Reflection
The purpose of this project was to work with a team of 3-4 other students to produce architectural plans and renderings for a new campus. This project was completely student-driven and it followed the design thinking protocol. Using SketchUp, Photoshop, and other programs, we created 3-D renderings of our ideas to present to users to gather feedback. Some of the topics we got to explore during this project included: sustainable building methods/materials, SketchUp, interview techniques, drafting, and group work skills. At the end of this project, we presented our final drafts to the Board of Directors and other members (such as students, future donors, etc.)
Through this project, I learned a lot about the design-thinking protocol/process, specifically the human-centered design process. At the beginning of this project, we conducted empathy interviews. These interviews were new to me, they were something that I had never done before. I learned interview techniques as well as how to push someone to give deeper answers. After these interviews, we tooks the feedback that we had gathered and used it to cultivate ideas for prototypes, and eventually final designs. This whole process was unfamiliar to me, so it was a learning process, and I feel like I now know how to find out what users needs are and how to get those needs met.
I think that this project held a lot of growth for me. My group, including myself, was made of introverts. In the beginning of the project we were really slow to get to work and decide roles for the members in our group. Nobody was stepping up to act as a leader figure. This caused me and one other group member to step up and lead. This was very new to me, as I do not like being the leader in groups. I knew that it had to be done though. I grew as a collaborator in this way because I was able to step outside of my comfort zone and accept a role that I would normally not take. I think that our group did really good with sharing responsibilities. We divided the workload amongst ourselves and held ourselves accountable for completing that work. An example of this is when we had a list of things that we needed to complete for the project (3-D rendering, proposal, budget, etc.) we split up the work and assigned group members with a task. I don't think that there is really much that I would like to change about how my group worked together, in the end I think that we all had to step out of our comfort zones, and I think that overall we were successful.
I think that ultimately, yes, it is important for students to have a voice in what their facility looks like. The teachers and the students are the main users when it comes to schools. A school, or an environment should be comfortable for its users. A school has a lot of potential to be an inspiring space, where students are excited to learn. An example of this is when I went to the Durango Public Library to fill out the observation sheet, I felt really motivated to do my work because I felt comfortable in a space that enabled me to be productive. If our school can be fit to students needs, maybe school could be a more enjoyable place.
Final Product
Poster
Written Piece
Examples of Our Work
From the Design Thinking Protocol