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Creative session (part 2): Future faculty workshop

Category : //creative sessions · by May 21st, 2009

After the fire in the Architectural building (TUDelft 2008) the association of students Stylos[1] arranged two activities in order to progress in the International competition to design the new building of the faculty. The starting point was the kickoff of the competition at Delft, including creative sessions to create the basic concept for the competition. After that the association arranged the international creative session in the 11 Mostra Internazionale di Architettura, La Biennale di Venezia at Venice, Italy.

International creative session in the 11 Mostra Internazionale di Architettura.

DSC04456aName: Concept for the new Faculty of Architecture TUDelft.
Date: 11/09/2008 till 13/09/2008.
Duration: 3 days.
Place: 11 Mostra Internazionale di Architettura, La Biennale di Venezia at Venice, Italy.
Leader (facilitator): Ricardo Mejia S.
Client: Academic Stylos / Faculty of Architecture TUDelft.
Problem owner: Faculty of Architecture TUDelft.
Participants: not available.

At the 11 Mostra Internazionale di Architettura “La Biennale di Venezia” in Italy 2008 a group of  15 students from the TUDelft Architecture Faculty, 5 students from the Industrial Design Faculty, 5 students from the University of St. Petersburg Russia, some participants from Italy and other countries were thinking about the new Architecture Faculty for TUDelft. Participants were divided into groups; each team was facilitated by one industrial designer in a three hours long workshop the group developed ideas and a “scratch” vision around the new faculty.

The workshop was conducted trough the motto “use whatever you have“. To show the results the participants used Biennale garbage, magazines and plastic cans to create their concept models.

All different groups came up with 5 approaches on the topic.

  • Group 1: Fun palace faculty.
  • Group 2: Be hive – community buzzing with creative energy
  • Group 3: Conversion > dispersion – flexible space
  • Group 4: Inside > outside – the creative chaos
  • Group 5: The three of Architecture – grows with its departments and actions

Facilitating an Industrial design approach (by Ricardo Mejia and Frans van Duijnen from IDE TUDelft)

The three-hour workshop was divided into three different parts, developing the vision, creating a metaphor and designing a presentation. To develop a vision we let the participants use their five senses from a user-perspective in order to understand the experience and to describe the interaction between people and space.

We use many different techniques; the first one was a tool called personas, it is useful in order to understand the user perspective. This technique describes needs, dreams, and wishes of the future actors of this new system. Another technique used during the workshop was “guided fantasy”. In their fantasy participants were taken into the new building with their eyes closed. In words and drawings they had to describe what they have seen, heard, smelled, tasted and felt. Whit this technique both hemispheres of the brain  are used and it stimulates lateral thinking in order to come up with a vision.

Kickoffpost it grouping cName: Concept for the new Faculty of Architecture TUDelft.
Date: 7/07/2008 till 8/07/2008
Duration: 2 days
Place: TUDelft / Architectural temporary Faculty
Leader (part time facilitator and part time body)Ricardo Mejia S
Leader (part time facilitator and part time body)Erliati Sukirman
Client: Academic Stylos / Faculty of Architecture TUDelft.
Problem owner: Faculty of Architecture TUDelft.
Participants: Isabelle van DijkIpek Gursel, Koen KegelDavid Kramer and Rosemarie Krautheim.

Approximately 90 participants were expected, ages ranging from 19‐65, about 80% from the faculty of Architecture. The task was facilitated a group of six people on Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th. The goal of the sessions was to produce a maximum of 3 A1 posters that present a coherent vision for the new faculty of Architecture.

A concretized vision, for example in the form of a conceptual design, metaphor, or structural plan, accompanied by textual explanations or stories. Anything goes, as long as it combines words and images. Important characteristics of the visions were that they are inspirational, clear, original, and of course, creative. The target group was represented by the jury members, the board of TU Delft, the faculty of Architecture top management, top Architects, and the NAI.

The main themes of the sessions were:

Sustainability
– Environmental [clean energy, waste‐efficiency, etc.]
– Economic [attraction of new students, researchers, etc.]
– Social [well‐being, cultural diversity, etc.]
Future learning
– Virtual stuff [e.g. TED Talks, video conferencing over IP]
– Self‐directed learning vs. fixed curriculum
– Essentials of a learning institute building
Architecture Identity – TU Delft Identity
– Architecture as the new flagship of the TU Delft
– Architecture core values

More info online:

Stylos (http://www.stylos.nl/drupal/group/pantheon)

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[1] The aim of Stylos is to “care for the academic affairs of architecture students”. Since 1984, it has grown into a student association with around 1600 members, with around 100 active committee members, and 6 – 8 executive board members. That makes Stylos one of the biggest active Student Associations in the Netherlands.

Javier Ricardo Mejia Sarmiento

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