Unit 2 Design For Collective Action The Open Classroom

Stage 1 design studio integrates practice, theory and research applied through a range briefs and exercises. The design studio units in Stage 1 (Design 1.1 and Design 1.2) also provide a platform to test and develop ideas in relation to the world we live and work in. In this first design unit, you will gain an initial understanding of the nature of space and its potential for agency. This will allow you to develop your design ideas in theory and practice, understanding and using the complexities of the real world as a point of departure for creative thinking and questioning.

You will explore the nature of conceptual design and improvisational and temporary spaces. This will lead to the development of a design outcome, through an iterative process, that explores a clear purpose, a preliminary site, its context, users and use, materiality and an overall architectural strategy.

Through projects which combine elements of design, making and material testing, alongside open discussion, group work and individual research, this unit introduces you to the challenge of designing spaces for the contemporary world.