INTELLIGENCE
A
s part of the first, five-week module of Solent University’s Design Foundation course, the non-traditional entry students undertake a project to build a full-size model out of cardboard. The students, after a year, will go onto parent courses, such as BA (Hons) Architectural Technology, BSc (Hons) Construction Management, BA (Hons) Interior Design and BA (Hons) Interior Design and Decoration, so this is a unique opportunity to work together with different disciplines. The 2020 client brief was to capture the potential of hot desking. It had been a growth area, with dedicated spaces popping up in city centres prior to the pandemic. Interestingly, after the pandemic’s push to home working, there may be an even greater demand to escape the kitchen table once social interaction in the workplace resumes without restriction.
CLIENT BRIEF CHALLENGE
how often do you get to build a full-sized model building to test out your ideas? Social distancing restrictions made the judging day a little different, with the judges being unable to meet and quiz students on their designs. They had a tough choice, which ultimately came down to sustainable considerations and the effective use of shapes and space within the restrictions of the brief. CABE’s John Barfoot, Learning, Education and Academic Director, and Michael Wadood, Southern Regional Chair, joined Denise White, Course Leader of the BSc (Hons) Construction Management, as judges. CABE has supported this module
for four years, and, this year, the CABE Southern Region sponsored the event. The winning hut was ‘Turtle Arcade’, built by Jo Hughes, George Jenkins, Kate Northeast-Mason and Anna Wlodarczyk, which encompassed the brief most successfully with rainwater harvesting, solar panels and a flexible but comfortable interior. Northeast-Mason summed up the experience: “The project showed me how effective teamwork and communication can be and the amount of thought behind planning a build, even for something as small as a beach hut.” For more, visit solent.ac.uk
FEBRUARY 2021
The brief The design students were asked to design a beach hut that could offer a flexible working/meeting space while providing an environment where beach views could be enjoyed. Students had to produce a concept that considered what the end user would require from the workspace, the ability to reproduce the huts at a commercially reasonable rate and consider sustainability of both the construction and energy usage. These concepts then culminated in a two-week build of a full-size beach hut. The challenges in the project are always communication and expressing shared ideas/strategies with new team members. It’s fair to say that this is an ongoing challenge in the industry, so to task students who are five weeks into a university course to work with new people with the added issues of Coronavirus brings a renewed appreciation for their efforts. The Solent students produced four huts that provided a comfortable workspace and considered sustainability with flat pack options, rainwater harvesting, solar panels and well considered material choices. All without too many team disagreements and while having fun –
Design and engineering students’ first experience of a design brief encourages team working, creativity and problem solving
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BUILDING ENGINEER
Room with a view
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The entries considered sustainability with flat-pack options, rainwater harvesting, solar panels and well considered material choices
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