‘The workshop with Mark generated some important 3 dimensional work by the students who were struggling to start the design process after initial research and site visits. From these quickly-generated and intuitive models the students enjoyed taking photographs to start their initial designs, in plan and section, with a creative freedom liberating them from the fear of the ‘blank page’. The exercise allowed them to develop projects that were much more experimental and radical than might have happened through the usual plan-led process.
As with drawing and collage etc, it help students understand that models should be used as part of the design and creative process not just a method of representing a final project. Experimentation, ‘failure’, and fast-paced production are useful outcomes from the workshop.’
Feedback provided by a 2nd year tutor at the University of Westminster,
workshop on 23.11.2023
‘It was a great workshop! I discovered the intent I want to give to my facade and how to execute the idea of “inhabitable niches”
‘I really had fun, I think I’m learning that I can explore my project in ways outside of just typical architectural drawing and make important, useful discoveries this way. Its great to step away from CAD for a bit!’
‘Thought it was great! Definitely useful to have the prep session beforehand so we knew roughly what to expect. I thought the space and the structure of the day worked well.’
‘The pre-session video / Teams was extremely helpful’
Feedback provided by MArch Students, University of Cambridge,
workshop on 15.02.2024
no.balsa 