DAY TWO...WORKSHOPS AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT:

We wanted to give our team the chance to improve skills for both this project and within their future workplace. Everyone has their own unique design process, but can struggle when putting this to paper; therefore, we presented two morning workshops to cover some basics:

Our first workshop covered tips and tricks for those that prefer hand drawn methods, whilst the second one focused on digital drafting via Sketchup, including suggesting plugins to streamline the drawing process.

DAY THREE...TALK BY JOHN LEE

Today we were joined by John Lee to discuss Projekts MCR shipping container scheme, based in a skatepark in Manchester. John covered this fascinating community based project, providing insight into the conceptual and technical rationale.

We have all been inspired and are using this improved knowledge of shipping containers to enhance our concepts, thank you John!!!

DAY FOUR....WORKSHOPS AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT:

Today we covered both at home modelmaking, and as requested by our undergraduates, Rhino 3D. This will help further expand our team's skill sets. The at home modelmaking was focused on being creative with a limited palette of materials, and saving money by using waste as a recycled resource. It concluded with a short video created by the RIBA that covers tips and tricks for paper modelling (pictured above).

The Rhino 3D workshop was a concise talk that covered all the basics and logic behind a somewhat complex system. Unlike AutoCAD or Sketchup, Rhino 3D allows for the easier design of curves and organic forms.

DAY SIX...WORKSHOPS AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT:

Today we covered the basics of photoshop. Following Friday's presentations our four groups have combined into two, developing various parts of the initial concepts. Now that we are getting closer to the final outputs, it was fitting to have a photoshop tutorial.

Afterwards, we had a presentation on landscaping design, inclusive of various precedent studies. Playbox’s adjacency to a park and green spaces provide an ideal challenge for some innovative landscape design.

DAY SEVEN...WORKSHOPS AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT:

Today we had our final three workshops to help our students. The first workshop covered presentation techniques, with tips to ensure clear and concise work that also looks great! The second workshop was all about Adobe Illustrator. This is a handy tool that can be used in combination with other editing software previously learned. The last workshop covered the basics of Lumion as a powerful rendering software.

We aspired to teach software that is commonly used in the working world and hope that these workshops have proven useful for our group. Now with the end of the project nearing, we are excitedly waiting to see what the students will produce!!

TEAM REFLECTION... ALASTAIR

What have you learnt?
"I've learnt how to use AutoCAD, which I hadn't tried before. I've
also been shown much more efficient ways to use other softwares
such as sketchup and illustrator."

What have you enjoyed the most?
"I really enjoyed how realistic the project was. I found it much easier to motivate myself knowing that the
project was going to be held to higher standards than most first year projects are, since we were
working across different years of experience and had the support of the masters students. Being able
to communicate with experienced architects as well as community members who are actually invested
in the future of the space was great. "

TEAM REFLECTION... IVET

What have you learnt?
"I have learnt how to collaborate and work with students and a client and developed my design skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, and AutoCAD. "

What have you enjoyed the most?
"The most enjoyable part of the project was working with so many architecture students from different years and experiences. I had an amazing time working on this project, gaining new skills with their help and getting to know everybody. I also enjoyed working on a real project with a team, and architect, and visitors. "

TEAM REFLECTION...XINYI

What have you learnt?
"I have learned how to use Photoshop and Illustrator to draw diagrams and make collages. I also learned some basic skills about Lumion through the workshop. "

What have you enjoyed the most?
"I enjoyed working with architecture students from different years as one team most. Also, the interaction with senior architects and community members allowed me to experience the real process of doing the project. "

TEAM REFLECTION... DULCIE

What have you learnt?
"New skills on PS and AI, as well as 3D modelling techniques. "

What have you enjoyed the most?
"Working on a live project which could one day be created and interacting with different year groups. "

TEAM REFLECTION... ALEXANDRA

What have you learnt?
"I have learnt how to use Illustrator and Photoshop more efficiently and the basics of advanced 3D modelling softwares. "

What have you enjoyed the most?
"I enjoyed working with different year students and share our concepts. I was definitely thrilled by the interaction with architects and local community members, acknowledging the process of architetcure project and ways of presenting it to a potential client. "

TEAM REFLECTION... ALEKSANDRINA

What have you learnt?
"Learnt the basics of AutoCAD,Illustartor and other softwares. "

What have you enjoyed the most?
"Working in a team with people who enjoy what they are doing. "