Author Archives: Charlotte Monk

Our group members included; Charlotte (myself), Sam and Taiki from University of Brighton, Dan and Stephen from Chichester College, and Ross from Hazelwick school. As a whole our group got on rather well, we were able to easily share our ideas and respect each other’s opinions. We worked well in respect to having two of our members working on the model, and the rest on research and design.

One reason our project progressed well and finished on time was we divided work and clearly identified who is working on what part and by when we need to move on to next phase. Once we all shared ideas of the design and agreed direction of the design, we worked on individually the part we were responsible with. Thus prevent the work overlapping to make sure nobody working on same part and use the time efficiently. We all regularly reported the progression to be able to see overall project progression not individually.

Today was the final day of the project week. Once I arrived at University, it was only a matter of preparing the final touches to our poster and model. These final touches consisted of drawing in the furniture and dimension lines, as well as the outside cladding. We felt that by showing these dimensions on the model it would help the client to easily understand our layout intentions, just by viewing the model. We also decided in our group who would be saying what in the presentation later on.

The presentations began at 11:30, once everyone had pinned up their posters and displayed their models. These presentations consisted of each group having 10 minutes to ‘sell’ and talk about their design, and then 10 minutes worth of questions from the panel and students. Our group was the third group to give the presentation. I think that it went rather well, and we explained our design to the best of our ability.

These presentations had finished by 1:30pm, where we all then were able to discuss each groups’ models and posters. It was a shorter day than the rest of the week, however it was the final day where we had concluded our project. By watching the other presentations and group ideas, it was insightful to see how they had approached the project, as well as any problems they may had to overcome ad justify. Each group was unique in their presentation and design ideas.

I really enjoyed the week as a whole, as it allowed me to work with other people, enabling a range of ideas and opinions to be shared. It was interesting also to learn how to approach the clients brief on such a tight budget, also with a small area to work in. The design week also allowed me to explore a range of talents and methods, such as the free hand drawings which were out of my comfort zone, alongside the budgeting and model making.

Today my first task was to complete my precedent studies for my given area (the bedroom/living area). These precedent studies included layout designs, and interior designing which inspired my design arrangement and floor plan.

These precedent studies did not take long, therefore I soon moved on to planning the poster and its contents. This poster was to be A1 in size, and had to include our teams planning and design process, along with precedent studies and drawings. Once the poster contents had been decided, I moved on to focusing on my free-hand 3D drawings.

These conceptual hand drawings had to show my stages of design and development, as well as various design ideas. These sketches were to be scanned into the poster, where it will later be printed. The conceptual hand drawings had to be free-hand, meaning no scales were to be used, or drawing equipment. The scale drawings and floor plans and elevations were drawn by another member of my group. I think that my hand drawings accurately represented my design thought process as well as the layout design.

These drawings also required some written words towards the stages of design evolution and development, which included the form-finding process.

Whilst our team were working towards the poster for Friday’s presentation, the other members of our team at Chichester were finishing the model. Throughout the day we received images of their progress, where we also contributed our help through the use of giving them the dimensions they needed, in order for the model to be true to its sizing.

My final task of the day was to research and type up a summary of how our Eco-Home design was sustainable and environmentally friendly, where it also had to meet the criteria requirements. This written report consisted of a respectable 400 words, summing up the sustainable design aspects. Examples of these include the use of solar panels on the roof (which generate a vast amount of renewable energy over time), the use of cellulose insulation (which is very environmentally friendly and cheap) as well as the use of reclaimed decking used as cladding on the shipping container.

Overall, Thursday was a very productive day in terms of finalising our project so that it was ready to be presented the next day. By the end of the day the poster had been put together, using everyone’s drawings and research.

Today we went to Chichester College to join the other students and to carry out further work on our models.

the Construction building at Chichester College

As soon as we arrived at the college, we took a look at our model, and discussed with the students who had been working on it, what their progress status was, and we clarified what was expected to be done by the end of the day.

This is what the model looked like at the beginning of the day on Wednesday

We began by comparing our existing plan drawings to the model, and gave the college students the dimensions that they needed in order to construct other parts of the model. There were also changes made to the original plan drawing, as it was discovered that there were errors in some of the measurements, and our group had also decided to alter the size of the bathroom. These changes were then made to the existing drawings and then represented onto the model.

As the majority of the decision making and layout plans had been done on the previous day, todays research was directed towards finalising small details within the interior (such as costing of essentials like blinds, cladding and other components). Research was also focussed on what we have planned to include in the poster, such as information and justification on why we have chosen the materials  we have used, and what their contribution to the design is. We also made a focus on the sustainability and reasoning of our choice of use of the materials within the structure, and how these compared to the clients brief.

I think that the progress of the model today has gone very well. The structural walls and partition wall had been inserted, along with the stud walls. The openings for the doors and window had also been considered, where the main opening had been made out of polycarbonate plastic materials, to represent the glass panels.

This is the progress of the model during Wednesday; the floor had been put in, as well as the two wall parts of one side of the Cabin, and the sliding glass panel door.

The Design Week started off at 9AM in the Drawing Studio, where we were given the Project Design brief and where all the AT students met with the students from Hazelwick School and Chichester College. The Project Brief required the full design and layout of an Eco-Home, located in France, for the purpose of a holiday home which would also accommodate for a disabled visitor. The Eco-Home design also had to be within the budget of £7000, and meet the sustainable requirements for 4 people.

During the first hour we were given an introduction by Charlie, the client of this weeks Project. After the introduction we were given a number of lectures based around the Project for this week, as well as an informative lecture on what we would need to consider when it came to planning our Eco-Home design. After the lectures by Noel and John Smith within the first couple of hours, we were then introduced into our mixed groups. My group consisted of three University of Brighton students (Sam, Taiki and I), one student from Hazelwick School, and two from Chichester College. During the morning we were also introduced to EduBlogs, and taught how to upload our work as part of the blog.

After the introductions, we set off with the planning and sharing of ideas on how we would approach the Project. Our initial idea was to use a second hand Lorry Trailer as the main structure for the Cabin, as this came with benefits such as a pre-installed refridgerating system and would be fully insulated, therefore saving costs on having to do this separately. However we had a talk with the teachers from Chichester College, where we came to the conclusion that the use of a lorry trailer would cause problems with sustainability, accessibility and justification. We then moved on to finalising our decision with using a shipping container. This then led to us planning the floor design and space layout of the container.

Within our group we agreed on a layout design where the bathroom was towards one end of the container, with the opposite end being removed and replaced with a glass window, where there would be sufficient daylight. We also agreed on an open plan lounge/kitchen to maximise room for any disabled people.

At the end of the day we moved our discussion from the design layout, towards what tasks would be given out within the group for the  next day. The final decision was that the AT students would focus on the interior design and layout, as well as cost analysis, with the students from Chichester looking at materials and services and building the model.