The 3D Design department was buzzing with creativity this week at a Year 10 architecture workshop run by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Run by practicing RIBA architects and the RIBA outreach team, the workshop set the students the challenge of planning a temporary pavilion structure to sit within the school site. The day began with presentations providing inspiration for the students, looking at real-life examples from the Serpentine pavilion to the Venice Biennale.
In small groups, the students then set to work brainstorming ideas, taking into consideration four key areas: location, function, aesthetic and materials. Once ideas had taken shape, the groups constructed detailed scale models, before presenting their designs to the group.
Ideas for function included student revision spaces, quiet areas, a honeycomb-based structure surrounded by pine-trees, an all-purpose common room space for Years 10 and 11 (named ‘The Hamster’ by its creators), a partly-covered ‘seating for eating’ area, and an indoor-outdoor space with a flowing design and half-walls that gave the spaces in between the building as much as importance as the building itself.
The designs were equally creative and demonstrated impressive engineering, including curves, geometric shapes, angles, planes and plays on light, space and structures. The students showed lots of imagination and environmental consideration when it came to materials, with many of the designs featuring sustainable timber, solar panels, glass and new planting.
Naomi Gudge, Head of Creative Art and Design, said: “The RIBA workshop was a fantastic and inspiring experience for our 3D Design students. It was wonderful to see how responsive the group was to the insight from the practitioners. The students collaborated very well with each other, showing lots of imagination and creativity, with the resulting designs incorporating some excellent ideas.”
