At Constructivist we talk lots about models for learning and also about models for understanding design. In this workshop we are combining the two: thinking about how to design your learning process. It’s my contribution to week one for a new cohort of students on the Cambridge Masters programme Interdisciplinary Design for the Build Environment.
Continue reading “Designing your learning process – week one of IDBE”The Return of Training on what to do after declaring a Climate Emergency
It’s been a year since many engineering and construction firms declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. Six months since the pandemic struck. But the climate clock is still ticking and the world is still heating. Are we one tenth of the way we need to get to in this decade to avoid the worst kind of climate breakdown?
In hindsight, making the declaration is the easy part: the difficult part is knowing what to do next. That is why we created the course ‘Training on what to do after declaring a Climate Emergency’. It recognises that the emergency status is a new operating paradigm for most organisations, and that within those organisations there will be individuals and teams whose job it is to work out how to respond. We created this course to support those people.
Continue reading “The Return of Training on what to do after declaring a Climate Emergency”Guided Q&A versus guided plenary
I’m writing a quick post here to share a response I am providing to a recent attendee of our online facilitation course. The question relates to two of the four facilitation modes that we teach: Guided Q&A and Guided Plenary.
Continue reading “Guided Q&A versus guided plenary”All online for an introduction to conceptual design
This month our face-to-face and webine cohorts for our Introduction to Conceptual Design for Structural Engineers course joined to form one online group, enabling us to deliver to both groups despite lockdown.
The course splits conceptual design up into three phases: establishing the brief, creative thinking and convergent thinking and provides simple models for understanding each of these phases.
Continue reading “All online for an introduction to conceptual design”Constructivist Creativity Reading List
This is the Constructivist Creativity Reading List. These are the books and book chapters that have changed the way I think about creativity and that inform the training that we do at Constructivist. Where a book relates to a specific course, I have made that link, but most of these books are generally applicable. I’ve also linked in other articles I’ve written about these topics where relevant.
Continue reading “Constructivist Creativity Reading List”Giving the gift of knowledge
To celebrate the start of a new decade Constructivist is experimenting with the gift of knowledge. From now until the end of February we’re offering you the opportunity to join one of our courses* for free, when you buy a course for a friend or colleague.
Essentially, this is a buy one get one free deal, allowing you to gift a course and then enjoy it with that friend.
If you’re interested in taking us up on the offer please email Lucy and let her know which course you’d like to buy, and for whom.
*courses run via the IstructE are excluded from this offer.
Follow-up notes on keeping a briefing diary
As part of our introduction to conceptual design course I ask participants to spend a week keeping a briefing diary. The aim is two-fold: to recognise that design briefs come in all shapes and sizes, not just in a formal design context; and to give participants the chance to apply the tools we discussed for picking apart a brief.
Continue reading “Follow-up notes on keeping a briefing diary”Construction training design – efficient facades
This week we have been working with the Constructionarium Ltd. team to create proposals for a new construction training CPD course all about designing and installing high-performing building facades. The course targets architects, M&E engineers, structural engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors and procurement managers.
Aims for this construction training course
Designing building facades that achieve high performance is a challenge. We measure performance against a whole range of factors. These factors include air-tightness, water-tightness, acoustic insulation, thermal insulation, fire protection and embodied energy.
But performance of the facade doesn’t just depend on the design. It also depends on how well the facade is installed. The order in which we assemble the elements can have a big impact on whether the facade works as intended. If we poorly sequence the activities on site, parts of the facade can get damaged. This damage can reduce performance.
Therefore, designers need to consider practacable construction during the design process. And design teams need to be able to clearly communicate design information to the construction teams so they can avoid damaging the facades during construction.
What’s inside
In this intensive, hands-on training course, participants will design, install and test their own full-scale facade elements. Teams will work under realistic site conditions and experience the practicalities of facade installation. The course will mix classroom-based design workshops with on-site construction activities.
The idea is to deliver the course over 3-4 days spread across a month. We will create online learning resources that will give participants the opportunity to prepare and collaborate remotely.
My thanks to Ben Godber (Godber & Co) who created these early construction sequence sketches. My thanks also to Alexie Sommer (Think Sketch Design) for her work producing the proposal.
We will provide more information in this news when we can confirm details of the course.
Further reading
- We have taken findings from the Get It Right Initiative abour eliminating error in construction as part inspiration for this course. You can about the Get It Right Initiative’s research in to the costs and the root causes of error.
- If you are interested in facade design then you should check out the Get It Right Initiative’s training on avoiding error at interfaces . This is a course I am involved with developing at Think Up.
Conceptual Design at Plymouth University
Last week Dr Boksun Kim Lecturer in structural engineering at Plymouth Univesity invited me to the engineering department at Plymouth University to talk about creativity with staff and students. Boksun had attended the two-day Advanced Conceptual Design course I run at the Institution of Structural Engineers. As a result of going to that couse she asked if I could come down to share some of my thinking with the department. I was happy to be asked!
A recipe for cooking ideas
In the morning I gave a 45-minute talk on conceptual design to a group of third-year students. In this short time I gave them a quick run through my process for having ideas. After this run through I asked the students to create their own recipe for creative thinking. The idea was to create a series of steps that they can ‘cook’ from next time they are set a design project. Continue reading “Conceptual Design at Plymouth University”
Magnificent flying machines, creativity and action learning
Here are some reflective notes in video form from Day 1 of January creative design week at Imperial College department of civil engineering.