, I found collectively many of the courses combined could be valuable and useful for our prospective Am I Healthy Enough? Healthy Habits

Diet Detox

Mind over Matter?

Enough Exercise?

Mindfulness Breathing Exercises

Physical Health Homoeopathic Remedies Alternative Therapy

Stress Buster

Who can I talk to? Diagnosis

Emotions

What help is available?

Mental Health

‘Self Care’ Courses Risk Reduction

Reliance

Antibiotic Resistance

Drug Addiction

Painkillers

Find Help

Domestic

Avoiding Accidents

H+S in workplace Danger Signs Out & About Strangers Terrorists

Fireworks

Hygiene

First Aid

IoT Trackers

Devices Online Advice Guide Cleaning Routine

Are you washing correctly?

Puberty Preparation

Emergency Mock A+E Trial

ABC

Connected Monitors Apps

Overdosing

Practise Simulation

CBT Talking Therapy

Storage

Medication Management

Accessing Help

“999” Training

Exploring Other Services

How to stop panicking 999

Debating about which courses we should offer within our school curriculum

Once we had all brainstormed our chosen themes, we debated them as a group in order to define our curriculum. This process was very generic in nature due to the quantity of proposed courses. Although we devised a multitude of interesting courses, the context of structuring a full curriculum or personalised programme process was still vague. Perhaps, it could have been wiser to been more selective to convey more quality and value for each course individually and as a curriculum. Although co-generational learning was identified as a key driver, during this process many of the courses selected didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t offer much opportunity for this. In hindsight I believe we should have channelled this as a unique selling point by focusing our curriculum around this feature more to convey its purpose.

Prototyping Workshop

Midway through the project, exhibition designer Gaby Underwood ran a two-day prototyping workshop for developing an experience at full scale. I thought this workshop was the ideal opportunity to divert the focus of the group from the smaller details to the bigger picture of our proposal. Due to the vast quantity of courses we chose to offer, it made it difficult to look at the collective experience in depth. Hence, it was then challenging to choose an experience or moment to prototype. After much discussion, the group settled on the ‘DIY cleansers’ course where we created a ‘concept’ kitchen. At this point, it could have been more productive to have bodystormed or sketched out our intended experience as much of our time was lost to discussion, this would have made it easier to communicate our thoughts and ideas to share amongst the group.

Our exhibition was to be designed so that participants knew instinctively how to interact with elements without instruction

As such, discussion focused around the micro aspects of the experience rather than looking at the bigger picture. Hence, the result was aesthetically led rather than functionally focused. During the exhibit, this was reflected in our criticism which was centred around a lack of method and understanding of the experience as the group prioritised ‘form over function’. Therefore, we might have benefited from identifying the components of this experience earlier as most of the time spend was in sourcing aesthetic props instead of designing the intended experience.

From observation many participants were apprehensive to interact with any elements without direction

As the experience lacked instruction, our groups focus shifted to style over substance

Our exhibit featured many well thought through details but the collective experience was confusing for many participants

Develop Deliverables Reflecting back on the feedback we received from the workshop. As a group I felt we needed to divide and conquer the task ahead in order to successful achieve our deliverables. As such, we decided to make a plan of action as we entered the Develop and Deliver stage of the project by delegating the following tasks to individual group members;

Branding - Alexandra Prospectus - Lucy Exhibition - Peter Sourcing - Laurence Architecture and Spatial Planning - Ross Following our group research, we hoped that we would be able to coherently translate and create individual elements of the school to achieve all the deliverables required to make a cohesive exhibit for our Open Day.

Branding

Reflecting on the prototyping workshop feedback, as a group we referred back to our initial moodboards to develop a strong brand for our school as the cohort found this to be a priority in developing our school. From which we agreed to combine traditional Eastern symbolism with familiar Western heraldic design to create our brand. As such, we finalised the school name; the ‘OPUS Institute’. As we wanted our school purpose to resonate with our students on an individual level, we choose ‘Opus’ as it translates to several valid expressions in Latin. Although this method was well thought through internally, it could be questionable whether the name resonates with potential students. As a group we decided to include, “of Everyday Living” to convey the school’s essence more clearly and concisely to the end user.

To convey our school’s essence further, we created a logo for our school comprising of key elements and themes that reflect our schools ethos and pedagogical philosophy. Although I feel this branding is successful in creating an identity, I believe we used up a lot of the time specifically developing the logo of which the final iteration can be deemed confusing and obtuse without further explanation of the storyline. Therefore, our time might have been used more efficiently towards our exhibition visuals and detail within our exhibit instead of building a meticulous brand.

Brand Breakdown

Latin Translations

Action Deed Effort Handiwork Necessity Performance Task Workmanship

The Scales link to the Japanese Koi Fish which symbolises overcoming adversity and adapting to your surroundings

The Pine Tree represents knowledge and journey of growth that our students will go through at the Institute

The Rising Sun references the everyday nature of our curriculum and pedagogical philosophy as a school

Logo Analysis

Motto Analogy

artem et usum â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;skills and experienceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Prospectus

Following on from our establishment values outlined before, alongside the courses we devised for our curriculum clouds, we structured them into a dense course catalogue to promote as our Prospectus. Although we managed to collate a variety of intriguing courses together into this document, due to the vast quantity of courses on offer, only a short description was used to caption each course individually. Hence, it made it difficult to communicate the level of detail that would be needed to outline Society we could have contributed thecourses value of we eachoffer: course. Therefore as a group, The Self more by communicating the benefits#SC559 ofdefence our courses more thoroughly. Police & fire services #SC560

Financial protection

Social

#SC561

Confrontations

Anti-social behaviour

#SO216

#SC562

Conversation #SO217

Body language #SO218

#HO101

Negotiations

#HO102

Professional

#HO103

Personal

#HO104

#SO220

#SO221

#SO222

Romantic #SO223

#SC563

Home Underground #SC564 Healthy eating Healthy eating

Expressing emotions #SO219

Trains #SC565 Home farming Home farming Buses #SC566 food sources AlternativeAlternative food sources Bicycles #SC567 Cooking 101 Cooking 101 Hosting Hosting #HO105

Digital

IRL vâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s online IRL vâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s online

Cars

#DI336

#SC568

#HO105

Digital

Health

#DI336

Keeping Keeping safe onlinesafe online #DI337

#DI337

Consent

Small space living Small space living #HO106 #HO106 Empathy

Cyberbullying Cyberbullying

Prepositions

DIY cleansers DIY cleansers #HO108 #HO108 Coping skills

Identity theft Identity theft #DI339

#DI339

Success and failure

HouseholdHousehold appliancesappliances #HO109 #HO109 Mindfulness

Privacy

Self presentation

Minimising waste Minimising waste Devices #HO110 #HO110

Self presentation Self presentation

Boundaries

green energy GeneratingGenerating green energy Services #HO111 #HO111

Networking Networking

Principles and morals

Home automation Home automation Emergencies #HO112 #HO112

Website generation Website generation

Public speaking

Start upsSelf-care 101 Start ups 101

Keeping Keeping up with... up with...

Media and bias

Sharing economy Sharing economy First Aid

and consumption Media andMedia consumption

Politics

BudgetingBudgeting Caregiving

Popular culture Popular culture

#SO224

#SO225

#SO226

#SO227

#SO228

#SO229

#SO230

#SO233

#SO234

Aeroplanes Home

#HE448

#HE449

#HE450

#HE451

#HE452

#HE453

#HO113

#HO114

#HO115

#HO113

#HO114

#HO115

#HE454

#HE455

#HE456

#DI338

#DI340

#DI341

#DI342

#DI343

#DI344

#DI345

#DI347

#DI338

#DI340

#DI341

#DI342

#DI343

#DI344

#DI345

#DI347

Co-generational learning #OPUS-USP Society The courses we offer: Within the Prospectus, our schools co-generational aspect Self defence

#SC559 icon attributes throughout was made reference to through the document. Although thisPolice method was efficient in assorting & fire services #SC560 our courses, I believe we should have focused more on this Financial protection Social by only selecting courses feature that utilise and benefit from #SC561 co-generational learning. Also, I think we could have better Confrontations Anti-social behaviour #SO216 represented this interaction #SC562 through a series of sketches Conversation Aeroplanes or detailed illustrations to communicate the value that this #SO217 #SC563 approach could impact on participants learning and our Body language Underground #SO218 perception of education at a #SC564 societal level.

Expressing emotions #SO219

#SC565

Negotiations

Buses

#SO220

#SC566

Professional

Bicycles

#SO221

Personal #SO222

Trains

#SC567

Society

Cars

#SC568

Romantic Self defence

Health

#SO223 #SC559

Consent Police & fire services

Empathy

#SO224 #SC560

#HE448

Prepositions Financial protection

Coping skills

Success and failure Anti-social behaviour

Mindfulness

Self presentation Aeroplanes

Devices

Boundaries Underground

Services

Principles Trainsand morals

Emergencies

Public speaking Buses

Self-care

Media and bias Bicycles

First Aid

Politics Cars

Caregiving

#SO225 #SC561

#SO226 #SC562

#SO227 #SC563

#SO228 #SC564

#SO229 #SC565

#SO230 #SC566

#SO233 #SC567

#SO234 #SC568

Empathy

#HE450

#HE451

#HE452

#HE453

#HE454

#HE455

#HE456

Health #HE448

#HE449

Self-Defense

Alternative Food Sources

Home Farming

Health: Devices

Transport

Alternative Food Sources

Home Farming

Transport Start-Ups 101

Emoji’s, Meme’s & Slang

Alternative Food Sources

Home Farming

Ruth Aged 70

Blake Aged 5

Gerry Aged 65

User Journeys Blake’s Module

Ruth’s Module

Gerry

Prepositions

Popular Culture

Financial Protection

Web Design

Caregiving

Financial Protection

Prepositions

Popular Culture

Home Automation

Integral to the Prospectus, we created a series of user journeys to illustrate yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Modulehow our courses could work together in a functional curriculum. Although Institute of theover Everyday this map demonstrates the journeys of Opus only a select few individuals User Journey: Personalised the period of a day - I believe scaling this concept will be an issue that will hinder our conceptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feasibility and viability to promote co-generational Co-Generational Modules learning. Therefore, to improve course compatibility at scale, it could be wise to limit the range of courses offered to learners to enable enough participants to learn together and benefit from this approach to education.

Exhibition In order to have the cutting list ordered on time, our exhibition design was decided very early in the process, which limited our opportunity to think about how we could utilise our exhibition space effectively to encourage collaborative learning. For example, the decision to outline each section using a door was very formal and the space could have been delineated in a less literal way to encourage flow. Furthermore, the experiences we chose to demonstrate in each area could have been more effective in communicating co-generational learning by encouraging different generations to interact and learn together. In hindsight, these aspects could have been addressed if the group had spent more time exploring the experiential impact and communication of our concept through our exhibit design. Nevertheless, our exhibit did give a sense of our schools potential.

In the workshop, our structure and various props were made - but do they best represent our school?

Our central structure of shelving lacked a clear purpose alongside our exhibition

Sourcing

Alongside the workshop build, we sourced additional materials for the exhibit. This involved sourcing a table for the test kitchen environment. Following the prototyping workshop, we recycled many of the containers and bottles acquired. Some of us also went shopping to source miscellaneous items throughout the project, this built up a bank of items and props which we used to ‘dress’ our learning spaces. However, the team tended to focus on items of aesthetic value rather than purpose, which cluttered our classroom’s composition. Therefore with clearer communication of the intended learning experience, we could have simplified the spaces and condensed the clutter to expose the value.

As a group we sourced a cornucopia of items and accessories to display in our learning environments

My Deliverables 3D Modelling Software As a challenge to myself, for the Architecture and Spatial Planning of the school I decided to approach this task by learning Vectorworks - a 3D design and visualisation software which is commonly used by interior designers and architects to construct buildings digitally. The benefits of using this software allowed for greater adjustability and accuracy as well as creating further deliverables along the way. However, learning a new software package was no mean feat and required a lot of preparation and practice in order to use it effectively. Within a very abridged amount of time, through utilising online tutorials and making connections with Interior Design students, I managed to learn how to use this software from which I could create a floor plan, scale model and even a walkthrough visualisation for our school. Although the complexity of learning this software within the time constraints was a challenge, I believe that learning Vectorworks was worth the effort due to the size and scale of the school that we were proposing. However, the compressed time-frame affected the quality of my rendering abilities, as my novice proficiency in this software meant that my results were primitive in some areas and required more practise to refine.

Screenshot of Vectorworks learning through a detailed wireframe perspective of the school

Architecture & Spatial Planning Following the progress made by learning Vectorworks, I created a 3D model of the school. Building digitally allowed me flexibility to alter the design depending on group feedback. The OPUS Institute was designed to be an architectural spectacle which would inspire its prospective learners. Through grandiose architecture and masses of space, this school exerts an essence of establishment - while the modular classrooms entice learners to explore their potential and expand their mindset. The building is designed to complement the immersive modular learning its students will fulfil and attract many more to experience this new approach to learning.

< From the isometric view you can see how spacious the school is with a simple layout that all users can navigate freely

Gallery

^ Renders of the school allowed me to assess materials, notably use of a glass roof to allow masses of light into the building to stimulate its students

Theatre

Storage

Test Kitchen

Multi Purpose Room

Kids Soft Learning

Adult Soft Learning

Toilets Toilets

With the software I could also create a scaled orthographic views of the school to assess dimensions in order to optimise space in comparison to a scale human ergonome >

Cafe

Staﬀ Lounge

Staﬀ Oﬃces

Reception

^ The floor-plan is designed to be flexible and easy to interpret as classrooms are modular in use

Early on in the process, we created a project pinterest board that allowed us to collate inspiration collectively throughout the project. Following the design of the building architecture, the group were keen to help with the interior design of the school through the creation of moodboards. Although I feel this approach was effective for collaboration, the creation of moodboards was prioritised over other outcomes like a promotional video, which I believe would have been more effective in visualising our school.

3D Scale Model Utilising the versatility of using the Vectorworks design software, I managed to construct a meticulous 3D Scale model of our school to accompany our exhibition display, this was to help in making our proposition as realistic and believable as possible. By extrapolating the dimensions from Vectorworks, I could create an accurate illustrator file for laser cutting. Attaining precise measurements was crucial for creating a scale model as the design featured complex angles and intricate joins which would have been very difficult to calculate otherwise. I choose to laser cut using plywood to give a clean and solid structure to the model and engraved the floor plan onto perspex to enable the model to function as a working floor plan aswell. Although, I was pleased at the quality I managed to render the model at, I feel the final outcome wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as effective in visualising the physicality as I would have liked as the result was very static and exposed in character, requiring more detail and materiality to convey our school. Nevertheless, I was very pleased with this delivery.

My 3D Scale model was meticulously assembled and featured the floorplan to exhibit at our Open Day

Clip of the Walkthrough feature to depict a user perspective of our school environment

Video Walkthrough To compliment the 3D Scale Model, I wanted to show what experiencing our school may actually be like for prospective students utilising the versatility of which Vectorworks rendering can achieve. Hence I decided to create a Video Walkthrough using the ‘Walkthrough’ command on the programme. This allowed me to explore the 3D model from the perspective of a potential user by exploring the environment in situ. Although this feature showed lots of potential, due to the primitive quality of the file rendering, the final outcome wasn’t as effective as I would have hoped in communicating the essence and actuality of the school. However, I am confident that with more practise I will be able to create high definition renders of the school which will result in this outcome being greatly improved in the process. To improve the value of this outcome further, I believe more interaction and movement would benefit the video as school’s are very dynamic and active environments; therefore I would hope to edit in users and potentially dynamic interaction for its next development. Furthermore, I believe this interaction could extend to the prospective student at our next open day by using another software called ‘Unreal Engine’ which will allow me to create a game like interface and interaction between the digital model of the school and the user, enabling prospective students to explore the space at their own pace and perspective.

Open Day

Cumulating our project, we were to present our school offerings as an Open Day exhibition within the department. In the studio, we comprised our OPUS Institute of Everyday Living installation for viewing by the other groups and staff to peruse. As an installation, our structure was intriguing but holistically the intrinsic value of our proposition could have been better communicated. As a school that is meant to encourage co-generational learning, during the Open Day I would have hoped for more interaction as viewers struggled to immerse themselves fully within activities offered. For example, the ‘Play lab’ area was geared towards a young age group, therefore it was difficult for the Open Day demographic of adults to relate to the value of the experience. As for the ‘Concept kitchen’ creations, the user experience was more superficial rather than applicable for its participants. Hence as before, it would be beneficial to be more selective of the courses we choose to offer by ensuring our exhibits are designed for co-generational learning to convey the value of our schools unique selling point. Moving forward, I suggested to the group that we needed to create roles for each member to play during our assessment which will enable us to facilitate our activities and encourage more user participation.

For the Open Day we presented an expo for potential students to interact and immerse themselves within

We presented all our outcomes at our schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Open Day for visitors to peruse

Practising our presentation as a group helped us prepare for our Assessment

Assessment

Concluding our project, as a group we conducted a presentation in audience of academic staff. Responding to the observation and feedback received from the Open Day, we decided as a group to utilise role-play for our presentation to animate our school experience. We discussed roles in which each of us could play during the presentation; from which I choose to be the ‘transportation facilitator’ within the Play Lab environment. To help get into character, we sourced uniforms to help convey our status as facilitators during the presentation. In practise, the decision to act as facilitators made the offering more credible as it helped communicate the aspect of collaborative learning that would make OPUS an effective proposition. Although facilitating our learning environments improved our presentation, crucially I believe the selected experiences we chose to inhibit our exhibition offerings were not the best representations of the school which I believe affected the value of our proposition during assessment. For example, the experience that I was facilitating within the Play Lab was not the most engaging example of the many courses within our curriculum as it was designed for younger children, none of whom were present to fully appreciate the intended interaction. Hence, choosing other courses to demonstrate like our ‘Expression of Emotion’ or ‘Body Language’ class would have been more effective in communicating the intended learning experience and inclusive across a wider demographic. Overall, I believe we would have benefited from more thought and consideration of our learning experiences exhibited during our assessment.

Perhaps we focused to much on the aesthetics of our exhibition than the value of our proposition

Our final display of group deliverables including our Prospectus

Reflection

This brief posed great potential to design an innovative school of the future that is a departure from existing school models; however, I believe we could have taken this further by considering what it might be like in 2025. By anticipating progressive changes in technology and social dynamics, we could have looked more into how this would affect learning and interaction within the near future. As such, I thought that our response to the brief: the “OPUS Institute of Everyday Living” could be deemed a pretentious idea that tried to be everything to everyone. Hence, I believe we should have narrowed our focus to a more condensible area of interest rather than attempting to tackle the enormity of the ‘everyday’. The lack of substance in our proposal was evident throughout across all our deliverables as quantity was prioritised over quality. Moreover, the group were consistently engrossed with the styling and aesthetic of our proposal rather than the function and value of our proposal throughout the project. However, I felt the cogenerational learning aspect of the school was a credible and capable unique selling point. As such, I strongly believe we should have harnessed this opportunity by producing a curriculum that holistically communicated the value and worth this approach to learning could bring. As with all group projects the main challenge was contributing to a strong team dynamic. This was especially apparent as everybody wanted to succeed; this tension manifested in different ways and in different stages throughout the project. Notably, different people within the group had an infinity with certain other members, so tasks tended to be divided within subsets who worked independently of the collective group. Therefore, my role within the group lended itself to being a mediator as I was very proactive in trying to support and progress the group cohesion. I felt that everyone needed to be involved and contribute to decisions that were made, but found it challenging to put forward my own points of view and opinions throughout the process which has led to frustration. With regards to the group methodology, I believe we lacked effective communication as our individual perspectives of the project were different. As such, we often over contemplated aspects of our proposal during discussion without trying out ideas in a productive way like sketching or rapid prototyping which would have aided our group communication and cohesiveness.

Although I wouldn’t regard this project as a ‘success’, I do believe I have learned and developed my collaboration skills through this experience. Throughout my time at GSA I have personally struggled with group projects, having often found my views and opinions often clashing with others or that my ideas of a project or situation often aren’t how others would see it. This project overall has been a similar case but I feel I have progressed from my earlier days of being stubborn and wanting to lead the group to being much more open and inviting of others ideas and cooperating with the group consensus. I would like to continue this progress given throughout my degree I have realised the importance that collaboration plays within both current and future practise of design. Overall, this project has taught me about alternative ways to approach collaboration as a designer and the intrinsic roles a group adopts during the creative process. As such, this experience has helped me to identify my own attributes within a collaborative space and challenge my own expectations to that of the group consensus. I look forward to continuing to develop my collaboration skills in the future to progress professionally.

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